Although largely upstaged by former President Donald Trump’s federal indictment, the Supreme Court’s voting rights decision earlier this month is likely to have a game-changing impact for many years to come.

What the court decided is almost as surprising as who decided it. By a 5-to-4 vote, justices from the conservative and liberal sides came together to reaffirm the court’s 1986 ruling on how legislative districts must be drawn under the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, as amended in 1982.

In Alabama, where 1 in 4 voters is Black in the state’s seven congressional districts, the justices ruled that the Republican-dominated state legislature had denied African American voters a reasonable chance to elect a second representative of their choice.

A panel of three federal judges, including two appointed by Trump and one by former President Bill Clinton, had thrown out the state’s congressional map and ordered lawmakers to draw a new one with two, not just one, districts that are likely to elect Black representatives.

It was the sort of racial gerrymandering case for which the Voting Rights Act was enacted and, in more recent times, weakened by conservatives. Now Alabama will have to redraw its map to include a second predominantly Black district.

Although the ruling does not expand minority voting rights, it doesn’t reduce them either. That’s a net gain for Democrats and other liberals at a time when the Dems feared worse as they try to recover from the loss of their House majority, among other setbacks.

Suddenly, they see new hope coming from an unexpected source, the conservative court of Chief Justice John Roberts, which leaves many wondering why two of the court’s conservatives moderated their opposition enough to let Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racially discriminatory voting practices, survive.

One was Roberts. He has been a famously outspoken critic of race-based remedies who authored or joined earlier decisions that gutted key parts of the voting law. Roberts declared in a 2007 affirmative action case that “the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

Sure, but if it was that easy we wouldn’t need to turn to the Supreme Court to sort it out.

The other was Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, who leaned toward the belief that the need for Section 2 was fading over time and suggested in his opinion that plaintiffs could try to return in some future case to argue that changing times had rendered the law unconstitutional. I hope I live that long.

Which left many, including me, to wonder why both justices just happened to moderate their opposition enough to let the strongest remaining enforcement section of the Voting Rights Act survive.

I’m intrigued by how Roberts maneuvers as best he can to sound fair and evenhanded in weighing his opinions, as a good, credible chief justice should.

Roberts has long been reported to be extremely concerned about the court’s integrity and credibility, a noble and necessary goal, even when both sides of the political spectrum are shouting at him.

With opinion polls in these polarized times showing the high court’s approval ratings to be in the cellar, I’m sure recent headlines about a billionaire patron providing luxurious gifts to Clarence Thomas — as well as about Justice Samuel Alito’s alleged luxury vacations paid for by a billionaire Republican donor — must cause the chief justice no end of consternation.

I cannot write about the high court without the classic 1901 quote from the “Mr. Dooley” stories of Finley Peter Dunne coming to mind: “No matter whether the constitution follows the flag or not, the Supreme Court follows the election returns.”

I’m sure the justices might well deny that, but one thing is certain: Supreme Court appointments follow elections. And they last a lifetime. That’s another reason for us, the voters, to pay attention.

Still, there’s another reason why the high court’s conservatives voted to rescue the Voting Rights Act. They’re softening us up before they overturn affirmative action, which also is expected any day now.

If so, that also will be controversial. But nobody should be too surprised.

Clarence Page is a member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board. Email him at [email protected].

LEBANON, Tenn. — Ross Chastain held off Martin Truex Jr. and won the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night, his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

This was Chastain’s first win since Talladega in April 2022, and he drove his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to the team’s first victory this year at its home track. Chastain had started on the pole for the first time in his career.

Chastain entered fourth in the season points race and wound up leading a race-high 100 laps at the 1.33-mile, D-shaped concrete oval. That included the final 34 laps as the 30-year-old had to weave by some slower traffic to hold off Truex by 0.789 of a second.

The driver known as “Melon Man” celebrated clinching a playoff berth with a burnout before smashing a watermelon onto the start-finish line. Chastain, who has been criticized for his aggressive driving style, called this win a reminder to every competitor not to believe their critics.

“I got to tell you a lot of self-reflection through all this, but I had a group that believed in me and they didn’t let me get down,” Chastain said. “And they bring rocket ships, and I just try to point them to Victory Lane.”

Truex led 50 laps as the season points leader tried to string together back-to-back wins. He won at Sonoma going into NASCAR’s lone break in the 38-race season.

“Just that close again,” said Truex, who notched his sixth top-five finish and extended his points lead. “We keep doing that, we’ll be OK.”

Truex finished ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, both in Toyotas. Chase Elliott was fourth and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson was fifth.

Hamlin led 81 laps and said he thought he had a third-place car, with Truex a little better.

“The 1 (Chastain) obviously came on strong there at the end,” the Richmond-area native said. “We gave ourselves a chance, just didn’t have quite a fast enough car to go up and contend.”

Tyler Reddick started beside Chastain on the front row and won the first stage.

As they began the second stage, Truex went three-wide at the front with Chastain and William Byron for some thrilling racing on a track known for having boring competition for years after opening in 2001.

The Xfinity Series race Saturday was chaotic, with cautions starting on the opening lap.

The second caution Sunday didn’t come until lap 138, when Reddick lost his right rear tire as he tried to steer his Toyota onto pit road just after having pitted. His car got loose, and he spun into the grass, with the tire coming off at the entrance to pit road.

Hard crash

The third caution of four in the race came on lap 146 on a restart on the frontstretch as Ryan Blaney crashed head-on into an interior wall after being tapped from behind by Kyle Busch, with Alex Bowman also involved. Blaney walked out of the infield care center after what he called the hardest hit of his life.

Blaney said he checked up on the restart and got hit from behind, then he couldn’t get his Ford straightened up after hitting the grass. He called it “pretty ridiculous” there was no SAFER barrier on the infield wall.

