Things To Do In SW Florida

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writer

Facebook owner Meta Platforms will buy artificial intelligence chips from Advanced Micro Devices in a deal that will also give it the opportunity to buy up to a 10% stake of the chip company.

News of the AMD deal comes just days after Meta announced a long-term partnership where it will use millions of chips and other equipment from Nvidia for its artificial-intelligence data centers.

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Meta will buy AMD’s latest chips, the MI450, to help power data centers. The 6-gigawatt agreement will see shipments supporting the first gigawatt deployment set to start during the second half of this year. The agreement could potentially be worth more than $100 billion. read more

Mr. Clean appears to be calling it quits.

The retirement of the bald, animated mascot used in Mr. Clean ads and on products since 1958 was announced in a social media ad posted Thursday.

That ad features Mr. Clean standing behind a podium with a “breaking news” chyron flashing across the screen.

“After a career with zero stains on the record, he’s ready for new adventures,” the narrator says.

That voice assures consumers the company bearing his name will continue to operate, then asks “What’s next for Mr. Clean?”

Among those wishing the smiling character well on Instagram were the social media teams behind Old Spice grooming products and Brawny paper towels.

“We’ll miss you, legend!” wrote the team at Old Spice.

Mr. Clean’s people responded by saying they too will miss their mascot.

“While our products will continue to battle your dirt and grime, Mr. Clean, well, first name Veritably, (yes, really), is off to new adventures. We know his journey will be fulfilling, and we support his decision,” the company wrote. read more

Florida attracted a record 143.3 million visitors last year, up 0.2% from 2024, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office has announced.

The preliminary estimate is bolstered by domestic tourism, which accounted for 91.5% of the travelers. The 131 million domestic visitors was up 0.3% from 2024.

Overseas travel was up 4% on the 2024 figures, with nearly 9.3 million visitors.

But the 2.9 million Canadian visitors for all of 2025 marked a 14.7% drop from 2024.

Last month, tourism leaders in Florida said they were expanding efforts to draw Canadians, where the U.S. has seen a travel backlash over the words and actions of President Donald Trump, from tariffs to calling the U.S.’s northern neighbor the 51st state.

“We’re doing what we can, just as we are with any country outside the United States, to make sure that visitation remains strong,” Visit Florida President and CEO Bryan Griffin said during an executive committee meeting on Jan. 26.

Friday’s release from DeSantis’ office stated that the Canadian visitation remained “consistent with historical trends where Canadian travel represents approximately two percent of total visitation.” read more

Winter storms in the northeastern United States have caused travel headaches in Florida, with airports in Orlando, South Florida and Tampa ranking among the highest in the nation for canceled flights Monday.

By 2 p.m., Orlando International Airport had 122 cancellations and 55 delays for outgoing flights as well as 126 cancellations and 36 delays for incoming flights, according to the tracking website FlightAware.

Orlando led the way among Florida airports amid the more than 6,000 flights canceled nationwide as heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions slam the northeastern seaboard.

Fort Lauderdale International Airport had 95 outbound and 103 inbound cancellations, Miami International Airport had 69 outbound and 72 inbound cancellations and Palm Beach International had 62 outbound and 63 inbound flights canceled. Tampa International had 55 outbound and 62 inbound cancellations.

New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports led the nation with more than 1,000 cancellations each, including both inbound and outbound flights, with Boston’s Logan International, Newark Liberty International and Philadelphia International coming up behind. read more