“We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood, his son Solomon Dawood, Hamish Harding and Paul Henry Nargolet are sadly lost. These men were true explorers who share an outstanding spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their family during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and the joy they brought to everyone who knew them. This is an incredibly sad time for our dedicated staff who are exhausted and grieve deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family expresses our deepest gratitude to the countless men and women of Multiple organizations in the international community who rushed resources extensively and worked so hard on this mission. We appreciate their commitment to finding these 5 explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work to support our crew and their families. It is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for every family member who has been lost At sea. We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time.”
Prior to confirmation, a remotely operated vehicle had found a “debris field” in a days-long search for five ocean explorers missing on board. OceanGate Titan submersiblea deep-sea vehicle that disappeared Sunday while attempting to dive the wreckage of the Titanic, the US Coast Guard said Thursday morning.
* This is a developing story
The US Senate introduces a tax treaty in Chile, paving the way for its ratification
The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to advance a tax treaty with Chile, paving the way for eventual approval of a deal seen as crucial to ensuring US companies have access to lithium, a key metal for electric vehicle batteries.
The agreement cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate by a vote of 97-2, comfortably over the two-thirds majority required for approval of treaties in the 100-member House.
Business interests have been pushing for a tax agreement for years. The US Chamber of Commerce called it an urgent priority. Without it, the trade group said, taxes on US companies with Chilean operations could rise to more than 44%.
The Chilean Congress approved the treaty in 2015.
The US Safety Agency requires automatic emergency braking on heavy-duty trucks and buses
The state traffic safety agency says it will require heavy trucks and buses to have automatic emergency braking equipment that could save lives within five years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said automatic braking systems in heavy vehicles would prevent nearly 20,000 crashes annually and save at least 155 lives.
Thursday’s announcement follows a similar plan announced last month for all new passenger cars and light trucks.
The measures represent the Traffic Safety Agency’s latest move toward regulating the electronic systems that carry out certain tasks that drivers would normally do themselves.
United Airlines is modifying its app to give customers options and coupons for rebooking while delayed
| Code | price | changes | % is changing |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | $52.65 | -0.20 | -0.38 |
United Airlines says that when flights are delayed or cancelled, it will use its app to send customers options for rebooking and, in some cases, coupons for meals and hotel rooms.
United said Thursday it began testing the service on its app late last year and found it reduced the number of people waiting in airport lines to speak to airline agents.
Airlines are under pressure from the Biden administration to improve customer service. The Department of Transportation recently said it would begin writing new rules for requesting passenger compensation when an airline causes delays and cancellations.
So far this year, United has canceled about 5,400 flights, or 1.3% of its schedule, which matches the industry average, according to figures from FlightAware.com. This year nearly 100,000 other United flights have arrived at least 15 minutes late.
Uber lays off 200 employees in the recruitment department
| Code | price | changes | % is changing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uber | $43.30 | 0.64 | 1.50 |
| Lyft | $9.88 | 0.16 | 1.65 |
Uber Technologies said on Wednesday it will cut 200 jobs in its recruiting division amid plans to keep headcount flat throughout the year and streamline costs.
The cuts affect less than 1% of Uber’s global workforce of 32,700, and the shared carrier follows layoffs of 150 employees in its freight services division earlier this year.
The latest cuts account for 35% of Uber’s hiring team, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported on the development earlier in the day.
Uber cut staff by 17% at the start of the pandemic in mid-2020 and has made smaller cuts than its main rival Lyft in recent months.
Micron confirms up to $825 million investment in Indian chip facility
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|---|---|---|---|
| mo | $66.43 | 0.63 | 0.96 |
US memory chip maker Micron Technology said Thursday it will invest up to $825 million in a new chip assembly and testing facility in Gujarat, India, its first in the country.
Micron said that with the support of the Indian central government and the state of Gujarat, the total investment in the facility will be $2.75 billion. Of this total, 50% will come from the Indian central government and 20% from Gujarat.
Reuters reported earlier this week that the Indian cabinet had approved the project ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States, which began on Wednesday.
Micron said construction of the new facility in Gujarat is expected to begin in 2023 and the first phase of the project will begin in late 2024. The second phase of the project is expected to begin in the second half of the decade. Together, the two phases will create up to 5,000 new direct jobs at Micron.
US weekly claims for unemployment benefits remain relatively high
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits remained high last week, a possible sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike is beginning to cool the still-strong job market.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that US claims for unemployment benefits were 264,000 for the week ending June 17, the same as the previous week.
This is slightly more than analysts expected. Claims numbers over the past two weeks are the highest since October 2021.
The four-week moving average for claims, which smooths out some of the weekly volatility, rose 8,500 to 255,750. This is the highest level since November 2021.
Mark Zuckerberg agrees to a cage fight with Elon Musk: ‘Send Me Location’
Elon Musk is taking the Twitter contest to Facebook literally and issued a challenge to fight in a cage match with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who quickly accepted.
Yellen says it is crucial to maintain US-China relations after dictator Biden’s remarks
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it is “critical” that the United States and China maintain a relationship so that they can “work together” on global challenges.
This comes after President Joe Biden’s remarks describing Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” were met with condemnation from Beijing.
Speaking at a news conference Thursday, Yellen said that “President Biden and I believe it is essential to maintain communication…to clear up misconceptions and miscalculations.”
She added that countries “need to work together wherever possible” but that “we are also frank in acknowledging that we have differences”. Yellen is attending a two-day summit in Paris seeking a better global financial response to climate change and poverty.
08:53 AM, June 22, 2023
Microsoft and US regulators are going to court over a deal worth more than $69 billion
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| MSFT | $333.56 | -4.49 | -1.33 |
| ATVI | $80.94 | -0.95 | -1.16 |
Microsoft will confront US regulators on Thursday in a bid to obtain permission to complete the $69 billion acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard.
There’s a lot at stake as the deal will reshape a hobby bigger than the film and music industries combined.
Microsoft will stand up to the US Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block a deal it claims will stifle competition and innovation.
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