Things To Do In SW Florida

Caroline Schumacher became president and CEO of Give Kids the World Inc. in June. But she’s both the newbie and the veteran at the Kissimmee-based nonprofit.

Her experience began with a volunteer shift while participating in the Disney College Program. After graduation in Ohio, she returned to Florida, eventually answering a newspaper ad that led her to a position that coordinated the volunteers for Give Kids the World.

After nearly 20 years, Schumacher became president and CEO of Orlando-based Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Six years later she returned to lead Give Kids the World, the 89-acre resort that hosts children with critical illnesses and their families free of charge. The nonprofit turns 40 next year.

Hotel owner and philanthropist Henri Landwirth helped found both Give Kids the World and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. He died in 2018. Schumacher is the successor to Pamela Landwirth, former wife of Henri Landwirth, who left the organization in January after three decades. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — With Halloween on the horizon, Chicago Costume is stuffed. Packaged costumes, including superheros and Japanese animation characters in both kid and adult sizes, dangle near colorful wigs and bottles of fake blood. Downstairs, vintage clothes from the 1970s beg for one more boogie night.

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The frightening possibilities mask the work that’s gone on behind the scenes to stock the family-owned shop and its sister store for the spooky season. Owner Courtland Hickey said he ordered 40% fewer costumes this year because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on products from China. read more

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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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