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Banana Ball is coming to Disney World.

Translation: An entertainment-driven version of baseball, popularized by the Savannah Bananas, will have a two-night stand at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in May.

The games will not feature the original Bananas crew, instead pitting the Party Animals and the Loco Beach Coconuts — all teams within the Banana Ball Championship League. (Other clubs include Firefighters, Texas Tailgaters and the Indianapolis Clowns.)

Tickets will be sold via a lottery accessed at bananaball.com. Sign-ups must be completed by Nov. 1. Tickets start at $35. The Stadium at Wide World seats about 9,500 spectators, whereas the record attendance for the Bananas is 81,000 people at Memorial Stadium at Clemson University for an April matchup.

Banana Ball games mix in nontraditional rules and madcap entertainment moments. For instance, foul balls caught by fans count as outs, bunts (and mound visits) are banned, there is a two-hour time limit on games and there’s a complicated “showdown tiebreaker” in lieu of extra innings. Some competitions have been broadcast on YouTube and Disney-owned ESPN. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A monthslong calm on Wall Street shattered Friday, and U.S. stocks tumbled after President Donald Trump threatened to crank tariffs much higher on China.

The S&P 500 sank 2.7% in its worst day since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 878 points, or 1.9%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 3.6%.

Stocks had been heading for a slight gain in the morning, until Trump took to his social media platform and said he’s considering “a massive increase of tariffs” on Chinese imports. He’s upset at restrictions China has placed on exports of its rare earths, which are materials that are critical for the manufacturing of everything from consumer electronics to jet engines.

“We have been contacted by other Countries who are extremely angry at this great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He also said “now there seems to be no reason” to meet with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, after earlier agreeing to do so as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea. read more

With the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, artificial intelligence transformed from a science fiction movie plot to an easily accessible tool for the masses. Suddenly, everyone was talking about how AI would transform the world, for better or for worse.

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  Did cruise ship video voyeur spy on 900 passengers? Royal Caribbean in legal showdown

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  Winter cruise guide: New ships about to descend on Florida’s big 3 ports

But credit card issuers have been using AI for decades. When you get an alert about a suspicious charge, are offered a credit limit increase, or interact with a chatbot, you’re experiencing some of the ways your credit card company employs AI to get to know you as a customer and help save you time.

And future use cases could potentially go a lot further, such as AI personal shoppers you can authorize to spend your money. Really. read more

A cruise ship crew member who planted a hidden camera to watch a young girl undress in her cabin may have spied on over 900 passengers, a class action lawsuit alleges.

Lawyers who filed the civil lawsuit in a Miami federal court last October want each of those people to be able to hold the company accountable and receive damages. But Royal Caribbean, the world’s second-largest cruise ship company, has pushed back.

RCL has tried to dismiss the suit, saying any passenger with an emotional or mental trauma complaint not involving physical contact or physical injury, like video voyeurism — must go through individual arbitration. The company says that’s because passengers agreed to that when buying their cruise ship tickets and signing the required contract.

The next step in the legal saga comes at the end of this month in a Fort Lauderdale federal courtroom.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Detra Shaw-Wilder has set a hearing date for 11 a.m. Oct. 27 to start considering the motion crucial to Royal Caribbean’s defense: whether the company can compel guests to go to arbitration instead of filing a lawsuit. Both sides can make oral arguments, and Shaw-Wilder will consider their arguments and likely rule in several weeks. read more

Florida’s red-hot cruise market, which has witnessed a remarkable post-pandemic rebound, is heating up just in time for the Sunshine State’s mild-weather winter season.

Accordingly, the big names in the cruising industry are bringing some of their largest and newest ships to Florida’s largest ports, which happen to be the three busiest in the world: PortMiami, Port Canaveral and Port Everglades, in that order.

Port Everglades leads the way with the arrival of three brand new ships: Celebrity Xcel, Disney Destiny and Star Princess. PortMiami is rolling out the red carpet for Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady, the Oceania Allura and the refurbished Queen Elizabeth, one of four Cunard Line ships operated by Carnival UK.

Port Canaveral saw the arrival of Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas this summer and will welcome ships from MSC, Celebrity and Princess for their first season homeported on Florida’s Space Coast.

Port Everglades

Port Everglades is gearing up for an exciting winter cruising season as it prepares to welcome a trio of brand-new vessels from three different brands. read more