5 things to know for June 21: Missing sub, Hunter Biden, Ukraine, Severe heat, Arkansas

By CNN Newsource

Published June 21, 2023 5:29 AM

By Faith Karimi, CNN

(CNN) — A California restaurant has to pay $140,000 to employees after it hired a fake priest to extract confessions of workers’ “sins” in what federal investigators are calling “the most shameless” acts of corruption an employer has taken against its staff.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

1. Missing Sub

A Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area of the missing submersible, but subsequent searches “yielded negative results,” the US Coast Guard said. On Tuesday, crews searching for the Titan submersible that went missing with five people on board near the wreckage of the Titanic said they heard banging sounds in 30-minute intervals, according to an internal government memo. The banging continued for hours after additional sonar devices were deployed, it said. Rescuers are in a race against time to find the 21-foot vessel – roughly the size of a minivan – that was touring the wreckage of the Titanic when it disappeared. It started its descent Sunday morning and lost contact with its mother ship about an hour and 45 minutes into its trip, authorities said. Those aboard include a British adventurer, a French diver and a Pakistani father and son.

2. Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, will plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors — a move that will have immediate reverberations in next year’s presidential election. In a court filing, the Justice Department said that in addition to the misdemeanors, Hunter Biden struck a deal on a felony gun charge with federal prosecutors. As part of the plea agreement, the DOJ will recommend a sentence of probation for the two counts of failing to pay taxes in a timely matter for the years 2017 and 2018, according to sources. A judge will have the final say on any sentence. Republicans were quick to criticize the plea deal with Justice Department in the wake of the 37-count federal criminal indictment filed against former President Donald Trump. Here are the key things to know about the federal tax charges against Hunter Biden.

3. Ukraine

Ukrainian pilots are pleading for US-made F-16s as they struggle to contain Russia’s fighter jets. During a recent operation, pilots in southern Ukraine were flying Soviet-era Su-25s, ancient aircraft first introduced in the 1980s that are no match for Russia’s Su-35s and their advanced radar and long-range missiles. Russia still maintains air superiority, making it difficult for Ukraine’s ground forces to advance. “We lose many aircraft to these interceptors,” said one Su-25 pilot. Meanwhile, within the last day, the Ukrainian military reported 35 clashes with Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, according to an update from the Ukrainian armed forces. Russia continues to focus on the areas of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka in the Donetsk region, the update said.

4. Severe heat

Following a weekend of devastating storms, hundreds of thousands of customers faced power outages in the South and Southwest regions already battling scorching heat. Daily heat records could be broken throughout the week, with the peak expected to extend into today. Temperatures across Texas will be running 10 to 15 degrees above normal for at least the next seven days. “The highest heat indices are forecast across South Texas, where it could feel as hot as 120 degrees,” the Weather Prediction Center said. Several daily heat records were broken across the state, including in Laredo, which hit 115 degrees, San Angelo, which reached 111 degrees, and Del Rio, which hit 109 degrees.

5. Arkansas

A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth, dealing the strongest blow yet to a state prohibition on such care. In a ruling, Judge James M. Moody Jr. said the ban violated the US Constitution and cannot be enforced by state officials. “Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients,” the judge wrote. Under the now-blocked law, young people would have not had access to puberty-blockers, a treatment option that prevents the onset of puberty. The measure also banned so-called cross-hormone therapy, a gender-affirming treatment that allows trans people to change their physical appearances to be more consistent with their gender identities.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

Adele did not go easy on Sylvester Stallone.
The actor says the “Hello” singer insisted on keeping his poolside statue of Rocky Balboa when she bought his LA mansion.

Pizza while hiking? Yes, please!
Domino’s says it can deliver pizza to your exact location using a pin on a map on its app. With “pinpoint” delivery, no specific address is needed, the company says.

The $3 million shark controversy we never saw coming.
A shark took a bite out of a massive marlin reeled in by a North Carolina crew, ruining the team’s dream of winning millions in a fishing competition.

In Florida, another people versus pest battle.
Parts of Broward County are under quarantine after officials discovered giant African land snails. Last year, similar snails emerged in Pasco County.

Got millions of dollars to spare?
A lost Rubens painting misidentified for 300 years has re-emerged with the help of X-ray technology – and it could fetch a hefty price at an auction.

TODAY’S NUMBER

131 years

That’s the amount of time it will take for women to attain gender parity with men, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum. In other words, not until 2154.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“When things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers
to be very humble.”

— Marcel Marcondes, Anheuser-Busch’s global chief marketing officer, after a boycott of Bud Light over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY…

A giraffe’s legs are nearly as tall as Lebron James
To mark World Giraffe Day today, here’s a short video with a few fun facts about this tall, majestic animal. (Click here to view)

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