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But he'll stay home on Election Day should Trump win his party's nomination to take on Joe Biden in 2024. In Pennsylvania and Michigan, the size of the Ukrainian-American community outstrips Trump's margin of victory in 2016, according to the analysis. During a CNN town hall last week, Trump refused to say if he wanted Ukraine to win its war with Russia, when questioned about the conflict. Neither politician responded to requests for comments about the Ukraine war, nor did the Republican National Committee. Democratic U.S. Representative Susan Wild, who won Stawnyczyj's district by less than 5,000 votes in 2022, said that courting the Ukrainian-American vote would be crucial.

☆ The college student who tracks Elon Musk's private jet on Twitter is now monitoring the jet used by Ron DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The student who tracks Elon Musk's private jet is now doing the same for Ron DeSantis's plane. Jack Sweeney created a new Twitter account that he said will track the governor's state-owned jet. The college student who tracks Elon Musk's private jet on Twitter has decided to give Florida governor Ron DeSantis the same treatment. Jack Sweeney, a student at the University of Central Florida, has set up a new Twitter account, @DeSantisJet, to track the government-owned jet the politician uses. Sweeney made headlines when Musk offered him $5,000 to take down the Twitter account that tracked his private jet.

The impoverished child of a single mother and the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, Scott often points to his personal story as proof that America remains a land of promise. As a Black conservative, Scott is a rarity in a country where politics are sharply divided along racial lines. Some 92% of Black voters backed Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, while 55% of white voters backed Trump. At the same time, the South Carolina senator has accused Democrats of exploiting racial tensions for partisan gain. Scott's entrance into the race puts him in direct competition with Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, who launched her campaign in February.

☆ Tim Scott, lone Black Republican in U.S. Senate, announces White House bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Senator Tim Scott, the sole Black Republican in the Senate, on Friday filed official paperwork launching his run for his party's presidential nomination in 2024. The impoverished child of a single mother Scott of South Carolina often points to his personal story as proof that America remains a land of promise. He filed his declaration of candidacy with the Federal Election Committee on Friday. On the campaign trail, his sunny disposition presents a major contrast with other declared and prospective candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Reporting by Jason Lange and Gram Slattery; Editing by Scott MaloneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ESPN is a huge issue for Disney as it reconciles ad revenue pullback , says Macquarie's Tim Nollen
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailESPN is a huge issue for Disney as it reconciles ad revenue pullback , says Macquarie's Tim NollenTim Nollen of Macquarie, along with CNBC's Brian Schwartz and Julia Boorstin join 'The Exchange' to discuss why shares of Disney are trending lower today, Disney's action to buy more shares of Hulu, and Disney's battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce that he will seek the 2024 Republican nomination for U.S. president, then moved to strip Disney of its long-standing self-governing power over Walt Disney World in Orlando. Democratic State Sen. Linda Stewart, who represents part of Orange County, called it "disappointing" that Florida would lose jobs. Iger's predecessor announced plans in July 2021 to relocate jobs from Southern California to a new facility in central Florida, citing its "business-friendly climate." "I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business," D'Amaro wrote. We have plans to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 jobs over the next ten years.

LOS ANGELES, May 18 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) is scrapping plans to relocate 2,000 jobs to Florida in part because of "changing business conditions" in the state, according to an e-mail to employees seen by Reuters on Thursday. Disney parks chief Josh D'Amaro said "leadership changes" and "changing business conditions" prompted Disney to reconsider its 2021 plan to relocate employees, including its Imagineers who design theme park rides, to a new campus in Lake Nona. The original decision to relocate employees to Florida from California had prompted complaints from many employees who did not want to move across the country. DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce that he will seek the 2024 Republican nomination for U.S. president, then moved to strip Disney of its long-standing self-governing power over Walt Disney World in Orlando. Iger's predecessor announced plans in July 2021 to relocate jobs from Southern California to a new facility in central Florida, citing its "business-friendly climate."

☆ Biden campaign memo: Many paths available on road to 2024 victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Despite polls showing tepid support for the 80-year-old president who would be 86 by the end of a second term, the Biden campaign saw reason for optimism in 2024. The president will seek to repeat 2020 victories in two hotly contested states, Arizona and Georgia, Biden campaign manager Julie Rodriguez said in a memo released to news media. The Republican campaign, on the other hand, is gathering steam with Trump leading a crowded field. Rodriguez said the Biden campaign will make early investments in closely fought states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as in Nevada and New Hampshire. She said the campaign will make major ad buys in key battleground including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, and North Carolina.

☆ Hundreds of Disney employees had already relocated from California to Florida before the company axed its $1 billion dollar campus in escalating feud with DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Disney scrapped plans to open up a new $1 billion campus in Florida on Thursday. According to the New York Times, hundreds of Disney employees had relocated to Florida already. Disney announced the plans to scrap the $1 billion complex in an internal email on Thursday, a week before DeSantis was expected to announce a presidential run. According to the New York Times, at least 1,000 employees were set to be relocated to the campus, named Lake Nona Town Center. Disney World currently employs 75,000 people in the state, and the new campus would have brought another 2,000 jobs to Florida.

