Things To Do In SW Florida

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu is not alone in its effort to sue fossil fuel companies to hold them accountable for climate change harms, but the city’s lawsuit is further along than similar litigation across the country. A hearing on Tuesday will indicate how these fights play out in court.

In 2020, Hawaii’s capital city sued major oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron, arguing they knew for nearly half a century that fossil fuel products create greenhouse gas pollution that warms the planet and changes the climate. The companies have also profited from the consumption of oil, coal and natural gas while deceiving the public about the role of their products in causing a global climate crisis, the lawsuit says.

Honolulu’s lawsuit blames the companies for the sea level rise around the island of Oahu’s world-famous coastline. It also warns that hurricanes, heatwaves and other extreme weather will be more frequent, along with ocean warming that will reduce fish stocks and kill coral reefs that tourists love to snorkel over. read more

By LORNE COOK

BRUSSELS (AP) — France’s prime minister described it as a “dark day” for the European Union, a “submission” to U.S. tariff demands. Commentators said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen’s handshake with President Donald Trump amounted to capitulation.

The trouble is, Europe depends mightily on the United States, and not just for trade.

Mirroring Trump, Von der Leyen gushed that the arrangement she endorsed over the weekend to set U.S. tariff levels on most European exports to 15%, which is 10% higher than currently, was “huge.” Her staff texted reporters insisting that the pact, which starts to enter force on Friday, is the “biggest trade deal ever.”

A month after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte ingratiated himself with Trump by referring to him as “daddy,” the Europeans had again conceded that swallowing the costs and praising an unpredictable president is more palatable than losing America.

“It’s not only about the trade. It’s about security. It’s about Ukraine. It’s about current geopolitical volatility. I cannot go into all the details,” EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told reporters Monday. read more

By MELINA WALLING and MATTHEW DALY

When President Donald Trump rolled out a plan to boost artificial intelligence and data centers, a key goal was wiping away barriers to rapid growth.

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And that meant taking aim at the National Environmental Policy Act — a 55-year-old, bedrock law aimed at protecting the environment through a process that requires agencies to consider a project’s possible impacts and allows the public to be heard before a project is approved. Data centers, demanding vast amounts of energy and water, have aroused strong opposition in some communities. read more

Universal Orlando has announced the final two haunted houses planned for the 2025 edition of its Halloween Horror Nights, with mazes based on the world of WWE and the 2023 film “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

In the house named WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks, HHN guests will meet up with Uncle Howdy and “one of the most disturbing groups in WWE history,” a Universal news release says. “Ramblin Rabbit, Mercy the Buzzard, Abby the Witch and Huskus the Pig will be waiting to take bloody retribution on a world that has abandoned them.” Also on hand: the Fiend, looming in the shadows.

In wrestling circles, the Wyatt Sicks is named in honor of Bray Wyatt, a WWE wrestler who died of heart problems exacerbated by COVID-19 in 2023. Wyatt was born in Brooksville and was a star at Orlando-based NXT in 2012-13. He wrestled at WrestleMania at Camping World Stadium in 2017.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” had been identified months ago as a part of Horror Nights, but its house was not made official until Tuesday. Expect a setting of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria and full-scale replicas of Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy and Mr. Cupcake, Universal says. The characters were created in collaboration with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. read more

It started out as a simple first-come, first-serve program offering $10,000 matching grants to owners of older Florida homes who take specific actions to harden their homes against hurricanes.

The My Safe Florida Home program proved wildly popular, quickly obligating its initial funding and leaving latecomers to await legislative approval for new money each year.

Since 2022, the program has reimbursed $369 million to 39,271 homeowners, program spokesman Devin Galetta said Monday.

Now, flush with $280 million approved by the governor and Legislature in June, a more restrictive version of the program will reopen for applications on Monday, Aug. 4.

But the $280 million is considerably less than the $590 million requested by Gov. Ron DeSantis during the spring Legislative session. And that $590 million was intended to fund grants for 10,000 new applicants and 45,000 existing applicants who underwent required windstorm mitigation inspections but were left in limbo last year after existing funds were obligated. read more