Things To Do In SW Florida

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rose sharply when market trading began Sunday, as U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. military installations around the Gulf sent disruptions through the global energy supply chain.

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Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East would slow or grind to a halt. Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, have restricted countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world. Prolonged attacks would likely result in higher prices for crude oil and gasoline, according to energy experts. read more

By Darius Tahir, Lauren Sausser, KFF Health News

It’s the rare policy question that unites Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and the Democratic-led Maryland government against President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California: How should health insurers use AI?

Regulating artificial intelligence, especially its use by health insurers, is becoming a politically divisive topic, and it’s scrambling traditional partisan lines.

Boosters, led by Trump, are not only pushing its integration into government, as in Medicare’s experiment using AI in prior authorization, but also trying to stop others from building curbs and guardrails. A December executive order seeks to preempt most state efforts to govern AI, describing “a race with adversaries for supremacy” in a new “technological revolution.”

“To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,” Trump’s order said. “But excessive State regulation thwarts this imperative.” read more

By MARC LEVY

Hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers scrambled to make new connections and get through to airlines on jammed phone lines after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down much of the Middle East to air travel.

Tourists and business travelers crowded hotels and airports, with no word on when many airports would reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would resume. Some governments advised their stranded citizens to shelter in place.

Shutdown airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha — including Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world — are important hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and the West to Asia. All three were directly hit by strikes.

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, in the crowd at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said he wasn’t concerned about the war, but that he needs to get his flight to the Middle East to make a living.

“We have set out to go for work, and we must go,” he said. “My only concern is how to go abroad and how to earn an income.” read more

Unfortunately, the Internal Revenue Service has reduced its work force this year, so it will be more difficult to obtain help from the federal agency.

Because of the staff reductions, the number of customer service representatives has been reduced, so it is likely that when you do contact the IRS, with requests regarding your refunds or other questions, you will be referred to other representatives for answers.

Here are some steps you can take in order to receive better service from the IRS this year.

—Obtain an online account

You can get better service if you establish an online account. Currently almost 51 million individuals have an online account, which is considerably more than the 20 million who had accounts a few years ago. To set up an account, go to the IRS website at www.irs.gov. Access the online account section in order to establish one. You will be asked to provide your email address establish a password, and provide other identification such as your driver’s license, or password information in order to establish your account. You will also be providing contact information such as phone numbers and you current address. read more

By ALEXANDRA OLSON, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. civil rights agency has determined that the federal government can bar transgender employees from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, dismissing an appeal from a transgender woman who worked for the U.S. Army.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decided Thursday against a civilian IT specialist who worked for the Army at Fort Riley, Kansas. The EEOC repeatedly declared her to be man even though the worker informed her managers that she identified as a woman in the summer of 2025 when she asked to use bathrooms and locker rooms aligned with her gender identity. Her request was declined and she filed a complaint with the Army, which was dismissed.

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