* “We are brothers.”–Pope Francis to Patriarch Kirill, in the first-ever meeting between a pontiff and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
* “Smurfing.”–Chinese term for those leaving the country–and its faltering economy–with large sums of money (limited to $50,000 apiece).
* “My inability to reduce the polarization and meanness in our politics.”–What President Barack Obama cited as one of his few regrets as president.
* “Obama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance that I’m beginning to miss, and that I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of who replaces him.”–David Brooks, New York Times.
* “I know I have some work to do, particularly with young people. Even if they are not supporting me now, I support them.”–Hillary Clinton.
* “Strong as the emotions are in the Clinton and Sanders camps, both sides have to feel sort of chipper when they look over at the Republicans, who are engaged in something between professional wrestling and Godzilla vs. Rodan.”–Gail Collins, New York Times.
* “Houston’s big-money Jeb supporters are slowly admitting defeat, but they’d rather have a Bush nemesis than Cruz. Word on the street is they’re looking at Marco Rubio.”–Mimi Swartz, Texas Monthly executive editor.
* “Ted Cruz is a totally unstable individual. He is the single biggest liar I’ve ever come across … and I have seen some of the best of them.”–Donald Trump.
* “He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh.”–Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
* “Abandoning their Senate duties would also prove that all the Republican talk about loving the Constitution is just that–empty talk.”–Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., responding to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican senators who urge not filling the high court vacancy until a new president is elected.
* “It’s up to Mitch McConnell and everybody else to stop it. It’s called delay, delay, delay.”–Donald Trump.
* “Everybody wants to go to Cuba to sell something, and that’s not what we’re trying to do. … It’s our belief that in the long run, we both win if we do things that are beneficial to both countries.”–Horace Clemmons, Alabama businessman who has been given permission by the U.S. and Cuba to build a tractor-assembly plant in Cuba. It will be the first significant U.S. business investment on Cuban soil since Fidel Castro took power in 1959.
* “Grayson claims to be a progressive, but it seems like he has no moral compass.”–Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, in calling for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, to drop out of the race for Marco Rubio’s Senate seat.
* “Doing a gaming bill is like putting a queen-size sheet on a king-size bed. It’s impossible to accommodate the interests of every single person.”–State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami.
* “We’re entering turbulent waters. It’s no longer like a tide coming in. It’s a nursing shortage tsunami.”–Dianne Morrison-Beedy, dean of the USF College of Nursing.
* “We don’t have any medication, we don’t have any vaccine. And so our only weapon is prevention.”–Beata Casanas, professor in the Division of Infectious Disease at USF’s College of Medicine, on the Zika virus.
* “I definitely think Florida has the least accessible unemployment insurance system in the country. Not much doubt about that.”–George Wentworth, senior counsel for the National Employment Law Project.
* “It’s a backdoor tax increase on citizens who often can’t afford to pay it, and you’re making intersections less safe.”–State Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, who is among Florida lawmakers who want to outlaw red-light cameras statewide.
* “The United States Supreme Court held Florida’s capital sentencing scheme unconstitutional. This court, therefore, concludes that there currently exists no statutory authority in Florida under which the State can seek the death penalty, nor this Court impose the death penalty.”–Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward.
* “We decided it was time to reassess what our mission really is–is it brick and mortar or the children and hospitals so we can provide free care.”–James Lich, first vice president of Egypt Shriners, on the rationale for selling the 13-acre, waterfront A La Carte Pavilion site to David Weekley Homes.
* “The Rays are this region’s team.”–Tampa Bay Rays president Brian Auld.
* A lot of people who are passionate about a more connected urban community are spending a lot of time protesting the existential threat, TBX, instead of focusing on Go Hillsborough.”–Kevin Thurman, executive director for transit advocacy group Connect Tampa Bay.
* “We were just waiting for the right time. With record tourism, our business has been doing very well.”–Troy Manthey, owner of Yacht Starship Dining Cruises, in announcing that he is adding three water taxis later this month.
* “It’s a cool thing you’ve got going here, and it’s unique.”–Bob Peterson, chairman and CEO of Carter, the Atlanta-based development company that recently broke ground on a $90 million, 23-story apartment tower on North Franklin Street.