Things To Do In SW Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s unemployment rate remained at 3.7% in June, while private-sector jobs were down 21,000 from May, according to a report released Friday by the state Department of Commerce.

The state estimated 415,000 Floridians qualified as unemployed in June, up 1,000 from May. Meanwhile, the workforce of 11.193 million shrank by 7,000 in the same time. The unemployment rate also was 3.7% in April and May, after inching up earlier in the year.

The lowest unemployment rate in June remained in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area at 3.2%, up from 3.1% in May. Within that region, the rate in the Miami-Miami-Beach-Kendall area was at 2.4%.

Jimmy Heckman, the Department of Commerce’s chief of workforce statistics and economic research, said it’s “too soon to tell” the reason for the first decline in jobs since October, when Florida was coming off back-to-back hits from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

“It is important to keep in mind that this is one month coming off the heels of some really strong job reports for a few months before this,” Heckman told reporters in a conference call. “And for most of the sectors that lost jobs this month, it was the first month that we had seen those sectors lose jobs in quite a while.” read more

By Stephanie Armour, KFF Health News

On his way to an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stopped by the home of podcaster Gary Brecka. The two spent time in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and tried some intravenous nutrition drips that Brecka, a self-avowed longevity and wellness maven, sells and promotes on his show, “The Ultimate Human.”

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Then the podcast taping started, and Kennedy — who was also on the mic — took aim at Big Pharma’s influence on federal health policy. read more

By SEUNG MIN KIM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law new regulations for a type of cryptocurrency, a major milestone for an industry that has spent heavily to strengthen its legitimacy and political might.

The GENIUS Act sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, which are tied to assets like the U.S. dollar to reduce price volatility compared with other forms of cryptocurrency. It passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan margins.

The new law is meant to bolster consumer confidence in the crypto industry, which has quickly become a major power player in Washington thanks to massive campaign donations and spending on lobbying. Its passage comes as Trump had repeatedly pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

“For years you were mocked and dismissed and counted out,” Trump told crypto industry executives at a White House bill signing attended by about 200 people, including several top GOP lawmakers. “This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneering spirit.” read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

The debate over whether Coca-Cola should use high-fructose corn syrup or cane sugar in its signature soda obscures an important fact: Consumers are increasingly looking for Coke with no sugar at all.

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Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which was introduced in 2017, uses both the artificial sweetener aspartame and the natural sweetener stevia in its recipe. It’s one of Coke’s fastest-growing products, with global case volumes up 14% in the first quarter of the year. By comparison, the company’s total case volumes were up 2%.

PepsiCo also noted Thursday that 60% of its sales volumes in major markets in the second quarter came from low- or no-sugar drinks. read more

By JOSH FUNK

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Anyone firing up the grill this summer already knows hamburger patties and steaks are expensive, but the latest numbers show prices have climbed increasingly fast.

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And experts say consumers shouldn’t expect much relief soon either.

The average price of a pound of ground beef rose to $6.12 in June, up nearly 12% from a year ago, according to U.S. government data. The average price of all uncooked beef steaks rose 8% to $11.49 per pound.

But this is not a recent phenomenon. Beef prices have been steadily rising over the past 20 years because the supply of cattle remains tight while beef remains popular. read more