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When Thiel spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention, he had more hope that the party would concentrate on economic issues, his business associate said. Four political sources also told Reuters that Thiel is taking a step back from U.S. politics. In 2012, Thiel backed libertarian lawmaker Ron Paul, and in 2016 he donated some $1.25 million to the campaign efforts of Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination. In the 2022 election cycle, however, Thiel emerged as a potential Republican kingmaker, contributing more than $35 million to 16 federal-level Republican candidates, according to OpenSecrets. The business associate said he was not aware of any special proviso for former employees.

☆ Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson formally announces White House bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Tim Reid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Former Republican Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson formally launched his 2024 presidential bid on Wednesday, in a speech that portrayed himself as a more moderate alternative to party frontrunner Donald Trump. Unlike all the other declared and potential Republican White House candidates, who rallied behind Trump after the indictment, Hutchinson said at the time that Trump should pull out of the race. In his formal announcement speech, Hutchinson did not name Trump, but appeared to break with him on foreign policy by decrying the isolationist approach Trump took to international issues when president. "Isolationism only leads to weakness and weakness leads to war," Hutchinson said. Moderation is a tough sell in Republican primary battles, which attract mostly conservative voters.

☆ DeSantis could win Republican votes with Disney clash -Reuters/Ipsos poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Independents were evenly divided in the Reuters/Ipsos poll. Polling shows DeSantis trailing former President Donald Trump among Republican voters. DeSantis has argued that his actions against Disney were rightfully rolling back special treatment for the company. Some 64% of Republicans in the Reuters/Ipsos poll agreed, with 37% of them siding with the vast majority of Democrats, who said DeSantis was punishing Disney for exercising free speech. The new Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,005 adults across the United States, including 450 self-described Democrats and 366 Republicans.

☆ Goldman Sachs M&A team doesn't get out of bed for less than $10 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Goldman Sachs' M&A team operates under a similar mandate, albeit with a few more zeros. Why bother stressing over 10 $1 billion deals when you can just do a $10 billion deal? It's not just the M&A market that's facing issues. The bank has held the top spot on the year-end M&A league tables for decades, but it is hearing footsteps. More on Goldman's M&A strategy amid an industry drought.

☆ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responds to Disney lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | 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 EmailFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis responds to Disney lawsuitCNBC' Julia Boorstin joins 'Halftime Report' to share remarks from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' communications director about Disney's lawsuit against the state.

Disney sued DeSantis on Wednesday to block a state law that created an oversight board that Disney said will interfere with billions of dollars of planned development. Disney alleges a law that imposed an oversight board was punishment for voicing opposition to DeSantis' classroom instruction law known as the Parental Rights in Education Act. The gender-education statute, derided by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" law, survived challenges in federal court before a different judge. Free speech has been central to several rulings by Walker against DeSantis, although the judge has also at times sided with the governor. Walker said Florida had become a place where the First Amendment allowed, rather than prevented, the state to limit speech.

☆ Voters say neither Biden nor Trump should run in 2024 - Reuters/Ipsos
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jason Lange | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Just 41% of poll respondents - including 74% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans - approved of his performance as president. Sixty-one percent of registered Democrats in the poll said he was too old to work in government. By comparison, only 35% of registered Republicans said Trump, 76, was too old. In a hypothetical one-on-one contest, Biden led Trump 43% to 38% among registered voters, a lead for the Democrat that was just outside the poll's 4 percentage point credibility interval for registered voters. The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,005 adults across the United States, including 445 self-described Democrats and 361 Republicans.

If he wins, he will face off against Biden again in the November 2024 election. The poll showed that a majority of registered voters don't want either Biden or Trump to run again. U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at North America's Building Trades Unions Legislative Conference at the Washington Hilton, in Washington, April 25, 2023. Biden ran a mostly virtual campaign to defeat Trump in the 2020 election as COVID raged. After losing to Biden in 2020, Trump refused to concede defeat, falsely claiming that there had been widespread electoral fraud.

Closely watched for clues as to what shape Biden's 2024 presidential re-election campaign will take, the video released on Tuesday suggests he will warn Republicans are threatening "bedrock freedoms." "Freedom - personal freedom - is fundamental to who we are as Americans," Biden says in the three-minute video. Previewing their own likely campaign messaging, Republicans responded with a video that offered a dystopian vision of what a second Biden term would entail, and asks "What if the weakest president we ever had was reelected?" The Republican National Committee's "Beat Biden" video is presented as a fantasy newscast, one in which San Francisco is closed because of "escalating crime and fentanyl crisis." "The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer,” Biden says.

