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Month: August 2025

5 Central Florida restaurants shut down last week

5 Central Florida restaurants shut down last week

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Five Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of Aug. 3-9, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

Okayama Sushi and Hibachi at 2320 S. Kirkman Road in Orlando shut down on Aug. 7. Inspectors found 36 violations, 12 of which were high priorities. Those violations included rodent and roach activity, an employee failing to wash their hands before touching food, a stop-sale on food due to it not being in a wholesome condition and a missing vacuum breaker.

Inspectors returned twice on Aug. 8 keeping the restaurant closed on the first visit with 13 violations still, including two deemed high priority, but allowing it to reopen on the second and final visit, but still with 11 violations including time extensions given on two high priority violations involving the missing vacuum breaker and a sink spray hose that was too long.

Thai Cuisine at 5325 Edgewater Dr. in Orlando shut down on Aug. 6. Inspectors found 13 violations, two of which were high priorities for roach activity and operating without a business license. A second inspection occurred on Aug. 7. Inspectors found one violation, but it wasn’t a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards. read more

Crypto mogul Do Kwon, known as ‘the cryptocurrency king,’ pleads guilty to fraud charges

Crypto mogul Do Kwon, known as ‘the cryptocurrency king,’ pleads guilty to fraud charges

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By LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — South Korean cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two fraud charges arising from the $40 billion collapse of a cryptocurrency ecosystem that had promised investors their money was safe.

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Kwon, 33, dubbed by some as “the cryptocurrency king,” entered the plea in Manhattan federal court.

According to a plea agreement signed by Kwon and prosecutors, the government said it will not seek a prison term of more than 12 years as long as Kwon complies with the deal’s terms, even though federal sentencing guidelines would have recommended a prison term of about 25 years. Sentencing is set for Dec. 11. read more

ULA Vulcan cuts through night skies on landmark national security mission

ULA Vulcan cuts through night skies on landmark national security mission

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CAPE CANAVERAL — United Launch Alliance punched out its first Vulcan Centaur launch of the year Tuesday night, and its first ever for the Space Force.

The company’s new workhorse rocket lifted off on the USSF-106 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 at 8:56 p.m. under clear skies except for a passing meteor that lit up the Space Coast about 10 minutes before launch.

The rumble of the engines set off car alarms in the distance as ULA opened up its national security account for Vulcan, making only its third ever launch after flying two certification flights in 2024.

A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance) A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106... A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance)

1 of 16 A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur launches on the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance)

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Its payload is two satellites, including the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 headed to geosynchronous-Earth orbit (GEO) at about 22,000 miles altitude. Built by L3Harris, it’s funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory and could be a potential replacement technology for GPS. The other satellite is classified.

The Space Force confirmed its payloads were deployed successfully early Wednesday about seven hours after launch. read more

Seminole agrees to hike taxes on gas, utilities

Seminole agrees to hike taxes on gas, utilities

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Seminole County will soon add five cents to the price of every gallon of gas sold in the county, a move made to help fill a multi-million dollar hole in the county’s budget and to pay for the increasing costs of mass transportation.

Commissioners also agreed on Tuesday to hike Seminole’s public service tax on water and electric bills in the unincorporated areas from the current 4% to 10% to help pay for the sheriff’s office, fire department and parks.

Per state law, the tax increases required a supermajority vote — or at least four of the five commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Bob Dallari was the only commissioner to vote against both increases.

The tax hikes on gas and utility bills come just a month after commissioners decided to raise the countywide general property tax rate for the first time in 16 years from $4.90 per $1,000 of a property’s taxable value to nearly $5.38.

Commissioner Amy Lockhart joined other commissioners in saying the increases are not pleasant but necessary because of the increasing costs of providing services to residents. She added each commissioner is a resident who also will have to pay the higher levies. read more

What to know about Trump’s potential change in federal marijuana policy

What to know about Trump’s potential change in federal marijuana policy

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By DAVID A. LIEB, Associated Press

President Donald Trump is taking a new look at reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug in a move that could nudge the federal government closer to an approach already embraced in many states.

Trump said Monday that he hopes to decide in the coming weeks about whether to support changes to the way marijuana is regulated. The renewed focus on marijuana comes more than a year after former President Joe Biden’s administration formally proposed reclassifying marijuana. No decision was made before Biden left office.

Meanwhile, many states have already gone further than the federal government by legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults or allowing it for medical purposes.

What’s the federal policy on marijuana?

Possessing marijuana remains a federal crime punishable by fines and prison time. Selling or cultivating marijuana is a more serious offense, punishable by prison sentences of five years to life, depending on the quantity of the drug.

The Justice Department last year proposed to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD, to a less dangerous Schedule III substance, which includes such things as ketamine and some anabolic steroids. But that switch involved a lengthy bureaucratic process. read more