NEWS

Unbiased headline news for Thursday June 20, 2024 – The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that the federal budget deficit will reach 1.9 trillion dollars for the 2024 fiscal year. This new deficit forecast is $400 billion higher than the CBO’s previous estimate in February, marking a 27% increase. The CBO attributes this rise to various factors, including recent legislation allocating $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region, which Congress approved in April after prolonged deliberations. — Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have signed a partnership agreement in Pyongyang, furthering their strategic cooperation against Western leaders. The agreement includes a pact for “mutual help” in the face of “aggression” against either nation, as reported by Russian media. In his opening statement, Putin thanked Kim for his “unwavering support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The two leaders met in Pyongyang on Wednesday during Putin’s official state visit. — A cargo ship sank in the Red Sea following an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The U.K. military’s Maritime Trade Operations center issued a notice to sailors in the area. According to The Associated Press, one mariner on board was believed to have died in the attack, marking the second deadly Houthi assault on international shipping. — The White House has condemned China over what the Philippines described as an “intentional high-speed ramming” by the Chinese Coast Guard. “We’re deeply concerned about the injuries suffered by the Philippine sailor and wish him a swift recovery,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. “This provocative and reckless behavior by China is unnecessary,” Kirby told journalists. — Destruction from a massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, extended far beyond the initial wreckage site, spreading “hazardous” pollution across 16 states, a new study revealed. The study found that pollution from the wreckage and controlled burn of several train cars spread across the Midwest, Northeast, and Southern U.S., covering 540,000 square miles or 14% of the U.S. land area. — Over 3,000 nurses at six Oregon hospitals spent another day on the picket lines, holding signs saying, “Patients over profits.” Organizers claim it’s the largest nurses strike in Oregon’s history, while Providence assured that no patient’s health is at risk, having hired contract workers to cover the shortfall. Scott Palmer, chief of staff with the Oregon Nurses Association, stated that negotiations have been ongoing since December, but a fair contract with Providence has not been reached. — Recreational boaters discovered $1 million worth of cocaine floating in the ocean off the Florida Keys. Samuel Briggs II, acting chief patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrol, shared the find in a social media post on X. Briggs posted a video Monday night showing the wrapped packages of cocaine being wheeled away on a cart. “We appreciate the support from Good Samaritans in our community,” he wrote. — An early start to the U.S. wildfire season has intensified in the West, with deadly blazes in New Mexico prompting a state of emergency. Simultaneously, California firefighters are dealing with five major fires burning at both ends of the state. In New Mexico, firefighters are battling two large wildfires that began Monday in the same area, spreading to over 23,400 acres by Wednesday morning.

Ethics probe into Matt Gaetz now reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and witness claiming his paid her to have have sex. With this new evidence, it seems to be over for Matt.

The House Ethics Committee has provided new details on its three-year investigation into Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, stating that the inquiry into alleged sexual misconduct and drug use is still in progress. “Based on its review to date, the committee has determined that certain of the allegations merit continued review,” said a statement in a rare public update by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee. “I work for Northwest Floridians who won’t be swayed by this nonsense and McCarthy and his goons know it,” Gaetz commented. — A potentially deadly bacterial infection known as streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, or STSS, is currently spreading in Japan. Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases issued a statement in March warning that STSS was increasing in the country. As of June 2nd, Japan’s health ministry reports 977 cases since the start of 2024, surpassing last year’s 941 cases. This figure is nearly two and a half times the number reported in the U.S. so far this year. — At least 323 Egyptian pilgrims died during the Hajj pilgrimage in western Saudi Arabia, with most succumbing to heat-related illnesses, according to two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses. “All of them died because of heat” except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd crush, one diplomat stated, noting that the total figure came from the hospital morgue in the Al-Muaisem neighborhood of Mecca. At least 60 Jordanians also died, the diplomats said. — New York’s highest court declined to consider a challenge to the limited gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump by the judge overseeing his criminal hush money trial. The New York Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s appeal “upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.” Judge Juan Merchan prohibited Trump from discussing witnesses, jurors, and others involved with his criminal trial, which ended in a conviction last month. — The shooter who killed five and injured over a dozen more at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2022 has accepted a plea deal related to federal hate crimes charges and received 55 concurrent life sentences. Anderson Lee Aldrich pleaded guilty to all 74 charges of violating provisions of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, as well as gun crimes in the Club Q shooting. Aldrich had initially pleaded not guilty. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has temporarily halted new exports of mangoes and avocados from Michoacán, Mexico. This decision follows an incident that reportedly raised security concerns for its safety inspectors on the ground. A spokesman for the agency stated that the inspection program will remain paused until it can ensure the safety of its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service inspectors working in Mexico. — Stellantis is recalling nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada to address a software glitch that can disable the rearview cameras. The recall includes Jeep Compass, Grand Cherokee, Wagoneer, and Grand Wagoneer SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years. Also affected are Ram ProMaster vans from 2022 and 2023, as well as the Ram 3500 chassis cabs and Ram 1500 and 2500 pickups from 2022. — Massachusetts’ 911 system has been restored following a statewide outage on Tuesday afternoon, according to the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety. Earlier in the afternoon, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox advised residents to call their local police department directly for police services. “For medical or fire-related emergencies, you can use the red light call boxes located on street corners,” Cox stated. He added that any emergency reported to one service would be seamlessly relayed to the appropriate department.

