Lisa Marie Presley has died at the age of 54, her mother Priscilla Presley has announced.
The singer, who was the daughter of rock legend Elvis, is reported to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
On Thursday 12 January, Priscilla had told fans that her daughter had been ‘rushed to the hospital’.
She was found unresponsive by her housekeeper at her home in California, according to TMZ.
Priscilla has now confirmed that Lisa Marie has passed away, describing her death as a ‘profound loss’.
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She said in a statement: “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us.
“She was the most passionate strong and loving woman I have ever known.
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“We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers. At this time there will be no further comment.”
Lisa Marie Presley with her father, Elvis. Credit: Instagram, @lisampresley
Lisa Marie Presley was a respected musician in her own right, with three studio albums released over the course of her career.
She was also well-known for her high-profile marriages to both Michael Jackson and Nicholas Cage, and to musicians Danny Keough and Michael Lockwood.
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Lisa Marie had four children and leaves behind three daughters, including actress Riley Keough. Her only son, Benjamin Keogh, died in 2020 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
At the time, Lisa Marie wrote: “My beautiful beautiful angel, I worshipped the ground you walked on, on this earth and now in Heaven. My heart and soul went with you…
“Please wait for me my love, and hold my hand while I stay to continue to protect and raise your little sisters and to be here for Riley.”
Just two days before her death, she attended the Golden Globes with her mother and Austin Butler, who played Elvis in the recent biopic by Baz Luhrmann.
In a previous update, Priscilla wrote: “My beloved daughter Lisa Marie was rushed to the hospital. She is now receiving the best care. Please keep her and our family in your prayers. We feel the prayers from around the world, and ask for privacy during this time.”
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Tributes have already begun to pour in for Lisa Marie as rock royalty and Hollywood stars alike around the globe honour her talent.
Billy Idol wrote: “Sad news 2 hear of #LisaMariePresley passing .. she was very loving 2 me, in Memphis in the 90’s she gave me a viewing of the private sections of Graceland which was very special. She was very lovely & we performed together at NYFW early 2000’s. RIP.”
Rock band Garbage shared: “Utterly devastated to learn of the hideously premature death of a surprisingly sweet, fierce, generous, talented and painfully vulnerable Lisa Marie Presley. I will treasure you always in my heart girl. Thank you for your kindness. May you now be granted peace.”
Bette Midler said: “Dear God, #LisaMariePresley has died; I’m in shock. So beautiful and only 54 years old; I can’t actually comprehend it.”
Actress Leah Remini said: “I’m heartbroken over the passing of Lisa Marie Presley. Lisa did not have an easy life, as some might think. May she be at peace, resting with her son and father now. Her mom Priscilla and her three daughters, Riley, Finley, and Harper, are in my prayers.”
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And Octavia Spencer posted: “So sad that we’ve lost another bright star in Lisa Marie Presley. My condolences to her loved ones and multitude of fans.”
Featured image: Facebook
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A Manchester-based runner has broken an ultramarathon record by running across the desert
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester has a growing obsession with running and endurance events, in particular, did you hear about a locally based runner who’s set the record for legging it across a literal desert?
That’s some ‘Hardest Geezer’ stuff right there.
Yes, whether it’s the likes of the Great MCR Run and October Half, the fully fledged Manchester Marathon, or dare we say it, an extra hard ultra, the region seems to be absolutely chock-full of runners and events these days.
That being said, despite being inspired by countless individuals over the past few years, the feat that has impressed us most this year is the incredible achievement by one man: Alex Welch from Wilmslow.
We’re pretty sure this is the bloke The Pretenders must have been talking about.
Based right here in 0161, by day Alex Welch is employed as a senior cyber security sales specialist at a major European IT services company, SCC, over in Stretford.
However, by both day and night for a full working week late last month, the 29-year-old swapped his computers for a very sturdy pair of running trainers; trail shoes, to be specific, as he trekked across the Namib Desert in Africa.
Stretching more than 2,000 kilometres in total, spanning the reaches of Angola, Namibia and parts of South Africa, the talented distance runner ran approximately 12.5% of that entire landmass over the course of five days.
Broken up into five stages – 50km, 50k, 42k and 22k, as well as a truly brutal 92k day to finish – not only did the indefinable Cheshire-born bloke reach the finish line, but he did so in record time.
Let’s be honest, anyone challenging themselves with the course is clearly an absolute machine, but as seen above and now fully verified, Alex here did so in 24 hours and 27 minutes.
Taking just over a day to complete the entire thing, Alex led every beating everyone else in every single stage and ended up surpassing legendary American ultra runner and now race director Adam Kimble’s time from 2018 by almost 40 whole minutes. Utterly staggering stuff.
Signing up as an official OOSH-sponsored athlete for the event, having only just podiumed at the Ice Ultra round the Arctic Circle back in February, AND the Mountain Ultra across Kyrgyzstan this past June, he’s quite literally ‘endured blistering cold and scorching desert’ (one for Shrek 2 fans, there).
Commenting on the unbelievable achievement, the local lad said: “Namibia was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The heat was on another level, and every stage demanded absolute focus. To come away with the win – and a course record – is overwhelming.
“After the Arctic and Kyrgyzstan, this was the challenge I had been building towards all season. I’m grateful for everyone who has supported me, particularly my colleagues at SCC who have backed me every step of the way.”
Well done, Alex – we’re off to have a lie down because we’re tired just thinking about what you’ve just done, so hope you’ve at least got a few weeks of relaxation and victory pints lined up. That’s how we toasted our taste of an ultra, anyway…
8 million Brits are predicted to write their Christmas cards using AI this year, new research finds
Emily Sergeant
Millions of Brits are predicted to use AI to help them write their Christmas cards this year.
According to some new Royal Mail research, AI is most likely to be used for researching gifts (19%), festive party ideas (13%), and decoration inspiration (13%) throughout this festive season, but in what is a revelation many will find surprising – and even alarming – it’ll even be used for the timeless tradition of sending Christmas cards.
2,000 UK adults who celebrate Christmas were surveyed by the postal service early last month on how they plan to make use of technology this festive season.
The new research found that 11% of respondents will be using AI to help write the messages for their Christmas cards, which works out to be around eight million people.
It’s the under-55s who are driving the trend, as you can probably imagine – with 57% of this age group planning to lean on AI for guidance, compared to just 14% of those over 55.
Oh, and you’ll want to keep an extra eye on the Christmas cards that come from the men in your life too, as men are 67% more likely than women to use AI to help them.
Eight million Brits are predicted to write their Christmas cards using AI this year / Credit: KoolShooters
Although it may be largely frowned upon, it’s fairly easy to see why people are turning to tech to find the right words, as the Royal Mail’s research found that nearly one in five (19%) Brits say they don’t know what to write in cards, and this figure rises even further to 31% when it comes to 18-24-year-olds.
Despite the use of AI as a helping hand, three quarters of Brits (74%) do still think it’s important to keep the tradition of sending handwritten Christmas cards alive.
“AI is becoming part of everyday life for many people,” says technology journalist and broadcaster, Georgie Barrat. “So it’s natural we’ll see it used during the festive season. When it comes to writing cards, it can help you go beyond a simple ‘Merry Christmas’ and choose words that feel more unique.
“Often, people know what they want to say – they just need a little help expressing it.”
Richard Travers, who is the Managing Director of Letters at Royal Mail, concluded: “No matter what you include in your card, or how you choose to write your message, cards are truly a way of spreading festive cheer.”
Daisy Jackson -
13th January 2023 
