List of All Articles with Tag 'politics'

Ron DeSantis threatened Bud Light’s parent company with legal action after the beer brand’s sales and stocks dropped because of right-wing backlash and transphobic boycotts over a transgender influencer’s sponsored social media post – a boycott that the Florida governor supported. Mr DeSantis, who is seeking the 2024 Republican nomination for president, defended the boycott in a lengthy, wide-ranging interview with Megyn Kelly on SiriusXM after outlining the potential impacts of poor sales and stock prices on the state’s pension fund, which holds stock in Anheuser-Busch and InBev. The right-wing news personality asked whether Mr DeSantis was “using government to punish citizens for political wrongthink,” an accusation often thrown at Democratic officials by conservatives. “No. Take Anheuser-Busch. We’re not punishing them. They departed from business practices by indulging in social activism. That has caused a huge problem for their company, and their stock price has gone down,” Mr DeSantis said. “Well, our pension fund in Florida holds Anheuser-Busch/InBev stock. So it’s actually hurt teachers, it’s hurt cops, it hurts firefighters who depend on that pension fund, and so –.” “Didn’t you support the boycott against them?” Ms Kelly interjected. “No, I did, but that’s just as a personal thing, but I mean we didn’t have, like, the state government, you know, necessarily, you know, putting power about it, but as an American I said I’m not doing Anheuser-Busch, I’m not doing Bud Light.” In a recent letter to a state agency that manages retirement accounts for state workers, Mr DeSantis suggested that InBev “breached legal duties to its shareholders” by associating with “radical social ideologies” after trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted a video to her Instagram account with a Bud Light can in May. The video sparked widespread outrage among Republican officials and right-wing personalities who have filmed themselves dumping out beers, shooting bottles and cans, and pledging to boycott Budweiser products because a trans person was featured in marketing. “All options are on the table,” Mr DeSantis wrote in his letter, though it’s unclear what the state can do to challenge the multinational company’s business decisions. “When you take your eye off the ball like that, you’re not following your fiduciary duty to do the best you can for your shareholders, so we’re going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev, and it could be something that leads to a derivative lawsuit on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund,” Mr DeSantis told Fox News host Jesse Watters on 20 July. Ms Kelly also pressed the governor on his administration’s actions against the Walt Disney Company and its sprawling theme park campus in the state. The company and the DeSantis administration are suing one another following a feud over Disney’s 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. The governor has overseen what is effectively a state takeover of the municipal board that managed Disney’s park campus for decades, a move that the company has called a “targeted campaign of government retaliation”. “Why can’t Disney oppose your law … without being punished by the state?” Ms Kelly asked the governor. Mr DeSantis accused the company of “weaponising” state subsidies to speak out against state policy. The Reedy Creek Improvement District was first created in 1967 to give Disney control of its land use, zoning rules and public services without putting a tax burden on Florida residents. “It’s not about entitlement,” Ms Kelly said. “If I go to my boss and I say, ‘You sexually harassed me,’ and then suddenly he reduces my salary from $200k to $100k, that’s retaliation.” Mr DeSantis dismissed the comparison. He accused Disney of supporting “sexualising kids” and putting its “corporate weight” behind that effort, as his administration and national agenda launches a crusade against inclusive classroom instruction and honest discussion of gender, sexuality, race and racism, as well as a series of policies that threaten LGBT+ people and gender-affirming healthcare for both transgender minors and trans adults. A motion filed in US District Court on 26 June argues that Mr DeSantis is entitled to “legislative immunity” that shields the actions of the governor and lawmakers in “the proposal, formulation, and passage of legislation.” Attorneys for Mr DeSantis argue that the governor and the secretary of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity are both “immune” from the suit. In filings this week, attorneys for the company argued that the governor is trying to evade responsibility for overseeing laws that “punish residents for political statements violating a state-prescribed speech code”. Read More Tim Scott rebukes DeSantis for new Florida Black history curriculum Republican congressman faces wrath of DeSantis campaign with call to ‘correct’ Black history standards DeSantis v Disney: Why Florida’s governor is at war with the Mouse

Congress should stay out of the Supreme Court's business and stop trying to impose ethics rules on justices and clerks, Justice Samuel Alito said in an interview published by The Wall Street Journal editorial page Friday.

