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CEO of DeSantis super PAC resigns
Chris Jankowski, the CEO of the main super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential run, has resigned. Jankowski confirmed to CBS News that he sent a resignation to the Never Back Down PAC’s board and that it was effective immediately.
Jankowski’s resignation was first reported by The New York Times.
His resignation comes amid reports of turmoil between the PAC and DeSantis’ campaign brass, with the latest flare-up coming after attack ads from the PAC on former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley backfired against DeSantis in polling, according to NBC News.
During a meeting last week at the super PAC’s Atlanta headquarters, a tense moment between Never Back Down strategist Jeff Roe and longtime supporter Scott Wagner turned into a shouting match over the direction of the super PAC, according to sources familiar with the incident. Allies of DeSantis have been critical of how the super PAC has been run, the sources said. Details of the incident were first reported by NBC News on Tuesday.
DeSantis has anchored his campaign’s prospects in Iowa, but he has consistently trailed former President Donald Trump in polling and is in a battle with Haley for second place.
“Never Back Down’s main goal and sole focus has been to elect Governor Ron DeSantis as President. Given the current environment it has become untenable for me to deliver on the shared goal and that goes well beyond a difference of strategic opinion,” Jankowski wrote in a statement to CBS News.
“For the future of our country I support and pray Ron DeSantis is our 47th president,” he added.
Historically, super PACs have been utilized to run TV advertising for a candidate due to their lack of federal limits on fundraising. However, federal election laws prohibit direct coordination between a super PAC and the campaign.
Never Back Down has had an outsized role in DeSantis’ campaign operations, often hosting him as a “special guest” on its bus tour for events and running a grassroots door-knocking operation in support of him in the early states.
But in response to the reported internal disagreements over the PAC’s strategy, a new outside group, Fight Right, was recently created by three Florida allies of the governor and spent just under $1 million on ads in Iowa attacking Haley, according to AdImpact and records with the Federal Election Commission.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.
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