☆ Billionaire Ken Griffin gives $20 million to Miami Dade College weeks after $300 million Harvard donation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Michelle Abrego | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Billionaire Ken Griffin donated $20 million to Miami Dade College to launch a new scholarship. Earlier this month, Griffin gave $300 million to his alma mater Harvard University. On Saturday, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Citadel donated $20 million to Miami Dade College, one of the country's largest and most diverse schools. Earlier this month, Griffin gave $300 million to Harvard University, his Ivy League alma mater, where he has now donated more than $500 million. Schools like Miami Dade are "the on-ramp to the American Dream," said Griffin in a commencement speech to Miami Dade College graduates on Saturday afternoon.

☆ DeSantis praises 'strong Japan' military build-up in PM Kishida meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Florida Governor Ron DeSantis shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as he pays a courtesy call to Kishida at the latter's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, 24 April 2023. KIMIMASA MAYAMA/Pool via REUTERSTOKYO, April 24 (Reuters) - Potential U.S. presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Monday met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and lauded bilateral ties, especially the idea of a "strong Japan". "We really appreciate what a great ally Japan has been to the U.S. for many, many decades," DeSantis told Kishida at the start of their meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo. We understand it's a tough neighbourhood out here ... and we really believe that a strong Japan is good for America, and a strong America is good for Japan," he said. DeSantis, who is set to meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi later on Monday, will head to South Korea, Israel and Britain after leaving Japan.

☆ Republican hopefuls woo evangelicals in Iowa, vow to restrict abortion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Nathan Layne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

CLIVE, Iowa, April 22 (Reuters) - Donald Trump and other Republican presidential hopefuls called for restricting abortion at an event for evangelicals in Iowa on Saturday, courting the key conservative voting bloc in the state set to hold the party's first nominating contest in early 2024. Roughly 1,000 people attended the annual presidential forum organized by the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition, a conservative nonprofit. Iowa is slated to hold the first-in-the-nation Republican caucus in early 2024. Strong evangelical support early on in the nominating process could help give a challenger a chance to strike a blow against Trump. Trump won 76% of the white evangelical vote in 2020, down from 80% in 2016, according to Edison Research exit polls.

☆ The Janes 1960s underground abortion network
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +28 min

The group was officially created in 1969 as the “Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation.”But after running ads in an underground newspaper: “Pregnant? “It wasn’t just abortion,” Barron explained. “Vacuum aspiration was much easier to do, and I think it’s less difficult for the woman,” Scott said. We had to keep the service running.”Laura Kaplan volunteered for the Janes, later immortalizing the group in her book, "The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service." Each Jane was charged with 11 counts of abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion, with a possible sentence of up to 110 years in prison.

☆ Israeli PM plans to meet with Florida's DeSantis during Israel trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to meet with Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when the expected 2024 presidential candidate visits Israel this week, Netanyahu said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. DeSantis is traveling abroad to Japan, South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom. The visit to Israel coincides with protests over Netanyahu's plans to tighten controls on the country's Supreme Court. Netanyahu, asked by CBS whether he would meet with DeSantis, replied: "Of course, I'll meet with everyone. DeSantis met with Netanyahu during a visit to Jerusalem in 2019, calling Florida "the most pro-Israel state in the nation."

☆ Republican hopefuls to court evangelical vote in Iowa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Nathan Layne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

CLIVE, Iowa, April 22 (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopefuls will make their pitch to evangelical voters in Iowa on Saturday, the first major event for candidates to court the key conservative voting bloc in a state set to hold the party's first nominating contest in early 2024. It will be headlined by former Vice President Mike Pence, a devout evangelical who may soon launch a presidential bid, and U.S. Iowa is slated to hold the first-in-the-nation Republican caucus in early 2024. Strong evangelical support early on in the nominating process could help give a challenger a chance to strike a blow against Trump, who won three-fourths of the white evangelical vote nationally in 2020. Trump won 76% of the white evangelical vote in 2020, down from 80% in 2016, according to Edison Research exit polls.

☆ Desantis Vs. Disney: What it means for business in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDesantis Vs. Disney: What it means for business in FloridaFlorida state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who represents Orlando, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the latest battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney.

