Contrails and puffs of smoke left in the sky from the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/TNS) ORG XMIT: 1179880

40 years ago, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster changed Central Floridians’ lives – Orlando Sentinel

Their eyes were watching. Some knew something was wrong. Others were slow to realize. Soon everyone came to grief. Forty years ago Space Shuttle Challenger climbed into the clear amid blue skies over Cape Canaveral. The nation’s youth watched on TVs across the nation and from school playgrounds across Central Florida. Christa McAuliffe was to…

Read More
Students actively engage in a bilingual classroom (Photo: ARED)

    Move between worlds: A brighter future unfolds at the intersections

    [The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] We’ve never lived more interconnected lives — or felt more divided. Separated by belief, culture, and access, we turn inward to master our own fields in the hope of cutting a predictable path forward. Reality, though, is filled with surprises, and we can’t…

    Read More

      China’s economy expands at a 5% pace in 2025

      HONG KONG (AP) — China’s economy expanded at a 5% annual pace in 2025, buoyed by strong exports despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. However, growth slowed to a 4.5% rate in the last quarter of the year, the government said Monday. That was the slowest quarterly growth since late 2022 when China was beginning…

      Read More
      A long-term planning overview showing proposed improvements around the Flower Market.

        More room for the Flower Market to bloom

        [The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Well before dawn, vans begin to pull up along Flower Market Road. Buckets of lilies and roses are lifted onto the street, hands moving quickly before the heat sets in. Later in the day buyers drift between shops, some with lists, others guided…

        Read More