Things To Do In SW Florida

SeaWorld Orlando is caring for “cold-stunned” sea turtles rescued from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The goal is to return the animals to the Atlantic Ocean.

The 14 Kemp’s ridley turtles are part of an endangered species. Their camps begin migrating south in late November and early December, said Mallorie McCormack, senior zoological specialist. The hooked geography of Cape Cod can be a hazard, she said.

“If they are stuck in that area and then the waters get really cold around them, it affects their migration, and then they become cold-stunned,” she said. “They cannot move to swim, they cannot move to eat, and they are stranded on those shores.”

A network of organizations, including a volunteer pilot group, coordinate to get the turtles to Florida.

“It’s truly such a collaborative event with all interstate connections, and it’s a crazy journey for them,” McCormack said. “I love the rehab of the camps because of that story, their journey.”

After their flight to Orlando, the turtles are given intake exams, radiographs, X-rays and other tests. read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. again rejected a takeover bid from Paramount and told shareholders Wednesday to stick with a rival offer from Netflix.

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Warner’s leadership has repeatedly rebuffed Skydance-owned Paramount’s overtures — and urged shareholders just weeks ago to back its the sale of its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to sweeten its $77.9 billion hostile offer for the entire company.

Warner Bros. Discovery said Wednesday that its board determined Paramount’s offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. It again recommended shareholders support the Netflix deal. read more

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation shut down four Central Florida restaurants for health code violations during the week from Dec. 28-Jan. 3.

LAKE

Lechonera El Barrio Clermont Restaurant LLC at 1800 S. U.S. Highway 27 in Clermont shut down on Dec. 29. Inspectors found 14 violations, three of which were high priorities. Those violations included raw food stored over ready-to-eat food and roach activity. A second inspection occurred on Dec. 31. Inspectors found two violations, one of which was a high priority for covering the closing sign posted by the inspectors. The restaurant required a follow-up inspection, but didn’t pose a threat to the public. A third and final inspection happened on Jan. 5. There were 10 violations, two of which were high priorities. The restaurant met inspection standards.

VOLUSIA

Sicily Pizza at 20 S. Atlantic Ave., Suite B in Daytona Beach shut down on Dec. 29. Inspectors found 15 violations, three of which were high priorities. Those violations included an employee failing to wash their hands before putting on gloves to work with food, roach activity and food held at the wrong temperatures. A second inspection occurred on Dec. 30. Inspectors found eight violations, one of which was a high priority for roach activity. The restaurant remained closed. Two more inspections happened on Dec. 31. On the first inspection, inspectors found one violation, but none was a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards. The final inspection found one high-priority violation for covering up the closure sign. A follow-up inspection is required, but the restaurant wasn’t an immediate threat to the public. read more

By Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Review-Journal

A gambling research company says prediction markets could become a $1 trillion industry nationwide when fully mature, with $435 billion of that coming from contracts on sports outcomes.

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The battle between prediction markets and states that offer legal sports betting may not be resolved for months, even years.

Newport Beach, California-based Eilers & Krejcik issued a December report, “U.S. Prediction Markets: How Big, How Fast, What’s Next?” that estimates how much the federally regulated markets could slice into traditionally state-regulated sports wagering and that it may not be until 2027 that legal disputes wind their way through court appeals that may ultimately end at the U.S. Supreme Court level. read more

By Kyle Stock and Lili Pike, Bloomberg News

Growth in global sales of electric vehicles is expected to slow this year as China winds down some subsidies, Europe wavers on its phase-out of combustion engines, and U.S. producers and policymakers make a U-turn from the segment.

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  ‘Cold-stunned’ turtles get warm welcome, medical care at SeaWorld

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BloombergNEF expects drivers to buy 24.3 million passenger EVs this year, an increase of only 12% on 2025 and weaker than the 23% growth in sales last year.

In the U.S. in particular, electric vehicle makers are facing an “EV winter,” and will need to navigate bumpy months ahead before a likely revival in sales in 2027 and 2028, said Nathan Niese, Boston Consulting Group’s global lead for EVs and energy storage. Though the long-term trajectory for battery-powered vehicles remains positive, there isn’t “a 2026 story buried in there that says there’s lots to be optimistic about,” he said. read more