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Monday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 7/2/2018

Canada launches retaliatory tariffs on US goods, including Florida orange juice

Canada hit back at the US with retaliatory tariffs on American summertime essentials including Florida orange juice, ketchup and Kentucky bourbon in its opening salvo in a trade war with President Donald Trump. The office of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a statement, saying in part, "As he has said in past conversations and in public, the Prime Minister conveyed that Canada has had no choice but to announce reciprocal countermeasures to the steel and aluminum tariffs that the United States imposed on June 1, 2018." More from the Express Tribune, CNBC, and the Financial Post.

July 4th holiday could inspire record travel in Florida

In Florida, nearly 2.4 million residents will travel during the holiday weekend, according to AAA. That’s a 6.3 percent increase over the 2017 holiday and represents nearly 142,000 more travelers than last year. On the highways, nearly 2.1 million Floridians will take a road trip, an increase of 121,000 over the same period in 2017, which equals a 6.2 percent jump. See the news release from AAA and read more at the Daily Commercial.

Your turn:
» Are you traveling for the 4th of July holiday? (quick poll)

‘It’s kind of horrific’: Toxic algae bloom threatens Florida coasts (again)

Lake Okeechobee, Florida's liquid heart, is once again exploding with a massive algae bloom, a deepening crisis that threatens to slime both coasts in what has become a recurring summer nightmare. If it continues, the summer of slime could have wide-ranging implications, from politics to business. To slow the outflow from Lake O, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a statement last week: "We will pause discharges to the east for a nine-day period to allow additional tidal flushing to take place within the estuary. However, with the lake rising, we anticipate having to resume flows at previous rates." Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.

Pot payment app calls Florida its top market

Amid a nationwide wave of marijuana legalization, banking barriers remain a challenge for the budding industry. Federal prohibition means banks and credit card processors are reluctant to process payments for pot. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

Displaced Puerto Ricans can fly home or stay in Florida with no FEMA housing. They're staying.

FEMA has extended the deadline of its voucher program, known as Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA), four times since October, sometimes with just a few days to spare. But now the agency has presented a final proposition: Accept a one-way plane ticket back to the island by July 1, or find housing another way. See the statement from FEMA here. Also read more at the Miami Herald.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› FDOT gives SunPass contractor 10 days to account for toll problems [Tampa Bay Times]
The Florida Department of Transportation told the contractor who runs the SunPass tolling system it must account for the last month of problems processing millions of customer transactions throughout the state.

› Sarasota tech company to sell subsidiary for $925 million [Press Release]
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced it will acquire Gatan Inc., a subsidiary of Sarasota-based technology company Roper Technologies Inc., for approximately $925 million in cash.

› Proposed super cranes to increase cargo volume at Port Everglades [Press Release]
The chief executive of Port Everglades has given the final green light to start the manufacture of three "Super Post-Panamax” gantry cranes that will increase cargo volume at the Broward County seaport. Read more at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

› HIV is on the rise in Florida and young people don’t seem to care [Tampa Bay Times]
A double-edged reality has raised concern among advocates as HIV makes an unwelcome comeback in Florida. While the stigma has lifted somewhat and effective treatments have lessened much of the danger, the disease no longer presses on the public consciousness like it once did.

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