Disney has agreed to settle its lawsuit stemming from the state of Florida’s takeover of a special development district that had been managed for five decades by the theme park operator near its Walt Disney World resort near Orlando.

The suit was among several triggered last year when Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to revoke the special self-governing status of the district, after Disney opposed state legislation limiting teaching in public schools related to gender and sexual identity.

Disney and the state traded suits after Florida sought to void an agreement made with district board members just days before the prior special district arrangement was set to expire, and Disney asked the court to rule that the agreement was valid. As part of the settlement, Disney agreed not to challenge a state board’s determination that the last-minute agreement with the old Reedy Creek Improvement District was null and void.

“This agreement opens a new chapter of constructive engagement with the new leadership of the district and serves the interests of all parties by enabling significant continued investment and the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and economic opportunity in the state,” Walt Disney World Resort President Jeff Vahle said in a statement Wednesday.

Disney previously said it is planning to invest about $60 billion in developments at its global theme parks in the next decade, including $17 billion at Walt Disney World. 

Global automakers were among companies recalibrating their shipping plans after this week’s collapse of a bridge that was struck by a cargo ship in the Baltimore port.

Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Dimitris Psillakis told CNBC the German carmaker might use ports in other East Coast locations such as Brunswick, Georgia, after authorities closed the Baltimore port, which is among the nation’s largest hubs for imported cars and light trucks. Other companies such as Volkswagen also anticipated possible trucking delays due to traffic diversions.

A Volkswagen statement said the company processed and shipped about 100,000 vehicles through Baltimore for U.S. dealers during 2023. State officials said more than 847,000 vehicles shipped by multiple makers came through the Baltimore port during the past year.

Media outlets reported companies in many industries were considering rerouting goods normally shipped through Baltimore to other ports in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina. Port officials and cargo industry analysts said affected industries also include fresh produce, furniture, appliances, wood paneling and other construction materials.

Authorities Wednesday continued to investigate the cause of the ship’s crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, with the collapse leaving at least six people who were working on the bridge presumed dead. 

South Korean computer chipmaker SK Hynix is reported to be planning to invest about $4 billion to build a high-tech plant in West Lafayette, Indiana, among the latest of several in the works nationwide as global producers boost their U.S. manufacturing of semiconductors and related tech components.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported the memory chipmaker is planning an Indiana facility that could begin operations in 2028 and create 800 to 1,000 new jobs. The development could make use of state and federal incentives.

The market capitalization for Icheon, South Korea-based SK Hynix has more than doubled in the past year amid partnerships with other fast-growing chip companies such as Nvidia during the latest artificial intelligence boom, the Journal reported. SK Hynix did not immediately respond to a request from CoStar News to comment.

Several global chipmakers have manufacturing plants under construction or in planning stages across several U.S. states, such as Micron Technology, Intel, Samsung and TSMC. Many of these projects stem from federal legislation approved in 2022 that provides grants to development projects intended to bolster U.S. supply chains by increasing domestic production of computer chips and related high-tech components.