President Donald Trump is officially declaring the growing opioid crisis a “public health emergency,” amplifying the status of a problem taking the lives of thousands of Americans each year. 

You have to question when a law enforcement division has a hard time tracking down a visible politician. Beleaguered former state and U.S. Rep. David Rivera is sought by the U.S. Marshals Office, looking to serve him with papers in relation to a campaign finance lawsuit. Rivera, who claims ignorance to this attempt, managed to elude the officers -- though he couldn't have been hiding in plainer sight.

In an effort to promote what he calls “transparency,” House Speaker Richard Corcoran and House lawmakers are pushing legislation to abolish trade secret laws keeping information about economic development contracts with the state from the public eye.

With tensions continuing to simmer with North Korea, from his perch on the U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., helped bring out a bill requiring the State Department and intelligence agencies to investigate how the Kim regime obtained rocket fuel and engines. 

A bill from two North Florida congressmen--Republican U.S. Rep. John Rutherford and Democrat U.S. Rep. Al Lawson--to help veterans transition out of the service and into civilian careers is picking up steam on Capitol Hill. 

On Wednesday, the U.S. House passed three measures--one of them from a key member of the Florida delegation-- taking aim at Hezbollah.

For the second time this week, a poll shows U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Gov. Rick Scott in a dead heat for what is expected to be one of the most competitive U.S. Senate races in 2018. 

A combination of short-term intensive treatment beds, long-term outpatient services and medically assisted treatment could be the blueprint for a solution to the opioid epidemic gripping the state, a powerful Senate chairwoman said Wednesday.

Gov. Rick Scott may not be an official candidate for the U.S. Senate yet, but that hasn’t stopped him from dumping a few million dollars into a new ad campaign highlighting his work on Hurricane Irma recovery efforts. 

The storm may be over, but recovery is still a long road ahead -- and state lawmakers now have to grapple with how, exactly, Florida will help its Puerto Rican neighbors get back on their feet after Hurricane Maria.