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Over the course of a dozen years, the gambler had progressed from video games simulating betting, to online roulette and blackjack, to a particularly volatile form of stock trading called options trading.

The Johns Hopkins University graduate seemed not to grasp the destructive nature of his habit. Like hundreds of thousands of other Marylanders, as casino and online gambling boomed, he felt almost imperceptibly pulled into betting, like a rip current carrying him out to sea. He was 14 when he made his first bet.

Seeking a gambler’s high, he made the worst — but perhaps most fortuitous — bet of his life, paying $150,000 from his Robin Hood account in 2024 for a disastrously timed option to invest in a fund called SPY tied to the short-term fortunes of the S&P 500. The market tanked, and he lost $149,000, which he could afford because of a family inheritance. But the experience rattled him enough that he began seriously questioning his compulsion.

“I lost several years of salary for most people in one trade. It’s what got me to stop,” said the gambler, who — like other bettors interviewed for this article — spoke on condition of anonymity because of stigma attached to the practice. read more

By JOSH BOAK, SUMAN NAISHADHAM and DIDI TANG

MADRID (AP) — A framework deal has been reached between China and the U.S. for the ownership of popular social video platform TikTok, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after weekend trade talks in Spain.

Bessent said in a press conference after the latest round of trade talks between the world’s two largest economies concluded in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would speak Friday to possibly finalize the deal. He said the objective was to switch to U.S. ownership from China’s ByteDance.

“We are not going to talk about the commercial terms of the deal,” Bessent said. “It’s between two private parties. But the commercial terms have been agreed upon.”

Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative, told reporters the sides have reached “basic framework consensus” to resolve TikTok-related issues in a cooperative way, reduce investment barriers and promote related economic and trade cooperation. read more

SpaceX is lending a hand to fellow commercial cargo company Northrop Grumman once again with a planned launch Sunday evening on the Space Coast to send supplies to the International Space Station that could also bring a sonic boom to parts of Central Florida.

A Falcon 9 rocket is slated to lift off on the NG-23 resupply mission to the ISS with the largest Cygnus spacecraft yet from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 6:11 p.m.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 75% chance for good launch conditions, which improves to 85% if delayed 24 hours. Backup options for the launch fall to Monday at 5:49 p.m. or Tuesday at 5:23 p.m.

The first-stage booster on the mission if making its fourth trip to space and SpaceX plans to return it back for a land recovery at Canaveral’s Landing Zone 2.

SpaceX warns that depending on weather conditions, one or more sonic booms could be heard in Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee counties, although recent land recoveries of boosters have had reports of the boom heard as far as Lake County. read more

In a recent monthly column, Ed Slott reviewed the options of a young widow who is the beneficiary of an IRA. Following is a summary of the two main options available to a widow in this position.

The options are based on the assumption that the deceased spouse was not old enough to take required minimum distributions (RMDs).

Option 1: Rollover into spouse’s own IRA

Only a widowed spouse who was named a beneficiary of an IRA or retirement plan such as a 401(k) is allowed to roll over the inherited IRA into her own IRA. This option is irreversible. Because of this, it is critical to understand the likelihood of having to make withdrawals prior to reaching age 59 1/2. Any withdrawal prior to 59 1/2 is subject to an early withdrawal tax penalty of 10%.

For example, assume that the widow needs funds prior to age 59 1/2 and makes a withdrawal of $20,000 from the IRA. In this case, there would be a 10% early withdrawal penalty of $2,000. In addition, any withdrawal from a traditional IRA would also be subject to a federal income tax based tax computed based on the amount of the amount withdrawn multiplied by the marginal tax So, if her marginal tax rate was 22%, the additional federal tax would be $4,400 (22% multiplied by $20,000). read more

Almost 70 years ago, a Winter Park nursing home opened to help care for elderly Black residents who during segregation had no place to go. And for decades the institution fulfilled that mission.

But operators of the facility, known today as The Gardens at DePugh Nursing Center, say it will close permanently in early December due to skyrocketing costs and stagnant Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

The board that operates the facility, long determined to provide top-quality care to low-income residents, realized in August that the end was near. Now efforts are underway to relocate residents of the 40-bed facility on Morse Avenue and then sell the 2-acre campus.

“The decision was painful and was not made lightly,” said Richard Baldwin Jr., chairman of the nonprofit’s board of trustees, who has been involved in the home since 2008.

The facility is one of only seven in the metro Orlando area to earn the highest rating — five stars — from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for quality of care and staffing. read more