Loneliness as lethal as smoking 15 cigarettes a day

Surgeon General of the United States DR Vivek Murthy raises the alarm about how social isolation can affect physical health.

RELATED: New study explores how black women experience depression differently

How harmful can loneliness be?

In an 81-page guide entitled Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, Murthy argues: “The mortality effects of being socially separated are similar to those caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.”

He also points out that the “mortality effect” of loneliness “is even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.”

As a result, Murthy says social connections deserve the same priority as other public health crises like addiction.

“Faced with the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunity and an obligation to make the same investments in managing social relationships that we have made in tackling tobacco use, obesity and the addiction crisis. This guide from the Surgeon General shows us how to build more connected lives and a more connected society.”

This view is supported by the observation that people with healthy social connections generally tend to “live longer”.

“Evidence from across scientific disciplines converges to the conclusion that socially connected people live longer.”

How can those “fighting in the shadows” address the problem?

Murthy spoke further about his advice during a meeting with AP News. He noted that this was done in an effort to help those “fighting in the shadows.”

“We now know that loneliness is a common feeling that many people experience. It’s like hunger or thirst… Millions of people in America are fighting in the shadows, and that’s not right.”

The US Surgeon General added, “That is why I issued this advisory, to pull back the curtain on a struggle that too many people are witnessing.”

Murthy’s Advisory notes this in support of this stance “Americans seem to become less socially connected over time.”

He points out that the number of single-person households has doubled since 1960, contributing to why “a significant portion of Americans lack adequate social connection.”

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has only made matters worse. However, factors such as increasing use of social media and declining levels of community engagement are also fueling the problem.

“Some examples of harm are technology that crowds out personal engagement, monopolizes our attention, lowers the quality of our interactions, and even lowers our self-esteem.”

After providing an overview of how loneliness can affect everything from cardiovascular health to cognitive function, Murthy points out that governing bodies need to “establish social connections as a research priority.”

As for individuals, Murthy says they need to “understand” the impact of social connections while also being “actively engaged.”[ing] with people from different backgrounds.”

“All of us as individuals, organizations and communities can play a role in increasing and strengthening connection across the country.”

Murthy also emphasizes the importance of building a “culture of connection” as it is “grounded in core values ​​of kindness, respect, service and commitment to one another.”

NEW: Today I published Advice from a Surgeon General on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation facing our country, the devastating impact it is having on our collective health, and the extraordinary healing power of our relationships. https://t.co/P9RnZkLr6G #Connect2Heal 1/8 pic.twitter.com/ZhaSuXTjoi

– dr Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) May 2, 2023

Minnesota, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio can legalize marijuana

Cannabis reform protesters gather outside the White House in Washington, DC to call on President Joe Biden to take action against the clemency of cannabis ahead of the November general election on October 24, 2022.

Win Mcnamee | Getty Images

Marijuana is a multibillion-dollar industry, and legal markets are springing up like weeds across the United States as more states seek the tax revenue and jobs that cash crop brings.

According to an MJBiz Factbook analysis, sales of medical and recreational marijuana are expected to reach $33.6 billion by the end of the year, a trend largely driven by the opening of new markets to adult use.

In Michigan alone, sales of medicinal and recreational items combined brought in about $325 million in tax revenue last year, according to the state cannabis regulator.

Legal weed became a reality in Delaware last month when the state passed two bills aimed at allowing ownership by adults 21 and older and creating a regulatory framework for an adult-use market that will begin to take shape in the coming months should. The state became 22nd to legalize recreational marijuana, following Missouri and Maryland, which did so earlier this year.

The win for the industry caps a “multi-year effort” with “many hurdles along the way,” said Olivia Naugle, senior policy analyst at the Marijuana Policy Project.

“From organizing lobby days, rallies and town halls, testifying on key committees, media relations, voter guides and more, years of effective advocacy and teamwork have helped us reach this moment,” Naugle said.

Similar legalization efforts are underway, fueling momentum in a handful of other states as the marijuana industry grows. Some states are even moving forward with proposals or voting measures to legalize cannabis, bringing it within reach of recreational markets.

These are the states that have a chance to legalize adult-use marijuana in the coming years.

Minnesota

Leif Hamre of Minneapolis attends a rally at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota April 23, 2014, held by members of the Minnesota NORML in support of cannabis legalization.

