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Is Pokimane going to prom with teenager? Fan seeks Mizkif's help to convince Twitch queen: 'I’ll need you to wingman me'
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TikTok star Bella Poarch opens up about childhood struggles and insecurities due to body scars
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White House watching rising gas prices 'very carefully'
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.
2023-07-29 04:58
Groups demand officials share information on Texas mall gunman's motives
Members of several Texas groups on Monday demanded that authorities quickly acknowledge whether they believe the neo-Nazi who killed eight people at a Dallas-area mall over a week ago was racially motivated in choosing his victims
2023-05-16 10:24
King Charles III will travel to Kenya later this month for a state visit full of symbolism
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Disney governing district in Florida axes diversity and inclusion programmes as DeSantis row with company rages
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs were abolished Tuesday from Walt Disney World's governing district, now controlled by appointees of governor Ron DeSantis, in an echo of the Florida governor's agenda which has championed curtailing such programs in higher education and elsewhere. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said in a statement that its diversity, equity and inclusion committee would be eliminated, as would any job duties connected to it. Also axed were initiatives left over from when the district was controlled by Disney supporters, which awarded contracts based on goals of achieving racial or gender parity. Glenton Gilzean, the district's new administrator who is African American and a former head of the Central Florida Urban League, called such initiatives “illegal and simply un-American”. Gilzean has been a fellow or member at two conservative institutions, the James Madison Institute and the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network, as well as a DeSantis appointee to the Florida Commission on Ethics. “Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal," Mr Gilzean said in a statement. "As the former head of the Central Florida Urban League, a civil rights organization, I can say definitively that our community thrives only when we work together despite our differences.” An email was sent seeking comment from Disney World. Last spring, Mr DeSantis, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, signed into law a measure that blocks public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs. Mr DeSantis also has championed Florida's so-called “Stop WOKE” law, which bars businesses, colleges and K-12 schools from giving training on certain racial concepts, such as the theory that people of a particular race are inherently racist, privileged or oppressed. A federal judge last November blocked the law’s enforcement in colleges, universities and businesses, calling it "positively dystopian.” The creation of the district, then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was instrumental in Disney’s decision to build a theme park resort near Orlando in the 1960s. Having a separate government allowed the company to provide zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure services on its sprawling property. The district was controlled by Disney supporters for more than five decades. The DeSantis appointees took control of the renamed district earlier this year following a yearlong feud between the company and Mr DeSantis. The fight began last year after Disney, beset by significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call “Don’t Say Gay.” As punishment, Mr DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Republican lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels. Disney sued Mr DeSantis and his five board appointees in federal court, claiming the Florida governor violated the company’s free speech rights by taking the retaliatory action. Before the new board came in, Disney made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and development. The DeSantis-appointed members of the governing district have sued Disney in state court in a second lawsuit stemming from the district’s takeover, seeking to invalidate those agreements. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP Read More Florida father tried to remove ‘Arthur’ book from schools because it could ‘damage souls’ DeSantis says DC jury would ‘convict a ham sandwich’ if it was Republican Republican National Committee boosts polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for 2nd debate Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide
2023-08-03 14:27
Far-right group Moms for Liberty tries to explain use of Hitler quote
The Indiana chapter of extremist group Moms for Liberty has been forced to explain why the first page of its newsletter carries a quote from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. “He alone who owns the youth, gains the future,” the quote reads on the front of its June issue. The quote was correctly attributed to Hitler, who was responsible for the murders of six million Jewish people and five million other victims including Romany people, gay people and Soviet prisoners of war. The group later took to its Facebook page to make some sort of an attempt to explain the shocking decision to reference to a murderous Nazi. “The quote from a horrific leader should put parents on alert,” it read. “If the government has control over our children today, they control our country’s future. We The People must be vigilant and protect children from an overreaching government.” The move to showcase a Hitler quote comes as the group secured Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a speaker at its event, The Joyful Warriors National Summit, next week. Other speakers at the event include GOP candidates Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Moms for Liberty was recently classified as an “anti-government extremist” group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which found in a recent report that it was among a handful of groups pushing to undermine public education and restrict access to books, classroom materials and honest discussions of race, racism, LGBT+ people and gender and sexuality. “Hate and anti-government extremist groups are intent on staging public spectacles of hatred” to threaten LGBT+ people and other vulnerable communities and minority groups, said Susan Corke, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. Moms for Liberty co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich pushed back on the label in a statement shared with The Independent where they said the group is “devoted to empowering parents to be a part of their child’s public school education.” “Name-calling parents who want to be a part of their child’s education as ‘hate groups’ or ‘bigoted’ just further exposes what this battle is all about: Who fundamentally gets to decide what is taught to our kids in school – parents or government employees?” they added. “We believe that parental rights do not stop at the classroom door and no amount of hate from groups like this is going to stop that.” Read More Moms for Liberty rises as power player in GOP politics after attacking schools over gender, race Moms for Liberty named anti-government extremist group by civil rights watchdog Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups Gunman used social media attack to attack Jews before attack at Pittsburgh synagogue, jurors learn Modi and Biden pull up Pakistan as Indian prime minister concludes US visit Cambodian lawmakers approve changes to election law that disqualify candidates who don't vote
2023-06-23 20:58
Man arrested after breaking into Florida theme park, hopping into alligator enclosure and filming video for social media, authorities say
A man is accused of breaking into a Florida theme park, jumping into an alligator enclosure and filming a video for social media -- a dangerous stunt that authorities say led to his arrest.
2023-06-11 03:23
A southern Swiss region votes on a plan to fast-track big solar parks on Alpine mountainsides
Voters in a southern Swiss region are casting their ballots to decide whether to allow large solar parks on their sun-baked Alpine mountainsides as part of the federal government’s push to develop renewable energies
2023-09-10 14:50
What did Doja Cat tell her fans? Singer calls out followers who dubbed themselves 'Kittenz': 'Get a job'
This is the second time Doja Cat found herself in the hot water as she angered her fans back in May
2023-07-25 12:55
US sanctions Russian intelligence officers over elections interference
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence officers who supervised two officers who were recently indicted by the Justice Department for their involvement in the Kremlin’s attempts to influence a local election in the United States
2023-06-24 01:52
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