the catastrophic implosion that destroyed the sub on its way to the titanic. all crew members presumed dead. and now word that the navy likely detected the implosion days ago. what we're learning plus, new scrutiny on

how the sub was built. filmmaker james cameron speaking out. you know, individuals, companies have managed to miss the lesson of titanic itself. what he says went wrong and what happens next . hunter biden, days after his controversial plea deal, attends a state dinner. as new details emerge from whistleblower who claim he got special treatment, even avoiding felony charges. a new step in the investigation into that toxic train derailment in ohio. the concerns raised by an engineer before the disaster for the race to reopen i-95 after that fiery bridge collapse in philadelphia. the special dryer from nascar that's helping crews rebuild forever, not young. the new median age in the us showing the aging of america. the state with the oldest population and the youngest and later, the history and the fashion at the nba draft. from abc news in new york. this is

america. this morning. good friday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. good morning. i'm morgan norwood in for rhiannon. we begin with the tragedy in the atlantic. that catastrophic implosion of that sub headed to the titanic. all five crew members are presumed dead and now we've learned the navy likely detected the sub's implosion on sunday, the day it went missing, the safety record and the development of that sub now coming into question, including how it was made and tested. filmmaker james cameron is among the critics speaking out. first, that new information about the implosion possibly being detected days ago. this morning, a navy official confirms to abc news that an underwater acoustic system heard what was likely that missing sub carrying five people imploding on sunday, not long after the vessel began its voyage to the wreckage of the titanic. the navy says it passed the information on to the coast guard, but the search continued to make every effort to save the lives on board. this is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the

seafloor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel. the implosion was detected near the site where five pieces of the sub were found yesterday on the ocean floor, about 1600 feet from the titanic. experts say a fault or failure in the hull of the sub could have led to the implosion as the vessel gave way to the intense pressure of the deep sea. the five passengers are presumed dead, including stockton rush the ceo of the subs company oceangate rush, often spoke about his sub defying industry standards. i'd like to be remembered as an innovator. i think it was general macarthur said. you're remembered for the rules. you break and i've broken some rules to make this. now ocean gates safety record is coming under scrutiny. explorer josh gates declined to trip on the sub two years ago after several of its systems failed during a test dive. concerned about the sub's carbon fiber makeup. carbon fiber is a miraculous material. it's what we're using to build next generation airplanes out of

the dreamliner, the a350, things like that. but it's not particularly well understood how it works over time in terms of fatigue at depths and in extreme cold. a former ocean gate employee echoed those concerns in a 2018 court filing, saying he warned the company that flaws in the carbon would grow with each dive. under such intense pressure, the dispute was settled out of court. james cameron, director of the oscar winning film titanic, called the incident a preventable tragedy. i'm struck by the fact that somehow, you know, individuals, companies have managed to miss the lesson of titanic itself. what was titanic saying to us over all these years, whether it's in my films or the many documentaries and so on, which is heed the warnings, don't be arrogant, don't think you're smarter than nature. you know? and those were the warnings of titanic. now we have two wreck sites adjacent to each other that both both represent it in

my mind, recklessness. meanwhile, underwater drones remain at the site to gather information coast guard officials concede they face a daunting investigation ahead. and they're not sure if recovering the crew members remains will even be possible. all this was a incredibly highly complex case and we're still working to develop the details for the timeline and involved with with this casualty and the response. so we'll continue to work and continue to search the area down there. but i don't have an answer for prospects at this time. meanwhile critics are questioning the eight hours between when the sub lost communication with the surface and when its support vessel notified the coast guard. we'll hear more from james cameron coming up in less than 15 minutes. new images overnight after severe storms slammed the denver area. a tornado was

confirmed in highlands ranch damaging buildings and taking down trees. the region also saw large hail for the second consecutive day. meanwhile, cleanup is beginning in northern texas after a tornado killed four people in the town of matador. they hope to restore power today. new details in the hunter biden investigation. we're learning more about the claims made by whistleblowers at the irs who say the president's son got special treatment. he attended a state dinner at the white house last night, held for india's prime minister. abc's ike ejiochi has the very latest. hi, good morning. good morning, andrew. the president's son had dinner with some of his fiercest critics just days after news broke of his plea deal on federal tax charges. the state dinner at the white house honoring india's prime minister was ripe for potential discomfort. it should be an interesting dinner. hunter biden was on the guest list arriving by trolley with his wife, hunter . how do you feel after taking the plea deal, hunter recently agreed to plead guilty to two tax related misdemeanors and enter into an agreement to

