Things To Do In SW Florida

Sloth World is rapidly approaching a grand opening on Orlando’s International Drive, its executives say.

The 7,500-square-foot facility will be home to more than 40 sloths living in a rainforest-inspired setting. And while it will operate near the heart of Central Florida’s tourism district, its mission is more scientific in nature, says Ben Agresta, owner and president of Sloth World.

“We want people to know that there’s really four, kind of core, things to Sloth World — conservation, education, research and a gentle bit of entertainment value,” Agresta said.

The attraction — which he calls a Slotharium — is expected to open in February.

Sloth World visitors will wander in small groups through the experience on a guided tour that lasts about an hour.

“You’re going to experience what a sloth really does,” Agresta said, adding that the setting should encourage their natural behaviors.

“There’s no cages, there’s no screens, there’s no enclosures, there’s no hidden rooms and secret passages,” he said. “It’s a completely decked-out rainforest. The temperatures are accurate, the humidity is accurate, the air exchange is accurate. Their food is perfect, their veterinary care is perfect. There are no predators. There are no diseases for them to catch.” read more

With Orange County breaking ground this week on a pricey expansion of its Convention Center, a Texas developer is spending $75 million on renovations to modernize each of its convention center hotels.

Houston-based RIDA Development teamed up with Los Angeles-based Ares Management last year to buy the Hyatt Regency Orlando, one of four hotels with skybridge connections to the OCCC, for over $1 billion. RIDA developed and still owns the Hilton Orlando, which just received a top-to-bottom renovation.

RIDA CEO Ira Mitzner told GrowthSpotter the improvements will extend to indoor and outdoor common areas, restaurants, bars, meeting and event space, as well as each guest room. The last of the Hilton’s 1,425 guestrooms will be completed by the end of the month.

“So between between the Hilton and the Hyatt, not only did we purchase the Hyatt, but we are in the process of spending a total of $150 million, because we believe that in order for the convention center to succeed, especially with its expansion, it means its surrounding branded hotels have to reinvest in themselves so that our our guests, the conventioners, when they come back to their hotel room, will have a high-quality, four-diamond-plus experience,” Mitzner said. read more

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — TikTok has signed agreements with three major investors — Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX — to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, ensuring the popular social video platform can continue operating in the United States.

The deal is expected to close on Jan. 22, according to an internal memo seen by The Associated Press. In the communication, CEO Shou Zi Chew confirmed to employees that ByteDance and TikTok signed the binding agreements with the consortium.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued dedication and tireless work. Your efforts keep us operating at the highest level and will ensure that TikTok continues to grow and thrive in the U.S. and around the world,” Chew wrote in the memo to employees. “With these agreements in place, our focus must stay where it’s always been—firmly on delivering for our users, creators, businesses and the global TikTok community.”

Half of the new TikTok U.S. joint venture will be owned by a group of investors — among them Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, who will each hold a 15% share. 19.9% of the new app will be held by ByteDance itself, and another 30.1% will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo. The memo did not say who the other investors are and both TikTok and the White House declined to comment. read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

Delivery company Instacart will pay $60 million in customer refunds under a settlement reached with the Federal Trade Commission over alleged deceptive practices.

The FTC said Thursday that Instacart has been falsely advertising free deliveries. The San Francisco-based company isn’t clearly disclosing service fees, which add as much as 15% to an order and must be paid for customers to receive their groceries, the FTC said.

Instacart has also failed to clearly disclose that customers who enroll in a free trial for its Instacart+ program will be charged membership fees at the end of the trial. The FTC said hundreds of thousands of customers have been charged but have received no benefits from memberships or refunds. Instacart+ offers members free deliveries on most orders for $99 per year.

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By MATT O’BRIEN and JENNIFER MCDERMOTT, Associated Press

The parent company of President Donald Trump’s Truth Social media platform is merging with a fusion power company, an unusual pairing of the Trump name with a futuristic clean energy venture that aims to power the next wave of artificial intelligence. Trump Media & Technology announced its merger with TAE Technologies in an all-stock deal that the companies said Thursday is valued at more than $6 billion.

The combined company says it plans to find a site and begin construction next year on the “world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant,” with aims to provide the electricity needed for artificial intelligence.

Nuclear fusion is seen as a promising solution to climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, but one that is a long way off compared to today’s clean technologies like wind and solar. It will need huge investment as well as regulation to advance, which makes Trump’s ties a major conflict, said Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration. read more