U.S. and world news for May 22

Florida travel warning: The mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, has responded to a warning issued over the weekend by the NAACP for Blacks and other minorities to avoid going to Florida. Mayor Ken Welch said on Twitter that everyone is always welcome and will be treated with dignity and respect. The NAACP warned that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials are openly hostile toward Blacks, other ethnic groups and the LGBTQ+ community. The NAACP followed the League of United Latin American Citizens and Equality Florida in urging people not to travel to Florida. Gov. DeSantis did not immediately respond to the NAACP’s warning.

EU fine against Meta: The European Union’s Data Protection Commission today fined Meta, the parent company of Facebook, $1.3 billion for violating rules and improperly transferring data collected from European users of Facebook to its computer files in the United States. There are strict regulations for protecting the data of Europeans and they preclude taking the data of European citizens outside of Europe without proper permissions and safeguards.

White House meeting: After canceling his planned trip to Australia and New Guinea, President Biden was scheduled to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the White House today to resume talks on raising the debt ceiling to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debts. McCarthy had said there wouldn’t be enough time to get legislation through Congress in order to avoid a default unless an agreement had been reached by this past weekend.

Scott’s campaign: Today’s speech by Republican Sen. Tim Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, was billed as the kickoff of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination even though he actually filed required paperwork and announced his run last week. Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, is scheduled to campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire later this week.

Entertainment executive booed: The head of the entertainment conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, was interrupted by boos and chanting by Boston University students when he spoke at the school’s commencement over the weekend. The students were showing support for members of the Writers Guild of America who are on strike against movie and TV companies. The writers want higher pay and a bigger share of revenues from streaming of movies and TV shows.

Micron chips: China is banning the use of microchips made by U.S. manufacturer Micron in key government projects. China says the U.S. chips pose a security risk. Micron sells about $3 billion worth of chips to China annually, roughly 10% of its more than $30 billion in total sales.