President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have officially launched their re-election campaign for 2024. And ESPN begins to layoff employees this week. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Tuesday morning, April 25, 2023.
Biden announces run for re-election
President Biden launched his re-election campaign Tuesday, April 25, in a pre-recorded video release. The video release comes four years to the day that Biden announced his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election.
In the campaign video, the president says the country is in a battle for the soul of America and that there is a need to defend democracy. He calls out “MAGA extremists,” who, he says, are threatening the country’s freedom.
The last slide of the video states “let’s finish the job.”
His announcement for re-election comes on the heels of a new NBC poll that suggests 70% of Americans did not want the 80-year-old Biden to run again, citing his age as a main factor. The president’s approval ratings are in the low 40s in most polls.
His top challenger on the other side of the aisle, as of today, is former President Donald Trump.
Sexual assault trial against Trump begins
Jury selection begins today in a sexual assault lawsuit against Donald Trump. Former Elle magazine writer E. Jean Carroll has claimed Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store more than 25 years ago.
She brought the case last year under a New York state law opening a one-year window for victims of sexual assault to file civil cases after the statute of limitations has expired. Trump has denied the accusations.
The trial is expected to take one to two weeks and Trump is not required to attend.
In another legal battle for the former president, the Fulton County Georgia District Attorney has now said that any potential charges against the former President in the county’s 2020 election probe will be announced this summer.
North Dakota passes six-week abortion ban
North Dakota is the latest state to pass an abortion ban after six-weeks of pregnancy. Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed the legislation this week. The law is designed to take effect immediately. But in March, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled a state abortion ban must wait until legal battles play out.
State lawmakers said this latest bill is to send a message to the state’s high court that the people of North Dakota want to restrict abortion.
The governor said the bill will clarify existing state law and reaffirm North Dakota as a pro-life state.
Montana Legislature chaos following censure
The Montana Legislature is at odds over one of its state representatives. Last week, lawmakers issued a gag order forbidding their transgender colleague, state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, from participating in debate after the lawmaker made controversial remarks toward supporters of a bill that bans gender-affirming care.
Now, as lawmakers continue to prohibit Zephyr from speaking, the lawmaker’s supporters on the floor are speaking up. Proceedings were disrupted yesterday as supporters chanted “let her speak.” Legislative leaders paused the session and cleared the room.
Republican lawmakers in the state have shown no signs of backing down, saying Zephyr will be allowed to speak on the House floor only after issuing an apology.
ESPN lays off employees, part of Disney job cuts
ESPN has begun informing workers whether or not their jobs have been eliminated in a series of layoffs. The layoffs come as parent company Disney plans to slash 7,000 jobs. The cuts were announced earlier this year.
For now, the move is not expected to affect on-air talent at ESPN. The worldwide leader in sports is expected to cut some on-air talent positions over the summer.
iPhone emergency SOS feature saves students
The iPhone 14’s emergency SOS feature has another success story. It’s credited for saving three students who went canyoneering in Utah and got stuck inside a canyon with no cell phone signal.
When the three students got inside the canyon, they unexpectedly found deep water potentially caused by a wet winter in Utah. At one point, the water was chest deep and the students got stuck. Two of the students were experiencing hypothermia.
With no cell service, the third student had initiated the emergency SOS via satellite feature, saying every 20 minutes he would receive bars on his phone from a satellite above. The group was eventually able to text 911 for help and were all rescued.
Emergency SOS via satellite has already been used in several other life-threatening situations, including when an Alaskan man was stranded in the wilderness.
The feature is exclusive to iPhone 14’s and was unveiled last September.
