Things To Do In SW Florida

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and BERNARD CONDON, AP Business Writers

Car safety regulators opened an investigation Tuesday into possible defects in Tesla doors that have reportedly left parents with children trapped in the back seat and forced to break windows to get them out.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the preliminary probe is focused on 2021 Tesla Model Ys after receiving nine reports of electronic door handles becoming inoperative possibly due to low battery voltage.

The company run by billionaire Elon Musk has installed manual door releases inside the vehicles but NHTSA noted that a child may not be able to reach or know how to operate the releases. In four cases, the parents had to break the windows to get inside. read more

Walt Disney World has tweaked its Tron Lightcycle/Run ride at Magic Kingdom theme park. The changes are notable, but neither drastic nor permanent, for the futuristic indoor/outdoor roller coaster.

We made a couple of rounds on Monday, the first day of the revamping. Here are things to know before trekking to Tomorrowland for the “Tron: Ares” overlay.

Light entertainment

Obvious even to non-riders will be the amped up lighting package built into the sloped canopy of the ride. Thanks to adaptable LED technology, there are new hues and effects to absorb as the ride vehicles zoom past, as well as in between the streams of screams.

The colors have subtle changes. What may appear blue can fade into a purple or a teal. The roof can go all red — though those moments seem spread out for maximum effect — or it can present a mashup from its palette.

Along with the ride’s usual streaking-polygram effects, the canopy light show now includes swirling motions, waves of color changes and pulsating intensity.

But it changes quickly. One moment, Tron is very blue, and by the next iPhone click, it’s very red. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — Target is expanding its next-day delivery of parcel shipments to 35 of the nation’s top 60 metropolitan markets by the end of next month, marking 22 new cities this year, as the discount retailer aims to narrow the gap with the likes of Amazon.

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That means that its next-day delivery expansion will go to 54% of the U.S. population, up from 20%, according to Gretchen McCarthy, Target’s chief supply chain and logistics officer. San Diego and Orlando and Tampa, Florida are on the list. Target plans to add another 20 more cities for next day delivery by next year, the company said. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a late-night vote and last-minute ruling, the Federal Reserve began a key meeting on interest rate policy Tuesday with both a new Trump administration appointee and an official the White House has targeted for removal.

Stephen Miran, a top White House economist who was confirmed by the Senate with unusual speed late Monday, was sworn in Tuesday as a member of the Fed’s board of governors. He will vote on the Fed’s interest rate decision on Wednesday, when the central bank is expected to reduce its key rate by a quarter-point. Miran may dissent in favor of a larger cut.

Also attending the meeting is Fed governor Lisa Cook, whom the Trump administration has sought to fire in an unprecedented attempt to reshape the Fed, which historically is considered independent of day-to-day politics. An appeals court late Monday upheld an earlier ruling that the firing violated Cook’s due process rights. A lower court had earlier also ruled that President Donald Trump did not provide sufficient “cause” to remove Cook. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged back from their record heights on Tuesday as the countdown ticked toward what Wall Street expects will be the first cut of the year to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1% from its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 125 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1% from its own record set the day before.

Stocks have run to records on expectations that the Fed will announce the first of a series of cuts to rates on Wednesday in hopes of giving the economy a boost. The job market has slowed so much that traders believe Fed officials now see it as the bigger danger for the economy than the threat of higher inflation because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The Fed has been holding off on cuts to rates because inflation has remained above its 2% target, and easier interest rates could give it more fuel.

A report on Tuesday said shoppers increased their spending at U.S. retailers by more last month than economists expected. A chunk of that could be due to shoppers having to pay higher prices for the same amount of stuff. But it could also indicate solid spending by U.S. households could continue to keep the economy out of a recession. read more