Titan submersible’s scientific director says the sub malfunctioned just prior to the Titanic dive

(AP) — The scientific director for the company that owned the Titan submersible that imploded last year while on its way to the Titanic wreckage testified that the sub had malfunctioned just prior to the fatal dive. Appearing before a U.S. Coast Guard panel Thursday, Steven Ross told the board about a platform issue the experimental submersible experienced in June 2023, just days before it imploded on its way to the Titanic site. The malfunction caused passengers onboard the submersible to “tumble about,” and it took an hour to get them out of the water. Ross says the submersible pilot, OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush, crashed into bulkheading during the malfunction.

Hunter Biden’s sentencing on federal firearms charges delayed until December

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden will be sentenced on felony firearms charges in December after the judge agreed to a delay requested by the defense. President Joe Biden’s son was convicted in June of three felonies to the purchase of a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. He was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13, but the judge agreed to delay the hearing until Dec. 4 after Hunter Biden’s lawyers said they needed more time to adequately prepare. The gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though he is likely to get far less time or avoid prison entirely.

US home sales fell in August despite easing mortgage rates

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in August to the slowest annual pace in nearly a year even as mortgage rates eased and the supply of properties on the market kept rising. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that home sales fell 2.5% last month, from July, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.86 million. Sales fell 4.2% compared with August last year. The latest home sales were short of the 3.9 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 14th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 3.1% from a year earlier to $416,700.

Human remains are found inside an SUV that officials say caused pipeline fire in suburban Houston

DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — Officials say human remains have been found inside an SUV that authorities say hit an aboveground valve on a pipeline in suburban Houston, causing a fire that has burned for four days. With the fire substantially smaller since it began on Monday, police were able to access the area around the pipeline in Deer Park. Investigators removed the white SUV and towed it away and later discovered human remains inside. Officials say it will take some time to identify the remains.