Things To Do In SW Florida

SpaceX keeps lining them up and knocking them out with an afternoon launch from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying another 23 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites lifted off at 2:42 p.m. from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A.

It’s the second launch this week after a Starlink launch midday Monday from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Falcon 9 liftoff to send @Starlink satellites to orbit pic.twitter.com/4VpvmDpzVb

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 8, 2024

It marks the third launch of the first-stage booster, which previously flew on the Crew-8 human spaceflight and one Starlink mission. It managed another recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic Ocean on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

This marks the 35th launch from the Space Coast with all but two coming from SpaceX.

Boeing Starliner astronaut launch delayed until at least May 17

United Launch Alliance had the other two launches and is awaiting its third with the Crew Flight Test mission to send up astronauts on board Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner atop an Atlas V. Teams scrubbed that launch attempt on Monday night because of a valve issue on the Atlas V’s upper Centaur stage. read more

By COLLEEN LONG and SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press)

STURTEVANT, Wisc. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday laced into Donald Trump over a failed project in the previous administration that was supposed to bring thousands of new jobs into southeastern Wisconsin and trumpeted new economic investments under his watch that are coming to the same spot.

That location in the battleground state will now be the site of a new data center from Microsoft, whose president credited the Biden administration’s economic policies for paving the way for the new investments. For Biden, it offered another point of contrast between him and Trump, who had promised a $10 billion investment by the Taiwan-based electronics giant Foxconn that never came.

“In fact, he came here with your senator, Ron Johnson, literally holding a golden shovel, promising to build the eighth wonder of the world. You kidding me?” Biden told the crowd of about 300 people, who clapped and cheered loudly as he spoke. “They dug a hole with those golden shovels, and then they fell into it.” read more

The newest Royal Caribbean ship, Utopia of the Seas, is cranking up its engines to ensure it’s seaworthy before it makes its way to Port Canaveral in July.

The sixth Oasis-class vessel set to become the second largest cruise ship in the world has five days of sea trials ahead of it, sailing from the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, on Tuesday where it has been under construction since April 2022.

With 10 weeks before its July 19 debut, the ship will perform hundreds of tests as it travels more than 1,000 miles.

“More than 900 experts, specialists across areas such as naval architecture, engineering, navigation and design, are on Utopia to push the ship to its limits and make sure it’s ready for smooth sailing,” according to a Royal Caribbean news release.

On the list will be confirming expected ship movement through the open water and making sure its navigation systems and engines perform as expected.

Port Canaveral chalks up record month amid growing cruise demand read more

The state of Florida has $54,000 with former President Donald Trump’s name on it.

The money, held by the state’s Division of Unclaimed Property, might not seem like a lot amid the $100 million that the former president has reportedly paid in legal bills since leaving office in 2021.

Then again, he has been selling custom shoes and taking a cut of Bible sales in recent months. Every bit of income helps, right?

Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer, wants to help Trump. A few months after his legislative bill to create a $5 million pool to help pay Trump’s legal bills was shot down by a veto threat from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Patronis sent “President Trump” a fawning letter inviting him to claim his money.

“There are some very, very nasty people coming after you, and every dollar matters in your efforts to fight back against these radical state attorneys who have weaponized the courts,” Patronis wrote in a letter bearing the Chief Financial Officer seal.

“We need you and your team to have every resource possible to get through these BS charges so you can get back to work in Making America Great Again!” read more

By Melissa Lambarena | NerdWallet

Using a credit card to make purchases is straightforward, but understanding the ins and outs of how exactly they work can be more complicated.

On the back end, credit card issuers can take certain liberties that impact your cards’ features. If you dig into the fine print, you’ll find that card issuers generally mention they can make certain account decisions at their discretion. There are also unwritten liberties issuers can take, potentially in your favor. For instance, an issuer may be cooperative when you request lower interest rates, a higher credit limit or a switch to a different card entirely.

The more you understand your credit cards, the better you can navigate them.

Here are a few facts about credit cards that are good to know.

1. Some credit card terms can change with little if any warning

You may become accustomed to certain perks, rewards, fees or even interest rates over time, but those features can change — some more quickly than others. You’ll often find language supporting this in a card’s terms and conditions. read more