Things To Do In SW Florida

By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — This spring homebuying season is shaping up to be more favorable for home shoppers than it’s been in recent years — as long as they can afford to buy.

Home prices are rising more slowly. Mortgage rates remain elevated, but have been mostly easing and could be headed lower if the U.S. economic outlook continues to darken over the Trump administration’s widespread tariffs, which have rattled financial markets and stoked fears of a recession.

Most importantly, the number of homes on the market is up sharply from a year ago.

While the inventory of homes for sale nationally is still low by historical standards, active listings — a tally that encompasses all homes on the market except those pending a finalized sale — surged 28.5% last month from a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com. Listings jumped between 44% and 68% in many large metro areas, including San Diego, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Washington D.C.

As homes take longer to sell, prices have started dropping in many markets. The median listing price was down last month from a year earlier in most of the nation’s biggest 50 metro areas, including a more than 6% drop in Austin, Miami and Kansas City. read more

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery players are going to have a shot at more billion-dollar jackpots and slightly better odds under new Mega Millions rules that go into effect with Tuesday’s drawing.

But the improvements come at a cost — literally: Players will have to shell out $5 per ticket, more than double the previous price. On the other hand, the jackpots are expected to grow much bigger — and at a faster rate — and officials believe sales will rise as people are stopped in their tracks by massive prizes.

“People really want big jackpots,” said Joshua Johnston, the Washington state lottery director who heads the Mega Millions game. “We expect to see a sales lift on this.”

HOW IS MEGA MILLIONS CHANGING?

The biggest change is the ticket price hike from $2 to $5. Lottery officials expect that jump to increase revenue from the twice-weekly game, enabling them to lower the odds of winning the jackpot from 1 in 303 million to 1 in 290 million.

The higher ticket price also means the jackpot can start at $50 million, rather than the previous $20 million, and the grand prize is expected to grow more quickly. Each time there isn’t a big winner, the jackpot will jump to a larger mark. Officials expect it will more frequently top the $1 billion threshold that draws extra attention — and bigger sales. read more

By STAN CHOE, ELAINE KURTENBACH and DAVID McHUGH, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling in a manic Monday after President Donald Trump doubled down on his tariffs, despite seeing how much Wall Street wants him to do the opposite.

The S&P 500 was down 1.7% in midday trading, coming off its worst week since COVID began crashing the global economy in March 2020. The index, which sits at the heart of many investors’ 401(k) accounts, has been flirting with a drop of 20% from its record set less than two months ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 860 points, or 2.2%, as of 1:05 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% lower.

Earlier in a heart-racing morning, the Dow plunged as many as 1,700 points shortly after trading began, following even worse losses worldwide on worries that Trump’s tariffs could torpedo the global economy. But it suddenly surged to a leap of nearly 900 points. The S&P 500 went from a loss of 4.7% to a gain of 3.4%, which would have been its biggest jump in years. read more

Carnival Cruise Line announced Sunday details on new ships including its next sister ship to Carnival’s Mardi Gras coming to Port Canaveral.

Carnival Festivale will be the fourth of the line’s Excel-class ships debuting in the spring of 2027 and taking over Mardi Gras’ longer Caribbean itineraries. Mardi Gras will remain at the port but shift to short three- and four-night Bahamas voyages.

“As new ships are introduced, this will allow us to upgrade capacity and hardware in key markets, with a particular focus on short cruises,” said Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy. “With short cruises on Mardi Gras, our guests who may not have the time to take a weeklong vacation can experience all the amazing features of our Excel class.”

Similar to 2021’s Mardi Gras, 2022’s Carnival Celebration and 2023’s Carnival Jubilee, Carnival Festivale is being named after one of the cruise line’s original vessels, the TSS Festivale, which it converted from an ocean liner and began sailing in 1978. read more

SpaceX took the biggest piece of the pie, but United Launch Alliance and newcomer Blue Origin will divvy up nearly $13.7 billion in national security launches to be assigned over the next five years, the Space Force announced Friday.

The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 2 announcements made by the Space Force’s Space Systems Command anticipate giving Elon Musk’s SpaceX more than $5.9 billion, ULA more than $5.3 billion and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin nearly $2.4 billion, among more than 54 expected missions to be awarded through 2029.

The Space Force expects launches to fly about two to three years after being awarded, so the contracts will be for launches through 2032.

“Today’s award culminates nearly three years of government and industry partnership to increase launch resiliency and capacity,” explained Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, program executive officer for the Space Force’s Assured Access to Space program, a role she holds on top of running Space Launch Delta 45 out of Patrick Space Force Base. “The result is assured access to space for our national security missions, which increases the military’s readiness.” read more