Jerry Holt | Star Tribune | Getty Images

For the first time in a decade, Minnesota’s Democrats control both houses of the state legislature and the governor’s office, a trifecta that puts the state on the verge of legalizing marijuana.

Minnesota Cannabis Law founder Jason Tarasek said a definitive bill is being sought Ending cannabis prohibition and establishing a regulated market will be on Gov. Tim Walz’s desk and signed into law in the coming weeks. The Minnesota House and Senate have passed separate versions of the legislation, and lawmakers from both parties are now ironing out key elements of a final bill, including tax rates and the deletion of previous criminal charges or convictions related to marijuana.

“Legalization will also create hundreds, if not thousands, of new jobs, eliminate the illicit market, and allow law enforcement to focus on more serious crimes,” Tarasek said.

Medical marijuana is already legal in Minnesota, and a majority of state residents support its recreational use.

Walz has expressed support for the bill, and Tarasek expects him to enact it before the current legislative session adjourns on May 22.

Florida

Jared Sadler harvests marijuana plants at a Cresco Labs grow facility in Indiantown, Florida.

John McCall | Getty Images

Florida is about 50,000 signatures away from putting a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that would allow recreational use of marijuana.

Proponents of legalization in Florida have collected 841,130 valid signatures statewide of the 891,589 needed for the change, according to the Florida Electoral Commission’s website. The state updates the petition count at the end of each month.

Once the measure, which focuses narrowly on allowing recreational use in the state, is put on the ballot, there’s a good chance it will pass. A poll by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab found that 70% of respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” support the change.

The measure does not set a framework for what a legal market would look like.

Florida legalized the sale of medical marijuana in 2016 and it has grown into a billion dollar business. According to data from research firm Headset, legal sales from January 2022 to July 2022 were $1.04 billion.

“Florida currently has one of the strongest medical cannabis programs in America, and as this market expands to include adult use for personal consumption, we believe the market will be even stronger,” said Lauren Niehaus, Executive Director of Government Relations at Trulieve.

The company, which operates more than 180 medical dispensaries in the state, has donated $30 million to Smart & Safe Florida, the committee supporting the change.

“Trulieve envisions that Florida could potentially become a $6 billion cannabis marketplace at maturity,” Niehaus said.

Ohio

Ohio may vote on whether to legalize recreational marijuana in November.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has a proposal aimed at creating a system in which marijuana would be regulated and taxed in a manner similar to alcohol. After the state legislature decided not to pass the proposal, the group must collect 124,000 signatures from registered voters by July 5 to get the proposal on the ballot.

“We are confident that Ohio will legalize marijuana for all adults by 2023,” said Thomas Haren, a spokesman for the group. “This is an issue that transcends political boundaries. It’s popular with Democrats, independents and Republicans.”

About half of Ohio voters support legalizing adult use, according to a poll conducted by Emerson College. The voters most likely to support legalization are Democrats at 66.2%, followed by Independents at 50% and Republicans at 36.3%, according to the poll.

Haren said the proposal also plans to build on Ohio’s medical marijuana program and grant additional adult-use licenses to new companies.

He estimates that Ohio would generate $350 million to $400 million in new tax revenue under the proposed framework. Researchers at Ohio State University estimate that tax revenues in the fifth year of an operative adult-use marijuana market would range from $276 million to $374 million.

Pennsylvania

Brad Horrigan | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

Pennsylvania is increasingly surrounded by states with established recreational markets, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware.

If the state, the fifth most populous in the country, legalizes cannabis, profits can stay within its borders.

There are three separate proposals from lawmakers hoping to regulate but also capitalize on marijuana. The state’s Democrat-held House of Representatives announced proposals in January and February, while the Republican-held Senate announced one in December. They all seek, to varying degrees, to tax crops for the benefit of communities and include initiatives aimed at social justice.

However, marijuana attorney Brian Vicente said that Pennsylvania is lagging behind in trying to legalize marijuana.

“Pennsylvania is just a tough hill to climb,” said Vicente, who keeps an eye on what’s happening in the Commonwealth. “We didn’t have the same dynamic in the legislature there, but the governor supports it, so it’s possible it can get through this year.”

According to a Muhlenberg College poll, just one in four adults in Pennsylvania opposes legalization, with 56% supporting changing the existing law. The state has had medical marijuana since 2018.

Hakeem Jeffries makes it clear Democrats will not bail out McCarthy over the debt restrict

During an interview with Meet The Press, House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries dismissed the idea of ​​giving Kevin McCarthy a stopgap on the debt ceiling.

