Things To Do In SW Florida

Just four years after Virgin Voyages’ first ship sailed its inaugural Caribbean itineraries, the cruise line is bringing online its fourth ship while continuing to challenge the norms of the industry.

Brilliant Lady, which is calling PortMiami home for the winter, arrived in October from New York City to sail adults-only cruises to the Caribbean and Bahamas, ranging from six to 12 nights. While closely resembling its sister ships, the 110,000-gross-ton Brilliant Lady features “software” updates to its dining menus and entertainment offerings. It’s also the first Virgin ship capable of a Panama Canal crossing, with its lifeboats now tucked into the ship rather than hanging over the side.

The ship’s slate of entertainment offerings includes the roaring ’20s-inspired “Up With A Twist” dinner show, which features a four-course meal and five cocktails, a “Murder In The Manor” interactive mystery show, the “Out of Time” musical comedy and “Red Hot,” a show celebrating the “playfully rebellious spirit” of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. read more

By Katie Kelton, Bankrate.com

The winter holidays are a time for dusting off decorations and observing traditions — but they’re also rife with money decisions.

Americans are choosing how much to spend on travel, gifts and decorations in today’s economy, along with how they’ll make those purchases. Some holiday shoppers and travelers plan to use credit cards, but debit cards; buy now, pay later services (BNPL); and rewards points are other popular payment options.

Bankrate’s key findings on holiday spending

Fewer Americans will travel for holidays this year, compared with last year: 21% plan to fly or stay in a hotel or short-term rental for Thanksgiving or the December holidays, compared to 27% in 2024.Source: Bankrate’s 2025 Holiday Travel Survey

Around 2 in 5 holiday shoppers expect higher price tags this year: 41% say they’re concerned winter holiday gifts will be more expensive this year. But only 24% will budget for holiday spending.Source: Bankrate’s 2025 Early Holiday Shopping Survey

Roughly half of holiday shoppers will begin before the end of October: That includes 13% who started shopping or planned to in August, 11% in September and 25% in October.Source: Bankrate’s 2025 Early Holiday Shopping Survey read more

If you need a reminder to turn your clocks back at 2 a.m. Sunday, maybe the boom you might hear less than an hour before could assist.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift off on the Bandwagon-4 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 targeting a 1:09 a.m. liftoff during 1-1:20 a.m. launch window.

The first-stage booster for the flight is making its third trip to space, with a planned recovery back at Canaveral’s Landing Zone 2, which could mean an overnight sonic boom in Central Florida.

SpaceX warned that about eight minutes after liftoff, the return of the booster could bring one or more sonic boom for residents of Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee counties.

A launch earlier this year sent the boom across to as far as Lake County.

The increase in frequency, intensity and timing of sonic booms from SpaceX launches is the subject of some concerns for its plans for its future Starship rocket launches from the Space Coast. read more

By STEPHEN GROVES, ALI SWENSON and SUSAN HAIGH

WASHINGTON (AP) — The crises at the heart of the government shutdown fight in Washington were coming to a head Saturday as the federal food assistance program faced delays and millions of Americans were set to see a dramatic rise in their health insurance bills.

The impacts on basic needs — food and medical care — underscored how the impasse is hitting homes across the United States. Plans by the Trump administration to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Saturday were halted by federal judges, but the delay in payouts will still likely leave millions of people short on their grocery bills.

It all added to the strain on the country, with a month of missed paychecks for federal workers and growing air travel delays. The shutdown is already the second longest in history and entered its second month on Saturday,.

“This is more than a crisis,” said the Rev. John Udo-Okon, who runs the Word of Life Christian Fellowship International food pantry in the Bronx, where hundreds more people than usual lined up in the New York City borough as early as 4 a.m. Saturday to collect groceries. “Right now, you can see the desperation, you can feel the frustration that the people are going through.” read more