Pence’s 2024 Presidential Campaign Receives Boost With Endorsement from Indiana Governor – The Hill

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2023

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close video Titanic submarine depth makes rescue mission ‘very complex’: Bob Pizzini

Retired U.S. Navy Mixed Gas Diving Officer Bob Pizzini discusses whether ‘underwater noises’ in the area of the missing sub indicate signs of life on ‘Cavuto: Coast to Coast.’

A co-founder of OceanGate Expeditions spoke out and gave reason to hope the five-man crew of the missing Titan submersible can still be rescued, including CEO Stockton Rush.

Guillermo Söhnlein founded OceanGate with Rush in 2009 to offer pricey deep-sea tours to the extremely wealthy in manned submersibles capable of diving up to 13,123 feet. Söhnlein left the company in 2013, turning it over to Rush and reducing his role to a minority shareholder, but the two have kept in touch and last spoke a couple of weeks before the ill-fated Titanic expedition.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Söhnlein broke his silence about the missing crew and encouraged the public and the media to remain hopeful for the crew's rescue and avoid speculation about what happened.

"For the past three days, I have watched from afar as hundreds of dedicated professionals worked tirelessly to find and rescue the crew of the research submersible, Titan, with which communication was lost during its science expedition to the wreck of the Titanic. The pilot is my co-founder and friend, Stockton Rush," Söhnlein wrote.

OCEANGATE TITANIC SUB SEARCH: MISSING VESSEL NEARS DEADLINE WHEN OXYGEN PROJECTED TO RUN OUT

The five-man crew aboard the missing OceanGate submersible has just hours before they’ll run out of breathable air. (L-R) OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistani Businessman Shahzada Dawood, Sulaiman Dawood (no photo available), French mariner Paul-He

"Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub's life support supplies are starting to run low. I'm certain that Stockton and the rest of the crew realized days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible. I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think," he said.

An international search and rescue effort has continued for days since the Titan was reported missing on Sunday night. Critically, the crew is sealed inside the submersible and has a limited supply of breathable air.

WHO IS ON THE OCEANGATE TITANIC SUB?

The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the wreckage of the sunken Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, dives in an undated photograph. (OceanGate Expeditions via Reuters / Reuters Photos)

In a statement issued Wednesday night, the U.S. Coast Guard said the sub "was launched at 8 a.m. EDT [Sunday] and expected to resurface at 3 p.m., but one hour and 45 minutes into their dive, they lost contact with the Polar Prince."

On OceanGate's website, it lists the Titan sub as having 96 hours of life support for a crew of five passengers. Authorities have estimated the submersible will run out of oxygen sometime Thursday morning.

DEEP-SEA EXPERT WORRIES ‘BANGING’ COULD BE ‘OVERLY OPTIMISTIC’ AS TITANIC SUB MAY HAVE ALREADY RUN OUT OF AIR

Equipment that was flown in by U.S. Air Force transport planes is loaded onto the offshore vessel Horizon Arctic, before its deployment to the search area of a missing OceanGate Expeditions submersible which had been carrying five people to explore t (REUTERS/David Hiscock / Reuters Photos)

The five-member crew onboard the Titan includes Rush, French mariner Paul-Henry Nargeolet, British businessman and explorer Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood.

Söhnlein said there is reason to hope the crew can be rescued after the estimated deadline.

"I would encourage everyone to remain hopeful for getting the crew back safely. In 1972, a similar rescue operation was able to retrieve two pilots trapped in a downed submersible with only 72 hours of life support. I continue to hold out hope for my friend and the rest of the crew," he wrote.

He continued, "While I completely understand the public's interest in this situation and the media's need to cover it as a notable story, I ask that we wait until after the crew returns and conducts a proper debrief to speculate on what happened. We need to give those involved with the rescue enough room to focus on their work, and we need to give the crew's families privacy to deal with their emotions in their own personal way.

MISSING TITANIC SUB ‘DID NOT PERFORM WELL,’ SAYS VETERAN EXPLORER WHO NIXED DOCUMENTARY OVER SAFETY CONCERNS

This file image provided by OceanGate shows the Titan submersible docked in the Bahamas. (OceanGate Expeditions / Fox News)

"For myself, I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I have received from friends and colleagues all over the world. It has been impossible to respond, but please know that your messages are truly appreciated, so … thank you!"

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Though Söhnlein and others have expressed optimism, there are still many hurdles for rescuers to overcome: from pinpointing the vessel's location, to reaching it with rescue equipment, to bringing it to the surface — assuming it's still intact. And all that needs to happen before the crew runs out of breathable air.

Fox News' Bradford Betz, Greg Norman, Michael Ruiz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Entertainment

Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin

Published

2 hours ago

July 17, 2025

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Tomorrowland: 'Devastating' blaze destroys main stage at major festival - two days before it was due to begin

A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.

Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.

Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.

The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.

It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.

Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.

The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.

The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.

Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.

Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.

“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”

Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.

Politics

PM criticised over ‘appalling’ decision to suspend four Labour MPs

Published

2 hours ago

July 17, 2025

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Starmer suspends four Labour MPs for breaches of party discipline

Sir Keir Starmer has suspended four MPs for repeated breaches of party discipline.

Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Rachael Maskell have lost the whip, meaning they are no longer part of Labour’s parliamentary party and will sit as independent MPs.

The suspension is indefinite pending a review.

Three other MPs have had their trade envoy roles removed: Rosena Allin Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin.

Politics latest: Suspended MPs defend their voting record

All seven had voted against the government’s welfare reforms earlier this month. However, it is understood this is not the only reason behind the decision, with sources citing “repeated breaches of party discipline”.

More than 100 MPs had initially rebelled against the plan to cut personal independent payments (PIP). Ultimately, 47 voted against the bill’s third reading, after it was watered down significantly in the face of defeat.

Ms Maskell was one of the lead rebels in the welfare revolt, and has more recently called for a wealth tax to fund the U-turn.

The York Central MP has spoken out against the government on a number of other occasions since the election, including on winter fuel and cuts to overseas aid.

Confirming the suspension, Ms Maskell told Sky News that she “doesn’t see herself as a rebel” but “somebody that is prepared to fulfil (her) role here of holding the executive to account and speaking truth to power”.

She stopped short of criticising the decision, saying: “I hold my hand out to the prime minister and hope he takes that and wants to reach back because I think it’s really important that we work together.”

Ms Maskell was first elected in 2015, while the other suspended MPs were newly elected last year.

Mr Hinchliff, the MP for North East Hertfordshire, has proposed a series of amendments to the flagship planning and infrastructure bill criticising the government’s approach.

Mr Duncan-Jordan, the MP for Poole, led a rebellion against the cut to the winter fuel payments while Alloa and Grangemouth MP Mr Leishman has been critical of the government’s position on Gaza.

Suspended Labour MPs clearly hit a nerve with Starmer

Tamara Cohen

Political correspondent

@tamcohen

After a tricky few weeks for the government, in which backbenchers overturned plans to cut back welfare spending, now a heavy hand to get the party into line.

All four suspended MPs appear to be surprised – and upset.

Three more have lost plum roles as trade envoys – all on the left of the party.

All were active in the rebellion against the government’s welfare reforms, and voted against the changes even after a series of U-turns – but were among 47 Labour MPs who did so.

When MPs were told after the welfare vote that Number 10 was “fully committed to engaging with parliamentarians”, this was not what they were expecting.

We’re told the reasons for these particular suspensions go wider – over “persistent breaches of party discipline” – although most are not high profile.

In the scheme of things, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell rebelled against the Labour whip hundreds of times under New Labour, without being suspended.

But these MPs’ pointed criticism of the Starmer strategy has clearly hit a nerve.

Read Tamara’s analysis in full here

‘Couldn’t support making people poorer’

Mr Duncan-Jordan told Sky News that he understood speaking out against benefit cuts would “come at a cost” but said he “couldn’t support making disabled people poorer”.

Mr Leishman echoed that sentiment, saying: “I firmly believe that it is not my duty as an MP to make people poorer, especially those that have suffered because of austerity and its dire consequences.”

Both said they remain committed to the Labour Party and its values, suggesting they have no plans to join the new party being set up by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and ousted MP Zarah Sultana.

Similarly Mr Hinchliff said in a brief statement: “I remain proud to have been elected as a Labour MP and I hope in time to return to the Labour benches.”

The suspensions will be seen as an attempt to restore discipline ahead of the summer recess following a number of rebellions that has forced the government into U-turns.

As well as watering down the welfare bill, some cuts to the winter fuel payment have been reversed, leaving Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a fiscal blackhole to fill.

However, the move risks creating further divisions with a number of Labour MPs criticising the decision.

Starmer ‘rolling out the carpet to Reform’

Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, said he was “appalled” by the suspensions as he and 44 others voted against welfare cuts.

He said this isn’t the first time the Starmer leadership has “punished MPs for standing up for what’s right”, as he and six others were suspended last year for voting against the two-child benefit cap.

“These decisions don’t show strength. They are damaging Labour’s support and risk rolling out the red carpet for Reform,” he added.

Richard Burgon, who was also temporarily suspended in the two-child benefit cap revolt, said he had hoped the leadership would take a different approach to backbenchers.

“Sadly, it isn’t yet doing so. To help stop a Reform government, it really must do so,” he said.

Jon Trickett, Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, said “it’s not a sin to stand up for the poor and disabled”, adding: “Solidarity with the suspended four.”

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