The Short List

Mon Jun 19 2023

Search underway for Titanic tourist submarine

U.S. and Canadian rescue teams were searching Monday for a submersible used to take groups including tourists to view the wreckage site of the Titanic after the submarine vanished deep in the Atlantic Ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard in Boston is leading the search for the missing watercraft, which the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, said was reported overdue around 9:13 p.m. Sunday about 435 miles south of St. John's, Newfoundland. The 21-foot watercraft, which left from St. John's, submerged with five people on board Sunday morning, the Coast Guard said. The Canadian ship monitoring the submersible lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later.

Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi during Beijing visit

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping as he wrapped up a two-day high-stakes visit to Beijing aimed at easing soaring tensions between the countries. In earlier meetings between Blinken and senior Chinese officials over the weekend, the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend from hardened positions on disagreements ranging from trade to Taiwan. And some experts were skeptical that there was any possibility of easing tensions through the meetings – or even that it is a good idea.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, June 19, 2023.

Leah Millis, AP

Real quick

•	'Not automatic': Biden says U.S. won't support fast-tracked path for Ukraine into NATO.
•	WWII compensation: Germany will pay Holocaust survivors across the world over $1 billion in 2024.
•	One day after being charged with driving under the influence, Bob Huggins resigns as West Virginia men's basketball coach.
•	Kings of Concacaf: USMNT defeats Canada in Nations League final.
•	'Love of his life': Tommy Lee's wife Brittany Furlan says Heather Locklear was the 'one that got away.'

Is Hurricane Bret forming? Forecasters eyeing new systems

Forecasters are monitoring the development of one and potentially two tropical systems over what have been record warm waters between the Caribbean and West Africa, and the National Hurricane Center is forecasting the first will more than likely grow into Hurricane Bret. That first system became a tropical depression Monday and has sustained winds close to 35 mph, the center said. The depression is predicted to bulk up to hurricane strength within a few days. The appearance of the two systems in June is unusual, and abnormally warm water is expected to play a major role as this year's hurricane season unfolds.

A tropical wave (yellow x) is about to emerge off the west coast of Africa. It could form into a tropical depression or storm within the yellow shaded area over the next several days.

National Hurricane Center

At least 6 dead after wave of shootings across US

At least six people including a Pennsylvania state trooper were killed and dozens injured in a string of weekend violence and mass shootings across the U.S. The shootings in Washington state, Pennsylvania, St. Louis, Southern California, suburban Chicago and Baltimore follow a surge in homicides and other violence over the past several years that experts say accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. As of Sunday evening, none of the weekend events fit the definition of a mass killing, because fewer than four people died at each location.

Investigators look over the scene of an overnight mass shooting at a strip mall in Willowbrook, Ill., Sunday, June 18, 2023.

Matt Marton, AP

Wyndham Clark wins US Open to claim his first major title

Wyndham Clark crashed the party at the U.S. Open on Sunday , holding off Rory McIlroy and outclassing Rickie Fowler while winning his first major championship. Clark, 29, finished the tournament at 10-under, one stroke ahead of McIlroy and five strokes ahead of Fowler. He held on despite making bogey at holes No. 15 and No. 16 and watching a a three-stroke lead over McIlroy get whittled to one shot. He held on for victory thanks to pars at No. 17 and No. 18 for an even-par 70 in the final round.