DeSantis vs. the Magic Kingdom

This is what can happen when media brands quickly become politicians’ favorite targets — and those brands can push back more than ever. That’s today’s big story.

In today’s edition:

• Looking for cheaper childcare? Try moving to one of these cities.
• The “unremarkable middle” is the best way to describe problems in retail.
• NASA’s jaw-dropping new images show the universe in stunning detail.

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Musk, drone strikes, & Nvidia

• Elon Musk warns house prices are set to plunge — and says commercial real estate is in meltdown. Read more.
• A series of drone strikes in Moscow on Tuesday shocked the city — and could be Ukraine giving Russia “a taste of its own medicine,” a war expert told Insider.
• Nvidia achieved a $1 trillion market cap for the first time as the AI-fueled stock surge continues. More here.

DeSantis versus Disney 

DeSantis and Disney have been embroiled in a yearlong feud that began after the company criticized Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.”

DeSantis responded by hitting Disney where it hurts — he signed a bill removing the company’s self-governing status in Florida. Since then, the feud has escalated.

We recently reported that if DeSantis dragged down Disney, he could bring central Florida with it. Disney’s latest move was to scrap a $1 billion corporate campus that could have brought thousands of jobs to Florida. Hundreds of Disney employees had even already relocated, per The New York Times.

But it’s not just Disney workers impacted. If the company focuses its investments elsewhere, other Orlando attractions could suffer. Then, there’s the developers who are reportedly left scrambling after building thousands of new apartments in preparation for the new campus.

At this point, it’s not clear who has the most to lose: DeSantis, Disney, or Florida.

Childcare, Hanks, & more

• The most expensive cities for childcare. There is one near-universal truth about the cost of childcare in the US: It’s too damn high. In Bronx County, New York, residents spend an average of 47% of their household income on outside childcare, and in Suffolk County, Massachusetts (aka the Boston area), residents shell out 28%. See the list.
• M-M-M-Mid: Collapse of the “unremarkable middle.” The gap between the rich and poor is widening. And the disappearing middle class is fueling the “Retail Apocalypse” of middle retailers: Bed Bath & Beyond, Sears, JCPenney, and more. Get the full story here.
• Tom Hanks rants about movie-night frustrations. Picking a movie is difficult in the era of unlimited choices, thanks to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Tom Hanks suggested that going to a movie theater might just be the better option. Read more here.
• “I moved from the US to Sweden after struggling with burnout.” More than five years ago, Tess Meyer was searching for happiness. Now, she rarely works overtime, gets six weeks of paid vacation per year, and got a free master’s degree. Check out her story here.
• Strava’s chief design officer shares how she learned to disagree with bosses. Anita Patwardhan Butler told Insider how she found the courage to speak up in a male-dominated field. Butler said she wanted to create more opportunities for women in tech. Get her story here.
• NYC’s charmless supertall skyscrapers. New York City is home to 17 supertall towers measuring over 984 feet, the most of any metropolis. One critic said the towers were a showy display of billionaires’ stranglehold on America. See them for yourself.
• “I made $10,000 a month chatting with guys on dating apps.” Nicole Miranda said she made up to $400 a day on the dating apps Meete and ToChat. She said she got some weird requests, but most men just wanted to feel like someone cared. The full story.

NASA images

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