Things To Do In SW Florida

By RIO YAMAT, AP Airlines and Travel Writer

Winter weather can upend even the best-laid travel plans, but one less thing to worry about is losing money if your flight is canceled: U.S. airlines are required to provide refunds.

A monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across parts of the country, with 12,200 weekend flights and counting canceled. Forecasters warned that catastrophic damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.

Here’s a guide for winter travelers as flight disruptions pile up:

Keep an eye on weather forecasts

When airlines expect bad weather to create problems for flights, they often give travelers a chance to postpone their trips by a few days without having to pay a fee. Search online for your airline’s name and “travel alerts” or similar phrases to look for possible rescheduling offers.

American Airlines, for example, said it is waiving change fees for passengers impacted by the storm and adding extra flights around the country in an effort to help passengers reach their destination after the storm passes. read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, AP Business Writer

From family-run cafes to retail giants, businesses are increasingly coming into the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, whether it’s public pressure for them to speak out against aggressive immigration enforcement or becoming the sites for such arrests themselves.

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In Minneapolis, where the Department of Homeland Security says it’s carrying out its largest operation ever, hotels, restaurants and other businesses have temporarily closed their doors or stopped accepting reservations amid widespread protests. read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

The U.S. is taking a minority stake in an Oklahoma rare earth miner, the latest government investment in the sector as it seeks to minimize its reliance on imports of a material used prevalently in smartphones, robotics, electric vehicles and many other high tech products.

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China processes more than 90% of the world’s critical minerals and has used its dominance in the market to gain leverage in the trade war with Washington.

USA Rare Earth said Monday that the U.S. Commerce Department is investing $1.6 billion in the company to advance work on a mine in Texas and to build a magnet manufacturing facility in Oklahoma. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are ticking higher Monday, while other markets make louder moves, including another record-breaking rush for the price of gold.

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  After switch from ULA, SpaceX set for speedy national security launch

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  Spike in Florida gas prices last week have shifted back down, AAA says

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% in mixed trading to win back its losses from last week’s dip. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 170 points, or 0.3%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.

Baker Hughes helped lead the way and rose 3% after delivering a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The energy technology company said it’s benefiting from strong momentum in demand for liquefied natural gas, among other things. read more

SpaceX is set to launch its latest national security mission, yet another GPS satellite that was originally to have been launched by United Launch Alliance.

A Falcon 9 is set to lift off Monday night on the GPS III-9 mission to bring the satellite to medium-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 targeting a 15-minute warning that opens at 11:46 p.m. A backup option falls to Tuesday night at 11:38 p.m.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron, though, only forecasts a 40% chance for good conditions at the launch site Monday as well as a moderate concern for poor weather in the booster recovery site. Those chances improve to 95% if delayed until Tuesday.

This will be the fifth trip to space for the first-stage booster, which will aim for a recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic.

It’s the second national security mission of the year for SpaceX, which flew the NROL-105 mission from California earlier this month. read more