List of All Articles with Tag 'ame'

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

Kenny Pigman clocked by Bryson DeChambeau.

Sam Brinton, the former Department of Energy official who was accused of stealing a Tanzanian fashion designer’s dresses from her airport luggage, has been arrested as a “fugitive from justice” by Maryland police. Brinton was reportedly taken into custody in Rockville, Maryland by police on Wednesday, according to police records. The specific reason for Brinton’s arrest was not immediately available. They previously oversaw nuclear waste policy at the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, but more recently has been battling charges related to luggage theft in both Nevada and Minnesota. Brinton was charged in October for allegedly stealing a traveler’s bags worth a total of $2,325 from the Minneapolis-St Paul Airport on 16 September. They were charged again in early December by Las Vegas prosecutors with grand larceny of an item with a value between $1,200 and $5,000.

By David Lawder and Rodrigo Campos WASHINGTON Suriname on Thursday cleared a hurdle on its way to restructure

President Joe Biden will formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as next week, three people briefed on the discussions said Thursday. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said they were not aware that a final decision on timing had been made, but that Biden had been eyeing Tuesday, April 25, four years to the day since the Democrat entered the 2020 race. The upcoming announcement is expected to be in the form of a video released to supporters. Biden has repeatedly said he intends to run for a second term but advisers say he has felt little need to jump into campaigning because he faces no significant opposition to his party's nomination. Biden has summoned top Democratic donors to Washington next week for what was expected to be a dinner with him and a strategy session with his chief political advisers. The Washington Post first reported on the expected timing of the announcement. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Take-Two Interactive just released its yearly earnings report, while also giving us a big hint

A 21-year-old accused of leaking classified files ignored warnings from his superiors, prosecutors say.

A California doctor, accused of driving his family off a cliff, has blamed his Tesla car for malfunctioning even though his wife claimed his move was deliberate, according to an affidavit. Warrant affidavit documents unsealed on Wednesday showed Dharmesh Patel, 41, told investigators he pulled off the road to check on a possible flat tyre after the sensor on his Model Y electric car indicated low tyre pressure. Mr Patel, a radiologist from Pasadena, was driving his white 2021 Tesla Model Y along the Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco when the car plunged several hundred feet off the cliff at the Devil’s Slide. Firefighters had to cut the family out of the wreckage. Despite the crash, Mr Patel, his wife Neha, their nine-year-old son and four-year-old daughter “miraculously” survived and were pulled off a craggy outcrop. However, Mr Patel’s claims were refuted by his wife, who told a California Highway Patrol officer that her husband was "depressed". "He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off," Ms Patel said, according to documents obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. California Highway Patrol officer Aaron Sapien wrote that Ms Patel, while being rescued from the car, said “something to the effect that the driver, her husband Dharmesh Patel, did it on purpose". "She then told him that her husband needs a psych evaluation." The warrant affidavit included an interview with Mr Patel while he was recovering from major lower body injuries. He said his wife was irritated shortly before the plunge off the cliff because she didn't want to stop at his brother's house in San Mateo County before making their drive home to Los Angeles. He said he was not really depressed but that he “felt down because times were bad in the world”, the Chronicle reported. "Asked if he felt suicidal, he said, 'You know, not like a plan, not usually,'" the affidavit said. Mr Patel has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder and is in custody without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 12 June, at which time a judge will decide if there's enough evidence to move ahead with a trial. Read More A tragic family Tesla crash off a California cliff shocked rescuers. Then the doctor dad was arrested for attempted murder Wife of man accused of driving family off cliff in Tesla ‘doesn’t want him to be charged’ Father charged with deliberately crashing family Tesla off cliff is seen in new video as nine police visits revealed

