SUMMARY: Disney reported strong first-quarter earnings of $2.55 billion, or $1.40 per share, significantly exceeding last year’s $1.91 billion and analyst forecasts of $1.44 per share. Revenue increased 5% to $24.69 billion, driven by a 9% rise in the Entertainment segment and a 34% surge in content sales/licensing, thanks to “Moana 2.” Disney+ saw a slight increase in U.S. subscribers but a 2% drop internationally, with a projected decline in Q2. The Experiences division remained flat at $3.11 billion amid challenges from hurricanes. Disney anticipates high-single digit EPS growth for fiscal 2025, with shares inching upward.

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SUMMARY: Toyota is expanding its electric vehicle (EV) and battery production in China through a new partnership with the Shanghai government. A new company will be established in Shanghai’s Jinshan district, aiming for an annual output of 100,000 Lexus EVs by 2027 and creating 1,000 jobs. Additionally, Toyota will build a $14 billion battery facility in North Carolina, creating 5,000 jobs, with shipments starting in April. This initiative responds to increasing EV demand in China and global sustainability concerns. Toyota also reported a 61% profit increase for its fiscal third quarter, boosting its profit forecast for the year.

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U.S. Senate confirms Florida’s Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general

by Ashley Murray, Florida Phoenix
February 4, 2025

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Tuesday night confirmed Florida prosecutor Pam Bondi as the attorney general of the United States under President Donald Trump.

Senators voted 54-46 to install the former Florida attorney general at the top of the U.S. Justice Department, an agency Trump has in his crosshairs after federal prosecutions targeted his actions following his loss in the 2020 presidential election.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted in favor of Bondi’s confirmation.

Bondi easily gained the support of the Republican-led Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which put her on a glide path to confirmation. The panel split along party lines Wednesday to advance her to a full floor vote.

Grassley support

“I’m disappointed that none of my Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee voted for Ms. Bondi, and I hope the full Senate takes a different approach,” Committee Chair Chuck Grassley of Iowa said on the floor Monday.

“If my colleagues won’t cross the aisle for this qualified nominee, they’ll show that they’re intent on opposing President Trump’s picks for purely partisan reasons,” Grassley said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that Americans have “lost faith” in the Justice Department.

“Pam Bondi has promised to get the department back to its core mission: prosecuting crime and protecting Americans from threats to their safety and their freedoms,” the South Dakota Republican said Tuesday afternoon on the floor, accusing the department of political bias under former President Joe Biden.

‘Real concern’ from Whitehouse

Democrats spoke out against Bondi ahead of the confirmation vote, highlighting Bondi’s indirect response to Democratic committee members’ questions over who won the 2020 election.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that Bondi’s responses during her confirmation hearing were cause for “real concern.”

“She said a lot of the right things about independence of the department and rule of law. What I couldn’t get over was how things changed when she got to a topic that would have been sensitive to Donald Trump, something that would have gotten Donald Trump all twitchy,” Whitehouse said on the floor.

“She couldn’t say obvious things, things like,’ Did President Biden win the 2020 election?’ That’s an easy answer, ‘Yes, he did, sir or ma’am.’ Super simple. When she can’t say that, that’s a sign,” Whitehouse continued.

The former president faced charges for scheming to overturn the 2020 election results and for hoarding classified documents in his Florida estate. The Justice Department dropped the cases after Trump won the election, citing a long-term policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.

Trump’s interim U.S. attorney in Florida’s Southern District last week dropped the classified documents case against Trump’s two co-defendants.

Trump has fired a round of Justice Department officials who were involved in prosecuting him as well as those involved in prosecutions of those charged after the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

On his first night in office, Trump granted clemency to all of the nearly 1,600 defendants charged in the attack.

Last updated 9:03 p.m., Feb. 4, 2025

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.