Things To Do In SW Florida

In an executive order aimed at “unleashing American energy,” President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to immediately freeze the funding for several programs that stand to add more clean energy infrastructure to Florida.

The future of low-cost loans and grants for Floridians adding rooftop solar panels, plus money to build electric vehicle chargers along Florida highways is now uncertain.

The order was part of a blitz Trump signed within hours of his inauguration last week, when he also declared an end to policies that promoted EVs, halted new permits for offshore wind projects and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.

His directive instructs federal agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds” appropriated by two laws, the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law, for at least 90 days. During this period, officials must review their procedures for issuing the money to ensure they are consistent with the administration’s energy goals. read more

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence dipped for the second consecutive month in January, a business research group said Tuesday.

The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index retreated this month to 104.1, from 109.5 in December. That is worse than the economist projections for a reading of 105.8.

December’s reading was revised up by 4.8 points but still represented a decline from November.

The consumer confidence index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.

Consumers appeared increasingly confident heading into the end of 2024 and spending during the holiday season was resolute. In the face of higher borrowing costs, retail sales rose 0.4% in December and stores generally reported healthy sales during the winter holiday shopping season.

The board said that consumers’ view of current conditions tumbled 9.7 points to a reading of 134.3 in January and views on current labor market conditions fell for the first time since September. read more

Francisco Rivero proudly shows off a large stainless steel pod in the middle of a cavernous concrete room. He unlatches its heavy vault door, swinging it open slowly to reveal an inner chamber just large enough for a person to lie inside.

Rivero is a funeral director at Pacific Interment Service in Emeryville, California, and the futuristic machine is an aquamation system. It uses water to dissolve every part of the human body except for the bones and teeth—a process also called alkaline hydrolysis.

“It just flows the water back and forth over the person, back and forth,” says Rivero in hypnotic tones. “You come in water, you’re leaving in water. It’s like an unbirthing.”

Rivero founded Pacific Interment in 1992, specializing in cremation at a time when the process was not widely used. In December of 2023, he installed his aquamation system, becoming the first to offer the service in the Bay Area and one of only four aquamation providers in California. He is convinced aquamation is the future of the funeral industry, and is on a mission to spread the word about a gentler, environmentally friendly alternative to cremation. read more

By KANIS LEUNG, Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese tech startup DeepSeek ’s new artificial intelligence chatbot has sparked discussions about the competition between China and the U.S. in AI development, with many users flocking to test the rival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

DeepSeek’s AI assistant was the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apple’s iPhone store on Tuesday afternoon and its launch made Wall Street tech superstars’ stocks tumble. Observers are eager to see whether the Chinese company has matched America’s leading AI companies at a fraction of the cost.

The chatbot’s ultimate impact on the AI industry is still unclear, but it appears to censor answers on sensitive Chinese topics, a practice commonly seen on China’s internet. In 2023, China issued regulations requiring companies to conduct a security review and obtain approvals before their products can be publicly launched.

Here are some answers The Associated Press received from DeepSeek’s new chatbot and ChatGPT: read more

By JOSH FUNK, MARK VANCLEAVE and DEE-ANN DURBIN

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight, given the the surge in demand as Easter approaches.