As all four Florida Cabinet members carry on in their second terms, each continues to see their net worth rise steadily, according to the newest set of financial disclosures.

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., is ready to launch a bid to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., setting up a competitive Democratic primary with U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla.

Roll Call reported on Wednesday that Grayson will kick off his bid on Thursday. Over the last few weeks, Grayson has left the door open to entering the Senate race. During July, Grayson has picked up the pace, throwing more hints that he was set to announce a bid and calling on his supporters to open their wallets. 

Businessman Todd Wilcox jumped in the race for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, taking aim at career politicians and promising to fight for change in Washington. 

Wilcox announced last month that he would leave Patriot Capital to focus on an exploratory effort for the Senate seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is running for the Republican presidential nomination and has said he will not run for a second Senate term.  Last week, Wilcox left Patriot Capital. 

On Tuesday night, the U.S. House approved an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill keeping the moratorium on drilling in the eastern Gulf until 2022 and preventing exploration efforts in that area until that time. Currently there is an effort in the U.S. Senate from U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., which would allow drilling up to 50 miles off the Florida Gulf Coast.

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore, R-Va., announced on Tuesday that he is joining the crowd of candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination. Gilmore told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he plans to launch his bid in early August and said the current crop of Republican hopefuls were ignoring homeland security matters. 

A bill from a Florida congressman which ensures every veteran receives an ID card from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs without burdening taxpayers is headed to President Barack Obama’s desk after the U.S. House backed it without opposition Tuesday. 

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., introduced the Veterans ID Card Act earlier this year. Buchanan’s bill would ensure all veterans receive ID cards from the VA instead of just those who served 20 years in the armed forces or are seeking medical treatment for service-related wounds. 

After a high-profile legislative debate this spring about concealed weapons on college campuses, a state appeals court is poised to hear arguments in a dispute about whether guns should be allowed in residence halls and other housing at the University of Florida.

Good news for Florida: a new study released Tuesday shows Florida is in the top five for the nation’s healthiest states financially.

United for Care, the organization responsible for putting medical marijuana on the 2014 ballot, claimed Tuesday that it's less than 5,000 petitions away from doing the same thing again in 2016.

"We're already close to hitting 100,000 in the number of petitions we've actually collected," Ben Pollara, United for Care campaign manager, told Sunshine State News. "Barring a fire in our headquarters, we'll probably hit it this week. 

Grading state lawmakers on their performances during the regular and special legislative sessions is an annual tradition for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. On Tuesday, the chamber unveiled this year’s Legislative Report Card to show voters which lawmakers were committed to promoting a pro-jobs agenda in 2015.