It’s been more than two decades since a state governor was elected to the White House, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the 2024 presidential race. Six current or former governors have entered the 2024 GOP primary so far. But no statehouse rivalry is more pronounced in US politics than the one between Florida governor and 2024 Republican candidate Ron DeSantis, and his Democratic counterpart from California, governor Gavin Newsom. The two, both seen as serious presidential prospects, if not now then someday, have been trading barbs for years, and things have only heated up as a presidential election season approaches. Most recently, Mr Newsom lashed out at Mr DeSantis this, calling him a “small, pathetic man,” after Florida officials facilitated a large group of South American migrants being dropped off without warning at a Sacramento church, a repeat of the Florida governor’s highly controversial move to do the same in Martha’s Vineyard last year. The California governor said Florida officials could face kidnapping charges. It’s far from the first time the two men – each the leader of a large, economically important state, whose policies typify each party – have locked horns. Their battles have much to say about where each party is going, and the political fate of these two men could suggest which vision of politics and leadership the American people want more. In March, during a visit to California to speak at the Reagan Presidential Library, the Florida Republican blasted Mr Newsom for following the advice of public health experts at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, accusing him of “subcontract[ing] ... leadership to health bureaucrats,” and claimed that Californians were flocking to Florida. “When the world went mad, when common sense suddenly became an uncommon virtue, Florida stood as a refuge of sanity, a citadel of freedom for people throughout the United States and indeed, throughout the world. We refused to let our state descend into some type of Faucian dystopia, where people’s rights were curtailed, and their livelihoods were destroyed. We made sure people had a right to work and we got people back to work and businesses back open,” he said. The Florida governor also said the Californian’s leadership showed how Democrats “coddle the criminals and put the rights of the criminals over the safety of the public and the rights of victims.” Mr Newsom, for his part, has made a point of showing how on issues like Covid and gun crime, California is empirically a safer place to be. "Just look at the data – California residents are safer, healthier and more prosperous than those unfortunate enough to have you as their Governor," Mr Newsom told CBS News during the Florida governor’s visit. "Oh by the way, you’re going to get smoked by Trump." Mr Newsom has made his own high-profile incursions into his rival’s state, including donating thousands to Mr DeSantis’s rivals. In April, the California Democrat met with students of Florida’s New College, a public liberal arts college that has recently become a target in Mr DeSantis’s wide-ranging campaign to bend Florida’s education system in a hyper-conservative direction by limiting access to materials concerning gender and sexuality, as well as the history of racism. “I can’t believe what you’re dealing with. It’s just an unbelievable assault,” Mr Newsom said at an appearance at a library near campus. “It’s common with everything he’s doing, bullying and intimidating vulnerable communities. Weakness, Ron DeSantis, weakness masquerading as strength across the board.” Last summer, Mr Newsom had an even bigger provocation for Mr DeSantis, using extra campaign cash to release a 30-second ad in Florida urging residents of the Sunshine State to move to California. "Freedom, it’s under attack in your state,” the spot claimed. “Republican leaders, they’re banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalizing women and doctors," the governor said in a voiceover narration accompanying images of Mr DeSantis and former president Donald Trump. Indeed, the two states couldn’t be more different across a variety of areas, with Florida all but banning abortion, while California ceased doing business with Walgreens because the company wouldn’t sell abortion pills. In addition to a debate over their state’s respective policies, it seems a deep dislike of the other man has fueled the back-and-forth, with the Florida governor painting Mr Newsom as an out-of-touch hypocrite, while the California leader accuses the Republican of being a spiteful bigot and a “bully.” “As he was locking down his citizens, he would then go and have these extravagant dinners at the French Laundry to basically rub his citizens’ noses in the fact that he was treating them like peasants. You know in Florida we weren’t locking them down, we lifted our people up. We made sure to protect individuals’ freedoms,” Mr DeSantis said in July. That same summer, Mr Newsom flatly told an interviewer, “I don’t like DeSantis, the way he talked about Fauci,” after the Florida governor joked about throwing “that little elf” Dr Anthony Fauci into the Potomac River. “My entire life, I don’t like bullies…That’s being celebrated in American politics. DeSantis is the worst of it.” Things escalated further in September, with Mr Newsom challenging the Florida governor to a televised debate, further cementing an idea at the time that the men were running a kind of unofficial presidential campaign against each other, even though at that time Mr DeSantis hadn’t yet declared, and even though Mr Newsom would eventually endorse Joe Biden and formally swear off a primary challenge. The rivalry has extended outside of the presidential contest to the world of business. In May, the Walt Disney Company announced it was pulling out of a planned $1bn development in Florida, keeping thousands of jobs in California, as the Magic Kingdom feuded with Mr DeSantis over the state’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law and its decision to dissolve Disney’s special municipal district privileges in the state. But a political face-off between the two doesn’t seem too far away, and any contest would likely be even more intense than the shadow campaign the men have been running against each other for the previous two years. Mr Newsom has admitted a kind of grudging respect for Republicans like Mr DeSantis, who he feels have successfully convinced the country to go along with their vision on culture war issues. The California governor has argued Democrats have a serious “messaging problem.” “We allow these culture wars to take shape, and we are constantly on the back end,” Mr Newsom said. Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called a presidential run from Newsom, whose term ends in 2027, a “no-brainer.” With Mr DeSantis badly trailing Donald Trump in the polls, it seems a Newsom-DeSantis election may not be happening just yet, but may not be too far away in the future. Read More DeSantis news – latest: Texas sheriff backs Newsom and also recommends criminal charges over migrant flights Gavin Newsom suggests kidnap charges over Ron DeSantis’s migrant flights Ron DeSantis called out for ‘ignoring’ Hollywood beach shooting: ‘He doesn’t care’

