Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATT O’BRIEN, AP Technology Writer

A group of investors led by Elon Musk is offering about $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI, escalating a legal dispute with the artificial intelligence company that Musk helped found.

By Taylor Getler, NerdWallet

Weddings and homeownership are two major goals for many couples, but affording both takes years of careful saving and planning. In 2024, the median age at first marriage was 28 for women and 30 for men, according to U.S. Census data. Yet the National Association of Realtors reports that the median age of first-time home buyers in 2024 was 38. Picture a typical American couple waiting nearly a decade after marriage to become homeowners.

If you’re recently engaged, following these do’s and don’ts could help you dramatically shorten the timeframe for reaching your homebuying dreams.

Do: Ask for donations to a house fund instead of gifts

Judy Buchman and David Shpitalnik of the Bronx, New York, chose this strategy and were able to fund almost half of their down payment with wedding gift money.

Using the wedding planning platform The Knot, the couple registered for a new home cash fund that allowed guests to give any amount. “We are so lucky to have a lot of our small kitchen appliances and other materialistic things already … so we really just wanted to set up a nice foundation for our future home.” read more

Vincent Tong, the voice actor who brings Kai to life in the “Lego Ninjago” TV series, visited Legoland Florida during the Winter Haven theme park’s Lego Ninjago Weekends event.

Tong was involved with exclusive meet-and-greets and held a special School of Spinjitzu class in the attraction’s Ninjago Land. He also took a spin on Ninjago the Ride.

Tong has participated in 84 episodes of “Ninjago” since 2019. Kai is the series’ ninja of fire and is accordingly considered hot-headed. The character is topped by brown, spikey, flame-like hair.

Tong has also been in 35 episodes of “Lego DreamZzz” as Logan plus given voice to Jack in “Polly Pocket,” as Steve Lombard in “My Adventures With Superman” and as Huckleberry Pie in “Strawberry Shortcake” productions.  His live-action self can be see as Levi in “An Unexpected Valentine” on Hallmark Channel.

Lego Ninjago Weekends includes big collaborative builds, “Lloyd’s Elemental Challenge,” the new Thunderfang Scavenger Hunt, the Whip Around Dance Party, character interactions with Master Wu, Kai, Sora, Zane, Lloyd and others.  This year’s version of the event wraps up with sessions this Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The activities are included with regular Legoland Florida admission. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The odds of further interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve dwindled last week as unemployment fell and more officials say they want to see how new policies from the White House affect the economy.

While Fed officials penciled in two rate cuts this year at their December meeting, economists and Wall Street investors are increasingly skeptical, with some predicting no reductions at all this year. On Friday, economists at Morgan Stanley said they now expect just one rate cut in 2025, and investors also expect just one — in July — according to pricing in futures markets.

Fewer cuts could translate into a longer period of elevated mortgage rates and high costs to borrow money for everything from autos to credit cards. Still, mortgage rates are closely tied to the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which can move independently of the Fed’s actions.

The shifting expectations come as Chair Jerome Powell heads to Capitol Hill for two days of testimony this week, beginning Tuesday, before House and Senate committees that oversee the central bank and the financial industry. Fed chairs are required by law to appear before Congress twice a year. read more

Boeing told its employees working on the NASA Artemis lunar program’s Space Launch System rocket they could be facing layoffs by April.

The move underscores the uncertainty facing the Artemis program under the Trump administration, although no specific modifications to the current Artemis plan have been disclosed.

“To align with revisions to the Artemis program and cost expectations, today we informed our Space Launch Systems team of the potential for approximately 400 fewer positions by April 2025,” the company said in a media statement.

The company, which announced the potential layoffs on Friday, said it was required to give 60-day notices of involuntary layoffs to all impacted employees as part of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

“We are working with our customer and seeking opportunities to redeploy employees across our company to minimize job losses and retain our talented teammates,” the company stated.

Artemis team leaders say major changes under Trump could mean more delays read more