10 things you need to know today: June 4, 2023

1. Investigators say faulty signaling system led to deadly Indian train crash

The deadly train crash in eastern India that left more than 260 people dead and injured nearly 1,000 was caused by a signal error, officials said Sunday. As work continued to clear the debris from the crash site, investigators determined that the accident likely occurred when the signal erroneously told the initial passenger train involved to switch tracks, causing it to crash into a freight train. This led to a chain reaction crash with a third train, resulting in one of the deadliest rail disasters in Indian history. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that a "change in the electronic interlocking caused this accident and whoever did it and whatever are the reasons will be known after investigation."

The New York Times NBC News

2. Grand jury in Trump documents case to meet this week

The federal grand jury convened for the Justice Department's investigation of former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents is set to meet again this coming week, NBC News reported Sunday. Prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the investigation, have been presenting evidence to the grand jury for months, but the group had recently seemed to go on a hiatus. While Trump maintains his innocence, a new audio recording of the former president allegedly makes it clear that he removed a classified document from the White House before leaving office, despite knowing that he was not supposed to do so. The recording has reportedly been given to the Justice Department.

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NBC News

3. OPEC+ considering additional production cuts amidst slumping oil prices

As oil prices continue to fall, the OPEC+ alliance is reportedly considering additional production cuts to drive up the cost of petroleum. The 23-member group, which comprises the world's major oil-producing countries, is meeting Sunday at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria, to discuss its next move. Saudi Arabia, one of the leading OPEC+ nations and a key force in the global price of oil, has reportedly warned buyers not to bet on lower oil prices. The slump comes even after OPEC+ already slashed production by two million barrels this past October, followed by a Saudi cut of another 1.16 million in April, angering Western allies.

The Associated Press Reuters

4. Kim Jong Un’s sister says North Korea will launch another spy satellite

The sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un vowed on Sunday to press forward with the launch of a second spy satellite, after a previous attempt by the country failed. Kim Yo Jong, a senior official within North Korea's ruling party and a close confidante of her brother, said North Korea "will continue to take proactive measures to exercise all the lawful rights of a sovereign state, including the one to a military reconnaissance satellite launch." A prior statement Friday said that the North Korea satellite "will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future." A satellite launch attempt by the country this past Wednesday ended in a crash.

The Associated Press

5. Texas bans gender-affirming care for minors

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a law Friday implementing a ban on gender-affirming care for most minors, making Texas the latest conservative-led state to enact such a restriction. The law, Texas SB14, prohibits "the provision to certain children of procedures and treatments for gender transitioning, gender reassignment, or gender dysphoria and on the use of public money or public assistance to provide those procedures and treatments." The transgender community in Texas, one of the largest in the country, has fiercely opposed the law, and has vowed to challenge it in court. Texas is now one of 18 states that have enacted a restriction on gender-affirming care.

CNN The Texas Tribune

6. Hong Kong police arrest protesters on anniversary of Tiananmen Square demonstrations

Hong Kong police arrested four people and detained four others during a pro-democracy demonstration in the megacity on Sunday. In a press release, police said that the protesters were arrested for "disorder in public places and doing an act or acts with seditious intention." While the details of their actions were unclear, police said some protesters were "displaying protest items loaded with seditious wordings, chanting and committing unlawful acts." The four who were detained were brought in for "breaching public peace." The crackdown came on the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, which led to a months-long siege by the Chinese government.

BBC News The Hill

7. Investigation underway after private jet with migrants arrives in California

An investigation has begun after a private jet carrying migrants arrived announced in Sacramento, California, the state's governor, Gavin Newsom (D) and Attorney General Rob Bonta said Saturday. The 16 South American migrants arrived in Sacramento on Friday "with no prior arrangement or care in place," Newsom said, and reportedly had documentation from the state of Florida. The immigrants had been flown to California from New Mexico. In a press release, Newsom said the migrants were "dumped on the doorstep of a local church without any advance warning." Newsom added that California was investigating "the circumstances around who paid for the group's travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises."

Los Angeles Times CNN

8. Utah school district bans Bible due to parental complaint

Amidst continuing book bans in a Utah school district, one frustrated parent submitted a complaint about the Bible, leading to the book's removal. The Davis School District began looking into certain passages in the Bible this past March, after a parent complained that the book should be banned from schools because it contains "incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide." Following the review, Davis decided to remove the Bible from school libraries because it contained "vulgarity or violence." The original complaint had cited a 2022 Utah law that banned any books containing "pornographic or indecent" material. Republican legislators in the state have called for the ban to be overturned.

The Washington Post NPR

9. Oil tanker gets stuck in Suez Canal

An oil tanker broke down in a single-lane waterway of Egypt's Suez Canal on Sunday, causing a blockage that disrupted traffic for several hours, authorities said. The ship, the Malta-registered Seavigour, had a mechanical malfunction while 7.5 miles deep in the canal, George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, told reporters. The tanker became stuck for several hours, disrupting at least eight other ships that were in line behind it. Tugboats were eventually able to pull the ship through the canal, and traffic had returned to normal several hours later. The Seavigour is the latest in a number of ships to break down in the Suez Canal.

The Associated Press

10. Pixar eliminates 75 jobs in first cuts in more than a decade

Pixar Animation Studios eliminated 75 jobs on Saturday, Reuters reported, marking the first major employment cuts at the banner in over a decade. Most of these cuts were in the creative and content department of the Disney-owned studio. One notable firing was Angus MacLane, an animator known for directing the "Toy Story" spinoff film "Lightyear," which would become a box office bomb and lose the studio more than $100 million. Galyn Susman, a noted producer at Pixar, was also let go. The cuts are part of Disney's previously announced job shrinkings, which will see at least 7,000 employees let go from the company nationwide as part of a cost-cutting measure.

Reuters