June 22 top stories
It is June 22. Here are today’s top stories.
Missing Titanic submersible crew presumed dead
Today the US Coast Guard said it found debris belonging to the missing submersible at the site of the Titanic shipwreck today and believes that all five aboard the vessel are dead.
The submersible likely imploded — meaning it collapsed from within — due to the extreme water pressure in the deep sea.
The debris was found about 1,600 feet away from the front part of the Titanic shipwreck. This area is over 2 miles beneath the surface.
The five people in the submersible were the tour company CEO Stockton Rush, a father and son from Pakistan named Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, a British billionaire named Hamish Harding, and a French explorer named Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Individuals paid $250,000 to tour the Titanic.
The tour company, OceanGate Expeditions, said in a statement that “these men were true explorers” and that “our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.”
The Coast Guard said it is not sure about the prospects of recovering the bodies because it is a very challenging and unforgiving environment on the sea floor.
American allegedly murders tourist at German castle
Last Wednesday, a 30-year-old man from Michigan allegedly pushed two women down a ravine near the famous Neuschwanstein castle in Germany, killing one of them.
The woman that died was identified as Eva Liu, who is a Canadian citizen. She was 21 years old.
The second woman is 22-year-old Kelsey Chang, who is an American and from Illinois. She fell over 160 feet down the ravine but survived and left the hospital last Friday.
A news report in CBC said both Liu and Chang graduated together from the University of Illinois and were visiting the castle together. There, they met the 30-year-old man, who lured them to go down a trail where there was a good view of the castle. The man then allegedly tried to sexually assault one of the women before pushing her. The other woman tried to intervene but was pushed down as well.
The two women were airlifted by a helicopter and Liu died of her wounds.
German authorities said the man has been arrested and is being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and attempted sexual assault. There is a video that shows the man being detained by police at the castle. The man was not identified in Germany due to their privacy laws, but the Daily Mail identified the man as Troy P. Bohling, who lived in the Detroit area.
100 letters with white powder sent to Kansas officials
CNN said about 100 letters containing a white powder have been received by state legislators and public officials across Kansas. Law enforcement said tests of the powder show that it is not a dangerous biological substance. They are doing more tests to determine what the powder is.
The letters include a printed paper with several threatening phrases in various fonts. One of the sentences said, “It is important not to choke on your ambition” with the signature saying, “your secret despiser.”
Republican State Rep. Stephen Owens said he received one of the letters and believes that others who received are also Republicans. Another Republican believes the person sending the letters may be angry about bills targeting transgender individuals.
The FBI and Kansas law enforcement are working to find out who is behind the letters.
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Tornado kills four in Matador, Texas
A tornado hit a small town in Texas called Matador last night and killed four people and injured 10 others. Several buildings were severely damaged. The town has about 600 residents. A city official said it is really a mess with trees, homes and businesses destroyed.
The Washington Post said this year, 69 people in the U.S. have died in tornadoes and that number is three times as high as the toll in all of 2022.
Jan 6. rioter who electroshocked cop sentenced 12 yrs
A Jan 6. rioter who activated a stun gun against a D.C. police officer’s neck was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison.
The rioter’s name is Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez. He is from California and had traveled to the Capitol with a group of Trump supporters to attend rallies on Jan 5 and 6.
During the Capitol riot, Rodriguez electroshocked Officer Michael Fanone. After the riot, Rodriguez messaged in a pro-Trump group chat that he “tazzed the f— out of the blue” and got away with it.
When he was eventually identified and arrested, he told police in an interview that he felt that former President Donald Trump called him and others to come to D.C.
NBC News said after Rodriguez was sentenced, he shouted, “Trump won.”
Fanone told NBC News that he believes Americans who rioted on Jan 6. are traitors and they should be sentenced accordingly. He said the Department of Justice needs to indict Trump and anyone else responsible.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/americas/live-news/titanic-missing-sub-oceangate-06-22-23
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/canada-germany-eva-liu-neuschwanstein-1.6883465
https://abc7chicago.com/neuschwanstein-castle-attack-germany-eva-liu-kelsey-chang-illinois/13403704/
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/19/us/kansas-white-powder-letters/index.html
https://apnews.com/article/china-restaurant-explosion-52d6075722677d339e2acb033ca2a754
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/06/22/matador-texas-tornado-storm-deaths/