Things To Do In SW Florida

News that NASA federal employees had been called back to work at Maryland’s Goddard Space Flight Center to dismantle and move laboratories during the government shutdown drew a strong rebuke from members of Congress and a denial from NASA officials.

This is false,” NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens told The Baltimore Sun. “None of this is true.”

She said that a congressional letter giving Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy seven days to account for closing laboratories and mission-critical capabilities at Goddard during the shutdown was based on inaccurate information.

Sen. Zoey Lofgren, a California Democrat, and other members of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology signed the Nov. 10 letter accusing NASA of “haphazardly uprooting employees and millions (at least) of dollars of equipment without a destination or technical justification.”

Lofgren called for an investigation by NASA’s Office of the Inspector General into the center’s actions during the shutdown and demanded a full accounting of any damage done to Goddard facilities. read more

Princess Cruises sailed its 17th ship Star Princess into Port Everglades to begin its first Caribbean sailing season.

The vessel is the second in Princess’ Sphere class, and sister ship to 2024’s Sun Princess.

The impending return of IAAPA Expo means a surge of attraction vendors, suppliers and theme park operators that are meeting, greeting and taking care of business at the Orange County Convention Center.

The event is known for its sprawling trade floor, featuring more than 1,100 exhibitors and their wares, from stuffed animals and snack foods to enormous themed inflatables and on-the-move thrill rides.

Some Central Florida attractions exercise their home-court advantages to benefit beyond the booths by hosting tours, educational sessions, awards announcements and parties during the weeklong event. Some companies rent out venues along International Drive for networking opportunities.

“Those parties are client-driven, celebration-driven, and a lot of times the events, those in particular, are actually more impactful than the trade show, which is a blitz,” said Phil Wilson, chief development officer of Orlando-based Extreme Legacy, a design and manufacturing firm.

“I feel like where I’ve gained so much value — on a personal and a developmental perspective in my career — is parties, is networking events,” said Wilson, who marks his 33rd IAAPA Expo this year. read more

A very shiny nose is a focal point of this year’s Gaylord Palms ice sculpture display, which opened to the public Friday.

Scenes from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” have been re-created inside the Kissimmee resort, a section of which is kept at the bone-chilling temperature of 9 degrees Fahrenheit for the duration of “Ice.”

Designers work in a few surprises to the presentations, no easy feat, as the storyline of the beloved 1964 television special is well-trod territory. So, without getting too Grinchy with spoilers — oops, slipped into another holiday classic — here are a few cold, hard facts to know about the 2025 edition of “Ice.”

Red alert

Sure, the title character, famous by 1949 thanks to the catchy Johnny Marks song inspired by a 1939 poem, dominates the scenes. Although “Ice” is made up almost completely of ice, there are exceptions. One example is Rudolph’s nose, so bright. In some scenes, it flashes on and off thanks to batteries or concealed wiring.

A Bumble rap

A big moment inside the exhibit is the crowd-pleasing slide room, where participants can glide down an icy carving. (Yes, it’s freakishly cold.) This year, the design features a chase scene with the ginormous Bumble, the toothy abominable snow monster, with arms outstretched across the room, in hot pursuit of Yukon Cornelius and Hermy. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — An early swoon shook the U.S. stock market on Friday, as Nvidia, bitcoin, gold and other high flyers swung on an increasingly antsy Wall Street, but it quickly calmed.

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  NASA denies improper shuttering of Goddard facilities during shutdown

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  Pictures: Princess Cruises’ Star Princess in Port Everglades

After starting the day with a sharp drop of 1.3%, the S&P 500 erased all of it and then meandered up and down before finishing with a slight dip of 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite flipped to a gain of 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average trimmed its loss to 309 points, or 0.7%, after earlier being down nearly 600. read more