Things To Do In SW Florida

By Grant Schwab, The Detroit News

LEESBURG, Virginia — Ten years after unveiling a prototype, a key public-private research effort is taking a major leap toward getting its advanced alcohol detection technology into the hands of the country’s top auto manufacturers.

“We’ve converted a wild, audacious idea that everybody thought would fail — people laughed us out of the room — into a viable technology suite,” said Rob Strassburger, president and CEO, Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety.

“I might just break down and start crying,” he said of the 10th anniversary. “This has been a very challenging effort, and a very interesting effort, technologically and scientifically. But we have never lost sight of why we’re doing this.”

Strassburger’s group is home to the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety project, or DADSS. The parentally nicknamed project has worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the federal government and automakers in an effort to develop technology solutions to someday end the deadly plague of drunken driving on American roads. read more

By Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times

Every year, Ventura County, California, resident Carlos Soto buys a Liverpool Football Club jersey for his son to celebrate the start of the soccer season. This year it was delivered with an additional bill of $107.

“The UPS guy said he couldn’t release it unless I paid more,” said Soto, who owns the Historia Bakery Cafe in Thousand Oaks. “Until this tariff thing started, I’ve never, ever had a bill on top of my purchase.”

Soto declined the payment and requested a refund for the jersey, which he bought from the team’s official website for around $150.

Since President Trump reversed a decades-old tariff policy in August known as de minimis, online shoppers like Soto are sometimes getting hit with high, unexpected extra charges.

De minimis used to allow goods valued at less than $800 to enter the country duty-free. The tariff exception applied to more than 1.30 billion packages sent to the U.S. from overseas in 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. read more

Four Central Florida restaurants as well as a food stand and a food truck shut down the week of Sept. 28 – Oct. 4, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Brevard

Shells of Melbourne at 1490 W. New Haven Ave. shut down on Oct. 1. Inspectors initially inspected the restaurant on Sept. 30, finding 36 violations, eight of which were a high priority. However, they only required a follow-up inspection for the restaurant on that day. On Oct. 1, the restaurant officially closed because of one high-priority violation for flying insects. A second inspection occurred on Oct. 2. There were 12 violations, two of which were high priorities that received time extensions. The restaurant met inspection standards and was allowed to reopen.

China Moon Lin LLC at 3085 SE. Jupiter Blvd., Suite  #2, shut down on Sept. 30. Inspectors found 11 violations, two of which were high priorities. Those violations included 33 spiders in the back of the kitchen and roach activity. Inspectors revisited the restaurant on Oct. 1. There were two violations, but none was a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards. read more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The global economy is holding up better than expected despite major shocks such as President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but the head of the International Monetary Fund says that resilience may not last.

“Buckle up,” Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech at a think tank Wednesday. “Uncertainty is the new normal and it is here to stay.”

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Her comments at the Milken Institute come on a day when gold prices hit $4,000 an ounce for the first time as investors seek safe haven from a weaker dollar and geopolitical uncertainty and before the IMF and World Bank hold their annual meetings next week in Washington. Trump’s trade penalties are expected to be in sharp focus when global finance leaders and central bankers gather. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street got back to rising on Wednesday, while the price of gold pushed further past $4,000 per ounce.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% a day after snapping a seven-day winning streak and set its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by 1 point, or less than 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 1.1% to its own record.

Trading has been relatively muted recently following the U.S. government’s latest shutdown. The closure has delayed the release of several major economic reports that usually move the market. Stocks have been drifting without them or other signals to change expectations for cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve, one of the major reasons the stock market has surged since April.

Another force that’s pushed the market to records is the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.

Advanced Micro Devices jumped another 11.4% to add to its rally from earlier in the week, when it announced an AI-related deal. AMD was the best performing stock in the S&P 500. read more