resolve a gun charge. house speaker kevin mccarthy called it a sweetheart deal, though he avoided the subject at last night's dinner. yes, not having dinner tonight with the hunter, biden and merkel. look, i'm looking forward to taking my daughter in law for the very first time to the white house and to the state dinner. reporters described the president's son as being at ease, shaking hands and chatting . the dinner came just hours after republicans released transcripts of their interviews with two whistleblowers at the irs who claim the justice department granted hunter biden preferential treatment. according to the transcripts, the whistleblower claimed some investigators pushed for hunter to face felony charges, and they claimed senior justice department officials blocked prosecutors attempts to bring charges against hunter in washington and california. but the doj is pushing back, saying the trump appointed prosecutor had full authority over the case, including when and where to bring charges. now, as for the visit by india's prime

minister, the white house says president biden discussed human rights concerns with them. india also buys oil from russia. no word on any discussion on that subject. andrew mike, thank you for that update. president biden also commented on a diplomatic dustup with china earlier this week. he called china's president a dictator. china responded, calling the remark a blatant provocation. but biden says he does not believe it will affect us-china relations. now to that toxic train derailment in ohio. investigators are revealing the safety concerns raised just hours before the disaster. here's abc's andrea fujii. this morning, an ntsb hearing is underway to understand what went wrong in the catastrophic norfolk southern train derailment in east palestine, ohio, in february 1st. first responder detailing the chaos at the scene testifying he didn't know the train was carrying toxic chemicals and his team did not have the proper equipment. it was dark. the fire there was no

possible way to determine what was was on fire and what cars were derailed. early on. it was determined a wheelbase bring failed moments before 38 cars derailed and caught fire releasing hazardous chemicals. many residents were evacuated, but even after months of being back, many fear for their health. i feel like people that might want to get out can't get out. i feel that just people are afraid for their own safety. the hearing revealed concerns by the train's engineer about the size of the 150 car train. but those worries were allegedly ignored by the yardmaster, who told him this is what they want. at the hearing also focused on the toxic fumes ingested by residents and first responders. i'm concerned about not only my responders, but everybody around for long term health concerns. hopefully we don't find anything . unfortunately, we probably will have some that will. later today, the hearing will focus on safety measures along the tracks. it could take another

year to finish the investigation . andrew morgan. andrea, thank you. time now for a look at your friday weather. good stormy end to the week across the great plains between omaha and denver. all forms of severe weather possible today and tonight. meantime it's going to be rather wet on friday and into the weekend across the northeast . look at this weekend forecast. a lot of these popular destinations for summer fun are going to be wet, very hot in texas. we're also watching the tropics and tropical storm bret impacting the eastern caribbean today. neither of these storms will impact the us, though. accuweather meteorologist kevin cosgrove. drug bust involving an ice cream machine. also ahead, new leads in a decades old mystery at the vatican. the disappearance of a young girl and the race to reopen i-95. get some help from

nascar

when you were diagnosed with cancer. i know this has allowed you to see how hard life can be, but always realize it's full of opportunities to make someone's day better. there's been so much kindness surrounding you, starlight who made you smile even on your toughest days. never forget those who loved you so well and know that you have the responsibility to give back. love, dad.

. what we're learning. plus, new scrutiny on how the sub was built. filmmaker james cameron speaking out. you know, individuals, companies have managed to miss the lesson of titanic itself. what he says went wrong and what happens next . hunter biden, days after his a performance that'll jump start your weekend and only on good morning america. back now with a drug bust at the southern border agency says nearly 150 pounds of cocaine cocaine inside the wall of this ice cream machine, the estimated street value, $1.2 million. new questions surrounding a mystery at the vatican dating back to 1983. that's when the 15 year old daughter of a vatican usher went missing after leaving her home. a netflix series last year renewed interest in the case and now a vatican prosecutor says after reviewing the evidence, he's uncovered new leads that warrant further investigation. he didn't provide any more details on who might be involved . and a major development in the rust movie set shooting case. a key member of the alec baldwin film crew now facing a new charge and now her lawyer is

responding, calling the move by prosecutors vindictive move. here's abc's allison kosik. new trouble for hannah gutierrez. read the armorer on the set of the alec baldwin movie rust on the day of that deadly shooting , she already faces involuntary manslaughter charges. and now she's accused of tampering with evidence in a new court filing. prosecutors claim after authorities responded to the set, gutierrez read did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension. prosecution or conviction of herself. the filing did not reveal the kind of narcotics. i'm armor, or at least i was the new charge comes 20 months after cinema halyna hs was shot on the set with a prop gun. prosecutor reuters in april dropped manslaughter charges against baldwin, who held the weapon. an attorney for gutierrez, reed called it shocking that after 20 months of

investigation, the special prosecutor now throws in a new charge with no prior notice or any evidence to support it. in a separate development and outgoing investigator for the district attorney's office raises questions about how the sheriff's office has handled the case, calling it reprehensible and unprofessional, but not elaborating. gutierrez, reed's lawyer, says she intends to plead not guilty to both the involuntary manslaughter and the evidence tampering charge is andrew morgan. allison, thank you. a temporary stretch of i-95 in philadelphia is reopening ahead of schedule today, only 12 days after a crash ignited a fire, causing a bridge to collapse. crews brought in a jet dryer from a nascar racetrack to dry the road quickly so it can be marked. well, still to come, the big moments from the nba draft. but first, filmmaker james cameron on the sub tragedy in the north atlantic and what in the north atlantic and what we can learn from it kayaking is my thing. running is awesome.

