As the 2023 summer season comes to an end, you might be wondering what happened in the world while you were having fun off from school. From wildfires to imploding submarines, this summer recap has all the details and facts you need to know.
Donald Trump’s Indictments
On August 24th, former president Donald Trump surrendered in Atlanta on charges in relation to his involvement in his plan to overturn the Georgia 2020 election. He landed in “The Big Peach” shortly after 7 p.m. and was driven to the Fulton County jail where he was registered into their system, complete with a collection of his personal information. He was then released hours later on a $200,000 bond and then took a return flight back to New Jersey. This was the fourth of Trump’s criminal indictments adding to the nearly 100 felony charges against him.
Although this is his 4th indictment, his time in Atlanta entailed him visiting a public jail rather than a courthouse. The jail in which he was being held had investigations into its conditions where it was deemed unsafe for inmates. The Georgia case was the fourth criminal case charged against Trump, where he was joined by 18 others in relation to the scheme including former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani.
Regardless of his numerous indictments, this did not stop the former president from using the publicity to jumpstart his 2024 presidential campaign, including booking appearances in the cities in which he was being tried. Even before the president arrived in the city, supporters were gathered outside the jail, some with signs. Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing and continues to keep his title as the Republican Party’s primary presidential candidate.
The Maui Wildfires
On August 8th, the historic resort town of Lahaina (population 12,702 as of August 1st.), which is located on Maui’s western peninsula, caught fire, killing approximately 97 people and devastating thousands. This made the fire one of the world’s deadliest on record and began a series of smaller wildfires around other areas of the island. Government officials have yet to identify the cause of the devastating wildfires, but research has suggested that due to this year’s El Niño, it has resulted in increased rainfall on the west coast of South America, causing droughting in the Hawaiian Islands.
Additionally, as the fire was occurring during the height of Hawaii’s dry season, this left grassland and brushland to dry up, allowing it to be flammable. Sparks created by a fallen power line might have ignited at least one of the fires. High winds created by Hurricane Dora intensified the spread of the wildfires which allowed them to cover such a great amount of land so quickly.
Within 15 minutes from the initial flare-up, the fire had already spread to the center of the town burning the access to two primary roads which caused road closures and impeded evacuation plans. Wireless services as well as electric power were unusable due to the collapse of many telephone and power lines. Hours later the town center was on fire, and mobile vehicles, gasoline tanks, and boats exploded, further fueling the flames and forcing fleeing people to either stay on land and burn alive or try and swim to flee to safety. Only a day later did the flames allow for rescue resources to get to citizens, and by August 14, about 3.44 square miles of land on the island had burned.
The Titan Submersible Implosion
The Titan was a submersible watercraft that was sent out at 6 a.m. Sunday, June 18th carrying five people, to explore the Titanic shipwreck off the North Atlantic Ocean. The five passengers on the craft were: founder and chief executive of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush; British businessman, Hamish Harding; two of Pakistan’s wealthiest people, Shahzada and Suleman Dawood; and French maritime expert, Paul Henri Nargeolet. The 22-foot carbon-fiber and titanium-constructed vessel was launched by the Polar Prince, a Canadian expedition ship, and was set to travel about 13,000 feet below sea level down to the ocean floor of Newfoundland, to the Titanic site. The submersible contained only a 96-hour supply of oxygen, expecting the trip to only take a few hours.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Titan lost contact with the surface ship an hour and 45 minutes after its departure and over the next several days, several agencies from all over the world worked together sending out commercial vessels to try and find explanations for the disappearance of the craft.
On the morning of Thursday the 22nd, the day on which the oxygen was expected to run out, debris was found on the ocean’s surface which led to the discovery of the tail cone as well as other debris from the vessel found about 1,600 feet from the Titanic wreck. The Coast Guard has released that the cause of the destruction of the submersible was the implosion of the cabin due to unexpected pressure changes. Still, the exact cause is unknown and research is currently underway to try and solve the mystery of the “Titanic Curse.”
