List of All Articles with Tag 'w'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is widely expected to announce his run for the Republican presidential nomination this week, putting him in direct competition with Donald Trump. As US president, Mr Trump campaigned for Mr DeSantis’s election in 2018 but the men have since become enemies, with the former regularly attacking his rival with childish nicknames on social media and at rallies. Mr DeSantis rose to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic through his opposition to social restrictions and has since marketed himself as a younger, less complicated party figurehead than Mr Trump, winning admirers on the right with his regressive policies on LGBT+ rights in Florida’s schools. The men will fight for the GOP nomination against the likes of Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy and Larry Elder, with Mr Trump’s ex-vice president Mike Pence also likely to enter the race. As Mr DeSantis prepares to take the national stage, interest will inevitably turn towards his personal life and that of his wife, Casey DeSantis, as prospective US first lady. Jill Casey Black was born on 26 June 1980 in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of Robert Black and Jeanne Caponigro. Her father is an optometrist and ex-US Air Force officer, and her mother is a speech pathologist and the daughter of a Sicilian immigrant. She graduated from the historic College of Charleston in South Carolina, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in French and competed on the equestrian team. After graduating, she went on to become a television host, initially on the Golf Channel programmes On The Tee and PGA Tour Today. She first met Mr DeSantis on a golf course – he serving as an officer in the US Navy at the time – and the couple married in September 2009, their wedding taking place at Walt Disney World Resort, which the groom admits is now “kind of ironic” given his bitter disputes with the Walt Disney Corporation as governor. While her husband entered the political arena, Ms DeSantis continued her media career by becoming a local news anchor with WJXT in Jacksonville, Florida, working in various roles including as a morning presenter and crime reporter. From there, she hosted the roundtable discussion show The Chat on Jacksonville stations WTLV and WJXX. Other lifestyle programmes she has presented include First Coast Living and The American Dream and she is also known as the producer of The JT Townsend Story, an award-winning documentary about the high school football star. Ron and Casey DeSantis have three small children together: five-year-old Madison, four-year-old Mason and two-year-old Mamie, the latter said to be the first baby to be born in the Florida governor’s mansion in more than half a century. As the state’s first lady, Ms DeSantis has been involved in such projects as the Hope Florida initiative – promoting economic self-sufficiency – and Resiliency Florida, a scheme to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health in professional sport. In October 2021, it was announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, although she confirmed the following March that treatment had been successful and that she was now cancer-free. She has since dedicated herself to raising awareness of the disease. According to a recent profile of Ms DeSantis published by Politico – and since angrily denounced as a “hit piece” by The Nation – the couple are said to be so close as to be known collectively as “The DeSanti”, with the first lady taking it upon herself to “humanise the robot” (Mr DeSantis has a reputation for being something of an awkward communicator) and to influence her husband’s policy positions. “She is both his biggest asset and his biggest liability,” donor Dan Eberhart told the publication. “And I say biggest asset in that I think she does make him warmer, softer.” “But he needs to be surrounded with professional people, not just her. I’ve heard from staffers frustrated that they think the governor’s made a decision, he talks to her, comes back, the decision is the opposite or different.” He added: “The sad part is I think she’s very smart. I think she’s very talented. But she also needs to realise if they want to play on this stage, they need serious help.” Read More DeSantis asks that judge be disqualified from Disney's free speech lawsuit DeSantis super PAC tackles tricky task of organizing support for him in Iowa without the candidate DeSantis meets New Hampshire lawmakers, greets voters ahead of expected 2024 announcement

UK bond yields are back to where they were when Liz Truss was in No. 10 after a

A Florida zoo's handling of one of New Zealand's most beloved birds has sparked public outrage.

David Ortiz and Tiffany brought the agreement to the court earlier this month, allowing them to avoid a messy public trial

The latest climbing season on Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, is set to become one of the

By Gabriella Borter The U.S. Supreme Court is due to rule by the end of June on the

By Joseph Ax The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule by the end of June on whether

Olivia Dunne has shared Andrew Tate's one-sided message on TikTok, slamming the controversial personality's unwarranted overture

Officials say an Australian police officer will face charges for shocking a 95-year-old woman with a stun gun and leaving her with critical head injuries as she approached him using a walker and carrying a steak knife in a nursing home

By James Oliphant WASHINGTON Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to make his long-awaited foray into the 2024

Police searching for clues regarding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the British child who went missing in 2007 in Portugal, are concentrating operations in several areas around a dam including one where media reports say a lead suspect in the case often stayed

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Wednesday as yet another round of talks between the White House and