Things To Do In SW Florida

By ALEXANDRA OLSON, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The Senate confirmed Andrea Lucas to another term as commissioner of the country’s workplace civil rights agency, demonstrating firm Republican support for her efforts to root out diversity programs, roll back protections for transgender workers and prioritize religious rights in the workplace.

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Democratic lawmakers and prominent civil rights groups fiercely opposed Lucas’ confirmation, saying she has subjected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to the whims of the president, who elevated her to acting chair in January and, in an unprecedented act, fired two of the agency’s Democratic commissioners before their terms expired. read more

It took two days, but SpaceX was able to avoid a looming weather threat and knock out the Crew-11 launch from Kennedy Space Center on Friday.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour making its fleet-leading sixth trip to orbit, heading for the International Space Station. A Thursday attempt was scrubbed with just one minute, seven seconds on the countdown clock as a storm cell opened up over the pad. Similar conditions were brewing Friday, but SpaceX managed to squeeze out the launch before lightning storms moved into the area.

On board are Crew-11 commander and NASA  astronaut Zena Cardman making her first trip to space, pilot and NASA astronaut Mike Fincke on his fourth trip, mission specialist and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui on his second trip and mission specialist and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov on his rookie flight to space.

The quartet will arrive to the space station early Saturday to replace the Crew-10 mission that has been docked since March. They will spend at least six months on board the station first as part of Expedition 73, but then part of Expedition 74 that begins this fall. read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writers

It’s been almost 100 years since the U.S. had tariffs at the level they could reach next Friday.

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  Musk, a social media powerhouse, boosts fortunes of hard-right figures in Europe

Once President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs take effect, Americans will see an average tax of 18.3% for imported products, the highest rate since 1934, according to the Budget Lab at Yale, a non-partisan policy research center.

Late Thursday, Trump ordered new tariff rates for 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands. Among them: a 40% tariff on imports from Laos, a 39% tariff on goods from Switzerland and a 30% tariff on South African products. read more

By ERIKA KINETZ and AARON KESSLER

ROME (AP) — Hard-right commentators, politicians and activists in Europe have uncovered a secret to expanding their influence: engaging with Elon Musk.

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Take the German politician from a party whose own domestic intelligence agency has designated as extremist. Her daily audience on X surged from 230,000 to 2.2 million on days Musk interacted with her posts. She went on to lead her party to its best-ever electoral showing.

Or the anti-immigration activist in Britain, who was banned from Twitter and sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of court. Since Musk let him back on the platform in late 2023, he’s mentioned, reposted or replied to the billionaire more than 120 times on X — and gained nearly a million followers. read more

By Carson Hartzog, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Color-coded folders and notebooks. A fresh stash of pens and pencils. A new outfit.

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Millions of American students from preschool through college, and their (often) bankrolling parents, back-to-school shop ahead of each fall. But as prices rise, technology evolves and new products hit the shelves, families are seeking ways to keep checking off the school supply list affordably.

“When I was young, I had $50 to go to the grocery store. I go now, and that’s, like, three or four items,” said Matt Marsh, Minneapolis managing partner at Deloitte. “Everything costs more. So families are getting squeezed a bit, and it’s creating a level of anxiety.” read more