and today, disneyworld is the world's number one tourist destination. visited and instagramed by millions each year. it isn't just orlando's largest employer, it is orlando. now florida governor ron desantis is determined to make the happiest place on earth a living hell. baby maga is bad disney opposes don't say gay bill so they voted to revoke the privileges to allow disneyworld to revoke itself since they opened the glittery doors. they signed anti gay legislation decided to punish educators and erase the existence of people's lives is going after the private company that dared to contradict him because a, he's an authoritarian and b, he thinks it will make him president. wow, ron, you really do live in fantasy land, don't you? or critter country. you can cast this off as one dumb strategy by a dumb governor but it's fans out nationwide. republicans seemingly everywhere all at once are targeting a group fighting to exist in public life. lgbtq young people introducing and in some cases passing legislation that excludes trans women and little kids from

we are seeing a war against disneyworld and in the meantime, people like me in florida are sitting hereg. we need something to be done about the condo laws so that buildings don't collapse and kill the people trapped in there and our state government is so busy legislating and waging manufactured wars against mickey mouse and disneyworld and against "beloverd" and maya angelou but the needs of floridians isn't being met. i'm not sure if five more months of this will be as good as republicans think it was. >> we'll see. >> this is is always effective because it's personal, right? it worked during segregation. it is a tactic that is meant to divide and it's meant to play to people's fears, that's what they are doing. >> thank you both. appreciate it. we'll be right back. are you taking a statin drug to reduce cholesterol? it can also deplete your coq10 levels. i recommend considering qunol coq10 along with your statin medi. the brand i trust is qunol (music throughout) >>> this is "don lemon tonight." ukraine saying it's intercepted russian communications declaring their military's intent

i was at disneyworld with my family. >> you missed out. >> we had to stay away.n we would take a picture, there was a lot of pointing. can't wait to give them a hug again. >> i can just a hug from them. >> the kids trying to get a picture and daisy duck is like stay back. >> it's so hard too. i love this as a mom. >> i was excited. >> darren is like save the hugs. i don't need them. >> i didn't know they were still socially distancing at disneyworld. >> personal space. >> you learn something every day. >>> today, it will be a little bit warmer in the afternoon. four or five degrees warmer than yesterday. there is a minor issue. the clouds are creeping back in. that's from the salesforce tower. the clouds are at the foot of the sutro tower. it's not necessarily fog but you see we have started to fog up on the golden gate bridge. this is localized stuff but we saw this yesterday, low clouds in the late morning and then they fill the heart of the bay and they'll be gone by afternoon. it will be more blue sky today. we are watching patchy fog in the north bay. santa

you got $163 million a year, it seems, that disneyworld essentially is paying to cover its own publico much for having me. this is another example of petty, punitive and performative politics by governor ron desantis who doesn't think twice about who is actually impacted by his poor decision making. eliminating the special taxing district, as you noted, also eliminates the tax that funds it, because right now, the walt disney world property does still pay property taxes, but they tax themselves as separate ad valorem to pay for reedy creek. when you get rid of reedy creek, you get rid of the tax source so the people of orange and osceola county will not only have to cover this new need for services around the disney parks but there's also over a billion dollars in debt that reedy creek has that would also be passed down to the local county residents. >> let me play for you what the governor is actually saying about all of this. >> now, people say, they do have services, utilities. we're going to take care of that. we have everything thought out. don't let anyone tell you that somehow

. >> reporter: phillip insisted irina take the kids to disneyworld, his treat. >> reporter: we know all your secrets. >> that's what grandfathers do, i guess. [ laughter ] >> reporter: meanwhile, soon after irina left ukraine, she found out men with three or were children were allowed to leave the country so a few days ago, this happened. upon his arrival as a gesture of thanks, irina's husband who will also live with phillip brought him this bracelet in the same colors as the ukrainian flag. what does that bracelet mean to you? >> well, it kind of makes me one of them in a sense. you know. >> reporter: bonded? >> yeah. right. >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, cooper city, florida. >>> a cnn crew in ukraine today saw the firsthand of aftermath of russian occupation, a mass grave right outside kyiv and this comes just one day after photos show the bodies of civilians in the street. we'll have the very latest up next. little miss cupcake never stood a chance. until, energizer ultimate lithium. who wants a cupcake? the number one longest-lasting aaaa battery. yay! case

desantis is changing it to include a review of walt disney world and the special status that walt disneyworldal district that essentially allows them to operate as their own government around the orlando area theme park. this all stems from that so called don't say gay bill earlier this year that prevents teachers in schools from talking about gender identity and sexual orientation. disney spoke out afterward. at this point, i spoke to the bill's sponsor. he said that this wasn't necessarily retaliation, but that after disney did that, and said they would stop donating in the state of florida, that they started looking into the state's, one of the largest attractions and employers and that's where this came from. >> i think had disney not done what they had done, we wouldn't have gone and taken a look at special distributions and realized we had this issue with these pre constitution special districts. that wouldn't have happened. when you addiction bee's nest, sometimes things come out. and that has absolutely happen here. >> reporter: democrats say that this particular bill seems to be in d

today florida revoked while disneyworld self governing status and doing an agreement that goes back 55eud between governor ron desantis and disney. descente said he is fighting back against what he calls disease attacks on florida parents. disney has criticized florida's so called don't say gay bill, which bars early education on sexual orientation and gender identity. and you know, i'm just not comfortable having that type of agenda gets special treatment in my state. i just can't do it. some democrats in florida warned the law could result in big tax hikes in the two counties that include disney world. the governor's office issued a statement saying it does not expect the law to cause tax increases for residents. california governor gavin newsom tweeted tonight, quote. let me get this straight. santis is disney don't say gay retaliation bill could increase a million floridians property tax bill by 25% but go ahead and keep telling us about fiscal responsibility and your business friendly climate largest employer in florida to so the story is probably far from over battle. students di

i mean, i've been going to disneyworld since i can remember, and of course, we've taken our daughterss been very outspoken, clearly, with republican base voters, the company has lost favor, and we have to remember, for ron desantis, this is not just about 2022, his re-election campaign, alex. it's also about 2024, and a lot of people here in this state believe he's actually getting ready to run for president, no matter what donald trump decides to do. and it's issues like this that he probably thinks will help him get the upper hand against donald trump. >> but here's the thing. i mean, this has been a mutually beneficial relationship, right? it can't be a good look for ron desantis to be taking on mickey mouse in this regard. >> well, you're right. this is the biggest private employer in the state, i believe. it's a company that lures a lot of tourists to florida, so a lot of the economic benefits that the state gets is thanks to disney, and of course, other companies like universal that have parks in the orlando area. it has a huge employment base. there's a lot of families that dep

. �* ., , florida's state legislature has voted to strip disneyworld of its special tax status.ny zurcher, joins me now from washington to discuss this. so why does this all relate to disney, anthony, and why they are in the firing line?— the firing line? well, it is because disne is the firing line? well, it is because disney is a — the firing line? well, it is because disney is a big _ the firing line? well, it is because disney is a big player _ the firing line? well, it is because disney is a big player in _ the firing line? well, it is because disney is a big player in florida, i disney is a big player in florida, they are the largest private employer in florida and a lot of their employees were not happy with their employees were not happy with the law that florida just past and they complained to disney executives, disney executives took a stand on this and now it is getting swept up in as you mentioned the culture war, with ron desantis, the governor of florida, using disney as a foil to push back against so—called hollywood elites. it is not the only thing ron desantis