Video by Jeffries:

Chuck Todd asked Jeffries about the idea of ​​raising the debt limit in the short term to match the budget deadline.

Jeffries replied: “I don’t think it’s responsible to kick the can out when President Biden has been saying for months that Leader Schumer’s position is that House Democrats’ position is to avoid a default. America should pay its bills and protect the full confidence and credit of the United States of America, but of course we’re open to a discussion about what kind of investments, what kind of spending, what kind of income are appropriate to health, safety and to protect the economic well-being of the American people. This is a process that is now available to us. I don’t think we need to delay these discussions for a few months.”

Todd responded by asking if that was the way out.

Leader Jeffries said, “We’ve got to avoid a fallout, period, period. I think what lies ahead now is that President Biden called a very important discussion Tuesday so that we can find a way to do what is necessary to continue to strengthen our economy in a way that benefits Americans every day comes.”

In other words, that would be a big no to the idea of ​​taking the pressure off Speaker McCarthy by giving him a few more months to stand around and do nothing.

The media seems to forget that House Republicans voted for this fight. Speaker McCarthy and the far-right member of his group wanted to push the nation toward default, and McCarthy could have made that a non-issue by passing a clean debt ceiling hike.

He and the MAGAs believe Biden and the Democrats will give them the cuts they want.

Democrats are employing a tactic that has worked in every debt-limit standoff. Democrats remain united and will not give in to the GOP’s fabricated crisis.

If Republicans cause a default, they will be held responsible.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public policy with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association

The WHO declares the worldwide well being emergency of Covid-19 over

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference December 20, 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Denis Balibouse | Reuters

The spread of Covid-19 is no longer a global public health emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

“For more than a year, the pandemic has been on a downward trend, with population immunity from vaccination and infection increasing, mortality falling and pressure on health systems easing,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference in Geneva.

“This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19,” Tedros said. “It is therefore with great hope that I declare Covid-19 a global public health emergency.”

Almost 7 million people have died from the virus worldwide since the WHO first declared a state of emergency on Jan. 30, 2020, according to official data from the UN agency. Tedros said the true death toll is at least 20 million.

The WHO decision comes as the US is set to end its national health emergency on Thursday.

Tedros said there was still a risk that a new variant could emerge and cause a further spike in cases. He warned national governments not to dismantle the systems they have built to fight the virus.

“This virus is here to stay. It’s still killing and still changing,” he said.

But the WHO chief said it was time countries moved from an emergency measure to treating Covid like other infectious diseases.

Covid was first observed in Wuhan, China in December 2019 when several patients developed pneumonia symptoms of unknown cause.

Covid was moving rapidly across the globe in early 2020, leading to an unprecedented halt to international travel and border closures as countries unsuccessfully tried to prevent the virus from spreading.

Covid devastated the elderly and other vulnerable populations, and devastated hospitals that did not have the bed capacity or supplies to handle the sudden surge in suffering and death.

Many national governments shut down public life in a desperate attempt to halt the deaths, resulting in a severe economic downturn and social disruption whose long-term consequences are unlikely to be fully understood for years to come.

“Covid-19 was so much more than just a health crisis,” Tedros said. “It has caused severe economic upheaval, wiping trillions from GDP, disrupting travel and trade, destroying businesses and plunging millions into poverty,” he said.

“It has caused severe social upheaval with closed borders, restrictions on movement, closed schools and millions of people experiencing loneliness, isolation, anxiety and depression,” Tedros said.

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China has been heavily criticized for not alarming the world sooner, a claim Beijing denies. Critics have also accused the WHO of over-reliance on information from Beijing early in the pandemic.

More than three years later, the origins of the virus are still a hotly debated mystery. Scientists, government officials and the general public continue to debate whether Covid spread to humans from an infected animal or leaked from a laboratory in China.

The US intelligence services are divided in their assessment of the origin of Covid.

The US government, allied nations and the WHO have criticized the Chinese government for not providing transparent access to data that could help determine the start of the pandemic.

This is what Prince Harry did after the coronation of King Charles III

He came, he saw, and then… he went.

Shortly after his father King Charles III and stepmother Queen Camilla were crowned in a historic ceremony on May 6th at Westminster Abbey. Prince Harry left the venue, got into a car and drove to Heathrow Airport, BBC News and several other outlets reported.

