Adam Driver is known for his imposing appearance

Ron DeSantis is officially running for president, having filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday. The long-awaited move by the Florida governor follows a campaign announcement video released a day earlier by his wife, Casey, on Twitter. His filing was first reported by The Associated Press. Mr DeSantis is expected to address voters in his first appearance as a candidate for president later Wednesday evening in a Twitter space hosted by Elon Musk ally David Sacks. He will then appear on Fox News for an interview immediately afterwards with Bret Baier. The rising Republican star is in his second term as governor of the trending-red Sunshine State, having won reelection by double digits just last year. He previously won election to office in 2018 by a fraction of a percentage point. He enters the race with one key label tied to his campaign already: The second-place challenger, thanks to months of polling that have shown him firmly behind Mr Trump in a Republican primary matchup. That same polling has shown him consistently in the double digits, however, which is more than can be said for his other Republican rivals — Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson and others. Mr DeSantis’s official launch also signals a likely shift in strategy. Whereas for months the governor has sought to avoid a direct confrontation with Mr Trump, that now is unavoidable, even without the near-constant barrage of attacks that his now-official rival has been lobbing his way. That strategic shift has been hinted at for some time now, with a DeSantis-aligned PAC even swiping directly at the former president following his CNN town hall earlier this month. It isn’t clear whether the Jacksonville native, 44, will be successful in his bid to oust Mr Trump as de facto leader of the GOP. But he heads into the 2024 race with all the structural advantages he could possibly hope for: A sympathetic if not outright supportive GOP establishment, a national voter base that has indicated time and time again it does not wish for Mr Trump (or, for that matter, Mr Biden) to run again, and a political pedigree that seems almost lab-generated for a presidential run. He previously served in the House of Representatives as a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, and before that was a lawyer for the US military. During his service, Mr DeSantis was stationed at Guantanamo Bay before later being part of the 2007 Iraq troop surge which saw him playing legal adviser to a US commander in Fallujah. More follows... Read More Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure The War on Terror turned Ron DeSantis into Florida’s anti-woke warrior. Can it win him the White House? Everything we know about Ron DeSantis’ policies as he launches 2024 campaign

Shares in Asia rose Tuesday following bullish trade on Wall Street as investors parsed further signs of stability

Mike Tyson punching a flight passenger was caught on camera by another flier, who then uploaded the clip online, making the incident widely publicized

Former President Donald Trump will skip the second Republican presidential primary debate in California next week and instead will travel to Detroit to deliver a speech in front of current and former union members, according to a source familiar with his plans.

A former aide in Donald Trump's White House says chief of staff Mark Meadows burned papers so often after the 2020 election that his wife complained his suits smelled “like a bonfire.”

The NCAA Division I Council has approved narrowing the period during which football and basketball players can enter the transfer portal and retain immediate eligibility for the following season

At least six people are dead and dozens injured in a string of weekend violence and mass shootings across the U.S. The shootings — in Chicago, Washington state, Pennsylvania, St. Louis, Southern California and Baltimore — follow a surge of violence over the past several years that experts say accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic

A federal judge has rejected a request to block a new Washington state law banning the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles

Nine people have been killed and dozens injured after Russian fighter jets bombed a city in Syria's rebel-controlled northwestern Idlib province, according to the local White Helmets emergency response group.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the flood-hit region of Kherson to evaluate response to damage caused by a dam breach

After bans on affirmative action in states from California to Florida, colleges have tried a range of strategies to achieve a diverse student body