Things To Do In SW Florida

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — While President Donald Trump has struggled to settle on a way to address Americans’ concerns about high costs, Vice President JD Vance on Thursday offered a more direct and empathetic message, saying, “We hear you” and “there’s a lot more work to do.”

But the American people need to have “a little bit of patience,” Vance said in remarks at an event hosted by Breitbart News.

The vice president’s remarks come as the White House grapples with how to speak to voters about the cost of living, an issue that emerged as a vulnerability for Republicans in this month’s off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races.

Vance said the Trump administration has “made incredible progress” in tackling cost-of-living concerns as they worked to undo policies from former President Joe Biden.

“As much progress as we’ve made, it’s going to take a little bit of time for every American to feel that economic boom, which we really do believe is coming. We believe that we’re on the front end of it,” Vance said. read more

TALLAHASSEE — State regulators Thursday approved a rate settlement that will lead to Florida Power & Light customers paying billions of additional dollars in the coming years, though opponents said they expect to fight the plan at the Florida Supreme Court.

The state Public Service Commission signed off on the four-year settlement, which FPL reached with numerous businesses and groups.

The settlement is expected to lead to base-rate increases of $945 million in 2026 and $705 million in 2027. FPL also would collect additional amounts in 2028 and 2029 for solar-energy and battery-storage projects.

The settlement involves myriad financial and technical issues, and some members of the commission said they had what Commissioner Andrew Fay described as “heartburn” about parts of it. But they said they supported the overall agreement.

Commissioner Gary Clark spoke most strongly in favor of the settlement, saying he thinks it is a “balanced resolution” of the rate case and is in the public interest. read more

Madame Tussauds Orlando is adding a wax figure of actor Jeff Goldblum, who soon will be starring as the wizard again in “Wicked: For Good.”

Goldblum came his face to his face with the figure in New York before it was shipped to Central Florida. It is clad in a black leather jacket, the actor’s trademark eyeglasses and a duplicate of his Cartier tank watch.

“It’s spectacular,” Goldblum said in a video of his encounter provided by Tussauds. “I’m humbled and honored, of course.” He compliments the amount of stubble on the figure and its well-flossed teeth. He breaks into song: “Me and My Shadow.”

Goldblum put the possibility of having a wax twin into the universe during a late-night talk show appearance in August 2024.

“I was guest-hosting for Jimmy Kimmel and I said ‘Hey, how come I don’t have a wax figure?’ — something like that — and I think the lovely people at the great Madame Tussauds, they reached out and they said ‘If you’re serious about that, you know, how about posing?’” Goldblum said. read more

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is powerful, but Jeff Bezos’ rocket company wants more.

After completing a successful second mission of New Glenn, including a launch from Cape Canaveral and landing and the return of its first-stage booster, Blue Origin announced upgrades coming to the heavy-lift rocket as soon as mission No. 3.

“Incredible upgrades to the New Glenn system as we enhance our BE-4 and BE-3U engine performance,” said Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp in a post on X.

Increased power on the seven BE-4 engines on the first stage would increase its thrust at liftoff from 3.9 million pounds to 4.5 million pounds.

In comparison, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, which is essentially three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together, produces 5.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. The Saturn V rockets from Apollo produced 7.6 million pounds of thrust while NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust. SpaceX’s massive Starship and Super Heavy, which has yet to make it to orbit, produces close to 17 million pounds of thrust. read more

By BRUCE SCHREINER

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — GE Appliances on Thursday touted wide-ranging ripple effects from shifting production from China to Kentucky as it announced more than $150 million in new contracts awarded to U.S.-based suppliers.

Related Articles

• 
  Bubble fears ease but investors still waiting for AI to live up to its promise

• 
  Cracker Barrel shareholders vote to keep CEO despite logo debacle

• 
  SpaceX launch marks 100th mission from Space Coast in 2025

• 
  Vance says Americans need patience on prices but says ‘We hear you’ on affordability concerns

• 
  Regulators approve FPL rate settlement, but opponents expect to keep fighting plan

The supplier contracts range in value from $330,000 to $41 million, span 10 states and cover crucial segments of the supplier chain for the appliance maker’s washer and dryer production — from plastics and castings to steel and aluminum, the company said. The suppliers range in size from U.S. Steel to family-owned companies. read more