10 things you need to know today: June 18, 2017
Bodies of missing sailors found after container ship collision, Portuguese wildfire kills 57, and more
- 1. Bodies of missing sailors found after container ship collision
- 2. Portuguese wildfire kills 57
- 3. Macron poised to secure huge parliamentary majority
- 4. Trump touts agenda success, 50 percent approval in single poll
- 5. Cosby case ends with mistrial
- 6. Protests continue over Castile shooting verdict
- 7. Bomb in Colombian mall kills 3, injures 9
- 8. Sheriff David Clarke declines DHS job
- 9. Celtics trade top draft pick to 76ers
- 10. Beyoncé reportedly gives birth to twins
1. Bodies of missing sailors found after container ship collision
The bodies of seven U.S. sailors who were missing after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan early Saturday were found in flooded compartments, the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement Sunday. The victims of the crash have not been identified, but their families are being notified and rescue efforts are complete. Investigations into why the crash happened are ongoing; the merchant ship made an unexpected turn, but the destroyer should have been able to avoid it. The Fitzgerald will be repaired and returned to service in about a year.
2. Portuguese wildfire kills 57
A forest fire in Portugal has killed 57 people and injured at least 59 more, officials said Sunday. The wildfire is raging near Pedrogao Grande, a small town in central Portugal, north of Lisbon. Among the injured are four firefighters and a child who has been hospitalized in serious condition. This is "the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known in years," Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Sunday. The fire is believed to have started when lightning struck a forest made dry by Portugal's summer heat.
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3. Macron poised to secure huge parliamentary majority
New French President Emmanuel Macron is on track to consolidate his power in the National Assembly elections, which will be completed after a second round of voting Sunday. Macron's year-old En Marche! movement is expected to win as many as 470 of 577 seats in France's lower house of parliament, an even more remarkable majority than the 400 seats the president's party was initially predicted to take. This means heavy losses for the right-wing Republicans and the Socialists, previously the heavy hitters of French politics. Results will be in around 1 p.m. Eastern time.
The Washington Post The Telegraph
4. Trump touts agenda success, 50 percent approval in single poll
President Trump's tweets from his first weekend at Camp David took a self-congratulatory turn Sunday morning. "The MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN agenda is doing very well despite the distraction of the Witch Hunt," Trump tweeted. "Many new jobs, high business enthusiasm, massive regulation cuts, 36 new legislative bills signed, great new S.C.Justice, and Infrastructure, Healthcare and Tax Cuts in works!" Trump also celebrated a new Rasmussen poll, an outlier that puts his approval rating at 50 percent. Averages from multiple polls put Trump's record-low approval rating at about 40 percent, with 53 percent disapproval.
5. Cosby case ends with mistrial
Comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault case was declared a mistrial Saturday when the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision after six days of deliberations. Cosby was charged with three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault and pleaded not guilty on all counts. He was permitted to leave court following the mistrial declaration, but that freedom may be short-lived: Prosecutors can choose to retry the case, though a representative of the district attorney's office says that will not happen immediately.
6. Protests continue over Castile shooting verdict
Protests continued in Minnesota's Twin Cities Saturday over the "not guilty" verdict in the shooting death of black motorist Philando Castile by police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop last year. Marchers on Friday assembled outside the state capitol in St. Paul and walked along major thoroughfares, blocking traffic and public transit. On Saturday, a march through Minneapolis neighborhoods ended with an assembly at police headquarters, while St. Paul's mayor held a community meeting. Police arrested 18 people at Friday's protest, reportedly including at least two journalists, but there are no reports of Saturday arrests.
7. Bomb in Colombian mall kills 3, injures 9
Three people were killed and nine more injured by a bomb set off in an upscale mall in Bogota, Colombia, on Saturday. The explosion happened around 5 p.m. local time and was located in a women's restroom, where the bomb was placed inside a toilet. Colombian authorities have labeled the attack terrorism, but no terrorist group has claimed responsibility. "We won't let terrorism frighten us," said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. "This vile, cruel, and cowardly act will not go unpunished."
8. Sheriff David Clarke declines DHS job
Controversial Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke on Saturday rescinded his acceptance of the high-level Department of Homeland Security position he said he was offered in May. DHS never confirmed Clarke's claim of a job offer. "Sheriff Clarke is 100 percent committed to the success of President Trump," Clarke's representative said in a statement, "and believes his skills could be better utilized to promote the president's agenda in a more aggressive role." Last month, Clarke was caught in apparent plagiarism, and his tenure as sheriff has been marked by allegations of grave inmate abuse in county jail.
9. Celtics trade top draft pick to 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics have agreed to a deal which gives the first pick of Thursday's NBA Draft, likely the University of Washington's Markelle Fultz, to the Sixers. The agreement was reached after Fultz worked out with the Philly team on Saturday, and the Celtics in exchange will get the No. 3 pick for 2017 and top pick in either 2018 or 2019, choices Philadelphia controls thanks to previous trades. This year, the rest of the top lineup is expected to include the Los Angeles Lakers choosing second and the Phoenix Suns picking fourth.
Bleacher Report Sports Illustrated
10. Beyoncé reportedly gives birth to twins
Singer Beyoncé and her husband, Jay Z, reportedly welcomed their twins to the family this week. The couple has yet to confirm the birth rumors, but multiple sources have indicated to entertainment outlets that Beyoncé gave birth several days ago. The twins, whose names and sex have not been revealed, will join the couple's daughter, Blue Ivy, age 5. "We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes," Beyoncé said when announcing her pregnancy in February.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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