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Disney tells its lobbyists to step up fight against DeSantis and his allies in Florida

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Disney tells its lobbyists to step up fight against DeSantis and his allies in Florida

Stickers and attire selling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sit on a desk earlier than a guide tour occasion on the North Charleston Coliseum on April 19, 2023 in North Charleston, South Carolina. 

Sean Rayford | Getty Photographs

Disney is making ready to take its struggle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his GOP allies within the state legislature to the subsequent stage, based on folks aware of the matter.

With simply weeks till Florida’s legislative session ends, Disney is pushing lobbyists to step up their efforts to affect the Republican-controlled state legislature and to focus on land use associated payments that would damage the corporate, amongst different measures, mentioned the folks, who declined to be named in an effort to converse freely concerning the points.

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A spokesman for Disney declined to touch upon the lobbying effort.

The battle between the leisure big and DeSantis began final yr after Disney opposed the Florida invoice that critics named “Do not Say Homosexual,” which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identification in public colleges for kindergarten by third grade.

Then, earlier than DeSantis may strip the district the place Disney relies of its self-governing standing and exchange the board that oversaw the realm, a Disney-allied panel signed a long-lasting growth settlement that drastically limits the governor’s management. DeSantis has mentioned that state legislators are drafting laws to nullify that settlement.

Republican officers and enterprise leaders have more and more criticized DeSantis’ salvos in opposition to the corporate. Former President Donald Trump and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — two of Florida governor’s potential 2024 rivals — and even former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein have all pushed again on DeSantis for his battle with the corporate.

Since DeSantis steered Monday that he needed to develop land close to Disney World, probably by constructing a jail, Disney introduced that “inexpensive and attainable housing” across the park is about to open in 2026.

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Republican Florida state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia warned Disney to not struggle again, as he stood subsequent to DeSantis at a information convention Monday.

“I’ve a pair phrases for Disney. You aren’t going to win this struggle. This governor will,” Ingoglia mentioned. “One phrase of recommendation for Disney going ahead: let it go. Simply let it go.”

On the identical occasion, DeSantis vowed to nullify an settlement that will enable the Orlando amusement park to bypass a particular governing district board full of DeSantis appointees.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis solutions questions throughout a press convention at Seminole State Faculty in Sanford, Florida, Monday, Might 16, 2022.

Joe Burbank | Orlando Sentinel | Getty Photographs

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Shortly after DeSantis’ remarks on Monday, Disney executives referred to as on lobbyists to keep watch over any Florida payments that would damage the corporate and to begin aggressively working in opposition to them, based on an individual with direct data of the matter. There’s a specific curiosity in combatting laws associated to land use following DeSantis’ remarks, this particular person mentioned.

This particular person, who was unauthorized to talk publicly on Disney’s plans, instructed CNBC that one of many land-related payments Disney lobbyists are watching rigorously is CS/SB 1604: Land Use and Growth Laws. Ingoglia launched the invoice within the Senate, and an an identical invoice was put ahead within the state Home.

Each chambers have launched amendments that would have an effect on Disney. The measures would enable a “newly elected or appointed governing physique of the impartial particular district,” such because the DeSantis-appointed governing physique of the Disney district, to assessment any growth agreements and have the choice to vote on whether or not that district will readopt that unique growth deal.

Each of these amendments have been filed on Tuesday, the day after the DeSantis’ press convention the place he hammered Disney, based on the state legislature web site.

Disney and CEO Bob Iger do not look like taking DeSantis and his allies’ newest strikes flippantly.

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Buddies of Iger’s say that the Disney CEO could possibly be hoping {that a} new lobbying effort in opposition to DeSantis and allies, together with a vital public notion of the governor’s actions, may dissuade sufficient Republican officers from siding with the governor. DeSantis successfully controls the state legislature with a GOP supermajority.

“It is virtually like each time DeSantis says these loopy issues Bob comes out forward,” a longtime ally of Iger’s instructed CNBC. “He feels Disney is prepared for the struggle however I feel he is form of watching the governor attempt to float his personal boat on this one.”

A Disney spokesman instructed CNBC that this notion of Iger is “not correct.”

Bob Iger, CEO, Disney, throughout CNBC interview, Feb. 9, 2023.

Randy Shropshire | CNBC

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DeSantis’ potential opponents in a presidential major have pounced on the controversy as an opportunity to stay it to the Florida governor. Trump, who’s working for president, and Christie, one other potential 2024 candidate, have each ripped DeSantis for his conflict with Disney.

