The Republican National Convention in Tampa will kick off with an invitation-only, cocktail-style reception for 20,000 that will feature local talent and designs tailored to highlight Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

The Host Committee announced that the Aug. 26 event will mark the first time delegates and the media will be jointly welcomed at a convention.

A federal judge who struck down part of a controversial state elections law will hold a hearing Wednesday morning on whether to issue a temporary restraining order in a separate case concerning a state-ordered voter purge.

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle to bar elections officials from removing any suspected noncitizens from the rolls by using an inaccurate state database at the center of the effort. The state argues that no voters are currently in danger of being pushed off and that the courts should wait to rule on the case.

Steve MacNamara leads a charmed life.

"Even if it could be demonstrated unequivocally that [public flogging and hand branding] were not cruel and unusual measures in 1791 ... I doubt whether any federal judge -- even among the many who consider themselves originalists -- would sustain them against an Eighth Amendment challenge."

A U.S. Supreme Court decision to ban mandatory life sentences with no chance of parole for minors who commit murder will greatly impact the states justice system, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday.

Ive seen firsthand juveniles commit some of the most egregious, gruesome crimes imaginable, Bondi said.

Bondi, a former prosecutor, said her agency is reviewing the ruling Miller v. Alabama that could require about 250 state prisoners to get new sentencing hearings because they were sentenced for life terms for murder committed prior to the age of 18.

Presidential candidate and former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is challenging President Barack Obamas bid for a second term from the left -- and he intends to be on the ballot in Florida.

Regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the Affordable Care Act, Associated Industries of Florida plans to help craft and oversee an overhaul of health care in the Sunshine State.

Tom Feeney, AIF president and CEO, released a statement Tuesday that his business group will soon host the first of a continuing series of public events where industry stakeholders will be invited to provide input on crafting a new vision for health care access and affordability in Florida.

Florida officials have yet to decide if they will appeal a federal judges decision that now blocks the state from punishing companies that do business with Castros Cuba.

Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday that his office has yet to review Mondays decision by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore that granted an injunction against Floridas new anti-Cuba contract law which Coral Gables-based Odebrecht USA claims violates federal law.

I havent seen it yet, but well look at that, Scott told reporters in responding to a question about Moores ruling.