Things To Do In SW Florida

By DIDI TANG

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court decision striking down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs has added a wrinkle to already complicated U.S.-China relations, with both countries navigating shifting ground to avoid an all-out trade war that would disrupt the global economy while still jostling for a position of strength in negotiations.

Friday’s court ruling would seem to strengthen China’s hand, but analysts predict that Beijing will be cautious in exploiting the advantage, knowing that Trump has other ways of levying taxes. Both sides also want to maintain a fragile trade truce and stabilize ties ahead of Trump’s highly anticipated trip to Beijing.

“It will give China a moral boost in their negotiations with Trump’s team ahead of the summit, but they are prepared for the scenario that nothing actually changes in reality,” said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank.

Furious about the defeat, Trump said first he was imposing a temporary 10% global tariff before raising it to 15% as well as pursuing alternative paths for import duties. He made the case for tariffs by pointing to China, which poses the biggest challenge to U.S. economic, technological and military dominance. read more

Cutting-edge AI technology allowing boys and men to digitally undress girls and women without consent has put male-dominated Silicon Valley, long criticized as inhospitable to women, in a harsh new spotlight, after xAI’s Grok chatbot sparked worldwide outrage, and Google and Apple allowed dozens of “nudification” apps in their app stores.

Grok, a standalone app as well as a feature on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, generated 3 million sexualized images in the 11 days after its image-editing feature was released in December, the UK-based Center for Countering Digital Hate reported. Users digitally stripped real women in images — and more than 20,000 apparent children — manipulating many into sexual poses. Musk responded dismissively, reposting an AI-generated image of a toaster in a bikini, saying he “couldn’t stop laughing” about it.

California authorities weren’t laughing.

“This material, which depicts women and children in nude and sexually explicit situations, has been used to harass people across the internet,” Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a news release last month announcing an investigation into whether Grok’s generation of the imagery broke any laws. The investigation is still underway, and Bonta is “committed to moving on this issue quickly,” his office said Wednesday. read more

Sheryl Rowling of Morningstar

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made some long-awaited permanent changes to the tax code. It also introduced short-term tax breaks that come with strict limits and phaseouts, and many of them are only available through 2028 or 2029. Here are four ways to get the most out of the OBBBA’s temporary provisions as you file your 2025 taxes and plan ahead.

1. Don’t dismiss itemizing your deductions

The OBBBA temporarily boosts the state and local tax deduction cap, or SALT, from $10,000 to $40,000 (for married couples filing jointly and single filers). This higher cap applies from 2025 through 2029.

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By STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) —

For a few hours on Friday, congressional Republicans seemed to get some relief from one of the largest points of friction they have had with the Trump administration. It didn’t last.

The Supreme Court struck down a significant portion of President Donald Trump’s global tariff regime, ruling that the power to impose taxes lies with Congress. Many Republicans greeted the Friday morning decision with measured statements, some even praising it, and GOP leaders said they would work with Trump on tariffs going forward.

But by the afternoon, Trump made clear he has no intention of working with Congress and will instead go it alone by imposing a new global 10% import tax. He’s doing so under a law that restricts the tariffs to 150 days and has never been invoked this way before. That decision could not only have major implications for the global economy, but also ensure that Republicans will have to keep answering for Trump’s tariffs for months to come, especially as the midterm elections near. read more

From toilet accessories that monitor your health to bacteria-killing garbage disposals, this year’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show unveiled an array of new products aimed at the fast-growing wellness market.

Bill Darcy, CEO of the National Kitchen & Bath Association, said the use of AI and smart technology in home design isn’t a fad, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. “It’s going to be around for a while,” he said. “The technology and the wellness are more of an expectation. So a lot of the companies are focused on how their products are sustainable and smart, while also thinking about wellness and health and multi-generational living.”

Kohler has created an entire wellness division called Kohler Health to debut its new infrared saunas, cold plunge tubs and smart toilets, which were all showcased as part of The New American Home this year. The company also debuted its Dekoda device, which attaches to the side of the toilet bowl and uses light-based sensors to keep track of the users’ hydration and gut health. read more