“Disney’s subsequent transfer would be the announcement that no extra money will likely be invested in Florida due to the Governor – Actually, they may even announce a gradual withdrawal or sale of sure properties, or the entire thing,” Trump mentioned in a Reality Social submit response to DeSantis’ newest struggle with the corporate, with out citing proof that the corporate may take these steps.

Early GOP major polls present DeSantis because the second main candidate behind Trump. The ex-president has held an enormous edge in many of the latest polls.

The Disney feud could price DeSantis donors, too. Some Republican megadonors, who have been as soon as staunchly in DeSantis’ nook for 2024 GOP, have referred to as the governor’s allies not too long ago to say they won’t assist him run for president, based on a longtime DeSantis ally. As an alternative, they mentioned they may again one other attainable candidate in Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., this particular person mentioned.

There could also be a means out of the protracted struggle, nevertheless. Earlier than DeSantis’ newest assault, Iger had hinted to Time that he was open to attempting to make amends with the governor.

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“I don’t view this as a going-to-mattresses state of affairs for us. If the governor of Florida needs to fulfill with me to debate all of this, in fact, I’d be glad to try this,” he mentioned.

Iger has additionally publicly ripped DeSantis’ remedy of Disney.

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Marijuana on the Ballot: 2024 Live Results

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Marijuana on the Ballot: 2024 Live Results
Florida Amendment 3: Legalize Marijuana 0% Nebraska Initiative 437: Legalize Medical Marijuana 0% Nebraska Initiative 438: Establish a Medical Cannabis Commission 0% North Dakota Measure 5: Legalize Marijuana 0% South Dakota Measure 29: Legalize Marijuana 0%
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US stocks stage rally as global markets await election result

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US stocks stage rally as global markets await election result

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US stocks rallied while bonds fell back as Americans headed to the polls in one of the most significant elections in recent memory, with sweeping implications for global markets.

Tuesday’s moves had echoes of the “Trump trades” of recent weeks in which investors bet on bitcoin and stocks and sold Treasuries. They had pared some of those positions on Monday following weekend polls that cast some doubt on Donald Trump’s chances of victory.

The Mexican peso, which typically weakens when Trump is seen to be doing well, hit its lowest level in two years at 20.35 against the dollar.

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“The good news is that the wait for the US election is over, the bad news is that it will be a long night for volatility,” said Bob Savage, head of markets strategy and insights at BNY, who described Tuesday’s mood as “risk on . . . but timidly given the too-close-to-call uncertainty”.

By early afternoon in New York, the blue-chip S&P 500 was up 1.1 per cent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had gained 1.3 per cent.

Shares in Trump’s lossmaking social media group, Trump Media & Technology, jumped 14 per cent while bitcoin gained more than 4 per cent to trade just below $70,000.

However, the US dollar, which rose in October on expectations of a Trump win, slid to a two-week low against a basket of currencies, down 0.4 per cent on the day.

Wall Street has been preparing for a long night, pausing software updates and booking hotel rooms for suburb-dwelling traders among other logistics.

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“There is a hyped-up sense of anticipation as we await the results,” said Mark Dowding, chief investment officer at RBC BlueBay Asset Management. “We all know how much is at stake on this election outcome, but until the polls close we won’t know which way to jump.”

Tuesday’s sell-off in Treasuries was boosted by unexpectedly strong US service sector data, pushing yields on benchmark 10-year notes to 4.34 per cent, up 0.03 percentage points on the day and close to Friday’s four-month peak of 4.39 per cent.

Investors are anxious that there might not be clarity on the winner of the election running into a critical couple of days for global markets, with interest rate-setting decisions from both the Federal Reserve and Bank of England due on Thursday.

William Vaughan, associate portfolio manager at Brandywine Global Investment Management, said the potential for an unclear election result by the time of the Fed meeting contributed “significant uncertainty”, highlighting the four-day wait until the Associated Press made its call on the winner of the 2020 election.

The Ice BofA Move index, a keenly watched gauge of investors’ expectations of future volatility in US Treasuries, on Monday hit its highest in more than a year as a mixture of political and interest rate uncertainty unsettled the $27tn market.

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Analysts at UBS said levels implied by options on the S&P 500 index suggested the benchmark could swing sharply at the end of the week. The cost of buying protection against swings in exchange rates such as euro-dollar has also jumped.

The knife-edge election is being viewed as a potential watershed moment by investors. If Republicans were to win the White House and both houses of Congress, investors worry that Trump’s promised mixture of tariffs and tax cuts could feed inflation and put upward pressure on interest rates.

That has led to a rally in the dollar and a rise in longer-dated Treasury yields in recent weeks.

