DeSantis joins the presidential race
Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida, entered the presidential election yesterday, filed paperwork to declare his candidacy. DeSantis will announce the start of its campaign on Twitterin a conversation with Elon Musk, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. Eastern (8 a.m. in Sydney; 6 a.m. in Hong Kong).
For some insights into the Republican primary race, we spoke to Travel Gabrielwho covers politics for The Times.
What’s at stake in the Republican race?
Trip: The Republican primary is essentially a referendum on Donald Trump. And DeSantis has long been seen as the candidate for Republicans who want Trumpism without the chaos.
But while DeSantis is Trump’s closest rival — really the only serious one for now — he has fallen about 30 points behind Trump in Republican polls since the start of the year.
It is not an exaggeration to say that a second Trump term would emphasize American democracy more than at any time in modern history, including the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump is now calling that riot, which tried to reverse the president’s results. Biden’s election, “a beautiful day.” His followers largely embrace his extremist and authoritarian tendencies.
What is DeSanti’s strategy?
Most fundamentally, DeSantis will make an electability argument: Trump risks another defeat, because suburban voters hate him.
DeSantis will run for governor of Florida, where he has adopted policies to the right of Trump on abortion and other culture war issues. And at 44, DeSantis may be a generational contrast to Joe Biden, who is 80.
In China, the show doesn’t go on
Concerts, stand-up shows and musical performances all over the country was abruptly canceled last week — just minutes before showtime.
The crackdown on culture points to growing scrutiny in China’s already heavily censored creative landscape. China’s supreme leader, Xi Jinping, is demanding that artists align themselves with the Communist Party’s goals to promote a nationalist vision of Chinese identity.
Details: Authorities in Beijing last week fined a comedy studio about $2 million after one of its stand-ups was accused on social media of insulting the military as a joke. Hours after the punishment was announced, promoters in other major cities canceled their stand-up shows and music acts also began to disappear. Many of the canceled events would feature foreign performers or speakers.
Background: Stand-up has gained popularity in the country in recent years as a rare medium for limited barbs about life in contemporary China, and officials have noticed.
Related: US intelligence services and Microsoft in February discovered a computer code linked to a Chinese hacker group in telecommunications systems in Guam. The discovery raised alarm because Guam would be a significant part of any US military response to an invasion or blockade of Taiwan.
Tina Turner dies at 83
The soul singer’s raspy vocals and explosive energy made her an unforgettable performer and one of the most successful artists of all time.
Her solo album “Private Dancer”, released in 1984, delivered three huge hits: the title track “Better Be Good to Me” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It”, which won three awards at the 1985 Grammy Awards, including record of the year. The album sold five million copies and launched a touring career that established her as a worldwide phenomenon.
Turner spent her later years in Switzerland, where she died. “I had a terrible life” she told The Times in 2019, speaking from her castle. “I just kept going.”
THE LATEST NEWS
Asia and the Pacific
Chin-Kee, a character in award-winning graphic novel “American Born Chinese,” confronts ugly racial stereotypes by exaggerating them. With a new series adapted from the book coming to Disney+ this month, the feat will translate the story to the screen without doing away with it.
SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICA
Happy Africa Day
Today is the 60th anniversary of Africa Day, an opportunity to challenge the negative perceptions that still haunt this rich continent. There is no single way to celebrate. In some countries it is a public holiday. In others, it is a day of concerts, food fairs and fashion. Below are some ideas:
Read from the past: Chinua Achebe changed African literature in 1958 with “Things Fall Apart”, a book that defines modern storytelling. Achebe challenged simplistic representations Africa in books such as Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”.
Dance in the moment: Afrobeats artists have sold out in arenas in the United States, and pounding amapiano beats has infiltrated dance clubs in Europe. These genres, and the viral dances in social media they have created, showcases a happy, youthful side of the continent.
See the future: If superhero movies are a vision of the future, Africa’s future appears to be female. And these heroines kick asses and take names. “Supa Team 4,” the latest blockbuster African animation project, follows four crime-fighting teenage girls in a futuristic Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Created by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema, designed by Cameroonian artist Malcolm Wope and produced by Triggerfish, an animation studio in South Africa, the series premieres on Netflix in July. —Lynsey Chutel, a briefing writer based in Johannesburg
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook
[pub1]