Ron DeSantis to launch White House bid, Indian teen arrested for threatening Biden: Top 5 US stories today

Here are 5 key headlines from the United States today:

1. 01

   Ron DeSantis to announce 2024 bid on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk

   Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, long seen as Donald Trump's leading rival for the Republican nomination, plans to launch his 2024 presidential campaign today in an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

   America is worth the fight... Every. Single. Time. pic.twitter.com/lWNQ3DIXgp

   — Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) May 23, 2023

   DeSantis, an outspoken cultural conservative, will outline his plans in an evening audio event streamed on Twitter Spaces, according to the two people. The 44-year-old two-term governor would be joining a crowded Republican contest to decide whether the party will move on from Trump in 2024.  (AP)

2. 02

   South Carolina ready to renew abortion ban around 6 weeks of pregnancy

   Abortion will soon be severely restricted in one of the last bastions for legal access in the US South.

   Anti-abortion activists celebrate, June 24, 2022, in Washington, after the Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion. (AP)

   The South Carolina Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy — before most people know they are pregnant — and sent it to the Republican governor who has promised to sign the bill into law as soon as possible. The proposal restores a 2021 ban that took effect when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. The ban was overturned by the state’s highest court because it violated the state Constitution’s right to privacy. (AP)

3. 03

   Indian-origin teen deliberately crashes truck into a White House barrier

   A 19-year-old Indian-origin teen accused of deliberately crashing a rented U-Haul truck into a White House barrier told authorities that he wanted to get inside the mansion to "seize power" and "kill" US President Joe Biden, according to media reports.

   19-year-old Sai Varshith Kandula has been arrested for intentionally crashing a U-Haul truck into a security barrier at a park across from the White House. (Twitter/@iJasOberoi, AP)

   US Park Police arrested Sai Varshith Kandula after he crashed the truck into the security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Park shortly before 10 pm on Monday, sending multiple pedestrians running from the scene, The Washington Times reported.

   The crash was a good distance from the White House gates, but the incident prompted road and sidewalk closures, and the nearby Hay-Adams hotel had to be evacuated. No one was injured in the crash. (Read more)

4. 04

   Social media could harm youth mental health, US Surgeon General warns

   Social media can profoundly harm the mental health of youth, particularly adolescent girls, the US Surgeon General warned in an advisory, and he called for safeguards from tech companies for children who are at critical stages of brain development.

   NEW: Today, I released a Surgeon General's Advisory on Social Media and #YouthMentalHealth. This is the next step in our office’s work to address our youth mental health crisis. https://t.co/6JadYlxORy 1/7 pic.twitter.com/UrHNP1Uq15

   — Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) May 23, 2023

   US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said that while social media offers some benefits, there are "ample indicators that social media could also harm children's well-being." "We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis — one that we must urgently address," Murthy said. (Reuters)

5. 05

   2,000 Illinois children sexually abused by clergy between the 1950s and 2010s

   Some 2,000 Illinois children were sexually abused by Roman Catholic clergy between the 1950s and 2010s, the state attorney general said in a report released on Tuesday that also detailed how abuse was often tolerated and concealed by Church leaders.

   The 696-page report, released by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, substantiated claims of abuse made against 451 Catholic clerics and religious brothers in the state's six dioceses. At least 1,997 children were sexually abused over the past seven decades, the report said.

   The report published for the first time the names of 149 clergy and religious brothers who it said had been the subject of credible allegations of sexual abuse. (Reuters)