Things To Do In SW Florida

A federal judge in Texas has set a June trial date for the U.S. government’s years-old conspiracy case against Boeing for misleading regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people.

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U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor did not explain in the scheduling order he issued on Tuesday why he decided to set the case for trial. Lawyers for the aerospace company and the Justice Department have spent months trying to renegotiate a July 2024 plea agreement that called for Boeing to plead guilty to a single felony charge.

The judge rejected that deal in December, saying that diversity, inclusion and equity policies the Justice Department had in place at the time might influence the selection of a monitor to oversee the company’s compliance with the terms of its proposed sentence. read more

By STAN CHOE

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street edged higher in a quiet Tuesday after roaring the day before on hopes that President Donald Trump’s tariffs may not be as sweeping as earlier feared.

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The S&P 500 added 0.2% after jumping 1.8% Monday to one of its best days of the last year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up by 4 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5%.

U.S. stocks have recovered a chunk of their losses since falling 10% below their all-time high earlier this month, for their first “correction” since 2023. The S&P 500 is now down 6% from its record, and that drop has left the market looking less expensive than before, which had been a major criticism following its euphoric rise in earlier years. read more

By MATT OTT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month as Americans’ anxiety about their financial futures declined to a 12-year low amid rising concern over tariffs and inflation.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9. Analysts were expecting a decline to a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet.

The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2.

It is the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future. However, the proportion of consumers anticipating a recession in the next year held steady at a nine-month high, the board reported.

“Consumers’ optimism about future income — which had held up quite strongly in the past few months — largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at The Conference Board. read more

Central Florida has another roller coaster on tap. Legoland Florida will add an indoor thrill ride at the Winter Haven theme park in 2026.

Neither a name nor a theme was announced for the new attraction, although the Legoland news release perhaps hints with its wording “truly out of this world.”

“As we prepare to unveil this exciting new attraction designed, co-created and imagined by the amazing creative team at the Lego Group and the unmatched talent of our Merlin Magic Makers, we hope the mystery and anticipation adds to awesome thrills to come,” Fiona Eastwood, CEO of Merlin Entertainments Group, said in the news release.

The coaster will operate from the Lego City location where Flying School, an inverted coaster, stood until it was closed in 2023.

The ride also will be built at Legoland California theme park in Carlsbad, California. Both parks are owned by Britain-based Merlin. It said it is investing $90 million in the project, the largest singular in-park investment for Legoland parks. read more

Eric McCullough spent months looking for an affordable place of his own but then moved into an apartment with his daughter, his only option to make ends meet.

McCullough, 59, lives on disability insurance and said he could not find apartments or houses for rent that he could afford on those payments alone.

“The magic question, to me, is what do people consider affordable?” he asked. “Who do they make these affordable houses for when the people who need it most can’t afford them?”

Nearly 900,000 Floridians struggle with the same issue, and many end up spending too much on rent, meaning more than 30% of their monthly income goes to housing costs, according to a recent report from the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies. And the latest studies indicate that, despite extensive efforts from the public and nonprofit sectors, the number of affordable units in Central Florida has been falling.

Paying too much in rent limits what they can spend on food, health care and other bills and foils plans to save for a down payment on a house, the center said. read more