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Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP Business Writer Philadelphia (AP) – The US Federal Trade Commission is sending the latest refunds from Fortnite Maker’s Epic Games to consumers who say they’ve been “tricked” for purchases they don’t want. In an announcement this week, the FTC said it was distributing more than 969,000 refunds to consumers on Wednesday and Thursday, totaling over $126 million. This follows the regulator’s first round payments of more than $72 million that came out in December 2024. The refund is part of a $520 million settlement that EPIC agreed to repay in 2022. This is to address complaints revolving…

AP sports writer Jay Cohen Chicago (AP) – Youth sports are a big part of Karlikasamenm’s life. She plays for three baseball teams, her son, Jacks, 15 and golf. Her youngest child, Colt, 7, plays baseball and basketball. In particular, the cost of JAX will be added quickly. That’s why Cassanmon, 48, and her husband, Michael, 46, are closely watching the impact of tariffs on rising sports budgets for young people. “I’m sure all of their equipment that I’m sure comes from China,” said Karli Casamento, a sophomore teacher in a suburb of Philadelphia. “As they grow older, they need…

Miami officials are moving to turn over control of one of the city’s signature cultural and architectural treasures, the historic but run-down Olympia Theater on Flagler Street downtown, to a Little Havana charter school closely affiliated with a politically influential for-profit charter operator.News of the plan, which was developed by city administrators but has not been publicly vetted or discussed, has provoked considerable consternation in political, downtown, cultural and preservation circles.It surfaced only in recent days when the city published its agenda for Thursday’s commission meeting. The agenda lists a public hearing for the “transfer” of the 1926 theater to…

Q: If smoke is blocking the neighboring resident, can the resident also sit on the balcony if it is blocking the balcony? Also, did some floors fall under the balcony and burn holes in the residents’ outdoor sofa? – Catherine A: Smoking can be a fierce topic in shared living spaces, especially when it affects neighbors or causes property damage. Laws and regulations vary by state, city, or building, but there are general guidelines that will help you address these issues. When it comes to smoking on a balcony, the situation often depends on the rules set by the building…

In Florida, the bill using mobile phones in elementary and middle schools from Bell to Bell recently sailed through the state legislature.Justin D. Martin (Cliff McBride)Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law on May 30th. The same bill requires high schools in six Florida districts to adopt a ban during the next academic year and prepare a report on its effectiveness by December 1, 2026.Chighaf Bakour (Alex Marg | USF)Parents are split on this issue. According to a report from Education Week, many parents want their children to have a phone for safety reasons and as a result they don’t support…

The new data depicts a strict portrait of current US Immigration Customs (ICE) practices. The agency detains the majority of individuals with no serious criminal history, but captures only a few undocumented immigrants convicted of violent crimes.1. CatoInstitute: 65% of ice detainees were not criminally convictedFrom October 1, 2024 to June 14, 2025, internal ice data shared with the Cato Institute: ICE processed 204,297 books, of which 133,687 (65%) had no criminal convictions. More than 93% of detainees were not convicted of violent crimes, and about 90% lacked a conviction for violent or property crimes. Of those convicted, most convictions…

Rich flavour and resourcefulness are two markers of soul food, with its foundations lying in the traditions and foodways of the Southern Black community, and at the deeper roots of the African diaspora. Its pioneers used what they were available, making many things from ingredients that were often spurred in other kitchens, and today, sown tail dishes from the nose to nature, where world-class chefs see “reinterpretation” and/or “elevated” take. It expresses the cultural significance and broad respect of soul food. But for most fans, soul food is perfect when it’s old school. I remember the taste of scooping up…

The International Space Station won more international space stations Thursday morning, with astronauts from three countries arriving and making their first visit to the orbital lab on a private Axiom Space Ax-4 mission flying through the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Commanding the visitor’s crew is Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and currently an Axiom Space employee who is making his fifth trip to the station. She leads India’s Shuvansch Shukla, Poland’s Swos Uznaski, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu. The quartet, released by the Kennedy Space Center, made a 28-hour approach to the station, which docked at 6:31am early Wednesday. This is…

I’ve heard bad ideas in nearly 30 years of reports from the Tampa Bay Times, but pasting a convention center on the Tropicana Field site might be the worst. The Stalin era has been thinking about recipes for creating dead spaces from tourism, urban planning, growth and much-needed public property.St. Petersburg and Pinellas County are jointly considering whether to place a convention centre on the TROP site as part of a remake of the historic gas factory district. The news would have locked in the new combined community following the collapse of new stadium deals with the Tampa Bay Rays.…

All Florida GOP Congress members voted for the House tax edition of the “big, beautiful bill.”Within the bill, it extends the current Trump tax cuts, which have been praised by many conservatives. But former Trump economist Steve Moore says Congressional Republicans aren’t doing enough to cut government spending.Moore praised the tax proposal from Republicans in the US Senate as a much better bill than the House. “In many ways, this (Senate) version is a sophisticated improvement from the House bill. Most importantly, it makes Trump’s tax cuts virtually all permanent in 2017. It also eliminates some of the troubling aspects…