Democratic presidential candidate Randall Terry -- the pro-life activist who founded Operation Rescue and who Floridians may remember for his role in the Teri Schiavo case as well as his challenge to the late Senate President Jim King in the Republican primary back in 2006 --offered stinging words for President Barack Obamas State of the Union address. Terry is challenging Obama in the Democratic primaries in 2012.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and law enforcement leaders including FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey and Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen are warning Floridians of a new drug threat in the form of MDPV (Methylenedioxypyrovalerone), also known as bath salts. Bondi set up an emergency rule to add MDPV to the list of banned controlled substances.

Early Thursday, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is contemplating running for the Republican presidential nomination, offered her take on President Barack Obamas State of the Union address.

The Presidents State of the Union address boiled down to this message: The era of big government is here as long as I am, so help me pay for it. He dubbed it a 'Winning The Future speech, but the titles acronym seemed more accurate than much of the content, noted Palin.

Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan took to the House floor on Wednesday to repeat his call to prevent Cuba from drilling off the Florida coastline.

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While most of the leading Republican presidential candidates have been fairly quiet in their takes on President Barack Obamas State of the Union address, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who ran for the GOP nod in 2008 and is almost certain to do so again in 2012, offered his view on the speech on Wednesday afternoon.

Deriding a law that requires septic tank inspections once every five years that was passed last year as "one-size-fits-all," Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, who chairs the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee, said he wants to rework the law to allow for greater local control. He has filed a bill that would repeal the law, which requires the Department of Health to conduct inspections on septic tanks.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture agreed to requests made by then-Gov. Charlie Crist, current Gov. Rick Scott and members of the Florida congressional delegation to have counties across the Sunshine State declared disaster areas due to the cold weather that impacted the state in December and January.

Newly inaugurated Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio announced the first bill he was co-sponsoring on Wednesday -- a measure backed by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., to repeal the federal health care law.

While Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, did not back two constitutional amendments concerning redistricting that were passed by Florida voters in November, he urged Gov. Rick Scott to not stand in the way of a federal examination of them, calling them the will of the people.

Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, is going to be returning to an issue the Legislature examined in 2010 -- texting while driving.

Porth is sponsoring a bill that will ban texting while driving and will add points to a drivers license for those who are convicted.

Its time that parents make the same commitment to stop texting while driving, Porth said on Wednesday. I implore all Florida drivers to cease texting while driving because distracted driving at any age puts all Floridians in danger.