Tropical Storm Emily formed Monday in the Caribbean Sea about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of the island of Dominica, says Bloomberg News, and is expected to take a turn over the next couple of days that could bring it to Florida.

There was hardly a dry eye in the House Monday when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords entered the chamber to cast a vote on debt-ceiling legislation.

"This is what we all needed," an emotional Florida Congressman Bill Posey was heard saying. "This is the uplift we all needed." Posey, of course, is a Republican, Giffords a Democrat.

Giffords' appearance nevertheless set the campaign wheels in motion in her home state of Arizona, where speculation is increasing whether she'll seek re-election next year or run for retiring Sen. Jon Kyl's U.S. Senate seat.

Following early news that a requirement for a federal balanced budget amendment has been included in the House of Representatives federal debt reduction proposal, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, and House Speaker Dean Cannon released the following statements:

Governor Scott:

"This week, I marked the 21st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by creating the Governors Commission on Jobs for Persons with Disabilities. During the economic downturn, workers with disabilities lost jobs at a rate 9 percent higher than workers without disabilities.

Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday ordered the creation of the Governors Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities. Lane Wright, his press secretary, said it was to mark the 21st anniversary of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Florida Department of Environmental Protections (DEP) Florida Park Service today announced state park attendance at its 160 parks increased during the 2010-2011 fiscal year. More than 20.4 million people visited Florida state parks during the last fiscal year, an increase of approximately 300,000 people from the previous year.

Said DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard, The increase in visitors illustrates the demand for recreational and educational experiences that are affordable, close to home and protective of Floridas valuable natural and cultural resources.

Former South Florida lawmaker Mandy Dawson, 55, was arrested by the FBI in Daytona Beach shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday on federal tax evasion charges The charges allege she failed to pay nearly $25,000 to the IRS over two years, and failed to file returns for three years after that.

And it all happened while she served in office.

The final flight of NASA's 30-year-old space shuttle program is scheduled to end Thursday morning, when Atlantis and its STS-135 crew return to Earth. Hopefully, the landing will be here in Florida, at Kennedy Space Center, marking the completion of a 13-day mission to supply the International Space Station for the post-shuttle era.

Florida's Sen. Marco Rubio, participating in Bob Schieffer's debt crisis conversation on CBSs Face the Nation Sunday, called the coming week "our last chance to force Washington to tackle the central economic issue of our time."

Warned Rubio, "It's not the debt limit, it's the debt itself."

The freshman senator from Miami vowed not to vote for raising the debt limit "unless it is the last one we ever authorize and it comes with a decrease in spending of at least $4 trillion and a credible plan for the future that includes pro-growth strategies."

While Tiger Woods continues to build the multimillion-dollar palace in Florida, on Martin County's Jupiter Island -- a love nest he originally figured he would be sharing with Elin Nordegren -- his former Swedish model ex-wife has found a new beau, Jamie Dingman.

He's a billionaire's son, he's a "hunk" (says Nordegren's girlfriend) and he doesn't play golf. At all.