Why was a major candidate for the presidency just asked about a lesson set to be taught to middle school students in Florida social studies classes? Governor Ron DeSantis found himself answering yet more questions about his state’s new conservative-friendly social studies curriculum at a press event in Utah over the weekend as the Republican sees continued signs that his record on racial and social issues in the Sunshine State will be an issue in the upcoming GOP primary debates and, potentially, the 2024 general election. Mr DeSantis’s campaign held a summit with donors in Utah this past weekend where top advisers pledged a reboot to the Florida governor’s stagnating presidential bid including cutbacks to pricy expenditures including private events that have not helped his standings in the polls improve. The candidate himself held a press conference on Friday, where the question about Florida schools was directed to him. The Florida Department of Education’s social studies standards for the 2023-2024 school year, released this month, provide lesson topics for middle school teachers including a “benchmark clarification” which instructs educators to teach students that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit”. It isn’t clear what “their personal benefit” would be in this scenario. The line is included as part of a broader lesson entitled: “Examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation).” Mr DeSantis has come under fire for the curriculum changes, from both Democrats and Republicans alike. Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris railed against Mr DeSantis without naming the Florida governor. “There is a national agenda afoot. Extremist so-called leaders for months have dared to ban books. … Extremists here in Florida, passing a law ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ trying to instill fear in our teachers … And now, on top of that, they want to replace history with lies.” And former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie, who is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, also called out the governor for what he claimed was a lack of leadership. While the change to the curriculum itself is subtle — a single sentence added to a much larger document — the news of its insertion played into a larger narrative of Florida’s right-wing shift under the DeSantis administration. Florida schools, in particular, are the biggest battleground for this war, where liberal groups and nonpartisan experts alike warn that students are increasingly the recipients of a whitewashed educational environment devoid of anything that conservatives find unseemly or uncomfortable, such as discussions of the sins of slavery, representation of LGBT+ persons in the classroom or teaching materials, and other narratives that brush up against conservative belief systems. The changes to Florida schools had already earned the state the condemnation of the NAACP and other civil rights groups, something that has enraged conservatives and drawn the state into an ugly national fight against any group or organisation that the governor perceives to have a liberal agenda, including the Disney corporation. Now, he is officially a candidate for president and facing the reality that his loyally conservative record in Florida has failed to allow him to make serious inroads against Donald Trump and his support base, while he remains engaged in fighting off competitive rivals like Vivek Ramaswamy and others in the crowded Republican primary contest. It remains to be seen whether his campaign reset (which continued this week with layoffs of roughly a third of his staff) will be a necessary fat-trimming measure or the sign of his campaign’s early demise; what is certain is that the issue of the quality of education in Florida’s schools is not going away, at least any time soon. Read More Four cars in Ron DeSantis motorcade crash into each other on way to Tennessee fundraisers Biden laughs off impeachment threat after McCarthy teases inquiry Trump goes on late-night Truth Social rampage against ‘loser’ and ‘lowlife’ Mitt Romney Ron DeSantis: The new Jeb Bush Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his presidency? DeSantis campaign fires aide behind neo-Nazi meme video

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As legal fees for Donald Trump and his associates mount, the former president's leadership PAC that has been used to pay many of these bills requested a refund on a $60 million contribution it made to a super PAC supporting Trump, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. It was not immediately clear if any of the money had been refunded.

Backers of a proposal to change Ohio’s troubled political mapmaking system can finally begin gathering signatures

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The survival horror game is being turned into a horror movie by the same studio behind the classics 'Paranormal Activity' and 'Insidious'.

Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow was carted off of the field at training camp after suffering a leg injury in practice.Joe Burrow suffered a leg injury on Thursday at Cincinnati Bengals training camp.During a rep of a play, Burrow was rolling out of the pocket to his right when he came up...

A new documentary “Uncharitable,” from “Paris Trout” and “Losing Isaiah” director Stephen Gyllenhaal, puts the long-running debate in the nonprofit sector over the role of overhead back in the spotlight

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From "Alice in Wonderland" to "The Great Gatsby", "Rebecca" to "Jane Eyre", the songs of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift are filled with...

Taylor Swift and Matty Healy have reportedly parted ways after rumours that the pair were dating had the internet in a chokehold. During the star's hotly anticipated Eras Tour in Chicago on Saturday (3 June), Swift surprised fans with two new additions. One of which was a piano version of her 2017 song 'I Don't Wanna Live Forever'. The song is centred around heartbreak and losing the love of your life, prompting the singer to seemingly hold back emotions on stage. One part of the song says: "Been sitting eyes wide open behind these four walls, hoping you'd call/ It's just a cruel existence like there's no point hoping at all." The performance garnered a lot of attention from fans, who first praised the emotional rendition, before speculating that Swift was hinting at what was going on in her personal life. It came a day before reports of Swift "splitting" from The 1975 frontman. "Her voice breaks - she‘s looking up trying to hold her tears - continues to sing like that, it’s literally heartbreaking," one Swiftie wrote, while another noted: "That voice crack." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter A close source told TMZ that Swift is "single" again, but unclear what happened. Meanwhile, Entertainment Tonight claimed, "Taylor and Matty broke up. They are both extremely busy and realised they’re not really compatible with each other." "Taylor’s friends want what’s best for her and aren’t shocked that their relationship fizzled out since she recently got out of a long-term relationship," a source told the publication on Monday (5 June), referring to Swift's split from British actor Joe Alwyn after six years of dating. 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.