☆ The world's biggest publisher is suing a Florida school district for banning books by writers including Toni Morrison and Khaled Hosseini
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Penguin Random House is suing a Florida school district and board after it banned certain books. Penguin Random House has joined forces with an authors' group to sue a Florida school district after it banned a number of books. Books removed or restricted by Escambia include "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. All have had books removed from libraries or had student access restricted by the district, PEN America said in a press release. "The book removals and restrictions enacted by the School District and School Board are denying students access to books they would like to read, or chilling such access."

☆ High-stakes game of keeping secrets on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Citadel Securities' trading strategies? Look no further than a recently filed lawsuit by Citadel Securities against two former employees, per Bloomberg. The suit, which you can read here, alleges the former employees were building a competing high-frequency trading firm while still employed and used trade secrets gained while at Citadel Securities. Portofino told Bloomberg that the Citadel Securities lawsuit was "corporate bullying" and that it would defend itself. On the one hand, trading firms invest a lot of money — check out some salary ranges here — in developing these strategies.

☆ Disney scraps $1 billion campus in Florida — and more than 2,000 jobs that were set to move. It's escalating the fight with Ron DeSantis.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Disney is backtracking on a plan to build a nearly $1 billion campus in Florida, The Wall Street Journal reported. The plan would have moved about 2,000 Disney staff members to a town just outside Orlando. Walt Disney made U-turn on its decision to build a nearly $1 billion corporate campus in Florida, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The campus would have moved more than 2,000 Disney employees to a town near Orlando. The decision to scrap the campus appears to be another development in Disney's battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

May 17 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed into law a bill that bans gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender youth, and also enacts obstacles for adults to access treatment. Taking effect in the third most populous U.S. state, the law escalates a Republican political strategy to pursue bills restricting transgender rights. In addition, the new Florida law, which takes effect immediately, grants Florida courts jurisdiction in child custody battles over transgender kids when a Florida parent opposes treatment that is being pursued under an out-of-state parent. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) criticized the bill after it passed the legislature, opposing government interference into the doctor-patient relationship. This ban threatens health care providers with criminal penalties simply for doing their jobs, and will make it even harder for transgender and gender diverse people to obtain essential health care," Marci Bowers, the association's president, said in a statement.

☆ Ahead of 2024 bid, DeSantis challenges Trump on abortion limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday he was proud to have signed a six-week abortion ban, after seeming initially reluctant to embrace the recently passed law in Florida that outlaws almost all abortions in the state. At a news conference on Tuesday, DeSantis said he was “proud” to have signed the legislation and fired back at Trump, who suggested in an interview this week that the six-week ban is overly restrictive. “He will not answer whether he would sign it or not,” said DeSantis, who is a leading contender for the Republican nomination. While DeSantis’ abortion stance could help garner him votes among hard-right conservatives, some Republican donors have expressed unease with his position. In an interview with Reuters last week, Republican donor Andy Sabin said he could not support DeSantis after he signed the abortion law.

☆ Republican allies form Super PAC to back Pence presidential bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Allies of Mike Pence launched a Super PAC on Tuesday to garner support for the former vice president as he moves toward an expected run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The political action committee will be led by former U.S. Representative Jeb Hensarling and longtime Republican strategist Scott Reed, the group said in a statement. Super PACS are allowed to raise unlimited sums for political purposes, provided they do not coordinate directly with campaigns. Standing up to Trump has not won him broad support among the Republicans who remain loyal to the former president. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, an expected candidate, drew 21% support, while Pence was backed by 5% of Republicans.

☆ Kentucky Republicans to choose challenger to Democratic Governor Beshear
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

May 16 (Reuters) - Republican voters in Kentucky were casting ballots on Tuesday to choose their party's challenger to Democratic Governor Andy Beshear, setting up one of the most closely watched elections of the year. The winner will face Beshear, who enjoys high approval ratings despite being a Democrat in a strongly Republican state, in the November general election. Trump won Kentucky in the 2020 election against Democrat Joe Biden by more than 25 percentage points. While Cameron has Trump's official endorsement, other candidates have sought to claim the mantle of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement. One Republican challenger, Stephen Knipper, has echoed Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was rigged and endorsed conspiracy theories about voting machines.

☆ Fact Check-Image of Ron DeSantis in burger restaurant captured in May 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An image of Florida governor Ron DeSantis sitting across from former vice president Mike Pence in a burger restaurant was captured in May 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing measures in restaurants were still in place. Some shared the image of Pence sitting across from DeSantis with the false claim that it was captured ahead of former president Donald Trump’s rally in Iowa on May 14 (here). IOWA — Just ahead of Trump’s rally, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence sit down to eat in the same state” (here). DeSantis lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants in September 2020, months after the image of DeSantis and Pence was captured (here). The image of Pence and DeSantis dates to May 2020.

