Ron DeSantis

Fox News will host a pair of town halls next week with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as they look to challenge former President Trump for the Republican nomination for president in 2024. The town halls, which will both air live and be broadcast from Des Moines, Iowa, will feature Haley on Jan. 8 and DeSantis on Jan. 9.

Disney said in a lawsuit filed Friday that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, often referred to as CFTOD, has been so slow in fulfilling its public records duties that it has failed to respond completely to a request the company made seven months ago when it paid more than $2,400 to get emails and text messages belonging to the five district board members appointed by Gov Ron DeSantis.

It’s the latest change for the organization, which now says it is “laser focused” on its ground game in early states.

CNN will host a pair of Republican town halls back-to-back on Jan. 4, a little over a week before the Iowa caucuses weigh in on the primary race. CNN’s Kaitlin Collins will moderate a live town hall with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 9 p.m. ET from Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. Then CNN Anchor Erin Burnett will moderate a live town hall with former Ambassador Nikki Haley at 10 p.m. ET, also from Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.

The entertainment giant has real issues, and now the CEO has to deal with the Greek chorus of Ron DeSantis, Nelson Peltz and Elon Musk at the same time.

The event moderated by Sean Hannity on Thursday will feature two governors who aren’t rivals for office but have long sparred.

Walt Disney Co. will air a commercial on TV and online to promote its importance to Florida, the latest move in a battle with the governor and legislators that’s gone on for more than a year. The company, which owns the 25,000-acre Walt Disney World resort outside of Orlando, released an economic impact study Tuesday saying that it accounts for one out every 32 jobs in Florida, with 263,000 people either working for Disney or connected to it in some fashion. Some 82,000 are employed directly by the company in the state.

Disney attorneys want to question a previous administrator of the governing district that provides municipal services to Walt Disney World as part of its defense against a state lawsuit brought by a board made up of appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The California governor had taunted his Florida counterpart for months. Now, with his presidential campaign struggling, DeSantis agreed to a debate hosted by Sean Hannity.

Star Cillian Murphy and producers fired back at the Florida governor for using their footage in a heavily criticized anti-LGBTQ ad.

Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis have asked that a trial involving Disney be postponed until the middle of 2025, well after the GOP presidential nomination race wraps up and voters have picked a winner in the November 2024 general election.

Attorneys for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claim that he is immune from The Walt Disney Co.’s lawsuit over his effort to strip to the company of control over a special district covering its theme parks and resort in the state. In a motion to dismiss filed on Monday, attorneys for the state also argued that the federal district court lacks jurisdiction.

A federal judge on Thursday disqualified himself from hearing Walt Disney Co.’s civil suit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials, citing a small financial interest in the company by a relative.

Elon Musk’s much-publicized Twitter Spaces kickoff event, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing his run for president, struggled with technical glitches and a near half-hour delay Wednesday. The billionaire Twitter owner said the problems were due to “straining” servers because so many people were trying to listen to the audio-only event. But even at their highest, the number of listeners listed topped out at around 420,000, far from the millions of viewers that televised presidential announcements attract.

DeSantis ‘ attorney filed a motion in federal court in Tallahassee on Friday seeking to disqualify Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker from overseeing the lawsuit filed by Disney last month. The lawsuit alleges that DeSantis and his appointees violated the company’s right to free speech, as well as the contracts clause, by taking over the special governing district that previously had been controlled by Disney supporters after Disney opposed Florida legislation that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.”

The Walt Disney Co. is asking a judge to dismiss or stay a state lawsuit brought by the special district that oversees its Florida property, calling the litigation “moot” given recent actions taken by the state. In a motion filed in Florida state court in Orange County, Disney also said that Florida law requires that the state court sideline the lawsuit until the company’s own federal case against Governor Ron DeSantis is resolved.

Corporate America is closely watching to see whether one of the country’s most powerful companies can face down a threat to its self-governance and free speech.

The Walt Disney Co. is suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other state officials, alleging that DeSantis is harming the company’s business operations. The lawsuit comes after months of Disney and DeSantis sparring over legislation that DeSantis has signed and steps the governor has taken to increase the state’s control over Disney.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers ratcheted up pressure on Walt Disney World on Monday by announcing legislation that will use the regulatory powers of Florida government to exert unprecedented oversight on the park resort’s rides and monorail.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has offered to talk about his company’s dispute with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). “I do not view this as a going-to-mattresses situation for us,” Iger said. “If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that.”

The Florida governor’s antipathy toward media has been a key part of his brand during a rise in GOP politics. Free speech advocates fear a new libel bill goes too far in codifying that attitude. Pictured: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at his roundtable discussion on “legacy media defamation,” which marked the start of a new legislative push to make it easier to sue for libel.

Under legislation DeSantis signed Monday, the state of Florida took control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which essentially operated as Disney’s private municipal government in the area containing Walt Disney World and other parks. The move is widely seen as retaliation against Disney after the company, facing internal pressure, criticized a Florida education law known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” because of its restrictions on classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade. But what did Disney actually lose from its battle with DeSantis?

A bill requires signed by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, requires him to appoint a five-member board to oversee the government services that the Disney district provides in its sprawling theme park properties in Florida. The takeover of the Disney district began last year when the entertainment giant, facing intense pressure, publicly opposed “Don’t Say Gay,” which bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade and lessons deemed not age-appropriate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ broken relationship with the mainstream media could get even worse. At the governor’s urging, Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature is pushing to weaken state laws that have long protected journalists against defamation suits and frivolous lawsuits. The proposal is part DeSantis’ ongoing feud with media outlets like The New York Times, Miami Herald, CNN and The Washington Post — media companies he claims are biased against Republicans — as he prepares for a likely 2024 presidential bid.

The Florida governor and possible presidential candidate is the latest in a string of Republicans to target the Supreme Court decision that has long protected journalists accused of defamation.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis claimed Tuesday that “national regime media” wanted Hurricane Ian to hit Tampa to “pursue their political agenda” without regard for the people impacted by the storm. “Quite frankly, you have national regime media that they wanted to see Tampa, because they thought that would be worse for Florida,” the governor told conservative outlet Florida’s Voice in a video interview after a Cape Coral press conference. “They don’t care about the lives here. If they can use it to pursue their political agenda, they will do it.”

Known for her aggressive Twitter comments and brusque treatment of the media, Christina Pushaw, press secretary to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has used taunts to solidify a tough image.

He has the board’s support, but Disney CEO Bob Chapek has had a rough time with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a slipping stock and concerns about Disney+. How long will he hold on?

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Wednesday the company is pledging $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations protecting LGBTQ rights following backlash to the company’s initial quiet response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, as well as a report that the company has given money to all of the bill’s sponsors. Chapek, who is taking his first public stance against the bill, says he will also be meeting with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss Disney’s “concerns” over the legislation.