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TALLAHASSEE — Some Floridians with state-run Citizens Property Insurance could soon find their homeowners policies shuffled to an unregulated insurer.

In a first for the state, lawmakers are poised to allow companies known as surplus lines insurers to take out policies from Citizens. Up to 80,000 Floridians — those whose second homes are covered by Citizens — could find themselves with policies lacking basic consumer protections, such as a guarantee that their claim could be paid.

Senate Bill 1716 and House Bill 1503 have sailed through the Legislature with few questions asked and almost no debate. But it would be a marked shift in policy for the state.

For decades, only regulated insurers were allowed to take policies out of Citizens, the insurer for Floridians who can’t otherwise find coverage.

That was in part to protect consumers. These regulated insurers pay into the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, which ensures that open claims will be paid if the company goes out of business. State regulators also examine the companies’ financial health and approve the forms they send consumers and the rates they charge. read more

Bad weather along the launch corridor for a planned human spaceflight from Kennedy Space Center has prompted at least a two-day delay, so SpaceX took the opportunity to shoehorn in a launch without humans from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday.

Plans had been to prep all day for the Crew-8 launch that was set to lift off from KSC early Friday, but SpaceX instead launched a Falcon 9 from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 carrying 23 of the company’s Starlink satellites, lifting off at 10:30 a.m.

After a quick leap, Falcon 9’s first stage has completed its 11th mission, landing on the Just Read The Instructions droneship in the Atlantic Ocean pic.twitter.com/OFrx4S2zbj

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 29, 2024

The first-stage booster for the mission flew for the 11th time and made another successful recovery downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.

Now delayed until at least Saturday, the Crew-8 mission aims to take up three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station. NASA and SpaceX chose to delay because of poor offshore conditions for the flight track of the Crew Dragon Endeavour, including high winds and waves along the eastern seaboard. read more

Princess Cruises welcomed passengers aboard the largest ship ever built for the cruise line as the Sun Princess made its maiden voyage from Rome on Wednesday.

The 177,882–gross-ton ship has a 4,314-passenger capacity based on double occupancy. It’s the first of the line’s new Sphere class of ships, the first to run on liquefied natural gas, part of parent company Carnival Corp.’s efforts to reduce emissions.

It’s a big jump in size from the Royal-class ships including 2022’s Discovery Princess, 2020’s Enchanted Princess and 2019’s Sky Princess, which come in at around 145,000 gross tons with about 3,660-passenger capacities.

It won’t call Port Everglades home until October and begins its spate of European voyages until then with a 10-night Grand Mediterranean cruise.

“This is an historic day as our new Sun Princess sets sail on her inaugural voyage, and our guests get to experience our sensational, next-level, Love Boat firsthand,” said Princess Cruises President John Padgett in a news release.  “The ship is a magnificent showcase of advanced design, technology and craftsmanship, with elevated spaces and experiences all focused on taking the Princess vacation experience to a new level.” read more