In the news today: A missing deep-sea craft visiting the wreckage of the Titanic only has a 96-hour oxygen supply; Blinken and Xi met in China; and the Supreme Court will rule soon on affirmative action. Also, Rome opens an ancient temple. |
The OceanGate Expedition’s Titan submersible. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP/File) |
Rescuers race against time to find sub bound for the Titanic site |
Rescuers in a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean are searching for a missing submersible carrying five people on a mission to document the wreckage of the Titanic. A pilot, a renowned British adventurer, two members of a Pakistani business family and another passenger are onboard. Read more.
|
|
|
-
The craft submerged Sunday morning and lost contact with its support ship about an hour and 45 minutes later, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The submersible had a 96-hour oxygen supply when it put to sea at roughly 6 a.m. Sunday, according to David Concannon, an adviser to OceanGate Expeditions, which operates the expeditions.
-
“It is a remote area — and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger, a commander for the U.S. Coast Guard.
|
| |
Blinken and Xi pledge to repair US-China ties, but China rebuffs the main US request |
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said they agreed to “stabilize” badly deteriorated U.S.-China ties, but America’s top diplomat left Beijing with his biggest ask rebuffed: better communications between their militaries. The meeting was the highest-level U.S. visit to China in five years. Read more.
|
|
|
After meeting Xi, Blinken said China is not ready to resume military-to-military contacts, something the U.S. considers crucial to avoid miscalculation and conflict. China’s main diplomat for the Western Hemisphere, Yang Tao, blamed the issue squarely on U.S. sanctions but said Blinken’s visit to China “marks a new beginning.”
The two sides expressed a willingness to hold more talks, but there was little indication that either is prepared to bend from positions on issues including trade, Taiwan, human rights conditions, Chinese military assertiveness in the South China Sea, and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- “The Chinese side has made our position clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali,” Xi said, according to a transcript of the meeting.
|
| |
As the Supreme Court is set to decide affirmative action and student loan cases, some see a backlash to racial progress |
The Supreme Court could soon dismantle affirmative action in college admissions and student loan forgiveness – policies that disproportionately benefit Black Americans. In the legal challenges, some see a backlash to racial progress in higher education. Read more. |
|
|
Since the late 1970s, the Supreme Court has three times upheld affirmative action in college admissions on grounds that institutions have a compelling interest to address past discrimination that shut nonwhite students out of higher learning.
Black students are more likely to take out federal student loans and at higher amounts than their white peers. Proponents of the plan to cancel some student debt see it as a matter of racial justice.
-
A collapse of the debt cancellation could have political consequences. President Joe Biden made a campaign promise to reduce student debt, and the NAACP has told him young voters of color are expecting a return on their support.
|
|
|
On June 20, 1837: Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV. (AP Photo/FILE) Read more from Today in History. |
Journalists visit the new walkways of the 'Sacred Area' (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) |
Ancient Roman temple complex, where Caesar was stabbed, opens to tourists
Four temples from ancient Rome stand smack in the middle of one of the modern city's busiest crossroads. But until this week, the only ones getting a close-up view were cats who prowled the “Sacred Area.” |
Singer Bebe Rexha says she’s OK after being hit in the face by thrown phone
Pop star Bebe Rexha was hit in the face and injured by a cellphone hurled from the audience at a hometown show in New York City. According to police, a man was arrested. |
|
|
*Advertisers have no control over editorial decisions or content. If you're interested in advertising, contact us here. |
|
|
|