Naysa Woomer, the communications director of embattled representative George Santos, resigned and accused him of failing to take even “one point of professional advice". “With respect for my colleagues, the people of New York, and most importantly, myself, I am honoured to tender my resignation,” Ms Woomer said in her resignation email, according to Scripps News. "Unfortunately, you never took one point of professional advice given." Ms Woomer's resignation came after she was caught on tape bashing Mr Santos as "not a good person". "I actually hope he does [get kicked out of Congress],” she was recorded saying by the O’Keefe Media Group. “He’s not a good person, sorry,” she continued. Ms Woomer had previously worked for GOP Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker and representatives Ryan Costello, Thomas Massie, and Tim Huelskamp. Her departure comes amid a string of negative developments for Mr Santos, who was indicted on 13 counts, including fraud and money laundering, last week by the Department of Justice. Mr Santos on Wednesday narrowly survived Democrats’ move to expel him from Congress, with the Republicans voting largely along party lines, 221-204, to the ethics panel. The freshman member of Congress has been charged with embezzling money from his campaign, falsely receiving unemployment funds, and lying about his finances. He has denied the charges and has pleaded not guilty. The Long Island representative has also been facing multiple calls for his resignation after admitting to a plethora of lies on his resume, starting from his high school to college and employment. Representative Robert Garcia introduced a resolution in February to expel Mr Santos, something the House has only done twice in recent decades. He sought to force a vote on that resolution under a process that left three options for Republicans: a vote on the resolution, a move to table, or a referral to committee. House speaker Kevin McCarthy chose the third option, much to the chagrin of Democrats who described it as a “complete copout”. Mr Santos on Wednesday compared Congress to the film Mean Girls and compared himself to Cady Heron, the protagonist portrayed by Lindsay Lohan. Mr Santos spoke on the Macrodosing podcast and was asked what Congress was like. “Have you ever watched ‘Mean Girls’?” Mr Santos asked the interviewer. “That’s Congress in a nutshell. There is a mean girl there.” “I don’t come from a political background,” Mr Santos said, despite the fact he ran for Congress in 2020 and lost before he mounted his successful campaign in the Long Island district in 2022. Read More AOC heckles George Santos after Congress votes on his future: ‘Resign! Resign bro!’ George Santos says Congress is like ‘Mean Girls’: ‘I’m Cady’ George Santos expulsion coming before House as Democrats force vote Effort to expel Santos falters as Republicans vote to send measure to Ethics Committee George Santos bizarrely compares himself to a Mean Girls character AOC heckles George Santos after Congress votes on his future: ‘Resign! Resign bro!’

A lawyer for former president Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he would be leaving the legal team representing Mr Trump in an investigation by the Justice Department into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. The lawyer, Timothy Paraltore, told the Associated Press his departure had nothing to do with Trump nor was a reflection of the investigation which he has long called misguided and overly aggressive. Over the last several months, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has been looking into the hundreds of classified documents found at the former president’s Florida home and possible efforts to obstruct the probe. Mr Paraltore’s announcement comes just as Mr Trump has taken credit for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade. Mr Trump claimed in multiple interviews, as well as on Truth Social, that without his three Supreme Court Justice nominations, abortion bans would not be possible. As he boasted about the landmark Supreme Court case, the former president also implied that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ six-week abortion ban may be ‘too harsh’ as he is losing popularity among female voters. Read More Trump lawyer exits legal team as Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe heats up CNN’s Kaitlan Collins named as new primetime host after Trump town hall debacle Don’t look now, but Ron DeSantis just suffered some big losses Oral sex on Trump calls and pardons for sale: The most disturbing allegations from the Giuliani lawsuit

A Republican lawmaker in the North Carolina statehouse has apologised after questioning whether one of his Black Democratic colleagues in the legislature was only admitted to Harvard due to his race. It was an appalling moment that occurred during official proceedings and led to the white Republican who made the remarks, Jeff McNeely, walking them back only a few hours later. The remarks in question were directed at state Rep Abraham Jones, a Democrat who has represented Wake County, North Carolina, since 2021. Mr Jones is a graduate of both Harvard’s undergraduate program as well as the university’s law school. "Would you have not been able to achieve these if you were not an athlete or a minority?" Mr McNeely asked Mr Jones on Wednesday. Mr Jones responded by noting his student rank at Harvard, the second-highest out of five, before commenting calmly in response: “I earned my place, and I did well.” Mr McNeely was reportedly suspended from speaking further during the proceedings at hand and later issued an apology. “I respect Representative Jones. I think he’s a great legislator. I think he’s a great man. What I tried to ask or say did not come out right. That happens a lot, and I apologize,” said Mr McNeely, according to statehouse reporter Bryan Anderson. North Carolina’s legislature is home to a supermajority of Republican lawmakers, thanks to a recent surprise defection of a Democratic lawmaker who blamed the mistreatment supposedly coming from her colleagues for her shift in ideology. But the state also is presided over by a Democratic governor and is often a purple state in presidential elections. Mr McNeely’s statements were condemned by Democrats in the state legislature, including Mr Jones himself who described the “thinly-veiled racial aspect” of the encounter in his statement. He added separately: “I worked hard to get where I am today. It is disappointing that another member of our chamber would imply that I have been successful simply because of the color of my skin, or because I am an athlete. I appreciate the member apologizing for his remarks.” Read More EPA rule would force clean-up of toxic waste from coal-fired power plants Minnesota prosecutors drop state sex charges against R&B singer R. Kelly, citing federal convictions North Carolina’s 12-week abortion ban joins sweeping restrictions across US South Key abortion debates this week in US courts and statehouses AP News Digest 3:30 am 'Mississippi miracle': Kids' reading scores have soared in Deep South states

Bad news for gamers: Sega may join the industry in raising its video game prices