The unnamed “Trump employee 4” mentioned in the superseding federal indictment against former President Donald Trump has been identified as Yuscil Taveras, the director of information technology at Mar-a-Lago. CNN and NBC News revealed the name on Friday. The reports said that Mr Taveras oversaw the surveillance camera footage at the property. He had a conversation with the third co-defendant named in the superseding indictment – Carlos De Oliveira – who was a maintenance supervisor at Mar-a-Lago. He suggested their chat “remain between the two of them,” the indictment states. Mr De Oliveira asked to have a private discussion in an “audio closet.” Mr De Oliveira then asked how long the server retained footage, to which Mr Taveras responded that he believed it was approximately 45 days. Mr De Oliveira then said “the boss” wanted the footage deleted. But Mr Taveras said that not only did he not know how to do that but “that he did not believe that he would have the rights to do that,” the filing states, adding that Mr De Oliveira would have to reach out to the supervisor of security. Reiterating the wishes of “the boss,” Mr De Oliveira then asked, “what are we going to do?” CNN reported that special counsel Jack Smith’s team had previously heard testimony about “odd conversations” about surveillance footage between Mr Taveras, and two other co-defendants, Carlos De Oliveira and another employee, Walt Nauta. Thursday’s superseding indictment added more charges to the existing pile against Mr Trump. His 2024 presidential campaign dismissed the charges in a statement, calling them “nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their Department of Justice to harass President Trump and those around him.” On Friday morning, the former president said in a radio interview that regardless of whether he is convicted or incarcerated, he would continue to run for president. Read More Trump indictment – live: Trump vows to continue 2024 run in jail as new charges added to classified docs case The latest charges against Trump answer one question and raise several more Trump slams Jack Smith’s superseding indictment in classified docs case as ‘election interference’

The United States and its Western allies are faced with a difficult conundrum as they navigate potential responses to the military takeover in Niger if democratic rule is not restored.

The top-secret document that former President Donald Trump discussed at a 2021 meeting at his New Jersey golf club was included in the 15 boxes returned to the National Archives in January of last year, according to a source familiar with the matter. But Trump has denied it was real.

Donald Trump is attempting to reverse court rulings in two of the many politically charged cases involving the former president.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito agreed on Friday to temporarily freeze a lower court order that bars the government from regulating so-called ghost guns -- untraceable homemade weapons -- as firearms under federal law.

The White House is watching rising gas prices "very carefully," as President Joe Biden's top advisers are briefing him regularly on the situation, a senior administration official told CNN.

President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David next month as a part of his effort to bring the key Asian allies closer, the White House announced Friday

President Joe Biden swiped at renewed impeachment talk by top Republicans as he sold his agenda in Maine on Friday, suggesting his economic record was a threat to opponents.

The Mar-a-Lago employee referenced in the superseding indictment adding major accusations against former President Donald Trump and a new co-defendant to the case has been identified by two people close to the investigation as Yuscil Taveras, an information technology worker.

Donald Trump has vowed to continue his 2024 presidential run from prison if necessary after the Mar-a-Lago boxes case became subject to a superseding indictment late on Thursday. The former president and aide Walt Nauta were hit with a new set of federal charges related to alleged mishandling of classified information after leaving the White House. Federal prosecutors accuse him of retaining defence information and conspiring with club employee Carlos De Oliveira to delete security footage to hide evidence of misconduct. On Friday morning, radio host John Fredericks asked Mr Trump if conviction and sentencing in one of the cases against him would stop his White House campaign. The former president assured him that he would continue to run, even while incarcerated, adding that there is nothing in the Constitution to stop him. Meanwhile, a separate federal grand jury is considering indicting Mr Trump on charges over the January 6 Capitol riot and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Last week, Mr Trump received a letter from special counsel Jack Smith’s office saying he is the target of their investigation. The former president’s legal team met with prosecutors on Thursday morning in preparation for the expected indictment. Read More Trump hit with more charges as Mar-a-Lago worker added to documents case Iran war plans, deleting security footage, a third defendant: Key takeaways from new Trump documents charges Carlos De Oliveira: Who is second Trump aide now charged in Mar-a-Lago secret documents case