Things To Do In SW Florida

For the second consecutive year, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights will kick off in August.

In a Universal Orlando news release recapping key dates and events for 2026, the resort said the annual fright fest will be held on select dates between Aug. 28 and Nov. 1.  The first time that HHN launched in August was last year.

The release did not include ticket pricing, precise dates or theme details about the haunted houses for HHN.

Coming soon on Universal’s event guide are Rock the Universe, a Christian-music event, on Jan. 23-24 and Universal Mardi Gras, which runs Feb. 7 – April 1.

The resort also plans several Harry Potter-based events, including Butterbeer Season (March 1-May 31), Back to Hogwarts (Aug. 1-Sept. 1) and Dark Arts, which was presented as happening on “select nights this fall.”

Universal will observe Passholder Appreciation Days Aug. 15-Sept. 30 and the return of its holiday celebration, again featuring Grinchmas and the Holiday Parade Featuring Macy’s, is scheduled for Nov. 14-Jan. 3. read more

Florida lawmakers will consider several new bills this year that could have a major impact on development across the state, including one that would fast-track developments over 10,000 acres.

Development remains a hot-button issue in Florida, where many residents feel that growth is happening too fast and intensely — especially in previously natural or agricultural areas.

One closely watched bill could restore some local government control over community planning and growth that was limited by last year’s Senate Bill 180. But others could block local governments from denying large scale development projects, and potentially leave residents with less input on the future of their communities.

Here’s a closer look at some of the 2026 bills that could have a major impact on development in Florida.

Bill could restore home rule over development

The bill: Senate Bill 840; no companion bill filed in House

What it does: This bill would partially restore local officials’ ability to create new rules that put limits on development, such as development boundaries, moratoriums or environmental protections, starting in July. It aims to narrow the scope of 2025’s Senate Bill 180, which developers and state agencies have used to override local control over planning and growth. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sluggish hiring last month closed out a year of weak employment gains that have frustrated job seekers even as layoffs and unemployment have also been low.

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Employers added just 50,000 jobs in December, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower.

The data suggests that businesses are reluctant to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many firms hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs. read more

SpaceX has the first of a series of afternoon launches in the next week on tap Friday with another Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral.

A Falcon 9 on the Starlink 6-96 mission with 29 more of the internet satellites is targeting the opening of a four-hour window at 1:03 p.m. rom Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

This will be the 29th flight of the first-stage booster, which will aim for a recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 95% chance for good launch conditions, which falls to 90% if delayed another day. The mission had originally been targeting a Thursday liftoff, but SpaceX delayed without citing a reason.

The company’s first launch from Florida this year came in the early morning hours of Jan. 4, but the next two are looking to take off during the daytime.

Next up is the Starlink 6-97 mission on Jan. 11 during a 1:08-5:08 p.m. window from SLC-40 using a booster for the 25th time. Then comes the Starlink 6-98 on Jan. 14 from SLC-40 during a 1:01-5:01 p.m. launch window using a booster for the 13th time. read more

By KELVIN CHAN, Associated Press Business Writer

LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is preventing non-paying users from generating or editing images after a global backlash erupted over sexualized deepfakes of people, but the change has not satisfied authorities in Europe.

The chatbot, which is accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has in the past few weeks been granting a wave of what researchers say are malicious user requests to modify images, including putting women in bikinis or in sexually explicit positions.

Researchers have warned that in a few cases, some images appeared to depict children. Governments around the world have condemned the platform and opened investigations.

On Friday, Grok responded to image altering requests with the message: “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers. You can subscribe to unlock these features.”

While subscriber numbers for Grok aren’t publicly available, there was a noticeable decline Friday in the number of explicit deepfakes that Grok is now generating compared with just days earlier. read more