Things To Do In SW Florida

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump sought in his first State of the Union address to sell Americans on the idea of a booming economy, falling prices, and soaring jobs, yet he faces a skeptical public with a much gloomier view.

Barely 12 hours before his speech, in fact, The Conference Board, a business research group, released its latest consumer confidence report. It showed that overall confidence in the economy remains historically low, and is barely above the level it plunged to in the depths of the COVID recession.

In February, its index ticked up to 91.2, which is noticeably below a four-year peak reached in November 2024 of 112.8. Americans remain dejected by high prices and see few jobs available, the survey found.

Other polling has yielded similar results: Only 39% of Americans approve of Trump’s economic leadership, according to the latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. And the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey remains mired at recessionary levels. read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Business Writer

DoorDash said Wednesday that it’s ending operations in Qatar, Singapore, Japan and Uzbekistan.

The San Francisco-based delivery company said the decision comes after a monthslong review of country-specific conditions. DoorDash said it wants to focus its investments on places were it can build sustainable scale and long-term market leadership.

“Our priority is supporting our teams and partners through an orderly transition as we focus on the geographies where we can offer the best products and build for long-term success,” said Miki Kuusi, the head of DoorDash’s international division, in a statement.

DoorDash was a latecomer to some of the affected markets. The company began operations in Japan in 2021, five years after its rival Uber Eats. Deliveroo, a U.K. delivery company that was acquired by DoorDash last year, has only been operating in Qatar since 2022. That’s almost a decade after Dubai-based Talabat began making deliveries in Qatar.

DoorDash also faces stiff competition from entrenched rivals like GrabFood and Foodpanda in Singapore and Russia-based Yandex Eats in Uzbekistan. read more

By KAITLYN HUAMANI, AP Technology Writer

Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, is postponing its controversial age verification policy after receiving swift backlash from users with concerns about their privacy.

The global rollout of the system is now delayed to the second half of 2026, Discord’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy wrote in a Tuesday blog post acknowledging that the company “missed the mark.”

“Many of you are worried that this is just another Big Tech company finding new ways to collect your personal data. That we’re creating a problem to justify invasive solutions,” Vishnevskiy wrote. “I get that skepticism. It’s earned, not just toward us, but toward the entire tech industry. But that’s not what we’re doing.”

Discord, which says it has more than 200 million active users, will continue to meet specific legal obligations it has for age verification of users, the company said, but the global expansion of age verification will only come after it makes changes to the initial policy it laid out in early February. read more

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke announced Wednesday that it was his medical issue aboard the International Space Station in January that prompted the agency to return the SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth early.

“I experienced a medical event that required immediate attention from my incredible crewmates,” Fincke said according to a NASA website update. “Thanks to their quick response and the guidance of our NASA flight surgeons, my status quickly stabilized.”

Both Fincke and fellow NASA astronaut Zena Cardman had been preparing for a spacewalk on the station when those plans were called off.

While Fincke was attended to and stabilized on the station, NASA determined that bringing him home with his crewmates Cardman, JAXA astronaut and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov was the most prudent action.

Crew-11 had been slated to remain on board until late February at least, awaiting the Crew-12 relief mission.

Instead, Crew-11 departed on what became NASA’s first medical evacuation from the space station in history, although its was not considered an emergency. The quartet splashed down in the Pacific off the coast of San Diego on Jan. 15 after 5 and a half months on board. read more

GayDays Inc. will have festivities this year, and they’ll be held at a new host hotel in Kissimmee, organizers have announced.

Earlier this month, the group said its June events had been paused, but an email to supporters and updates to its official website now indicate that they are a go for 2026. And some new events — including a comedy show and a game show — have been added.

Activities now are slated for the Holiday Inn & Suites Orlando SW — Celebration Area on Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway for June 4-8. The entire 440-room resort has been booked by GayDays, and all official events will take place there, organizers say.

“This year is about bringing the energy back together in one place,” GayDays’ Charles Cantrell said in the email.

“We listened to our community and focused on creating a space that truly feels like ours,” Josh Duke said.

Last year, the host hotel was DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando on International Drive.

The 2026 schedule now includes pool parties, foam parties, a piano lounge, comedy show, drag bingo, karaoke, Miss Gay Days Pageant, Mr. Gay Days Leather competition and a vendor expo. read more