According to several reports, he had flown to London the day before. His wife Megan Markle and their children Prince Archiecelebrating his fourth birthday on the day of the coronation, and Princess Lilibet, 23 months, stayed in California where they live. The event came amid a rift between the Duke of Sussex and his father, stepmother and brother. Prince Williamall of which he had criticized in his memoir Spare.

Harry, who stepped down from royal duties alongside Meghan in 2020, sat in the third row at the coronation – two rows behind William – and played no official part in it. More than an hour after the ceremony ended and the Duke of Sussex left, several members of the royal family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Charles and Camilla, including William and his wife Kate Middleton and their children Prince George9, Princess Charlotte7 and Prince Ludwig5.

WWE followers fearful about UFC merger

WWE SmackDown World Tour

Jörn Pollex | Bongarts | Getty Images

World Wrestling Entertainment and Endeavor-owned UFC will merge this year in a deal that will create a sports-entertainment giant worth more than $21 billion.

After the deal was announced in early April, WWE stock soared to its highest level in almost four years. The stock is up more than 50% so far this year.

For wrestling fans, however, history isn’t about those numbers. Rather, the success of the Fusion depends on what’s actually happening in the ring – and whether it’s worth your time and money.

In a landscape where consumers have broad economic and political clout, the merger will serve as a test of how strong fan collective power can be in the face of corporate giants. And wrestling fans aren’t afraid to share their opinions.

Some are concerned that a return to a pay-per-view model is on the horizon for WWE’s flagship event, WrestleMania. Last month, it streamed exclusively on NBCUniversal’s Peacock, where it generated the streaming service’s highest weekend usage ever. Though NBCU doesn’t release specific streaming numbers for the event, only the Super Bowl overtook WrestleMania for the most watched hours of any live event on Peacock, according to the company.

WWE’s exclusive streaming deal with Peacock, which includes streaming rights to WrestleMania, expires in 2026.

WWE declined to comment on this article. In late March, before the UFC deal was announced, WWE CEO Nick Khan said the company was keeping a close eye on fans’ price sensitivity.

“If NBCU came to us and said, ‘Hey, we’re taking you from where you are now five times for Peacock, but we have to charge extra,’ we would have to take a good look at that,” Khan said on the podcast “The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media”. “Most importantly, we don’t want to price our fans out.”

Jerry D’Erasmo, a longtime fan who hosts a wrestling podcast, said he understands why WWE WrestleMania could eventually go back to pay-per-view. However, he also believes this is one of the few things that might actually turn off large swathes of the fandom. He said many fans told him they would tune in to round up podcasts like his own, rather than pay $60 or $70 to watch a pay-per-view.

How WWE will tell its stories and conduct its games under a new executive regime will also help determine how they spend their money, fans said.

“The biggest concern from a fan perspective — not investors, but fans — is creative control,” said Matt Courcelle, longtime wrestling fan and host of The WWE Podcast.

In this case, there is an elephant in the room, and his name is Vince McMahon. For many WWE fans, whether to pay for new streaming or pay-per-view services depends heavily on whether McMahon, 77, who has controlled WWE since acquiring it from his father in 1982, has a say in creative decisions becomes.

Despite numerous comparisons to women who have alleged sexual misconduct by McMahon, including a rape he denies, he remains at the forefront of WWE.

“This guy has taken control of the biggest wrestling company in the world for better or for worse,” said Jimmy Baxter, a professional wrestling commentator and podcaster in New Jersey. “For that he was a success story, but along the way there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears – and a lot of paid women.”

McMahon isn’t going anywhere, at least not any time soon. He will also serve as executive chairman of the newly combined company, whose name is yet to be announced Make an effort Managing Director Ari Emmanuel. After 40 years, many fans see him as an integral part, even if he is not the CEO.

“When the bombs fall, there are three things left: roaches, Twinkies, and Vince McMahon,” Baxter said.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Chairman Vince McMahon is introduced during the WWE Monday Night Raw show at the Thomas & Mack Center August 24, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ethan Mueller | Getty Images

McMahon told CNBC last month that he won’t be deeply involved in WWE storytelling when WWE and UFC merge – but fans say they need more proof before taking his statements at face value.

“As much as they want to tell us he’s not ‘in the weeds’ creatively, there’s been a lot of evidence lately that Vince is,” Courcelle said, including rumors that he was on the show behind the scenes Raw after WrestleMania.