Justin Timberlake was arrested on Long Island’s Sag Harbor on a driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge after refusing three times to take a chemical test following his stop for rolling through a stop sign, according to a criminal complaint. “I had one martini and I followed my friends home,” Timberlake allegedly told officers.

Marjorie Taylor Greene needs to stop trying to get attention on the house floor. Every time she speaks, someone shuts her down with the truth. Watch this video showing how her argument was crushed with facts and the truth. She had nothing to do but stand there and take it.

A fleet of Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, left Havana’s port after a five-day visit to Cuba following planned military drills in the Atlantic Ocean. Some view the exercise as Moscow’s show of strength amid tensions with the U.S. and Western nations supporting Kyiv in Russia’s war on Ukraine. The submarine, a frigate, an oil tanker, and a rescue tug slowly departed from the port on Monday morning. — For the first time in 20 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to North Korea on Tuesday and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. This marks their second meeting in nine months as the two nations bolster military ties amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The Kremlin announced Putin will spend two days in Pyongyang before heading to Communist-governed Vietnam on Wednesday. — A U.S. Secret Service employee was robbed at gunpoint in Tustin, California, while President Biden was in the state for a glitzy Los Angeles fundraiser. The Secret Service member, returning from a work assignment, fired his service weapon during the robbery, according to Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. The employee was not injured. The Secret Service stated the criminal investigation remains open and active. Scripps News first reported the robbery. — German investigators seized 39 tons of cocaine worth more than $2.78 billion hidden among vegetables and fruits in several container ships, officials announced. Seven people have been arrested in what investigators called the country’s biggest cocaine bust. Prosecutors in the western city of Dusseldorf said they confiscated the drug last year following a tip from Colombian authorities. They said about 27.5 tons of cocaine was found in the port of the northern city of Hamburg. — A man drowned in a lake in upstate New York after his keys fell into the water and he tried to retrieve them, police said. Anthony Davis, 44, was fishing with two other men in Oneida Lake in the town of Hastings just before 10 a.m. Sunday when his keys fell in the water, Lt. Andrew Bucher, of the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office, said in a news release. Davis entered the water to retrieve his keys but could not make it back to land, Bucher said. — Firefighters were battling about a dozen blazes throughout California, including a fast-moving wildfire that has forced evacuations north of Los Angeles. The Post Fire in Gorman ignited shortly before 2 p.m. local time Saturday and has since burned more than 15,610 acres with about 8% containment, according to an update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. A total of 1,148 personnel, 114 engines, seven helicopters, and 14 water tenders have been deployed to fight the blaze as it spreads. — A small plane crashed in upstate New York near Albany, killing the pilot, who was the only person aboard, authorities said. The twin-engine Piper PA-31 crashed near the end of the runway at Albany International Airport around 8:15 a.m., the Federal Aviation Authority said. Police in the Albany suburb of Colonie say the pilot was headed to Montreal when she experienced engine trouble and crashed. She was pronounced dead at the scene, Deputy Chief Robert Winn said. — BNSF Railway must pay nearly $400 million to a Native American tribe in Washington state. A federal judge ordered the payment after finding the company intentionally trespassed by repeatedly running 100-car trains carrying crude oil across the tribe’s reservation. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik initially ruled last year that the railway deliberately violated the terms of a 1991 easement with the Swinomish Tribe.