Business

DeSantis Signs Bill To Harass Disney’s Monorail System

Florida Politics reports: Florida will no longer stand clear of the monorail doors. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation (HB 1305) that will allow state inspections of Walt Disney World’s monorail system. Those provisions were part of a larger transportation bill that also increases debt service for the state’s transportation trust fund and authorizes new projects and partnerships. But the …

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Florida Grocer Sorry For Refusing “Trans Joy” Cake

The Orlando Weekly reports: Yasmin Flasterstein and Dandelion Hill had just one stop left on their way to a “transgender joy” event hosted by the Orlando group they co-founded, Peer Support Space. They walked into Publix at Colonialtown with the intention of picking out a cake and grabbing some flowers. But when the two asked the bakery associate to write, …

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The Cult Melts Down Over “Woke” New Twitter CEO

The New York Times reports: Elon Musk is in talks to hire Linda Yaccarino, the chair of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, as chief executive of Twitter, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The talks are at an advanced stage, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the conversations are confidential. Ms. Yaccarino …

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Musk: New Unnamed Twitter CEO Will Take Over Soon

CBS News reports: Elon Musk on Thursday tweeted that he’s found “a new CEO for X/Twitter,” adding, “She will be starting in ~6 weeks!” Musk said that he’ll transition to executive chairman and chief technology officer of the social media network. Musk, who bought Twitter last year, didn’t disclose the name of the new CEO. The billionaire has said for …

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Disney CEO Questions Continued Investments In Florida

Reuters reports: Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger on Wednesday accused Florida politicians of retaliating against the company and questioned the state’s interest in the entertainment conglomerate’s continued investment in Walt Disney World. “We operate responsibly. We pay our fair share of taxes. We employ thousands of people. And by the way, we pay them above the minimum wage, substantially …

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Amazon Offers $10 If You Come Pick Up Your Package

Reuters reports: Amazon.com is offering customers $10 to pick up a purchase rather than have it shipped to a home address, as the e-commerce giant joins other retailers in racing to slash costs for home delivery and returns amid slack consumer demand. Amazon over the last few days has emailed an unknown number of Prime subscribers offering them $10 to …

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Disney Expands “Retribution” Lawsuit Against DeSantis

CNBC reports: Disney on Monday expanded its federal lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, accusing the Republican leader of doubling down on his “retribution campaign” against the company by signing legislation to void Disney’s development deals in Orlando. Disney’s amended lawsuit also noted that Florida’s Republican-led legislature passed legislation last week targeting Walt Disney World’s monorail system. “Governor DeSantis and …

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Six Hurt In Ductwork Collapse Into Denver Hotel Pool

The Associated Press reports: Six people were hurt — two critically — when part of a heating and ventilation system collapsed at a resort pool in Colorado on Saturday, fire officials said. There were 50 to 100 guests in the pool when the collapse occurred about 9:50 a.m. at the Gaylord Rockies resort near Denver International Airport, Aurora Fire Rescue …

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Twitter Restores Free API Access For Govt Accounts

Fortune reports: In an about-face, Twitter says it has restored free access to a key tool for verified government and “publicly owned” services so they can tweet weather, transit and other alerts after New York City’s transit agency said earlier this week it would no longer use the platform for its service advisories. Last month, the company announced a new …

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FL Passes Bill To Retroactively Undo Disney Board Deal

Florida Politics reports: The Legislature has passed a bill seeking to retroactively invalidate Disney’s agreement with its outgoing board — a contract now at the center of an ongoing civil lawsuit. Senators approved SB 1604 with a 27-13 vote Thursday evening. The bill is seeking to roll back an agreement Disney made with its old Reedy Creek Improvement Board in …

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Google’s Gmail Offers Free Blue Checks To Companies

Engadget reports: Google is rolling out a Gmail feature that aims to help you figure out whether a sender is genuine or if they may be a scammer. When you receive an email from a company that has verified its identity, you’ll see a blue check next to their name in your inbox. When you hover over the blue check …

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Kentucky McDonald’s Outlets Employed 300+ Children

NBC News reports: More than 300 children, including two 10-year-olds, were found working at McDonald’s restaurants across Kentucky and several other states in violation of federal labor laws, the Labor Department said Tuesday. In one case, investigators found two 10-year-olds were working unpaid and until as late as 2 a.m. at one McDonald’s restaurant in Louisville operated by Bauer Food …

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Musk To NPR: Start Tweeting Or I’ll Give Handle Away

NPR reports: Elon Musk has threatened to reassign NPR’s Twitter account to “another company.” In a series of emails sent to this reporter, Musk said he would transfer the network’s main account on Twitter, under the @NPR handle, to another organization or person. The idea shocked even longtime observers of Musk’s spur-of-the-moment and erratic leadership style. Handing over established accounts …

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FL Senate OKs State Inspections Of Disney Monorails

Florida Politics reports: The state has moved a step closer to opening up the Disney World monorail to state inspectors for the first time despite Democrats’ objections that the move targets Disney, which has a strong safety record. “Do we want Disney to shut down? Do we want Disney to leave our state? Do you want Disney to come on …

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9M Watched Pirated “Super Mario” Movie On Twitter

Forbes reports: If you were wondering what getting rid of the vast majority of Twitter staff, including moderators, might do to the site, here’s one bit of anarchy for you. After attempting something similar a few days ago, the account “vids that go hard” with 1.1 million followers has posted the entirety of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, yes the …

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Pornhub Blocks Access In Utah Over Age Verification

Axios reports: The adult content website Pornhub blocked access in Utah on Monday due to new state laws requiring websites with adult content to verify users’ ages before allowing them to access the platforms. Pornhub.com now opens on devices in Utah with a message that states the company has “made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website …

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DeSantis Appointees Vote To Counter-Sue Disney

The Insider reports: A district board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis passed a motion Monday during an emergency meeting to counter-sue Disney. The lawsuit will be filed in central Florida, Martin Garcia, chairman of the board for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, said. It was not immediately clear from Monday’s meeting what the basis of the lawsuit would …

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JPMorgan Chase Acquires Failed First Republic Bank

The Associated Press reports: Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday and sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a bid to head off further banking turmoil in the U.S. San Francisco-based First Republic is the third midsize bank to fail in two months. It is the second-biggest bank failure in …

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Latest Twitter Rival Has Waiting List Of 1.2 Million

The Insider reports: A new invite-only Twitter alternative just lured in Twitter celebs Dril and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — and people are scrambling to follow them. The Jack Dorsey [photo] backed platform, Bluesky, is a Twitter clone with a very similar format to its established rival. Bluesky has been available on Apple’s app store since February but recently added an Android …

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Federal Judge In Disney/DeSantis Suit Recuses Himself

Deadline reports: The federal judge presiding over Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has recused himself, citing a conflict of interest. The lawsuit, filed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. on Wednesday, accuses DeSantis of a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.” That would violate the company’s First Amendment rights, the suit contends. Friday’s order by U.S. Magistrate …

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