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Five people have filed separate lawsuits against Universal Orlando Resort, claiming they suffered severe and permanent injuries — in some cases, bleeding of the brain, spinal cord damage and paralysis — after their heads slammed repeatedly against the seat in front of them while riding Stardust Racers at the new Epic Universe theme park.

It’s the same intense roller coaster that 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala rode on the night of Sept. 17 and died shortly afterward.

Filed Thursday in Orange County, the lawsuits come just days after the attorney for Zavala’s family announced a confidential settlement and “amicable resolution” with the theme park regarding his death.

Witnesses said they saw Zavala’s head slam repeatedly against the seat in front of him during the ride, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s report released two days earlier.

The lawsuits also name Mack Rides, a German-based company that designed and manufactured Stardust Racers, as a defendant. The riders all seek more than $50,000 in damages, primarily to help pay for ongoing medical costs. read more

By DAMIAN J. TROISE, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks gained ground on Wall Street Friday for a second straight day, wiping away losses from earlier in the week.

Technology stocks were once again the main force behind the market’s broader moves, especially companies with a focus on artificial intelligence. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed out the week with gains, despite several stumbles early this week.

The S&P 500 rose 59.74 points, or 0.9%, to 6,834.50. It notched a 0.1% gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 183.04 points, or 0.4%, to 48,134.89.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq made the biggest move. It rose 301.26 points, or 1.3%, to 23,307.62 and notched a 0.5% gain for the week.

Nvidia was the biggest force driving the market higher, with a 3.9% gain. Broadcom jumped 3.2%.

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Ford is recalling more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. because of a parking function problem that could lead to them rolling away.

The Detroit automaker said that the recall includes certain 2022-2026 F-150 Lightning BEV, 2024-2026 Mustang Mach-E, and 2025-2026 Maverick vehicles. At issue is the integrated park module, which may fail to lock into the park position when the driver shifts into park.

Ford said that it will implement a park module software update for free.

Vehicle owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 for additional information.

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read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November from the previous month, but slowed compared to a year earlier for the first time since May despite average long-term mortgage rates holding near their low point for the year.

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  The Savings Game: Using your HSA like a Roth account

• 
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• 
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• 
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  Stocks rise on Wall Street as AI stocks turn higher again

Existing home sales rose 0.5% in last month from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

Sales fell 1% compared with November last year. The latest sales figure came in slightly below the 4.14 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Through the first 11 months of this year, home sales are down 0.5% compared to the same period last year. read more

More homebuyers have been backing out of home-purchase agreements in many parts of Florida and across the U.S., a new analysis shows.

Florida and Texas are seeing more newly built homes “than anywhere else in the country,” leading some buyers to back out of deals because they feel they might find a better option, according to Redfin, a real estate data and service provider.

About 53,000 home-purchase agreements — or 15.1% of homes that went under contract in October — got canceled in the U.S. that month, according to a recent Redfin analysis. That’s up from 14.3% in October 2024.

And several metropolitan parts of Florida saw higher cancellation rates in October when compared to a year earlier:

— Fort Lauderdale region: A fifth of overall pending sales, or 20%, fell out of contract in October, or higher than the 17.5% recorded in October 2024.

— Miami region: 17.6% of pending sales fell out of contract in October. It was 16.6% a year earlier.

— Orlando region: 19.1% of pending sales fell out of contract in October, higher than the 18.6% documented a year earlier. read more