Things To Do In SW Florida

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Business Writer

The Republican-controlled Federal Trade Commission is abandoning a Biden-era effort to block Microsoft’s purchase of “Call of Duty” video game maker Activision Blizzard.

Related Articles

• 
  McDonald’s is closing its CosMc’s restaurants but plans to test drinks the chain ‘inspired’

• 
  Justice Department reaches deal to allow Boeing to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes

• 
  One Tech Tip: These are the apps that can now avoid Apple’s in-app payment system

• 
  Venezuelan workers at Disney put on leave from jobs after losing protective status

• 
  Homeowners spend on renovations and repairs despite the uncertain economy and higher prices

In an order issued Thursday, the FTC said it had determined that “the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case.”

It was the second time in one day that the FTC pulled out of litigation begun during the Biden administration. Earlier Thursday, the FTC said it was dismissing a lawsuit against PepsiCo that was filed by the Democratic-controlled FTC in January. read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. homeowners are spending more on home renovation projects, bucking a broader pullback by consumers amid diminished confidence in the economy.

Sales at building materials and garden supply retailers rose 0.8% last month from March, the biggest gain since 2022, and were up 3.2% from April last year. At the same time, U.S. retail sales overall rose 0.1%, a sharp slowdown from March.

The trend comes even as prices for home improvement products have been rising.

The cost of home repairs and remodeling climbed by nearly 4% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to Verisk’s Remodel Index. The strategic data analytics firm tracks costs for more than 10,000 home repair items, from appliances to windows.

Recent price increases appear to be driven primarily by labor costs and don’t appear to reflect the ongoing trade war that the Trump administration is engaged in with major U.S. trading partners like Mexico, China and Canada.

“We haven’t seen panic buying from contractors or investors concerned about the impact tariffs might have on future costs, or labor rates being driven up by stricter enforcement of immigration policies,” Greg Pyne, vice president of pricing for Verisk Property Estimating Solutions, said in a report earlier this month. read more

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lashing out at Apple’s plans to make most of its U.S. iPhones in India, President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to slap a 25% tariff on the popular device unless the tech giant starts building the product in its home country — a move that still seems unlikely to happen any time soon, if ever.

Apple for decades has been building most of its devices in China, where it has invested tens of billions dollars massive factories that rely on a vast network of local suppliers. The company’s reliance on a crucial pipeline outside the U.S. thrust the technology trendsetter into the crosshairs of Trump’s trade war.

In response to Trump’s tussle with China, Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month that most iPhones sold in the U.S. during the March-June period would come from India. Although Trump in late April decided to temporarily exempt the iPhone and other electronics from most of his initial tariffs, Cook said the trade war would end up costing Apple an additional $900 million during the March-June period. read more

Palm Beach County’s commissioners on Thursday night voted 6-0 to approve a controversial rock mining project in the Everglades Agricultural Area, south of Lake Okeechobee.

Known as The Southland Water Resource Project, the mine was proposed by the contracting firm Phillips & Jordan and would be dug on farmland currently used by the U.S. Sugar Corp. and Okeelanta Corp.

County approval was sought to mine limestone for more than 30 years at the 8,600-acre site, which is currently farmland and sits about 15 miles southwest of Belle Glade.

The project still needs to be reviewed by the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the two agencies responsible for Everglades restoration and water management in South Florida.

Proponents of the mine suggest that the resulting quarry will function as water storage for nearly 40 billion gallons of Lake Okeechobee overflow.

But the plan has stirred considerable concern among conservation groups, including Audubon Florida, the Sierra Club and Captains for Clean Water. read more

SpaceX’s last two efforts to make progress on its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket ended with streaks of debris hurtling across the sky. The Federal Aviation Administration, though, is now satisfied it’s safe for SpaceX to try again.

The FAA on Thursday announced the in-development rocket that launches from Starbase, SpaceX’s Texas site, can return to flight. The decision comes after the agency closed its investigation into a March 7 test flight resulting in the destruction of the rocket’s upper stage that could be seen across the East Coast and into the Caribbean.

SpaceX Starship Breaks Apart During Test Flight, Scattering Debris Over the Bahamas – March 6, 2025. pic.twitter.com/R20tsaHLoa

— UFO Community (@UFOcommunity) March 7, 2025

It was a near mirror of a January attempt, with both explosions seen in videos captured from Florida, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos.

“The FAA conducted a comprehensive safety review of the SpaceX Starship Flight 8 mishap and determined that the company has satisfactorily addressed the causes of the mishap, and therefore, the Starship vehicle can return to flight,” the FAA stated in a press release. “The FAA will verify SpaceX implements all corrective actions.” read more