BRASILIA The Brazilian government expects cuts of at least 50 basis points in the central bank's benchmark interest

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 26, 2023--

Former President Donald Trump is backing West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice in the state's Republican Senate primary, the latest sign that Trump remains mostly aligned with Senate GOP leaders in regard to candidate selection as the party seeks to avoid the pitfalls of the 2022 midterms.

Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s chances of forming a new coalition minority government following an inconclusive election in July have been greatly boosted by a deal with a tiny party he surely hoped he would never have to rely on

Grand Theft Auto fans are convinced they were right that the next big development for the upcoming sixth edition of the franchise would be tied to the phases of the Moon. A promotional image posted by Rockstar Games in late September showed two GTA characters standing in front of a Vinewood sign (the game’s version of Hollywood). Most of the letters are obscured, leaving just VI, the Roman numerals for the number six, visible. On the other side of the characters is the Moon in its waning phase, with about 85 percent of it visible. Fans think significant announcements and potential release dates could be tied to when the real-life Moon is next at that stage. It came weeks before Rockstar Games announced that the first trailer for GTA 6 would come in early December. And the next time the Moon is at that phase? Early December. In the blog post, Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser wrote: “Next month marks the 25th anniversary of Rockstar Games. “Thanks to the incredible support of our players worldwide, we have had the opportunity to create games we are truly passionate about — without you, none of this would be possible, and we are so grateful to all of you for sharing this journey with us. “In 1998, Rockstar Games was founded on the idea that video games could come to be as essential to culture as any other form of entertainment, and we hope that we have created games you love in our efforts to be part of that evolution. “We are very excited to let you know that in early December, we will release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto.” The commitment to the Moon theory among fans prompted others to marvel at how closely the new trailer is going to be scrutinised for signs of a release date. One person wrote on Reddit: “Hype over GTA VI will be on [a] completely new level, because [the] whole social media world is much more active now and gaming is more mainstream than ever.” Another wrote: “Isn’t the game getting a trailer now? I’d say all those were teasers. It got us talking didn’t it? It brought attention back to ‘when’s the next gta gonna be announced already?’” It’s worth remembering that Rockstar hasn’t even announced the title of the game, or when it will be released yet. It just announced when it will tell people more. But because that game is Grand Theft Auto, it was enough to make it the biggest news of the month for gamers. Moon theory or not, it's safe to say that trailer is going to get a lot of attention when it finally drops. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

It appears Gibraltar could be in line for a nerf in Apex Legends in the near future.

Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd. is installing filters in the vent shafts at one of its largest

MOSCOW Russia said on Thursday that Moldova's pro-European president, Maia Sandu, was a disgrace and accused the Moldovan

Jimmy Buffett celebrated slackers before the word existed, even though he was hardly one himself

Christian Watson's dad criticizes Packers fans amid Green Bay's losing streak, highlighting the frustration and hostility towards the team.

Australia’s major cities posted the largest annual rent increase on record in May, fueled by rapid population growth