10 things you need to know today: June 23, 2023

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1. Catastrophic implosion killed all 5 on Titan submersible
2. Navy acoustic system detected what it feared was sub's implosion
3. Biden hosts India's Modi in key state visit
4. House pushes back GOP hard-liners' proposal to impeach President Biden
5. Meta, Google restrict Canadian users' news access due to new law
6. Ukraine damages bridge on Russia supply route
7. Santos' father and aunt guaranteed bond that got him released pending trial
8. Honeybee losses reached 2nd highest rate on record last year
9. Texas governor expands disaster declaration after tornado kills 4
10. Victor Wembanyama goes to Spurs in overall No. 1 NBA draft pick

published 23 June 2023

1. Catastrophic implosion killed all 5 on Titan submersible

The five people on the deep-diving submersible that went missing Sunday en route to the wreck of the Titanic were killed when the vessel imploded thousands of feet down in the North Atlantic, the Coast Guard said Thursday. Hours after the submersible's 96-hour supply of breathable air would have run out, a robotic diving vehicle spotted a field of debris from the submersible Titan on the sea floor 500 yards from the Titanic's bow. "This was a catastrophic implosion," said Rear Adm. John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District. The sub lost contact with its mother ship an hour and 45 minutes into the two-hour descent to the wreck, prompting a massive, days-long search.

A top secret military acoustic system detected what the U.S. Navy suspected was the implosion of the Titan submersible shortly after it lost communications Sunday en route to the Titanic wreck, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The system, designed to spot enemy submarines, heard the bang shortly after the Titan submersible went missing. The vessel was lost with five people aboard — billionaire British explorer Hamish Harding; British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, 19; French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet; and Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, the company that operated the sub. The vessel reached the wreck in 2020 and 2021. Previous riders said it had numerous safety issues.

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President Biden hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in a state visit full of fanfare and serious talks about the increasingly important relationship between the United States and India, which recently surpassed China as the world's most populous nation. Modi is only the third leader to receive a state visit with Biden. The full schedule of meetings and expected agreements on everything from technology to trade to defense reflects a U.S. desire to strengthen ties with India to counter China's rising influence around the world. "We expect this will be a historic visit… and that this will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century," said Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser.

The House of Representatives held off an effort by Republican hard-liners, led by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) to impeach President Biden. The 219-208 party-line vote sent the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. Boebert's resolution accuses Biden of "high crimes and misdemeanors" over his handling of an influx of migrants seeking to cross the southern border from Mexico. The ability of a single lawmaker to force a snap vote showed how well positioned far-right Republicans are to challenge the leadership of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was censured by the Republicans this week for his investigations of then-President Donald Trump's Russia ties, said, "There's going to be no end to this."

Meta said Thursday it would start restricting news to Canadian users of its platforms, including Facebook, after the country's parliament passed an online news bill forcing platforms to pay publishers for news posted on social media. Google, too, has been testing limiting news access in Canada. Facebook users in Australia lost the ability to view and share news in 2021 after Australian lawmakers passed a similar law. Meta called Canada's law "fundamentally flawed," saying it "ignores the realities of how our platforms work." Canada's government said the legislation would "enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news market" and ensure "fair compensation" for outlets that produce news content.

Ukraine on Thursday launched a missile strike on a bridge Russia needs to resupply front-line troops in southern Ukraine. The Russia-installed head of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, posted footage showing a large hole in the road on the partially destroyed Chonhar bridge, which connects Kherson and the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. "It is a blow to the military logistics of the occupiers," said Yuriy Sobolevskiy, the Ukrainian deputy governor of the Kherson region. The attack suggested a shift in Ukraine's strategy to retake occupied territory as its counteroffensive slows. Ukraine has made modest gains, but its advances have come with significant losses due to minefields and other defenses Russia has worked on for months.

Rep. George Santos' (R-N.Y.) father and aunt guaranteed the $500,000 bond that got him released from federal custody last month as he awaits trial on 13 federal criminal charges, including wire fraud and theft of public funds, according to court records unsealed Thursday. The New York Republican vehemently opposed making the names of his guarantors — his father, Gercino dos Santos Jr., and aunt Elma Preven — public. Such information is released in most cases, but Santos, 34, argued it should be kept secret ahead of his trial so they wouldn't face threats and harassment. The New York Times and other news outlets asked a court to unseal the information. Santos' relatives would be "personally responsible" for his bond if he failed to appear in court.

U.S. beekeepers lost 48% of their honeybee hives in the year that ended April 1, the second highest death rate on record, according to an annual survey released Thursday by the University of Maryland and Auburn University, and funded by the Bee Informed Partnership, a nonprofit research group. The loss was up from 39% the previous year, and a 12-year average of 39.6%. The record mortality rate of 50.8% was set in 2020-2021. Scientists say several factors, including parasites, pesticides, and climate change, are killing honeybees, which pollinate more than 100 crops, including nuts, berries, vegetables, and citrus fruit. Beekeepers say a 21% winter loss rate is acceptable.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) added six counties to a week-old disaster declaration Thursday after severe weather ravaged parts of the state. A tornado tore through the north Texas town of Matador, a town of 600 about 70 miles northeast of Lubbock, killing at least four people in violent weather driven by an intense heat wave. The "unprecedented tornado" was generated in a line of severe storms that hit the region with tornadoes, hurricane-force winds exceeding 100 miles per hour, and large hail, a local fire department said. "That is certainly rare to see all at the same time: killer tornadoes, hurricane-force winds, and softball-size hail," said Matt Zeibell, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Lubbock, Texas.

French basketball phenom Victor Wembanyama was the overall No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Thursday. The 7-foot-5 sensation, who has the height of a center — and an unusually tall one, at that — and the shooting and ballhandling abilities of a point guard, is widely considered the best prospect since LeBron James, who came out of high school in 2003 and has gone on to become the all-time leading scorer. The San Antonio Spurs picked Wembanyama, 19, igniting chants of "Wemby!" from Spurs fans in the crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Wembanyama had been expected to be the top overall pick, but he said hearing his name was "one of the best feelings of my life."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.