There are other concerns about the content as well.

In late April, a former WWE writer filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming she was fired in retaliation for cracking down on racist remarks in the writer’s room, according to court documents. The lawsuit lists McMahon and his daughter Stephanie McMahon, herself a former executive, as defendants, as well as WWE itself and other employees of the backstage company.

“We know what Vince McMahon is; we know what he creatively brought to the table,” said Courcelle. “In the last five to ten years, from a fan’s perspective, it wasn’t the best it could be.”

Still, fans keep coming back for more. Anyone who has spent thousands of dollars on wrestling events and merchandise over the years won’t stop watching if they don’t think the new WWE is up to par. Some longtime hardcore fans aren’t sure where they’ll end up just yet, but they’ll likely stay to see how it goes.

“I absolutely love the drama,” Baxter said. “I love watching a crazy old man burn his empire down just because he can.”

Disclosure: Peacock is the streaming service of NBCUniversal, CNBC’s parent company.

CDC could have much less information after the emergency ends

People walk past a Covid-19 testing site in Times Square on May 12, 2022 in New York City.

Liao pan | China news service | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have less data to track the spread of Covid-19 and new variants in the US after the public health emergency ends Thursday.

“The end of the public health emergency means the CDC will have less authority to collect certain types of public health data — meaning less data will be available to us,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC’s deputy chief executive officer, told reporters during a call Thursday.

Shah acknowledged that disease surveillance in the US has been inadequate during the pandemic and needs improvement.

“Our ability to detect and monitor disease threats should be better in the future than in the past,” he said. “And that ability to detect and monitor should be built into our baseline and not dependent on emergency declarations,” Shah said.

The US, unlike other affluent nations, has a fragmented health care system where decision-making authority over what disease data to report rests largely with corporations, the 50 states, tribes and territories — not the CDC.

dr James Lawler, an infectious disease expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said this fragmented system is a result of a lack of will to reform — not a technical challenge.

“How ridiculous it is that I can tell you where my UPS packages are at any given time in 2023 and I don’t have access to the health records,” said Lawler, who spoke to the Bush and Obama administrations on biodefense advised and pandemic preparedness.

“Healthcare is the third rail in politics and no one wants to touch it,” he said.

A more fragmented system

Laboratories certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are no longer required to report Covid test results to the CDC. Congress required these labs to send results to the federal government in March 2020, but that mandate was tied to the public health emergency.

Some states will also stop reporting cases to the CDC altogether, said Dr. Brendan Jackson, who leads the agency’s Covid response team.

Covid has been classified as a national reportable disease since April 2020. That means new cases should be reported to the CDC, but states’ reporting to the federal government is a recommendation — not a mandate.

“Each individual state or other jurisdiction has its own set of rules or regulations that determine what is reportable,” Jackson said. “In some jurisdictions or some states, when the public health emergency ends, those agencies will go away,” he said.

The CDC will shift its collection of positive Covid tests to a voluntary network of more than 450 labs, Jackson said.

Covid case data in the US became unreliable many months ago because of so many people testing at home – if at all. These test results are not included in the CDC data because they are not required to be reported.

The World Health Organization has repeatedly warned that the dramatic drop in testing around the world is making tracking new Covid variants more difficult.

Although the CDC will continue to track Covid variants domestically and among international travelers entering the United States, the agency needs to reduce the frequency with which it reports this data.

“There’s certainly been a decrease in the tests being performed and the samples that can be submitted for genome sequencing, so we may need to reduce the frequency with which we report that,” Jackson said.

Variant data is reported twice a month, instead of weekly, according to the CDC.

The patchy reporting of case data also means the CDC will no longer report virus transmission at the county level after the public health emergency ends. Healthcare facilities used this data to know when to mask, and nursing homes relied on it to test uptake.

Jackson said the CDC will update its recommendations for those facilities so they know how to prevent infection.

The agency will also be phasing out its Covid community layers, which provide local recommendations to the public on when to mask and take other precautions, based on how many cases and hospitalizations the virus is causing in individual counties.

The community levels will be replaced with a new system based solely on hospitalization, Jackson said.

Other ways to monitor

Health officials are focused on tracking serious illnesses through hospitalizations and deaths rather than cases as infections have become a lesser threat due to the availability of vaccines and so many people have some level of immunity to Covid.

