Things To Do In SW Florida

By MELINA WALLING and MATTHEW DALY

When President Donald Trump rolled out a plan to boost artificial intelligence and data centers, a key goal was wiping away barriers to rapid growth.

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And that meant taking aim at the National Environmental Policy Act — a 55-year-old, bedrock law aimed at protecting the environment through a process that requires agencies to consider a project’s possible impacts and allows the public to be heard before a project is approved. Data centers, demanding vast amounts of energy and water, have aroused strong opposition in some communities. read more

Universal Orlando has announced the final two haunted houses planned for the 2025 edition of its Halloween Horror Nights, with mazes based on the world of WWE and the 2023 film “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

In the house named WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks, HHN guests will meet up with Uncle Howdy and “one of the most disturbing groups in WWE history,” a Universal news release says. “Ramblin Rabbit, Mercy the Buzzard, Abby the Witch and Huskus the Pig will be waiting to take bloody retribution on a world that has abandoned them.” Also on hand: the Fiend, looming in the shadows.

In wrestling circles, the Wyatt Sicks is named in honor of Bray Wyatt, a WWE wrestler who died of heart problems exacerbated by COVID-19 in 2023. Wyatt was born in Brooksville and was a star at Orlando-based NXT in 2012-13. He wrestled at WrestleMania at Camping World Stadium in 2017.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” had been identified months ago as a part of Horror Nights, but its house was not made official until Tuesday. Expect a setting of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria and full-scale replicas of Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy and Mr. Cupcake, Universal says. The characters were created in collaboration with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. read more

It started out as a simple first-come, first-serve program offering $10,000 matching grants to owners of older Florida homes who take specific actions to harden their homes against hurricanes.

The My Safe Florida Home program proved wildly popular, quickly obligating its initial funding and leaving latecomers to await legislative approval for new money each year.

Since 2022, the program has reimbursed $369 million to 39,271 homeowners, program spokesman Devin Galetta said Monday.

Now, flush with $280 million approved by the governor and Legislature in June, a more restrictive version of the program will reopen for applications on Monday, Aug. 4.

But the $280 million is considerably less than the $590 million requested by Gov. Ron DeSantis during the spring Legislative session. And that $590 million was intended to fund grants for 10,000 new applicants and 45,000 existing applicants who underwent required windstorm mitigation inspections but were left in limbo last year after existing funds were obligated. read more

By MATT O’BRIEN and LINLEY SANDERS

Most U.S. adults say they use artificial intelligence to search for information, but fewer are using it for work, drafting email or shopping.

Younger adults are most likely to be leaning into AI, with many using it for brainstorming and work tasks.

The new findings from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that 60% of Americans overall — and 74% of those under 30 — use AI to find information at least some of the time.

The poll highlights the ubiquity of AI in some areas — as well as its limits in others. Only about 4 in 10 Americans say they have used AI for work tasks or coming up with ideas, a sign that the tech industry’s promises of highly productive AI assistants still haven’t touched most livelihoods after years of promotion and investment.

At the same time, wider AI adoption by younger Americans shows that could change.

There’s a particularly large age divide on brainstorming: About 6 in 10 adults under age 30 have used AI for coming up with ideas, compared with only 2 in 10 of those age 60 or older. Young adults are also more likely to use AI to come up with ideas at least “daily.” read more

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ view of the U.S. economy improved this month, but Americans remain concerned about the impact of tariffs on their economic futures.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose two points to 97.2 in July, up from 95.2 the previous month.

The increase in confidence was in line with analysts’ forecasts.

In April, American consumers’ confidence in the economy sank to its lowest reading since May 2020, largely due to anxiety over the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market rose 4.5 points to 74.4, however that’s still significantly below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead.

Consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation inched down by 1.5 points to 131.5.

Tariffs and the impact they could have on personal finances remains respondents’ greatest concern, the Conference Board said. read more