Plane crash:Â The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are two of the federal agencies looking into yesterday’s crash of a Cessna Citation business jet shortly after it was intercepted by a military jet when it departed from its filed flight plan and flew toward Washington, D.C. The airplane was en route from North Carolina to MacArthur Airport on Long Island, New York. When nearing Long Island the Citation suddenly turned around and headed toward the nation’s capital. The airplane later entered a high-speed descent and crashed into mountains near Montebello, Virginia. All four people on board were killed.
Russian military claims:Â Russia said this morning that Ukrainian forces are in the second day of a major campaign to attack Russian troops in the Southeast sector of Ukraine. The Russians said they have been successful in pushing back the Ukrainians. Ukrainian officials say the claims by the Russians are untrue and part of a propaganda campaign to mislead people about what’s happening in the war.
Saudi Arabia cuts oil production:Â World oil prices started inching up this morning after Saudi Arabia announced plans to cut its oil production by one million barrels a day. Saudi Arabia has been producing about 10 million barrels per day and the new cuts will reduce that to nine million. The global price for Brent crude has been hovering at around $78 per barrel and the Saudis say they need to be getting at least $80 a barrel to meet their budget needs.
Trump grand jury:Â NBC News reports that the federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., hearing evidence in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago has been called back into session for Wednesday. The grand jury has been on a hiatus since May 5. It’s not known whether the grand jury will be hearing from more witnesses or will now be asked to vote on whether to indict Trump.
Twitter’s ad sales drop:Â The New York Times reports that Twitter’s ad sales have dropped 59% recently following Elon Musk’s takeover the internet site. The Times says that some Twitter staff members are concerned that advertisers are spending less on Twitter or staying away from the site entirely because of concerns about changes Musk has made. Those changes include allowing more hate speech, right wing political propaganda and pornography to be presented.
U.S.-India deal:Â U .S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin finished two days of meetings in New Delhi, India, today. He met with officials at India’s Defense Ministry to discuss new ways the U.S. and India’s militaries can cooperate. A statement from the U.S. Department of Defense this morning said the countries will fast-track technology cooperation and co-production in areas such as air combat and land mobility systems, intelligence, and munitions. It’s expected there will be a set of specific proposals that could provide India with access to U.S. cutting-edge technologies and support India’s defense modernization plans.