Shah said the CDC will still have ways to monitor Covid after the public health emergency ends. Hospitals are required to report Covid admissions by 2024. The CDC will primarily rely on this information, as well as sewage monitoring, which covers nearly 140 million Americans, Jackson said. In the future, hospital data will be reported weekly and no longer daily.

The CDC will continue to report deaths from Covid even as the system transitions to the National Vital Statistics System. Jackson said this should improve reporting of death dates.

“We’ll still be able to tell that it’s snowing even if we don’t count every snowflake,” Shah said.

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However, Lawrence Gostin, a health law expert, said that after the public health emergency passes, the CDC will lose its ability to easily collect data. Gostin said the problem is that unlike most other wealthy nations in the world, the US does not have a national health care system.

The CDC is currently negotiating data sharing agreements with states, tribes and territories to maintain access to Covid vaccine administration data. Those negotiations can take weeks to months, Jackson said.

“That’s just not a way to run a top-notch surveillance system. It’s porous, it’s unreliable, it’s just inadequate for the job,” Gostin said.

This information is critical to successful immunization campaigns as it can reveal disparities in vaccine administration based on race, age and geography. This allows health authorities to focus on making sure the unvaccinated vulnerable populations get their vaccinations.

Jackson said most of the 64 jurisdictions, including the 50 states and other local authorities, have signed data-sharing agreements for vaccine delivery. The CDC will continue to conduct its separate national immunization surveys, which provide information about race and ethnicity, he said.

Gostin said Congress is reluctant to authorize the CDC to order reporting amid suspicions about what the federal government will do with the data.

“This is public health information,” Gostin said. “The CDC is bound by confidential laws, and the public health agencies in all the peer countries have these agencies, and nothing goes wrong — the government doesn’t use them for bad things,” he said.

DeSantis indicators legislation terminating Disney improvement offers

Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference in the Cabinet Room at the end of the 2023 legislative session in Florida on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Alicia Devine | Tallahassee Democrat via AP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Friday effectively nullifying the development agreements Disney just before the governor selected a new board of directors to oversee the company’s Orlando parks.

The development deals are at the center of the latest battle in a year-long war between Disney, one of Florida’s largest employers, and DeSantis, a Republican likely gearing up for a 2024 presidential campaign.

The governor’s office confirmed the signing of the bill in a press release that offered no further information or comments about the legislation.

The bill, passed by the state’s Republican-majority legislature just a day earlier, follows a vote by DeSantis board members to void the deals, claiming they were unlawfully struck. According to Disney, the contracts were drawn up to secure long-term development plans amid escalating tensions with DeSantis and its allies.

Members of both parties, including Trump, have criticized DeSantis’ fight with Disney.

“This feud between DeSantis and Disney is insane,” Linda Stewart, a Democrat representing Florida’s 13th Senate district, told CNBC. “Every day it seems they want to try other ways to make things harder for Disney, but all they do is cost taxpayers money to hire lawyers to defend what they do. “

Stewart voted against the recent legislation.

Disney sued DeSantis and the board members last week over a campaign of political retaliation led by the governor. The board countered days later.

Disney declined to comment.

The feud began more than a year ago after Disney denounced a Republican-backed Florida law that restricted classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender ideology and was branded by critics “Don’t Say Gay.”

Shortly thereafter, DeSantis and his allies moved to disband the special tax district that had allowed Walt Disney World to essentially self-govern its own operations since the 1960s.

The 25,000-acre area formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District was ultimately kept intact — but it was given a new name, and its five-member board of directors was replaced with numbers chosen by DeSantis.

In March, the new board accused Disney of making 11 hour deals that undermined its power. Disney says its contacts have been made publicly and that they do not undermine the board’s oversight of the district’s activities.

The company’s state civil lawsuit asks the court to “prevent the state of Florida from arming the government’s power to punish private corporations.”

DeSantis signed legislation voiding Disney’s businesses on the last day of the 2023 Florida legislative session. The governor, who was resoundingly re-elected in November’s midterm elections, is seen as former President Donald Trump’s potential greatest rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

The Legislature, which has Republican supermajorities in both chambers, has been churning out bills that have helped implement DeSantis’ wide-ranging conservative agenda — with an emphasis on divisive cultural issues that might resonate in a Republican primary race.

DeSantis has continued his attacks on Disney, even as the protracted battle has led some Republicans to question his strategy.

