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The Walt Disney Company has pulled the plug on a $1bn office complex in Orlando, following a warning from Disney leadership that billions of dollars in projects were on the line after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis escalated his feud with the company. The development scheduled for construction in the Orlando area was set to bring 2,000 jobs to the region, with 1,000 employees expected to be relocated from southern California. In an email to employees on 18 May, Disney’s theme park and consumer products chair Josh D’Amaro pointed to “changing business conditions” for the cancellation of the 60-acre Lake Nona Town Center project, according to The New York Times, which first reported the move. “I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business,” he added, noting that the company has still planned $17bn in projects over the next decade its Disney World campus. “I hope we’re able to,” he said. For years, Florida legislators and the governor’s office enjoyed a close relationship with the state’s largest taxpayers, among the state’s largest employers, which has wielded enormous political influence while bringing in billions of dollars to the state each year. Now, the company and DeSantis allies are suing one another, following a year-long feud over opposition to what opponents have called Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that boiled over into political and legal battles that could shape the company’s business in the state. Moments after board appointed by Mr DeSantis voted to strip the company’s control of its Florida park, Disney filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and state officials alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” for “expressing a political viewpoint.” The lawsuit follows the governor’s state takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, made up of conservative activists and DeSantis loyalists, a move that followed Florida Republicans’ punitive measures against the company after its public opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Days later, the board voted to sue Disney in state court. In March, Disney slammed the governor’s “anti-business” approach to the company, which Mr DeSantis has accused of advancing a “woke agenda” while his administration targets LGBT+ people and their families with sweeping laws to control public school education, healthcare access and speech. The governor dissolved a decades-old municipal district that allowed Disney to control its own land use, zoning rules and public services, without putting a tax burden on Florida residents. In effect, Disney taxed itself to foot the district’s bill for its municipal needs. “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Disney CEO Bob Iger said on a conference call with analysts last week. A statement from Disney said the company has decided to pull out of the new campus construction “given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions.” The “Parental Rights in Education Act” – what opponents have called “Don’t Say Gay” – prohibits instruction of “sexual orientation or gender identity” from kindergarten through the third grade and any such discussion “that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students” in other grades. The governor recently expanded the law to explicitly extend such restrictions to all grades. Critics have warned that the broadly written law threatens to freeze classroom speech involving LGBT+ people and issues, from civil rights history lessons to discussion of LGBT+ students, school staff and their families. Following passage of the Florida law, lawmakers across the US and in Congress have introduced similar legislation, including more than two dozen measures in current legislative sessions. Read More DeSantis v Disney: Why Florida’s governor is at war with the Mouse ‘We will not be erased’: Critics slam Ron DeSantis for unprecedented bills attacking LGBTQ+ people Penguin Random House sues Florida school district over ‘unconstitutional’ book bans Florida teacher under investigation for showing Disney movie with LGBT+ character speaks out

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Composer Rene Orth's “10 Days in a Madhouse,” based on the 1887 book by trailblazing reporter Nellie Bly, opened Opera Philadelphia's O23 Festival

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Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell reportedly tripped and fell while disembarking from a plane earlier this month before he abruptly froze mid-sentence during a news conference on Wednesday, according to reports. Mr McConnell fell from a plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on 14 July after the flight was cancelled and everyone had boarded the plane, two sources told NBC News. The 81-year-old has recently started using a wheelchair as a precaution while travelling in crowded places such as airports, a source said. A passenger who was in the same plane as Mr McConnel said he had a “face plant” and another passenger helped the Republican leader, according to the report. On Wednesday, he abruptly stopped while speaking during the weekly Republican leadership press conference and had to be led away by colleagues. The Kentucky senator stared vacantly for around 20 seconds before his colleagues who were standing behind him asked him if he wanted to return to his office. He did not respond but slowly walked back. He returned later to the conference and said he is “fine” and answered questions from the press. “The president called to check on me. I told him I got sandbagged,” he joked, in an apparent reference to a quote from Joe Biden in June he made after he tripped over a sandbag and fell while onstage at the US Air Force Academy graduation. A polio survivor as a child, Mr McConnel has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in climbing stairs. Mr McConnel was out of the Senate for almost six weeks after he sustained a concussion and fractured a rib when he fell and hit his head after a dinner event at a hotel earlier this year. He was hospitalised for several days. In 2019, he also tripped and fell at his home in Kentucky, causing a fracture in his shoulder and required surgery. “He’s definitely slower with his gait,” a Republican senator was quoted saying by NBC. They added that “he doesn’t address” his health issues even during closed-door meetings with GOP leaders. Read More Mitch McConnell leaves press conference abruptly after appearing unable to speak Trump news – live: Trump begs Congress to help save him from legal troubles as Jan 6 indictment decision looms North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defense minister on military cooperation Trump wants to see Biden impeached, and other Republicans are quick to pile on Mitch McConnell’s health history reveals previous issues after briefing freeze Mitch McConnell leaves press conference abruptly after appearing unable to speak

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Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has retired, which could be bad news for the Atlanta Braves.

Manchester United football director John Murtough has revealed the club are investigating the injury crisis that has gripped their season so far. 16 first-team players have missed at least one game for the Red Devils already this term.