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time. we will have. you can make it happen. get out. oh voltaren . the joy of movement. we're back with the latest on the tragedy in the atlantic. debris from the missing titanic sub has been found on the ocean floor. investigators are trying to determine if design flaws made the sub vulnerable, causing a catastrophic failure. earlier abc news spoke with deep sea explorer james cameron and robert ballard. i wanted to happen both jim and i were at sea on that sunday and jim called me and told me about it and we both instantly knew that it was gone. and once the data we heard that they were experiencing trouble, they were on their descent. and then when the tracking system went out and everything went out, the only way you could explain it was a catastrophic implosion. zero surprise to me. i was even able to visualize the wreck site in my mind over the last few days. and you know, as described, i think it's exactly what we expected. but i can't imagine what these poor families have been through over the last four

days being given false hope here are banging noises. da da da, this and that. and you know, it must have been just, you know, horrible for them. and i feel so bad for them. but i also felt that as we agreed, bob, that it would be insensitive to come forward with a dissenting voice to the to the story that was in motion at the time. i just wish we could have gotten an rov to the site much, much earlier and gotten eyes on which took four days and, you know, this thing just just seemed like a long a prolonged nightmare. as soon as they arrived, they put their vehicle in and they drove to the spot of the last contact. and dropped down. and there was the wreckage. i feel that this is this was such a preventable tragedy. we we've never had a tragedy like this in the entire history of deep submergence, deep diving. you have these highly certified systems like alvin at woods hole, which bob

is very familiar with. even the russian submersibles that i that i dove with every five years. they had to be reclassed fied and re certified and so on. and you have all these legitimate deep diving operations around the world and even most of the tourist operations around the world use certification from, let's say, abs, the american bureau of shipping, and this particular outfit didn't do that. i had deep concerns about the technology that they were using composite composite fiber, which filament hull, which i don't believe has any place in deep submergence. and i know a thing or two about about the engineering that goes into subs . i designed and built my own sub. there is no excuse for what happened here and i find it appalling and tragic. still so many questions. our thanks to james cameron and robert ballard and hopefully the investigation will answer some of those questions. coming up, the hits and misses at the nba draft and the eye openingashion

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your weekend only on good morning america. check the pulse. and this morning, it's all about the nba draft. it was a night of history, drama and, of course, fashion dreams come true. welcome to nba draft 2023 at this year's nba draft. the lives of these young men forever changed headlined by seven foot 4 or 7 foot five. according to some scouts, french sensation 19 year old victor wembanyama. the association's newest stars find a home. the san antonio spurs select victor wembanyama from non-power, france for wembanyama , now a san antonio spur. he's

just hoping to find some tacos, breakfast tacos. now, i heard a lot about breakfast tacos, spurs, fanatics like espn's marty smith hosting a draft watch party at their arena, all in on webb bond mania. san antonio is now win antonio vic as top pick was never in doubt. the rest of the draft was filled with plenty of surprises , upsets and a little history. the thompson brothers amen and ausar became the highest picked brothers at number four and five overall. they also happen to be identical twins. the houston rockets select amen and thompson pistons select ausar thompson and scoot henderson, believed by many to be a number one overall pick in any other year that doesn't feature a once in a generation. french phenom slipped to number three overall, hoping to blaze his own trail for the portland trail blazers. now they getting a dog. they're getting a dog. that's going to come in and that's going to be hungry. but the real winner, as

always, was the fashion. and this year didn't disappoint. i see pink is in the house visible from outer space. gradey dick showed the world he's not in kansas anymore with this bedazzled ode to the wizard of oz. dorothy has her little slippers. i got my dorothy shoes. it was the right choice, too. he was picked by the toronto raptors, who sport the color red with less shine. we hope. i have to say that i'm sorry. i'm blinded by all the rhinestones. i was going to say that was probably my favorite fit. you think it does he ever wear that suit again? i don't know. you got to retire it after that. also, webb, wanyama, if that. also, webb, wanyama, if she found it. the feeling of finding the psoriasis treatment she's been looking for. sotyktu is the first-of-its-kind, once-daily pill for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis for the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding your back... is back. or finding psoriasis can't deny the splendor of these thighs. once-daily sotyktu is proven to get more people clearer skin than the leading pill.

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>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. reggie: know deadly shooting in downtown san francisco ahead of a -- now a deadly shooting in downtown san francisco ahead of a very busy weekend. kumasi: a tragic ending to search of the submersible exploring the titanic. whate