[1/2] Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the 2023 NHGOP Amos Tuck Dinner in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., April 14, 2023. Seemingly entrenched in culture wars, Florida governor DeSantis risks being overshadowed by Trump's fundraising, improving polling numbers and endorsements by lawmakers, anti-Trump donors say. Other polls of Republicans alone show Trump has surged into a commanding lead over DeSantis in recent weeks. History shows that early endorsements by elected party officials give candidates momentum and can be predictive of who wins a presidential nomination. These culture war appeals to Trump's Republican base so far do not appear to be working.

☆ Disney tells its lobbyists to step up fight against DeSantis and his allies in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stickers and apparel promoting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sit on a table before a book tour event at the North Charleston Coliseum on April 19, 2023 in North Charleston, South Carolina. Disney is preparing to take its fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his GOP allies in the state legislature to the next level, according to people familiar with the matter. Republican Florida state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia warned Disney not to fight back, as he stood next to DeSantis at a news conference Monday. At the same event, DeSantis vowed to nullify an agreement that would allow the Orlando amusement park to circumvent a special governing district board filled with DeSantis appointees.

☆ Disney announces groundbreaking for affordable housing in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Walt Disney World said on Wednesday it would break ground next year on a planned affordable housing development in Central Florida. The unit of Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said it plans to provide 1,400 housing units on 80 acres (32.4 hectares) of land "a few miles away" from the Magic Kingdom and near schools and shopping. Tensions between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney began last year, when the company publicly opposed the state's legislation barring instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. Disney responded by pushing through a developer's agreement and restrictive covenants that would limit the new board's actions for decades. The Governor responded by calling on the state lawmakers to pass a bill that would nullify the company's efforts.

In Japan, DeSantis is expected to meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, said two other people, who requested anonymity to discuss private matters. Back home in Florida, there are signs he is beginning to build out a foreign policy apparatus. His political operation is in the process of bringing on Dustin Carmack, a cybersecurity and intelligence expert with significant foreign policy experience, said one of the people. DeSantis traveled to Washington earlier this week to meet with Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. DeSantis is set to address an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation, a major think tank, on Friday.

☆ Biden considering launching re-election bid on Tuesday, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A Tuesday announcement by Biden, 80, would come four years to the day after his 2020 campaign launch. Biden is the oldest person to have occupied the White House and would be 86 at the end of a second four-year term. The White House and the Democratic National Committee declined to comment. Biden is expected to meet next week with top volunteer fundraisers from his last campaign. Biden is expected to remind voters of these actions, while lauding his handling of the pandemic economic recovery, especially the strength of the U.S. labor market.

☆ Desantis Vs. Disney: War heating up in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Melissa Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDesantis Vs. Disney: War heating up in FloridaCNBC's Brian Schwartz joins 'Fast Money' to discuss the ongoing battle between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders.

☆ DeSantis signs bill to lower bar on death sentence in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Three jurors voted against a death sentence, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, leaving Cruz to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. "Once a defendant in a capital case is found guilty by a unanimous jury, one juror should not be able to veto a capital sentence," he said in a statement. Florida prosecutors trying capital felony cases would need to convince a supermajority, or two-thirds, of a 12-member jury panel that someone who is convicted deserves the death penalty. It would have no effect on the requirement for a jury's unanimous vote to convict a defendant. Florida joins Alabama as the only states where a unanimous jury decision is not required, the Death Penalty Information Center noted.

Trump won 76% of the white evangelical vote in 2020, down from 80% in 2016, according to Edison Research exit polls. In a March poll, Trump edged DeSantis among evangelicals in a two-way matchup 51% to 42%, a nine-point improvement for Trump from the month before. The gathering is traditionally an important stop for Republican presidential candidates, although this year DeSantis, who was invited, will not be going. Vander Plaats said evangelicals will consider whether Trump can prevail next year after losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. “I don’t think President Trump is a principled man -- I think he was a great president,” Ascol said.

April 19 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' new oversight board has discovered another "11th hour agreement" that allows Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) to set its own utility rates at its Orlando theme parks, the board's chairman said on Wednesday. A Disney subsidiary, which provides utility services to the central Florida district that includes the Walt Disney World Resort, negotiated an agreement in February to extend its contract through 2032, Chairman Martin Garcia said at a public meeting. "Last Friday afternoon I learned for the first time about one of these new 11th hour agreements entered into between Disney and the district. "We'll have to evaluate the legality of that agreement, that essentially enables Disney to set their utility rates. The board was established to provide state oversight of a special district around Walt Disney World.

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