Two more Republican presidential hopefuls -- both of whom have ties to Florida -- will be coming to the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit next month in Orlando. 

On Wednesday, Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded until the middle of December, avoiding a shutdown, as Florida Republicans divided on the matter. 

Dr. Ben Carson should replace U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio? A Florida congressman with his eyes on a U.S. Senate seat is open to the idea. 

State senators are scheduled next week to begin considering whether to keep the Confederate flag on the Senate's official seal, another sign of a growing national tide against icons of the South's rebellion in the 1860s.

The Senate Rules Committee will meet Oct. 8 to begin re-examining the current emblem of the chamber. Under Senate rules, the seal includes "a fan of the five flags which have flown over Florida" --- those of the United States, Confederate States of America, France, Great Britain and Spain.

U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., want a Green Beret reinstated in the Army after he was forced out of service when he reported an Afghan ally abusing a child. 

U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., teamed up with a California Democrat this week to introduce a proposal that would create a special postage stamp -- the proceeds of which would go toward raising awareness for mental health issues. 

With Oriental fruit flies threaten South Florida agriculture, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam announced spraying will begin perhaps as early as Friday. First spotted at the end of August, so far more than 160 fruit flies have been detected in more than 400 products, mostly around Redland. Oriental fruit flies lay eggs in fruits and vegetables, making them a major threat to produce. 

Florida elected officials, environmentalists and seafood workers are bracing for the release of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers draft plan for the river system that feeds struggling Apalachicola Bay.

Last updated in 1989, the all-important plan --- known as an operating manual --- controls freshwater flows throughout the network of dams and reservoirs in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin, which starts in Georgia and winds south into Alabama and ends at Apalachicola Bay in Northwest Florida's Franklin County.

If you're worried the state isn't protecting enough environmentally sensitive lands, this was an outstanding day. The Florida Board of Trustees Tuesday approved the purchase of two conservation easements totaling 2,903 acres as part of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. 

Four presidential candidates -- two from the Sunshine State and two dark horses -- are headed to Orlando to speak at the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit in Orlando in November.