5 things to know for May 24: Ron DeSantis, Debt limit, Catholic Church, China, Apple
CNN's 5 Things brings you the news you need to know every morning.
2023-05-24 19:00
Meta Loses Court Fight Over EU Hunt for Antitrust Evidence
Meta Platforms Inc. lost a court fight with European Union regulators who demanded vast amounts of data to
2023-05-24 18:58
Australia refers PwC tax document leak scandal to police
By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) -The Australian Treasury has referred a confidential document leak scandal involving professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers
2023-05-24 18:57
UK Price Shock Sends Bond Yields to Levels Last Seen Under Truss
UK bond yields are back to where they were when Liz Truss was in No. 10 after a
2023-05-24 18:54
Who is Casey DeSantis? What we know about Florida governor Ron’s wife who could become America’s first lady
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
2023-05-24 18:50
A year since 19 children and 2 teachers were massacred at a Texas elementary school, these questions remain unanswered
It's been a year since 19 fourth graders and their two teachers were fatally shot inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, just two days before the summer break they had been eagerly awaiting.
2023-05-24 18:29
Valencia slams ‘disproportionate’ punishment after racial abuse against Vinícius Júnior
Valencia says it will appeal the partial closure of its stadium following the racial abuse directed at Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior in a Spanish league match
2023-05-24 18:26
Explainer-What happens if the US Supreme Court bans affirmative action?
By Joseph Ax The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule by the end of June on whether
2023-05-24 18:22
Ron DeSantis to make 2024 U.S. presidential bid official with Musk on Twitter
By James Oliphant WASHINGTON Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to make his long-awaited foray into the 2024
2023-05-24 18:22
Futures dip as debt ceiling talks drag on
U.S. stock index futures slipped on Wednesday as yet another round of talks between the White House and
2023-05-24 18:20
Major differences remain over spending cuts and other key issues as debt limit deadline looms
Negotiations are continuing to unfold in an attempt to reach a debt limit deal, but major differences between House Republicans and the White House have yet to be bridged, and the pressure is only intensifying as the risk of default grows ever more real with each day.
2023-05-24 18:16
CNN ratings plummet after much-maligned Trump town hall
CNN's ratings appear to have taken a hit in the wake of its much-maligned town hall featuring former President Donald Trump. More than a week after the controversial television spectacle, the network weathered its lowest-rated week since June 2015, according to The Daily Beast. The network averaged approximately 429,000 total daily viewers between Monday and Friday of last week. The network's viewership was also down by double digits when compared to the same week last year. Those numbers remained consistent for its primary advertising demographic of 25-54 year-olds. CNN's cable news rivals had far better viewership during the same time period; MSNBC had more than double CNN's daily audience, with 976,000 total viewers, while Fox News went beyond that with 1.4m. In a statement to The Independnet, CNN defended its ratings, noting that it outpaced Fox News for the month of May up through the 20th. “CNN is reaching the most P2+ and P25-54 viewers in cable news (39.173 million P2+ and 10.529 million P25-54), outpacing Fox News (35.422 million P2+ and 7.950 million P25-54),” a CNN spokesperson told The Independnet. Despite those numbers, Fox News is weathering its own storms with the abrupt firing of Tucker Carlson. Its numbers are down 41 per cent in its key demographics year-to-year, and down 24 per cent in total viewership. Its weekday demographic audience immediately after Carlson's departure was the lowest it has been since the first week of September 2001. Both Fox and CNN are suffering in their primetime time slots. Several of their weeknight primetime offerings have been beaten in the ratings by Newsmax, a far-right media channel that has served as a landing spot for conservative viewers fleeing Fox News in the wake of Carlson's departure. Newsmax saw a similar boost immediately after the 2020 election after Fox News accurately called Arizona for Joe Biden before any other news outlet. Chris Wallace's Friday night interview show on CNN scored only 224,000 total viewers in its 10pm slot; 60,000 more people were watching Newsmax during the same time slot. CNN noted to The Independent that Wallace’s show is available on Max before it airs on CNN, calling it “inaccurate” to portray the CNN viewership as the show’s only audience numbers. The only network actively gaining viewers is MSNBC, which saw its audience numbers increase 44 per cent — likely a result of the CNN exodus. CNN's town hall with Mr Trump and moderated by Kaitlan Collins included the former president further maligning E Jean Carroll — whom he was found by a court to have sexually assaulted and defamed — calling 6 January 2021 a "beautiful day," and promising to pardon Capitol rioters who attempted to thwart the nation's democratic transfer of power after his 2020 election loss. He also continued to push the idea that the 2020 election was stolen. Blowback to the town hall was so severe that CNN star anchor Anderson Cooper made a statement on-air about the debacle, ultimately asking them to view the event as a warning about Mr Trump's political aspirations. Read More Trump defames E Jean Carroll yet again after she sues him over CNN town hall insults Trump Media files $3.78bn defamation lawsuit against Washington Post over Truth Social reporting Trump slams Fox News’ Laura Ingraham over ‘hit piece’ saying DeSantis would do better against Biden than him
2023-05-24 17:57