Month: June 2023

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a missing Canadian research submersible that disappeared after it went to explore the wreck of the Titanic. According to the Coast Guard, the 21-foot submersible and its five-person crew, from the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince, started a dive on Sunday morning, however; Prince lost contact with the vessel after an hour and 45 minutes.

The missing submersible was part of an OceanGate Expeditions tour exploring the Titanic wreckage, located 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The private company charters trips to explore the wreckage with its research teams. The commander of the Coast Guard district leading the search, Rear Admiral John Mauger, said they received a call for help after the crew lost contact and the submersible missed its return time. He said the Coast Guard immediately launched a surface and aerial search to find or recover the submersible and any survivors; and added that the Coast Guard has brought in technical experts, dropped sonar buoys to listen for underwater noise, and reached out to other government agencies and private contractors for aid and “to really better understand what an undersea search and rescue effort would look like.”

The company said it was working with numerous government agencies to aid in the rescue of the crew on its submersible. OceanGate said in a statement: “Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families, we are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.”  

Coast Guard officials said in a press conference on Monday afternoon that they have deployed two C-130 aircraft for an aerial search, and that the sonar buoys can listen to a depth of 13,000 feet. The New York National Guard is providing a third C-130, and the Canadian Coast Guard provided a C-130 as well as a P8 Poseidon aircraft that has underwater detection capabilities.

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A U.S. judge in Florida ruled on Monday that defense lawyers for former President Donald Trump could not release evidence in the classified documents case to the media or the public.

According to a court filing, the protective order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart puts strict conditions on Trump’s access to the materials, and limits what Trump can discuss about the case with others, including through social media. If he shares information with people not directly involved in the case without a judge’s permission, he could face criminal contempt charges.

The order — at the request of the Justice Department — states: “The Discovery materials, along with any information derived therefrom, shall not be disclosed to the public or the news media, or disseminated on any news or social media platform, without prior notice to and consent of the United States or approval of the Court.” It also specified that Trump shall not retain copies, and that he may only review case materials “under the direct supervision of Defense Counsel or a member of Defense Counsel’s staff.”. The order also prohibits Trump’s aide and co-defendant Walter Nauta from disseminating restricted information about the case.

Last week, Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 charges, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information. The Justice Department alleges that Trump unlawfully kept classified intelligence documents and did not comply with government requests to return them. The documents include intelligence briefings related to various foreign countries, foreign military capabilities and nuclear capabilities. There also are documents relating to communications with a leader of a foreign country and information about military attacks by a foreign country.

Editorial credit: Maxim Elramsisy / Shutterstock.com