Things To Do In SW Florida

By Lane Gillespie, Bankrate.com

Paige DeVriendt, a 32-year-old living in Columbus, Ohio, has spent most of her life associating money with shame and anxiety.

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Today, DeVriendt and her husband both work, bringing in a combined annual salary of around $225,000. With that, they’ve been able to pay their bills, save and invest, all while chipping away at six figures of combined student loan debt. Although she’s been able to comfortably afford her lifestyle, she’s felt shame about money for a long time. Growing up, DeVriendt lived in a small town in northwest Ohio and absorbed a lot of her parents’ financial stress. read more

Give Kids the World Village Inc. has announced its new leader.  Caroline Schumacher, currently the CEO of Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, will become president and chief executive of the Kissimmee-based nonprofit in June.

Schumacher previously worked with Give Kids the World in volunteer services, guest services and operations leadership for almost two decades.

“Stepping into the role at Give Kids the World feels like coming full circle,  honoring Henri Landwirth’s vision in a new way, for a cause that has always been close to my heart,” Schumacher said in a news release Tuesday.

Landwirth, a hotel owner and philanthropist, helped found both Give Kids the World and the Orlando-based Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.  He died in 2018.

Schuamcher takes over the Give Kids the World leadership from Pamela Landwirth, former wife of Henri Landwirth, who left the organization in January after three decades.

“Caroline brings a deep personal connection to the mission of Give Kids the World and a proven record of innovative leadership,” said John Nichols, chairman of the organization’s board. read more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI and DIDI TANG

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just as Japan’s top trade negotiator traveled to Washington for another round of tariff talks last week, a bipartisan delegation bearing the name of “Japan-China Friendship” wrapped up a visit to Beijing.

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A week earlier, the head of the junior party in Japan’s ruling coalition was in Beijing delivering a letter from Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Details of the letter are unknown, but the two sides discussed U.S. tariffs in addition to bilateral issues. read more

OAKLAND — A hand-crafted sign outside the downtown Social Security Administration office mimicked a street sign, depicting the intersection of “Prosecute” and “Trump.” The chants came from about 50 people surrounding it, holding furious signs aimed at President Donald Trump and Elon Musk: “Hands off! Hands off! Hands off!”

In downtown Concord, several hundred carried signs — “There are more protesters here than there are billionaires on Earth,” read one — while yelling, “Hey ho, Trump must go.” At Santana Row in San Jose, a sign taped to a cardboard figure of Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, read: “Looter in Chief.”

RELATED: Peninsula-raised athlete now lawyer for Elon Musk’s DOGE: Who is Justin Aimonetti?

Similar sights and chants have appeared across the nation in demonstrations last month and on May 1. The protests against Trump and Musk have carried one central theme: Leave the Social Security system alone.

“You know,” protester Ernest Johnson, a longtime postal worker, said as he walked in Oakland, “there are just some things you shouldn’t even have a thought to do. This is one of those things. My Social Security is my Social Security.” read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record $140.5 billion in March as consumers and businesses alike tried to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s latest and most sweeping tariffs — with federal data showing an enormous stockpiling of pharmaceutical products.

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The deficit — which measures the gap between the value of goods and services the U.S. sells abroad against what it buys — has roughly doubled over the last year. In March 2024, Commerce Department records show, that gap was just under $68.6 billion.

According to federal data released on Tuesday, U.S. exports for goods and services totaled about $278.5 billion in March, while imports climbed to nearly $419 billion. That’s up $500 million and $17.8 billion, respectively, from February trade. read more