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1st Titanic Voyage in 14 Years is Happening in Wake of Submersible Tragedy. Hopes Are High

FILE - The Titanic leaves Southampton, England, April 10, 1912, on her maiden voyage. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - The Titanic leaves Southampton, England, April 10, 1912, on her maiden voyage. (AP Photo, File)
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1st Titanic Voyage in 14 Years is Happening in Wake of Submersible Tragedy. Hopes Are High

FILE - The Titanic leaves Southampton, England, April 10, 1912, on her maiden voyage. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - The Titanic leaves Southampton, England, April 10, 1912, on her maiden voyage. (AP Photo, File)

The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic is undertaking its first expedition to the ship's wreckage in years, and those involved in the mission said they have both heavy hearts and lofty goals for a trip happening a year after a submersible disaster involving another firm killed five people.
RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based firm, holds the legal rights to salvage the wreck of the ship, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912. The company's first expedition to the site since 2010 launched Friday from Providence, Rhode Island, The Associated Press reported.
The voyage arrives as the worldwide community of undersea explorers is still reeling from the deadly implosion of an experimental submersible en route to the Titanic in June 2023. The Titan submersible disaster killed all five people on board, including Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic.
This summer's mission to the Titanic “means even more with the passing” of Nargeolet, known as “Mr. Titanic” by many, RMST Inc. president Jessica Sanders said.
The expedition will use modern imaging technology and remotely operated vehicles to capture detailed images of the Titanic, the wreckage site and the debris field, RMST Inc. representatives said.
“This monumental undertaking will allow us to document the Titanic in unprecedented detail and share new discoveries from the wreck site with the public, continuing the extraordinary work and passion of PH," Sanders said.
The ship headed to the site, the Dino Chouest, will take several days to reach the site and is slated to return around Aug. 13, said Jon Hammond, a spokesperson for RMST Inc.
The work will allow the company to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current condition of the Titanic wreckage site and a detailed assessment of artifacts that can be safely targeted for future recovery, RMST Inc. representatives said.
Nargeolet made more than 35 dives to the Titanic in his lifetime. The implosion also killed Titan operator Stockton Rush; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.
OceanGate, a company co-founded by Rush that owned the submersible, suspended operations a year ago. The US Coast Guard convened a high-level investigation into what happened, but it has taken longer than expected and it's unclear when the investigation will conclude.
Undersea explorers are waiting to learn the results of the investigation and RMST Inc.'s trip to the Titanic site is an important milestone in the site's exploration, said Katy Croff Bell, founder of the Ocean Discovery League.
“The Coast Guard investigation is still ongoing and they have not released their results yet, so the final chapter in this episode has yet to come out,” Bell said. “One thing that has come out is there is perhaps more interest.”
This month's journey to the Titanic also will allow comparison to 2010 imaging, RMST Inc. representatives said. The mission also may result in discovery of new areas of the debris field, previously unknown marine life and new areas of deterioration that could provide unobstructed access to the interior of the ship, the company stated on its website.
The vessel making the trip is equipped with two remotely operated vehicles that will be used to capture the first end-to-end mapping image of the wreck field and debris site, RMST Inc. said.
The expedition will include "the highest resolution camera systems ever deployed at the site in an effort to bring new insights about the ship to the community,” said Evan Kovacs, an underwater cinematographer working on the mission.

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Player Saves Stricken Seagull Hit by Ball During Match in Türkiye

Seagulls fly along the Hudson River while snow falls on February 22, 2026 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)
Seagulls fly along the Hudson River while snow falls on February 22, 2026 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Player Saves Stricken Seagull Hit by Ball During Match in Türkiye

Seagulls fly along the Hudson River while snow falls on February 22, 2026 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)
Seagulls fly along the Hudson River while snow falls on February 22, 2026 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)

A footballer's ‌quick thinking brought a seagull back to life after the bird was struck by the ball during a match in Türkiye, Anadolu Agency reported.

The incident occurred in the first half of the Istanbul First Amateur League playoff final between Mevlanakapi Guzelhisar and ‌Istanbul Yurdum ‌Spor in Zeytinburnu.

Istanbul Yurdum ‌Spor ⁠goalkeeper Muhammet Uyanik ⁠cleared the ball up the pitch and it struck a seagull, sending it plummeting to the turf.

Team captain Gani Catan rushed over and seeing that the ⁠bird was unresponsive, he ‌began cardiopulmonary ‌resuscitation (CPR) and chest compressions in an attempt ‌to revive it.

The seagull responded ‌and showed movement before Catan cradled it and rushed to the touchline to hand it over to medical ‌staff.

"Our captain Gani Catan brought the seagull back to ⁠life ⁠thanks to the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) he performed on the field," the club said on Instagram.

Although Istanbul Yurdum Spor lost the game, Catan had no regrets.

"We missed out on the championship, but helping save a life is a good thing," he said. "This was more important than the championship."

Varieties

Northeast US Digs Out from Brutal Snowstorm That Disrupted Flights and Canceled School 

A snow plow crosses Second Avenue and heads down 19th Street to clear it after a snowstorm, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP)
A snow plow crosses Second Avenue and heads down 19th Street to clear it after a snowstorm, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP)
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Northeast US Digs Out from Brutal Snowstorm That Disrupted Flights and Canceled School 

A snow plow crosses Second Avenue and heads down 19th Street to clear it after a snowstorm, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP)
A snow plow crosses Second Avenue and heads down 19th Street to clear it after a snowstorm, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP)

Neighbors, government workers and a powerful railroad snow-clearing machine nicknamed “Darth Vader” scrambled to dig out much of the northeastern United States from a brutal and — in some areas — record-breaking storm that blanketed the region with snow and resulted in thousands of flight cancellations.

