As remnants of smoke encircled the Capitol in Tallahassee on Thursday, Florida Cabinet members were briefed on the status of more than 420 fires throughout the state, and the dangerous drought conditions that help create and sustain them.

Jim Karels, director of the Florida Division of Forestry, said that as of Thursday morning, the fires were burning more than 300,000 acres in state and federal lands throughout the state. A small fire in nearby Jefferson County was responsible for the smoke wafting toward the Capitol.

Gov. Rick Scott appears to back off slightly from the implementation of his long sought-after policy of drug-testing state workers, but says he is still committed to the policy.

In a memo to state agency heads dated June 10, Scott cited a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida as a reason to slow down the implementation of the policy for all agencies under the control of the governors office. The ACLU filed suit on May 31, contesting the constitutionality of random drug-testing for state workers on privacy grounds.

Many of the myriadRepublican presidential campaigns are starting their race for the Oval Office at the beginning, but President Barack Obama looked to skip to the finish line Monday.

As GOP candidates took part in the second presidential primary debate in New Hampshire, a key early primary state, Obama swept through Miami and Puerto Rico Monday, looking to solidify Florida --one of the essential states in the 2012 general election.

Before heading to Miami for a fundraiser, Obama began Monday in North Carolina, a normally red state that he barely won in 2008.