Following a visit to the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean,  two Florida congressmen are pushing their proposal to build closer ties with Israel, Greece and Cyprus.

Back in May, U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., the chairman of the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, teamed up with U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI, to bring out the “Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act."

As Virgin Trains USA moves forward with its $4 billion, 170-mile expansion linking West Palm Beach and Orlando between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm during the first three months of 2019, a 2.5 percent increase over the last three months of 2018.

During the same first three months of 2019, it reported an operating loss of $23.7 million, a deficit anticipated as it launched its three-year Phase 2 expansion after securing $2.7 billion in private bonds to remove $600 million in bond debt from its Phase 1 construction of its Miami to West Palm Beach rail line.

After taking office in January, Gov. Ron DeSantis is still three years away from a potential re-election campaign.

But in politics, the money chase rarely ends.

So when DeSantis’ political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, files a finance report with the state in the coming days, it is expected to detail receiving more than $700,000 in contributions in June. The money, according to a list of contributions posted on the committee’s website, has come in chunks as large as $100,000.

The June haul comes on top of $430,000 that the committee raised in May.

President Donald Trump acted as maestro of a military extravaganza and delivered a message of unity to a country whose citizens appear more divided than ever as the United States celebrated its 243rd birthday this week.

“As long as we stay true to our cause, as long as we remember our great history, as long as we never, ever stop fighting for a better future, then there will be nothing that America cannot do,” Trump told a crowd of thousands gathered under rainy skies on the National Mall in Washington.

With the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team continuing to shine in the World Cup and scheduled to face The Netherlands in the final on Sunday, two Florida Democrats are taking advantage of the moment to push for the team to be paid more. 

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., one of the cochairs of the Congressional Soccer Caucus, wrote to Carlos Cordeiro, the president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, on the matter. 

Last week, with reports that Iran has violated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by attempting to boost its uranium production, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., came out swinging at that nation and threw his support behind a bill to increase American support for Israel. 

Buchanan weighed in on Wednesday after Iran violated the JCPOA set up by the Obama administration. 

Sandra Mortham, national chair for the organization Maggie's List, says Independence Day is the perfect time to name a patriot and public servant to a post she will use to elect more conservative women to office.

Mortham announced Wednesday the appointment of Jennifer Carroll as the new national spokeswoman for Maggie's List. Carroll served with Gov. Rick Scott as the 18th lieutenant governor of Florida from Jan. 4, 2011 to March 12, 2013. 

Updated at 1:15 p.m. with comment in bold from Moody's office about general counsel's role in the trip.

When Florida Cabinet members jetted off to Israel in late May, some state employees who traveled at taxpayer expense stayed in a more than $400-a-night luxury hotel in Jerusalem, where a Cabinet meeting was held.

More than a month after the trade mission ended, the full cost of the trip, proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is not clear.

This past week, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., the dean of the Florida delegation, announced he plans to run for another term in 2020 despite his fight with pancreatic cancer. 

Arguing an omnibus elections bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week makes the case moot, lawyers for the state are asking a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit challenging how Florida elections officials handle mismatched signatures on mail-in and provisional ballots.

Lawyers representing former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida and national Democrats filed the lawsuit last fall in anticipation of a statewide recount in Nelson’s re-election campaign against former Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who eventually won the Senate race.