In addition to canceling the development agreements, the Florida legislature passed a measure that would require the state transportation agency to conduct inspections of the Walt Disney World monorails. Stewart said Disney hasn’t had any major safety issues with its monorail system since 2009, when an operator was killed after two of the vehicles collided. She questioned the timing of the new measure.

“It’s so obvious that it’s about retribution,” Stewart said.

Earlier this month, the state board of education approved an amendment to the classroom bill that started the feud with Disney.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky will step down in June

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control, leaves the office after speaking before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on the All-Hazards Preparedness Act Thursday, April 4.

Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced on Friday that she would step down at the end of June, ending a tenure marked by repeated changes to adjust to an evolving coronavirus crisis.

Walensky gave no specific reason for their departure, but noted in a letter to President Joe Biden that the US is emerging from the emergency of the Covid-19 response.

“The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC director,” Walensky wrote in the letter.

“I took on this role at your request with the goal of putting the dark days of the pandemic behind me and moving the CDC — and public health — to a much better and more trusted place,” she said.

The health emergency in the US ends on Thursday. The World Health Organization declared the end of the global Covid public health emergency on Friday.

Biden thanked Walensky for her service in a statement.

“Dr. Walensky leaves the CDC with a stronger institution that is better positioned to meet health threats and protect Americans,” the president said.

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Walensky acknowledged in August 2022 that the CDC’s response to the pandemic was inadequate. She initiated a reorganization aimed at making the agency more responsive to disease threats and better communicating health advice to the public.

But the CDC still struggles to respond to public health threats because they have limited powers given a fragmented health care system. The agency will have less data to track Covid and new variants when the public health emergency ends because it cannot force states to report this information.

Walensky took charge of the ailing agency in early 2021 as the US rolled out its Covid vaccination campaign. She led the public health agency while the national pandemic response suffered repeated setbacks from the emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants.

Walensky also helped lead the US response to the sudden outbreak of MPOX in the summer of 2022.

She headed the Department of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School before joining the Biden administration. Walensky is an HIV expert.

Younger Thug’s brother arrested after gun deal

Young Thugs older brother Unfoonkwhose real name is quantity grierswas arrested by Young Slime Life (YSL) on a weapons charge just months after accepting a plea in the ongoing RICO case.

Young Thug’s older brother, Unfoonk, was arrested on gun charges months after accepting the YSL-RICO plea deal

On Thursday, Unfoonk was arrested for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and being linked to a criminal street gang while participating in illegal activities, according to WSB-TV.

The rapper is also facing other minor traffic offenses stemming from this latest arrest.

Unfoonk pleaded guilty in December to RICO law violation and theft by receiving stolen property in connection with the YSL case.

Unfoonk accepted a 12-year sentence with two years already commuted to time served and 10 years probation, reports WSB-TV.

He will do 750 hours of community service and will observe a 10pm to 6am curfew as part of his probation.

He is also prohibited from having contact with his brother, Young Thug, or any of the other YSL defendants until the RICO case is closed.

It’s unclear how his immediate arrest will affect his pleading.

This is the police version of events, which of course is missing some key details used in its defense.

We’ll see what the judge says, but for now, Unfoonk is being held without bond. pic.twitter.com/w9bYg6b5Ex

— YSL RICO UPDATES ひ (@ThuggerDaily) May 5, 2023

The young thug remains behind bars while awaiting trial in the YSL RICO case

His younger brother, Young Thug, remains behind bars while awaiting trial in the RICO case against his record company. Prosecutors claim YSL is a “criminal street gang”.

Thug faces eight charges, including conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and involvement in street gang criminal activity, as well as weapons and drug offenses.

Thug filed a fourth bail request with his attorney Brian Stahlwho said his client was languishing “in county jail,” according to a motion filed April 24.

In the application obtained by 11Alive, Steel says Thugger cannot stay healthy, noting that his client has limited options for healthy eating.

He claims the rapper relies on foods with “zero health benefits” like chocolate and chips.

In addition, the rapper has had little access to fresh air and sunlight since May 2022.

Thug suffers from constant “sleep deprivation” as he only gets five hours of sleep each night. And when he appears in court, he has to get up at 3 or 4 a.m., the outlet reports.

Judge Ural Glanville has not yet ruled on the request.

Thug has maintained his innocence throughout the trial, having been plagued by several issues from the start. This includes the arrest of a lawyer, Anastassios Manettas, representing another defendant in the case.

Jury selection in the YSL-RICO trial is now in its fifth month of hearings.