But as the snow moved northward and tapered off in other areas Tuesday, forecasters warned that another storm could be right around the corner.

Monday’s storm that meteorologists are calling the strongest in a decade dumped more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow in parts of the Northeast. More than 3 feet (91 centimeters) fell in Rhode Island — surpassing snow totals from the historic Blizzard of 1978 that struck the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.

By Tuesday morning, roads were beginning to reopen, mass transportation was coming back online in some cities and power had returned for some of the hundreds of thousands who had lost electricity in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Amtrak canceled some trains between Boston and New York and between New York and Philadelphia on Tuesday morning.

Some schools reopening while others stick with online learning In New York City, which canceled classed Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that schools would reopen for in person learning on Tuesday, raising questions about how feasible that is with snow still piled along sidewalks.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said school should remain closed, while Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, described the situation as “a big mess.”

“There's going to be low attendance of students. You're going to have low attendance of staff because people don't know if they can travel, if they can get to schools,” he said.

Spokespersons for Mamdani didn’t respond to an email seeking comment but his schools chief, Chancellor Kamar Samuels, said in a post on X, that they were “confident in our decision to reopen.”

Philadelphia switched to online learning Monday and Tuesday. Districts on Long Island and elsewhere in the New York suburbs said they would cancel school again Tuesday.

Another storm is on the way

The weather service said it's tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week. A combination of rain and snow is expected Wednesday, with up to a couple of inches of possible snow.

While the new storm is not expected to be as strong, even a few extra inches of snow on top of hard-hit areas could make cleanup more difficult, said Frank Pereira, meteorologist for the weather service in College Park, Maryland.

“Any additional snow at this point is probably not going to be welcome,” he said.

Bomb cyclone cancels thousands of flights

The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period, occurring mainly in the fall and winter when frigid Arctic air can reach the south and clash with warmer temperatures.

More than 2,000 flights in and out of the United States were canceled Tuesday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most of the cancellations involved airports in New York, New Jersey and Boston.

Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport paused its airport operations Monday as it dealt with nearly 38 inches (97 centimeters) of snow, according to the Weather Service, breaking a record of 28.6 inches (72.6 centimeters) set in 1978. The pause continued through Tuesday morning as the airport assessed conditions.

Central Park in New York City recorded 19 inches (48 centimeters) of snow. Warwick, Rhode Island, exceeded 3 feet (91 centimeters), topping the nation so far. The highest wind gust of 84 mph (135 kph) was recorded in Montauk Point, New York.

New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states, declared emergencies.

The Boston Globe management called off printing its daily newspaper for the first time in its more than 150-year history because snow and winds kept staff from safely getting to its printing plant, the newspaper said in an article on its website.

Christa Prince and two others were out in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon with shovels and an electric snowblower.

“We’re just making a path for this car,” Prince said. “It’s not our car but you know, we’re just doing our neighbor a kind deed.”

Varieties

Rights Group Slams Treatment of Viral Japanese Monkey 

This photo taken on February 19, 2026 shows a seven month-old male macaque monkey named Punch, who was abandoned by his mother shortly after birth, sitting with a stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chiba Prefecture. (AFP/Jiji Press)
This photo taken on February 19, 2026 shows a seven month-old male macaque monkey named Punch, who was abandoned by his mother shortly after birth, sitting with a stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chiba Prefecture. (AFP/Jiji Press)
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Rights Group Slams Treatment of Viral Japanese Monkey 

This photo taken on February 19, 2026 shows a seven month-old male macaque monkey named Punch, who was abandoned by his mother shortly after birth, sitting with a stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chiba Prefecture. (AFP/Jiji Press)
This photo taken on February 19, 2026 shows a seven month-old male macaque monkey named Punch, who was abandoned by his mother shortly after birth, sitting with a stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chiba Prefecture. (AFP/Jiji Press)

The plight of a baby monkey in Japan who has become an internet sensation shows the cruelty of zoos, an animal rights group said, as sales of the plush IKEA orangutan the animal clings to boomed.

Punch, a baby macaque abandoned by its mother, shot to stardom after being pictured getting bullied by other monkeys and seeking comfort from the orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo outside Tokyo.

"Zoos are not sanctuaries -- they are places where animals are confined, deprived of autonomy, and denied the complex environments and social lives they would have in the wild," said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

"What some are calling 'cute' is actually a glimpse into the trauma of a young, highly social primate coping with isolation and loss," the group's Asia director, Jason Baker, said in a statement.

"Until facilities stop treating sentient beings as attractions, animals like Punch will continue to suffer in captivity," Baker said, calling for Punch to be moved to a "reputable sanctuary, where he could live in a more natural environment".

Spurned by its mother, Punch was raised in an artificial environment after being born in July, and began training to rejoin his troop last month.

Punch's predicament sparked huge interest online, spawning a devoted fanbase under the hashtag #HangInTherePunch, as large crowds thronged the zoo.

Meanwhile, Swedish interior furnishings giant IKEA, the maker of the orangutan soft toy, said it was seeing "unprecedented" interest and "significantly" higher sales than usual.

"As a result, the product is currently out of stock in some markets, including Japan and the United States," Ingka Group, the holding company controlling most of IKEA's stores, told AFP by email.

Over a long holiday weekend in Japan, fans queued for up to an hour to catch a glimpse of Punch, the Ichikawa zoo said in a post on X, with more than 5,000 visitors recorded on Monday.

The zoo said it had set up a "restricted zone" around part of the monkey enclosure to reduce stress for the animals.

A large number of people have asked how they can donate cash or goods, it added.

In an update on Punch's plight on Sunday, the zoo said he "was meticulously groomed by two monkeys and is steadily fitting into the group".