Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Navy May Have Heard Titan’s Implosion Hours After It Launched
The U.S. Coast Guard announced at a press conference yesterday afternoon that two debris fields had been found near the wreck of the Titanic that were identified as coming from the missing submersible Titan. Rear Admiral John Mauger said the debris was found by an ROV, or remotely operated vehicle, “approximately 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor.” He also said during the press conference that sonar buoys didn’t hear “any signs of catastrophic failure,” but that may be because the submersible imploded just hours after it launched on Sunday. Officials involved in the search mission say the U.S. Navy heard what they suspect was the implosion of the Titan on Sunday with a top-secret military acoustic detection system designed to spot enemy submarines. The “acoustic anomaly” wasn’t deemed to be definitive, so the search and rescue mission continued while using the Navy report to focus the search area. Killed in the implosion were Stockton Rush, the CEO and founder of OceanGate, the company leading the trip, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, considered by many to have been the world’s top Titanic expert.
2 Whistleblower Tells House Committee There Was Interference In Hunter Biden Investigation
Former IRS employee Gary Shapley told the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday that U.S. Attorney David Weiss tried to get the authority to charge Hunter Biden in two federal districts. Shapley told the committee that as an IRS investigator, he gained access to WhatsApp messages sent by Hunter Biden, including one that was demanding payments from a Chinese businessman named Henry Zhao. The message continued according to Shapley with Hunter Biden saying “I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.” Weiss’s office declined to comment on the allegations but did refer to a letter he sent to the House Judiciary Committee on June 7th where he told them his decisions were made independently and “without reference to political considerations.” Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax charges for his 2017 and 2018 filings, but Shapley says he saw evidence that Biden should have also faced charges for 2014, when his father was still vice president. The Justice Department denied Shapley’s allegations yesterday.
3 Federal Election Commisssion Deadlocked On AI Regulations
The Federal Election Commission voted 3-3 along party lines at yesterday’s meeting about opening a petition to impose regulations on political ad content generated by artificial intelligence to public comment. A Republican and a Democrat on the commission said they weren’t sure the FEC has the authority to regulate AI, with Republican Commissioner Allen Dickerson saying that “the commission has asked Congress to expand our jurisdiction” with his full support. It’s the first time the commission has tried to deal with the subject of AI, which is already being used to create realistic photos and videos in advertising and other content. The petition was filed by Public Citizen, a nonprofit advocacy group, which argued that the FEC should regulate misleading AI-generated content under its existing rules on “fraudulent misrepresentation.” The 3-3 tie killed the measure.