A deep sea race against the clock

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Time is running out for the sub that vanished while carrying five tourists to the Titanic wreckage site. And Hunter Biden made a plea deal that will likely spare him from spending time behind bars.

👋 Hey! Laura Davis here. Let’s get you caught up on Tuesday’s news of the day.

👀 But first, a spectacle in space: NASA's Juno mission spotted an eerie green light on Jupiter. Here's what scientists think it is.

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A desperate deep sea search for missing tourist sub

The submersible that vanished two days ago while carrying five people to the wreckage site of the Titanic has "about 40 hours of breathable air left," the U.S. Coast Guard said in a briefing Tuesday afternoon in Boston. Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said rescue teams have searched 7,600 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean since Sunday, but "to date, those search efforts have not yielded any results.'' More search help was on the way, including ships and a third C-130 aircraft dispatched by the Pentagon, but the effort was "an incredibly complex operation,'' Frederick said. Still, he vowed the search would continue. 👉 Follow our live coverage.

This undated photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible.
This undated photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible.

Hunter Biden reaches plea deal on federal tax, gun charges

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter will plead guilty to federal tax offenses but avoid a full prosecution on a separate gun charge in a deal with the Justice Department that likely spares him time behind bars. Biden, 53, will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses as part of an agreement made public Tuesday. The agreement will also help Biden avoid prosecution on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, as long as he adheres to conditions agreed to in court. The deal ends a long-running Justice Department investigation into Biden’s second son, who has acknowledged struggling with addiction following the 2015 death of his brother Beau Biden.

What everyone's talking about

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Tropical Storm Bret spins toward the Caribbean

Tropical Storm Bret continues to spin toward the Caribbean Sea, according to the National Hurricane Center. Although it had been forecast to strengthen into the season's first hurricane, the system is now expected to remain below hurricane strength and then dissipate over the Caribbean over the next few days, the center said.

  • Where's Bret headed? It's a bit too early to forecast the location and magnitude of damage, but Bret is forecast to move across the Lesser Antilles near hurricane intensity on Thursday and Friday, bringing a risk of flooding from heavy rainfall, strong winds, dangerous storm surge and waves. Areas of the eastern Caribbean could also see damage and flooding from gusty winds and heavy rain, AccuWeather said.

Tropical Storm Bret 5 a.m. June 20, 2023.
Tropical Storm Bret 5 a.m. June 20, 2023.

Supreme Court declines Christian school suit over transgender housing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal from a Christian college in Missouri that sued the Biden administration over its decision to shield transgender people from housing discrimination. At issue was a 2021 memo from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that interpreted a federal anti-discrimination law as protecting transgender individuals. The College of the Ozarks claimed that the guidance conflicted with its ability to make housing assignments for students on the basis of sex assigned at birth.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Missing Titanic sub, Hunter Biden, Tropical Storm Bret: Tuesday's news