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By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — What was once seen as a near-certain cut in interest rates next month now looks more like a coin flip as Federal Reserve officials sharply disagree over the economy’s health and whether stubborn inflation or weak hiring represent a bigger threat.

In several speeches in the past week, some policymakers have registered greater concern over persistent inflation in an echo of the “affordability” concerns that played a large role in elections earlier this month.

At the same time, another camp is much more concerned about meager hiring and the threat that the “low-hire, low-fire“ job market could worsen into one where layoffs become more widespread.

The turmoil on the Fed’s 19-member interest-rate setting committee reflects a deeply uncertain economic outlook brought about by multiple factors, including tariffs, artificial intelligence, and changes in immigration and tax policies.

“It’s reflective of a ton of uncertainty,” said Luke Tilley, chief economist at M&T Bank. “It’s not surprising at all that there’s a wide divergence of opinions.” read more

National grocery retailer Kroger Co. announced plans Tuesday to close three eCommerce fulfillment centers, including one in Groveland, a move that will lead to the loss of about 1,400 Florida jobs.

The closing of the Groveland fulfillment center will impact about 935 employees at that facility and nearly 500 others, many of them delivery drivers, stationed in Jacksonville, Rockledge and Tampa, according to notices the company filed with the Florida Department of Commerce.

“This is an especially difficult time for employees to hear this news, and our hearts go out to those affected,” the City of Groveland wrote in a statement.

The facility is expected to close sometime in January 2026, according to the city. The company’s notices said the workers’ employment will end on Feb. 1.

The Groveland facility, similar to other Kroger fulfillment centers across the country, uses more than 1,000 product retrieval robots that allow customers to order on Kroger.com, or the Kroger app, and have groceries delivered in temperature-controlled vans. read more

CAPE CANAVERAL — There are tall, pointy metal tubes aplenty at Port Canaveral, but one is extra large.

The first-ever recovered first-stage booster for Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket arrived to the port Tuesday morning five days after its launch from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36 on the NG-2 mission for NASA.

Its girth stuck out like a massive, freestanding cigarette with a still-white paint job with a gold top standing tall on the port’s skyline littered with cranes, cargo ships and even a pair of competitor SpaceX’s Falcon 9 boosters.

In comparison, the Falcon 9 boosters, which had each traveled to space several times, had the black carbon-scoring soot from multiple reentries.

pic.twitter.com/btsz0Sla4B

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 18, 2025

Blue Origin’s booster, named “Never Tell Me The Odds” in reference to dialogue spoken by Han Solo to C-3PO before successfully navigating an asteroid field in “The Empire Strikes Back,” managed to stick the landing on Blue Origin’s recovery vessel Jacklyn, named after company founder Jeff Bezos’ mother, which had been located about 375 miles downrange. read more

SeaWorld Orlando has revealed the ride vehicle for its upcoming SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep, an indoor attraction that will sway left and right while moving forward in a simulated underwater experience.

The vehicle, unveiled on the show floor of the IAAPA Expo at Orange County Convention Center on Tuesday, will replicate the actions of a submarine without the tight quarters. The open-air vehicle will be suspended from a rail with gravity helping with the programmed movement.

“We’re really excited about all of that dynamic motion,” said Conner Carr, corporate vice president, rides and engineering for United Parks & Resorts, parent of SeaWorld Orlando theme park.

“One of the really cool things about this one is how fluid the motion is … so being suspended, it actually gives you the feeling of flying through the water,” he said.

The ride, announced in September,  is under construction at the theme park and is scheduled to open to the public sometime in 2026. The experience will last between four and five minutes, Carr said. read more

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp after a judge ruled that the company does not hold a monopoly in social networking.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued his ruling Tuesday after the historic antitrust trial wrapped up in late May. His decision follows two separate rulings that branded Google an illegal monopoly in both search and online advertising, dealing yet another regulatory blow to the tech industry that for years enjoyed nearly unbridled growth.

The Federal Trade Commission “continues to insist that Meta competes with the same old rivals it has for the last decade, that the company holds a monopoly among that small set, and that it maintained that monopoly through anticompetitive acquisitions,” Boasberg wrote in his ruling. “Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now. The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so.” read more