DeSantis enters the presidential race: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida filed paperwork on Wednesday afternoon to declare his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. DeSantis planned to make his first official appearance as a presidential candidate in a livestreamed event with Elon Musk on Twitter, but the event was marred by technical glitches; he later appeared in a Fox News interview.
Mixed results in latest presidential polling: The latest Quinnipiac University poll found former President Donald Trump holding a 56% lead in among potential Republican voters, up from 47% in a March poll, while DeSantis”™ second place ranking in the poll dropped to 25% from the 33% he held in March. However, hypothetical match-ups between President Biden and the two Republicans found Biden beating Trump 48% to 47% but losing to DeSandis 47% to 46%. Also, 65% of poll respondents thought the 80-year-old Biden was too old to effectively serve another four-year term as president.
Tina Turner dies: Music legend Tina Turner passed away at the age of 83 at her home in Switzerland after a long period of poor health. The singer first rose to prominence in the 1960s working in partnership with then-husband Ike Turner, creating an energetic concert show and recording hit records including “Proud Mary” and “River Deep, Mountain Hight.” Turner divorced her husband in 1978 after suffering years of physical and emotional, and she re-emerged as a solo star in the mid-1980s with a string of hit songs including “What”™s Love Got to Do with It” and “Private Dancer.” In the course of her career, Turner sold more than 150 million records worldwide, won 12 Grammys and appeared in the popular films “Tommy” (1975) as the Acid Queen and “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” (1985) as Auntie Entity.
Russian scientist accused of aiding China: The director of a Russian science institute was arrested on suspicion of treason after being accused of handing classified material to China in 2017. Alexander Shiplyuk, head of Siberia’s Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, denied the accusations against him and said information in question was never classified and could easily be found online. Shipyluk was arrested last August, but the news of his being detained was only now being reported via Reuters coverage.
Migrants blocked from upstate hotel: New York City Mayor Eric Adams”™ administration has suspended its plan to send roughly 200 migrants to an upstate hotel. The migrants were scheduled to be sent to the Candlewood Suites Syracuse Airport Hotel in Salina, but Onondaga County Supreme Court Judge Robert Antonacci approved a request from the Town of Salina to prevent the hotel from accommodating the migrants; the judge also approved of the county”™s request for a temporary restraining order to block the migrants”™ relocation.
Kenneth Anger passes away: Kenneth Anger, one of the most influential figures in experimental and underground filmmaking, died at the age of 96 at an assisted living facility in Yucca, California. Anger”™s use of provocative and often disturbing imagery challenged viewers in classic films including “Fireworks” (1947), “Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome” (1954), “Scorpio Rising” (1963) and “Lucifer Rising” (1972). Anger also authored the best-selling “Hollywood Babylon” books that detailed the sordid scandals within the movie industry.
Cover photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
