Month: June 2023

On Thursday, President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a package of new defense and technology agreements during Modi’s state visit to the White House. In a joint statement from the White House, the broad agreements between the United States and India “aim to improve military cooperation and boost efforts on a wide range of issues, including space exploration, climate change, healthcare and work on emerging technologies.”

During an afternoon press conference with Biden and Modi at the White House, the President said the agreements will provide “unlimited potential” for both nations: “Mr. Prime Minister, we’ve met many times over the past few years, most recently in Hiroshima at the G7 Summit … And each time, I was struck by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Together, we’re unlocking a shared future of what I believe to be unlimited potential.”

Modi said: “Marking the day as one of special importance in the history of India-America relations. Friends, a trade and investment partnership between India and America is important not only for our two countries, but for the global economy, as well. Today, America is India’s biggest trade partner. We have decided to resolve long-pending trade-related issues and make a new beginning.”

The deals include a major commitment from India to purchase $3 billion worth of U.S.-built MQ9B SeaGuardian armed drones; and also includes a provision for the U.S. Navy to conduct service and repair work in Indian shipyards, and a plan for General Electric and India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics to work together to build more than 400 next-generation engines for both countries’ warplanes.

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On Thursday, both the U.S. Coast Guard and OceanGate (the company that operated the missing Titan submersible) said that all five people aboard the deep-water vessel are believed to be dead.  The submersible Titan went missing Sunday after embarking on a mission to survey the wreckage of the Titanic. The search had been focused on an area where Canadian aircraft detected “underwater noises” on Tuesday, and again yesterday.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, debris discovered in the search area for the missing vessel was consistent with the “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.” The debris was found off the bow of the sunken Titanic, officials said. Undersea expert Paul Hanken said five major different pieces of debris led authorities to determine that it was the remains of the Titan: “The initial thing we found was the nose cone, which was outside the pressure hull. We then found a large debris field, within that large debris field we found the front end bell of the pressure hull. That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event.” A second, smaller debris field was also found, which included the other end of the pressure hull.

Rear Adm. John Mauger of the Coast Guard said: “On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families. I can only imagine what this has been like for them and I hope that this discovery provides some solace, during this difficult time.”  

Dive company OceanGate said in a statement: “We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost .. These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”

The five crew members on the Titan were: Hamish Harding, 58, a British aviator who has set world records; British businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman; Stockton Rush, 61, CEO of OceanGate, which runs the Titanic voyages; and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, a former French Navy diver who is the director of underwater research for the company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic.

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On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard continued the search continued for a missing submersible that was taking five people to the wreckage of the Titanic, as crews continued to hear noises and were “actively searching” the area. A Canadian search plane detected noises underwater in the search area and were focused on finding the origin of the sounds. Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said a plane heard the noises Wednesday morning as well: “With respect to the noises, specifically, we don’t know what they are, to be frank with you…We’re searching in the area where the noises were detected.”  The search expanded on Thursday with a French ship deploying a deep-sea robot, or remote operated vehicle (ROV) to scan the seafloor. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Northeast district said in a tweet that the French vessel L’Atalante had reached the area and “deployed an ROV that has reached the sea floor and began its search for the missing sub. “

Capt. Frederick also said the team has two ROVs searching, plus several more expected to join the search operation into Thursday. Five vessels were searching for the sub on the water’s surface as of Wednesday afternoon, and that number was expected to double to 10 within 24 to 48 hours, Frederick said. The Titan is believed to have carried enough oxygen to last the crew 96 hours, which means it could run out Thursday morning if it hasn’t already.

U.S. and Canadian search crews rushed to find the missing group after they were originally reported missing on Sunday. Five people are on the sub, including three tourists, a veteran French explorer and the owner of OceanGate Stockton Rush, who was piloting the sub in the north Atlantic Ocean.  A Canadian research vessel lost contact with the 21-foot sub an hour and 45 minutes into its dive Sunday morning about 900 nautical miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It had been expected to resurface Sunday afternoon.

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California resident Daniel “DJ” Rodriguez was sentenced Wednesday to 12 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, tampering with documents or proceedings, and inflicting bodily injury on officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Rodriguez, 40, admitted as part of a plea agreement in February that he attacked former Washington, DC, police officer Michael Fanone with an electroshock weapon in the neck causing him to lose consciousness during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, and that he worked to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. Rodriguez will also have to pay $96,000 to cover medical treatment for Fanone and $2,000 in restitution for the destruction of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson said to Rodriguez as she sentenced him on Wednesday: “You showed up in D.C. spoiling for a fight,” adding that he “was a one-man army of hate.” Rodriguez’s attorneys, however, said he was “remorseful” for his actions, and he wrote a letter to Fanone, stating: “I am looking at serving a long prison sentence and no letter I write is getting me out of that.  I only want to apologize from the heart. I got carried away and have never been through something like that, that made me out of my mind. I wish I was smarter. I should have protected you because I have deep respect for law enforcement, and I have always stood up for police officers. I have not looked at Jan. 6 the same, my actions the same.”

However as Rodriguez exited the courtroom Wednesday, he shouted “Trump won!” — the very sentiment from Trump supporters that ultimately culminated in the Capitol attack.

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According to a Justice Department filing, Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, has reached a tentative deal with the U.S. attorney in Delaware, agreeing to enter guilty pleas to two misdemeanor tax charges and admitting to felony gun possession. A federal judge in Delaware must approve the deal, and Biden will now face arraignment in U.S. District Court in Wilmington. He is expected to give himself up to Delaware authorities and will be processed by U.S. Marshals. It’s the first time the Justice Department has brought charges against a child of a sitting president.

Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ office said Biden faced misdemeanor charges for failing to pay federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018 despite owing more than $100,000 in taxes in each year. It also said Hunter Biden possessed a firearm in October 2018 despite “knowing he was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance,” a charge for which he has agreed to enter a pretrial diversion agreement to avoid prosecution.

Chris Clark, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said that his “expectation, at least with regard to after that proceeding, is that he [Biden] will be released without conditions … it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved.” Clark added: “Hunter will take responsibility for two instances of misdemeanor failure to file tax payments when due pursuant to a plea agreement. A firearm charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement and will not be the subject of the plea agreement, will also be filed by the Government. I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.”

A statement from a White House spokesman said, “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.” Later at an event in California on Tuesday afternoon, President Biden responded to questions about Hunter Biden by saying, “I am very proud of my son.” 

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Authorities say that four people were killed and two others remain in critical condition after a fire caused by a lithium-ion battery broke out in an e-bike repair shop and tore through a New York City building overnight. The New York City Fire Department responded to the fire at 80 Madison Street at around 12:15 a.m. local time. The FDNY said in a statement on Twitter that the fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery on the first floor of the store.

New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said that firefighters pulled six residents from the building in critical condition, though four have since died. One firefighter also suffered minor injuries. Kavanagh said at a press briefing Tuesday: “It is very clear that this was caused by lithium-ion batteries and e-bikes,” and added that the fire department has written violations at the location — HQ E-Bike Repair — before: “we have conducted enforcement in this location before. This exact scenario where there’s an e-bike store on the first floor and residences above and the volume of fire created by these lithium-ion batteries is incredibly deadly.”

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