European stock markets moved off their lows as Wall Street rallied, leaving the regional benchmark Stoxx 600 index to recover earlier losses and close flat while the UK’s FTSE 100 ended down just 0.1 per cent.

Elsewhere, UK long-term borrowing costs touched a fresh high for the year, with 10-year yields at 4.54 per cent. That topped levels reached after last week’s Budget fed concerns on government borrowing levels.

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Trump and allies have primed supporters to falsely believe he has no chance of losing

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Trump and allies have primed supporters to falsely believe he has no chance of losing

Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Monday, the night before Election Day.

Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images


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Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

For more 2024 election coverage from the NPR Network head to our live updates page.

It’s possible former President Donald Trump will win the election — and also quite possible he loses. But many in Trump’s orbit keep falsely telling his supporters the only way that happens is because of cheating.

Polling indicates a competitive race in seven battleground states that will decide if Trump or Vice President Harris is the next president, states where voters’ political and demographic makeups mean there are no guaranteed winners.

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Trump still insists he did not lose the 2020 election, despite numerous recounts and court cases that did not find evidence of fraud. His 2024 campaign is built on that foundation, telling his supporters the only way to “Make America Great Again” in a second term is to vote so that his victory could be “too big to rig.”

A large part of Trump’s closing message in recent weeks has focused on attacking any outcome other than victory as tainted, illegitimate and fraudulent, with no proof or basis in reality.

He has regularly questioned the legality of Harris’ role as the Democratic presidential nominee, calling President Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and her subsequent selection under Democratic Party rules a “coup.”

After his supporters launched a failed insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump has still refused to say if he would accept the results of this election, win or lose.

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Eric Trump and his wife, Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump high-five during a rally for former President Donald Trump in Reading, Pa., on Monday.

Eric Trump and his wife, Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump high-five during a rally for former President Donald Trump in Reading, Pa., on Monday.

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Alongside the Republican National Committee, led by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Trump’s legal team has planted the seeds to cry foul in several key states if he loses, like Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, filing numerous lawsuits seeking to disqualify voters and ballots or demand rule changes they say suppress Republican voters.

The final days of the campaign have seen a barrage of baseless claims about voting rules, possible election outcomes and Trump’s chances to win from a constellation of his family, friends and faithful associates.

Social media site X has been home to a proliferation of false fraud claims about the election, and the site’s owner, billionaire Elon Musk, has used his considerable platform to amplify conspiracy theories about ballot counting and other normal election procedures while misleadingly sharing early voting data to claim a “decisive Republican victory.”

On Monday, Trump’s son Donald Trump, Jr. riled up a partially empty arena in North Carolina by urging people to show up to vote en masse so “you don’t give [Democrats] a week to find that magical truck of ballots.”

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Trump himself has posted online that “Pennsylvania is cheating” and often dedicates parts of his rambling rallies to accusing his opponents of cheating while bragging about often-overinflated poll numbers.

In Pittsburgh Monday night at his penultimate presidential campaign rally, Trump said he has been given “about a 96.2% chance” of winning Tuesday, of which there is no evidence.

Many factors go into a Trump loss — or win

Polling, election analysts and math suggests Trump does not have a 96.2% chance of winning enough states to be the Electoral College winner. The reason the race is instead very close is not fraud, but rather several potential warning signs with his third presidential campaign and voters’ reaction to it.

In several of the swing states, there are lingering effects from the public and private pressure campaign he exerted to get Republican lawmakers and officials to overturn his 2020 defeat. The 2022 midterms saw several high-profile Trump-backed candidates who embraced the false fraud claims falter in what otherwise should have been a good year for Republicans.

His feuds with Republicans who defended the election results led to a notable loss of support among independent voters and conservatives who oppose his candidacy.

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Efforts the RNC undertook to make inroads with nonwhite voters in the last election cycle have been abandoned in favor of beefed-up election integrity teams. As a result, much of the get-out-the-vote operation has been outsourced to inexperienced third parties.

After the Supreme Court overturned the longstanding Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed a national right to obtain abortion care, Republicans have lost ground with women, especially in states that have passed strict abortion bans in the aftermath of that decision.

In many states, Trump’s plea for Republicans to “bank your vote” and participate in early voting appears to have paid off, but election data also shows a sizable share of those voters shifted from Election Day. That could potentially lead to lower Republican turnout Tuesday as part of an overall shift in voter behavior since the pandemic-era 2020 presidential race.

All of these factors could lead to a Trump loss when all the votes are counted, or be footnotes if he wins, but none of them involve the widespread voter fraud he has primed his supporters to be ready for, without cause.

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