Things To Do In SW Florida

SpaceX lost contact again in its latest test flight of the Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Texas, leading to the dramatic in-flight destruction of the Starship and grounding planes at several Florida airports, including Orlando International Airport.

The rocket was making its eighth suborbital launch attempt, and SpaceX was able to perform the third-ever catch of the booster back at the tower. The test flight came just under two months since the last attempt ended explosively over the Atlantic.

Video of the disintegrating Starship was once again captured across the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, the Caribbean and spotted from Florida as well.

SpaceX Starship Breaks Apart During Test Flight, Scattering Debris Over the Bahamas – March 6, 2025. pic.twitter.com/R20tsaHLoa

— UFO Community (@UFOcommunity) March 7, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration put a ground stop at airports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach through 8 p.m. OIA officials announced at 7:43 p.m. in a post on X that its ground stop had been lifted. read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

NEW YORK (AP) — A 40-day boycott of Target that calls for supporters to give up shopping at the company’s stores during the Lenten period kicked off this week, to protest the discount retailer’s decision to end some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Michelin-starred chef Michael Collantes is bringing his hand roll brand to I-Drive.

Icon Park will serve as the second location for Sushi Saint, Collantes’ popular Creative Village temaki concept, and is expected to open this spring.

“I’m excited to be in the I-Drive area,” Collantes said. “This is a new district for us … and a great way to showcase the local chef talent that’s here in a new way.”

The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will feature both indoor and outdoor seating for 150 guests.

Collantes, whose Soseki earned a Michelin star in Orlando’s first eligible year for the Guide, has since racked up the honors. Sushi Saint was named to the selection as a Bib Gourmand recipient in 2024.

Michelin-starred Soseki is a city splurge spectacular | Review

“This is about responding to locals and visitors who are looking for culinary excellence in the I-Drive and Universal Boulevard area, whether it be for lunch or dinner,” said CEO and president of Icon Park Chris Jaskiewicz in a news release. “Just as Orlando is becoming known as a foodie destination, Icon Park has been upping its own culinary game, and we’re proud that Chef Collantes selected Icon Park for his second location.” read more

Humans are so creative, so persistent.

Take thieves, frauds and scammers. As long as there are dollars in someone’s bank account, there are other people devising ways to siphon those dollars and claim them as their own.

The Internal Revenue Service is on to them. In its list of “dirty dozen” tax scams for 2025, the agency tells taxpayers how to protect themselves from fraud. It also warns people about ways some taxpayers try to trick the IRS.

The agency started publishing the dirty dozen list in 2002 to inform and protect taxpaying workers.

Here are several schemes and scams to watch out for this year, as well as mistakes and tricks to steer clear of as a taxpayer.

Fake charities. A seeming do-gooder asks for donations to help victims of a natural disaster. You’d gladly open your pocketbook. But how do you know it’s legitimate?

“Taxpayers who give money or goods to a charity might be able to claim a deduction on their federal tax return if they itemize deductions, but charitable donations only count if they go to a qualified tax-exempt organization recognized by the IRS,” the IRS writes. read more

By STAN CHOE and CORA LEWIS, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Much like all the upheaval shaking the world, the huge swings rocking Wall Street may feel far from normal. But, for investing at least, all this is typical.

Sharp moves for the U.S. stock market, like its recent 6% drop in just a couple of weeks, happen regularly. Stomaching them is the price investors have to pay for the bigger returns that stocks can offer over other investments in the long term.

This time doesn’t look much different, experts say. Here’s a glimpse at what’s behind the market’s wild moves and what experts are advising investors young and old to consider:

THE MARKET IS BAD, RIGHT?

It has certainly struggled. The stock market’s main benchmark, the S&P 500, has been dropping since setting an all-time high last month, largely because of worries about President Donald Trump’s tariffs and signals that the U.S. economy is running less powerfully than economists expected.

Any kind of uncertainty around the economy will give Wall Street pause. These tariffs have had a particularly jostling effect because no one knows how long Trump will go through with them. When worries are high, stocks sink sharply. When Wall Street goes back to thinking Trump is using tariffs as just a negotiating tactic, stocks have bounced back, such as on Wednesday. read more