Good Thursday afternoon. The Coast Guard said that the submersible vessel missing since Sunday near the Titanic has been lost in a “catastrophic implosion” with five people on board, four people were killed in a Texas tornado as the severe weather threat continued, Biden welcomed India’s Prime Minister Modi to the White House, and a Russian court said a Wall Street Journal reporter must remain in jail until the end of August.
Good Thursday afternoon. The Coast Guard said that the submersible vessel missing since Sunday near the Titanic has been lost in a “catastrophic implosion” with five people on board, four people were killed in a Texas tornado as the severe weather threat continued, Biden welcomed India’s Prime Minister Modi to the White House, and a Russian court said a Wall Street Journal reporter must remain in jail until the end of August. Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Wreckage of Titanic tourist sub discovered |
CoastGuard and other officials announced that debris from the Titan submersible has been discovered in the North Atlantic. They said two debris fields were found on the bottom of the sea, one of them 1,600 feet from the wreckage of the Titanic. The debris, they said, was consistent with a “catastrophic implosion” of the vessel. They said remote operations on the sea floor would continue for the time being. The officials were unable to be more specific about when the implosion occurred and said there doesn’t appear to be any connection between noises detected in recent days and the location of the wreckage on the sea floor. One of the five people on the sub, Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, the company behind the mission, had a personal connection to the Titanic disaster: His wife, Wendy Rush, is a great-great-granddaughter of two of the Titanic’s best-known victims, Isidor and Ida Straus. Isidor Straus was the co-owner of the Macy’s department store. |
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Four dead in Texas tornado as severe weather continues |
Authorities in Texas said at least four people died last night when a tornado struck the small town of Matador northeast of Lubbock. Another nine people were injured. Officials said that at least 20 businesses and homes were destroyed. More than 500 homes and businesses were without power in the town, whose population is about 570. Elsewhere, a powerful hail storm hit concertgoers at the famous Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Colorado last night, injuring almost 100 people, including at least seven who were taken to hospitals. Fans of the English singer Louis Tomlinson had to run for cover as large hail smashed down on them and the concert was called off. Five million people are at risk of severe storms today from southeast Wyoming through eastern Colorado, northeast New Mexico and into the northwest part of the Texas panhandle. The main threats are large hail and high wind gusts. A couple of tornadoes are possible. And the severe heat wave continues across the South with 18 million under heat alerts in parts of southern New Mexico, central and southern Texas and the Tulsa area of Oklahoma. Temperatures will surge into the upper 90s and triple digits and heat index values will climb above 110 in spots. |
Biden welcomes India’s Modi to the White House |
President Joe Biden welcomed India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House as part of his effort to strengthen U.S.-Indian relations and counter China’s global influence. About 7,000 people watched a welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn. Biden was meeting with Modi, who will also address Congress this afternoon and will be honored at a White House dinner tonight. "The challenges and opportunities facing the world in this century require that India and the United States work and lead together, and we are," Biden said. Modi said the visit honored the people of his country and the entire Indian diaspora. "This grand welcome ceremony at the White House today is an honor and pride for the 1.4 billion people of India," he said. "This is also an honor for more than 4 million people of Indian origin living in the U.S. For this honor, I express my heartfelt gratitude." Biden administration officials said agreements would be announced on semiconductors, critical minerals, technology, and space cooperation and defense cooperation and sales. At a news conference with Modi, President Biden did not back away from his reference to China’s President Xi Jinping as a “dictator” and said it did not undermine progress in the U.S.’s relationship with China. |
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Russian court says American reporter must remain in jail |
A court in Russia ordered American reporter Evan Gershkovich’s latest appeal to be released, saying he must remain in jail until at least late August, according to the AP. The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested while on a reporting trip in March and charged with espionage – charges he and the paper deny. A Moscow court ruled last month that he would be held until Aug. 30, but his lawyers challenged the decision. Gershkovich smiled and chatted with his parents in the courtroom before the ruling. U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy was also there and said afterward that “Evan continued to show remarkable strength and resiliency in these very difficult circumstances.” |
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What else we're watching: |
The father of embattled Congressman George Santos, Gercino Dos Santos, and his aunt, Elma Santos Preven, guaranteed his $500,000 bond when he was charged last month with 13 federal counts, including wire fraud and money laundering, according to a document released by a federal court in New York. Santos pleaded not guilty to all counts during his arraignment. |
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Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app. |
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