20,000 LEAGUES: A debris trail found on the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic tells searchers that the submersible Titan which went missing last Sunday probably imploded at the moment it lost communication with the surface, instantly killing the five men on board.

  The US Navy now says that its acoustic sensors picked up the sound of what was likely the fatal moment, but it was not clear enough to reach a definitive conclusion as to what it was at the time.

  The five who died were Stockton Rush, 61, chief executive of OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned Titan; Hamish Harding, 58, a British adventurer; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, a French maritime expert who had made 35 dives to the Titanic; Shahzada Dawood, 48, a British businessman; and his 19-year-old son, Suleman. 

  OceanGate Expeditions released a statement saying, “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.” But the sad truth is they were not explorers seeking to expand the boundaries of knowledge about the globe, they were rich tourists who paid $250,000 for a ride in a craft not certified for the extremes to which it travelled. And when the submersible failed, the search involved the air and naval agencies of the US, Canada, and France at a cost of millions of dollars.

  Movie director James Cameron, who made the blockbuster “Titanic,” said there were parallels between the great ship and the loss of the little submersible. “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many people died as a result,” Cameron said. “And for a very similar tragedy, where warnings went unheeded, to take place at the same exact site, with all the diving that’s going on all around the world, I think is just astonishing. It’s really quite surreal.” 

CURRYING FAVOR:  President Biden romanced Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a state dinner last night at the White House which the Washington Post described as “full of distinguished names and titans of industry, and almost no one fun.”

  One of the most recognizable figures was tennis legend Billie Jean King and the most famous actor was Maulik Pancholy, who played beleaguered assistant Jonathan on “30 Rock.” Biden’s wayward son Hunter was there.

  Relations with India have been chilly, particularly since Modi has not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But just this week India became the most populated country on Earth, the largest democracy, and of course it could be a potential ally against growing Chinese influence.

  In his speech to Congress yesterday, Modi claimed that India is “the mother of democracy,” but he’s under increasing criticism for his country’s treatment of its Muslim minority and clamping down on critics of his government. Modi was once banned from entering the US because of his poor record on human rights.

THE SPIN RACK: A former FBI intelligence analyst from Dodge City, Kansas, who kept hundreds of classified documents at home, including in her bathroom, was sentenced yesterday to nearly four years in prison. She was convicted in federal court of violating the same part of the Espionage Act that former President Donald Trump is accused of breaking. — The world’s highest peaks in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush are at risk of losing up to 80% of their frozen volume by the end of the century with terrible consequences for millions of people, international scientists in Nepal warn in a new report. Ice and snow in the region feed 12 rivers that provide water to two billion people in 16 countries, including China, India and Pakistan. Over time, too much water could turn into too little. — A federal court on Long Island  revealed that the two people who backed a $500,000 bail bond for Rep. George Santos are his father, Gercino dos Santos Jr., and his aunt, Elma Santos Preven. Rep. Santos is charged with fraud, money-laundering and theft. He had tried to hide the identity of those who posted his bond. — The Maricopa County recorder, a Republican, is suing failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake for falsely claiming he cost her the election last fall. Lake quickly became a mini-Trump, claiming without proof that the vote was rigged. The complaint says that Lake and her campaign falsely claimed that Stephen Richer “sabotaged the election to prevent Republican candidates, including Lake, from winning.”

BELOW THE FOLD: Two of the House’s most extreme right wingers got into a heated exchange yesterday over their competing articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden. 

  Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia accused Colorado’s Lauren Boebert of copying her articles of impeachment, which Greene had previously asked Boebert to co-sponsor. At one point, according to reports, Greene called Boebert a “little bitch.”

  Asked later by reporters to confirm what she had said, Greene described her labelling of Boebert as “impressively correct.”

  Boebert’s impeachment articles were immediately sent to the House procedural sidelines. 

  Speaker Kevin McCarthy defended the move, not because impeaching Biden is ridiculous, but because pressing it could cost Republicans majority control. “What majority do we want to be,” McCarthy asked his conference, according to reports. “Give it right back in two years or hold it for a decade and make real change?”

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