☆ DeSantis defunds diversity programs at Florida public colleges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Rich Mckay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 15 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday banning tax dollars from being used in state colleges for diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI) in a sweeping measure that also places restrictions on classroom discussion of race. While DEI programs are meant to assist in building racial, social and religious diversity among university faculty and students, the governor and other conservative critics have said they promote left-wing politics and sow racial divisions on campuses. "DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination," DeSantis said at the bill signing on the campus of New College of Florida, a public liberal arts college, on Monday. DeSantis, who is expected to launch a presidential bid later this month, has positioned himself as a leader in that fight. DeSantis said students who want to study diversity subjects should look at universities outside the state.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville. The group has raised more than $225 million for DeSantis and currently boasts nearly $86 million in cash on hand. Friends of Ron DeSantis could soon try to transfer a moneybag roughly 800 times the size of Donalds'. The state committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, appears to be positioning itself for the transfer. Friends of Ron DeSantis is allowed to accept unlimited contributions from donors, and it shows.

☆ Bob Iger to Ron DeSantis: Does Florida want our jobs and taxes or not?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Disney CEO Bob Iger said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ attacks on the company threaten its plans for $17 billion of investment and 13,000 new jobs at Disney World over the next 10 years. In comments Wednesday during a call with investors, Iger defended Disney as Florida attempts to wrest control of powers granted to a special taxing district overseeing Disney World’s zoning decisions. Iger did not mention DeSantis by name or explicitly say Disney is reconsidering its planned investment. Disney has for decades controlled a special taxing district that had the right to make zoning decisions in and around Disney World. A general view of Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World.

[1/2] Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger poses on the champagne-colored red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 12, 2023.... Read moreMay 10 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Chief Executive Bob Iger on Wednesday accused Florida politicians of retaliating against the company and questioned the state's interest in the entertainment conglomerate's continued investment in Walt Disney World. It plans to invest $17 billion over the next decade expanding Walt Disney World. And by the way, we pay them above the minimum wage, substantially above the minimum wage dictated by the state of Florida," Iger said in remarks made during the company's quarterly investor call. He said Disney has been forced to file a lawsuit in federal court to protect its business interests. Iger disputed that, noting some 2,000 special districts exist in Florida to foster development and that "we were one of them."

[1/3] A man looks at his phone as he passes by a screen advertising Walt Disney's streaming service Disney+ in New York City, U.S., November 12, 2019. The division ended the quarter with an operating loss of $659 million, compared with $1.1 billion in the prior quarter. At the same time, total subscribers to the flagship Disney+ service dropped by 4 million to 157.8 million. Inge Heydorn, a fund manager at GP Bullhound, said a question for investors is: "are the trade offs from lower marketing costs leading to lower subscribers?" "We've only just begun to scratch the surface of what we can do with advertising on Disney+," Iger said on a conference call with analysts.

☆ Disney's Bob Iger taunts Florida with an ominous threat: 'Does the state want us to invest more, employ more, and pay more taxes — or not?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Last month, Disney sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, escalating a war that's gone on for over a year. Iger threatened DeSantis, asking the governor if he wanted Disney to "pay more taxes or not." Disney's feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has gone from bitter to downright acrimonious in recent months. "One question: Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes — or not?" "We've built a business that employs, as we've said before, over 75,000 people and attracts tens of millions of people to the state," Iger said.

☆ Opinion: How to fight back against the ‘anti-woke’ movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Opinion Khalil Gibran Muhammad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Several states across the country have imposed bans on books, K-12 educational curricula and diversity programs in recent months. And even where statewide bans are not in place, restrictive measures are being enacted by local school boards. The mere mention of structural racism or gender discrimination or sexuality can potentially cost educators and librarians their jobs. The beginnings of this national movement to defend the freedom to learn is rekindling relationships between college students and civil rights activists and inspiring new ones between college faculty and K-12 teachers and librarians. With such formidable alliances among students, teachers, organizers and academics being forged in communities across the country, we finally have an answer to reverse the swelling tide of injustice and authoritarianism.

HOW THE LAWSUITS DIFFERDisney's lawsuit was filed in federal court and alleges that DeSantis violated the company's protections under the U.S. Constitution, including its First Amendment right to free speech. In contrast, the state court lawsuit against Disney focuses on the procedures the old board followed in approving the agreements with Disney. The Florida district is asking the state court to void the Disney agreements. The district could file a motion in federal court to ask Walker to dismiss or pause Disney's federal case while the state court proceeds. Legal doctrines hold that federal judges should refrain from hearing a case where there is a related state court proceeding, particularly when a state court decision could resolve the federal lawsuit.

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