“Stinks going home early,” Blaney said.

Reunited

Stewart-Haas Racing made a flurry of crew-chief changes Tuesday before the weekend at Nashville, and Chase Briscoe was reunited with Richard Boswell, who guided him to eight Xfinity Series wins between 2018 and 2020. Boswell had been crew chief for SHR’s No. 98 Xfinity team with Riley Herbst.

Briscoe finished 31st.

No. 200

Bubba Wallace made his 200th Cup Series start, looking to add to his two career wins and 15 top-fives. He started ninth in the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing and finished 15th.

Next

NASCAR runs a street-course race on July 2 in downtown Chicago.

PRO BASKETBALL

Norfolk State alumnus Kris Bankston gained a spot on the Minnesota Timberwolves’ summer league roster.

The 18-player team, coached by Timberwolves assistant coach Max Lefevre, will play at least four games from July 7-14 in Las Vegas. The first will be against the New Orleans Pelicans at 4:30 p.m. July 7 on NBA TV.

Bankston, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as a senior, when he was named to the All-MEAC first team and all-defensive team and earned a Portsmouth Invitational Tournament berth. Academically, he was on the MEAC honor roll.

GOLF

Great Bridge’s Marrion qualifies for national amateur tourney

Rising Great Bridge High senior Trey Marrion qualified for the USGA Boys Junior Amateur, and he did so in winning style.

He shot 5 under par at Delaware Country Club in Muncie, Indiana, to win the qualifier by one stroke over three players, all of whom also qualified for the Amateur: Jacob Modleski, Happy Gilmore and Noah Harper.

Gilmore’s real name is Landon Gilmore, but he goes by “Happy” after the character in a 1996 movie featuring Adam Sandler. Gilmore, known for his long-driving acumen, is a rising senior at Bloomington South High who has committed to play for Ball State.

SOCCER

VBCFC loses to Northern Virginia United

Virginia Beach City FC fell 3-1 to Northern Virginia United in a National Premier Soccer League match on George Mason’s campus in Fairfax.

The hosts (2-4-1) took a 1-0 lead on Carter Humm’s goal off a Carter Berg pass in the 21st minute of the Mid-Atlantic Conference clash. VBCFC (1-4-3) pulled even in the 45th minute on Eli Carr’s penalty kick, set up when Alexander Moody drew a foul from NVU.

Ethan Gregory scored off a deft Berg pass to give Northern Virginia a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute, and Berg converted a penalty kick in the 82nd for the final goal.

BASEBALL

Pilots, Chili Peppers split doubleheader

The Peninsula Pilots (5-13) split a Coastal Plain League doubleheader Sunday night against the Tri-City Chili Peppers, winning 2-1 in eight innings before losing 6-3 in seven before a crowd of 2,935 at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton.

In the opener, Trey Morgan pitched three hitless shutout innings for the victory in relief of Sam Rochard, who struck out six in five innings and limited Tri-City to one hit.

Mason Dunaway singled and eventually scored the winning run in the eighth.

Cole Stanford singled him Christopher Martinez in the second inning to put Peninsula ahead, but the Chili Peppers (9-8) pulled even in the third when Brandon Eike’s single brought home Henry Cooke. Neither team scored again.

In Game 2, Eike slugged two homers and drove in three runs. The Pilots’ Aaron Manias was 3 for 3 with a 1 run, and Zac Morris doubled in a run.

Peppers starter Colin Yablonski pitched four innings for the victory, and three relievers threw a shutout inning apiece. Pilots reliever Vincent Bashara suffered the loss, giving up a pair of runs in the fifth inning.

Peninsula will head to Martinsville to face the Mustangs at 7 p.m. Monday.

Cox High grad goes to the injured list

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed outfielder Chris Taylor, a former Cox High and Virginia standout, on the injured list with right knee soreness, backdated to June 22. They recalled infielder Yonny Hernández to fill that spot.

Mets pick up former Tides pitcher from Richmond area

The Baltimore Orioles announced that right-handed pitcher Reed Garrett was claimed off outright waivers by the New York Mets.

Garrett from VMI and Richmond-area Mills Godwin High, has pitched for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides most of the season.

SOCIAL

Peninsula Sports Club Headliners Night set for Monday

The Peninsula Sports Club will host its annual Headliners Night at the Holiday Inn on J. Clyde Morris Boulevard in Newport News. The social hour is set for 6 p.m., with the program at 7.

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and STEVE LeBLANC (Associated Press)

The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday it is leading an investigation into the loss of the Titan submersible that was carrying five people to the Titanic, to determine what caused it to implode.

Capt. Jason Neubauer, chief investigator, said the salvage operations from the sea floor are ongoing, and they have mapped the accident site. He did not give a timeline for the investigation. The convening of a Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of investigation conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, Neubauer said.

Investigators are working closely with other national and international investigative authorities, including the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the French marine casualties investigation board and the United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Neubauer added. Evidence is being collected in the port of St. John’s, Newfoundland, in coordination with Canadian authorities.

The Coast Guard board can make recommendations to prosecutors to pursue civil or criminal sanctions as necessary.

“My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by making the necessary recommendations to advance the safety of the maritime domain worldwide,” Neubauer said.

The U.S. Navy said Sunday that it won’t be using a large piece of salvage equipment that it had deployed to the effort to retrieve the Titan submersible.

The Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System had the capability of lifting an intact Titan back to the surface. The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Thursday that debris from the submersible had been found roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the Titanic in North Atlantic waters.

The Titan submersible imploded on its way to tour the Titanic wreckage, killing all five on board. Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater.

The Navy would only use the ocean salvage system if there were pieces large enough to require the use of the specialized equipment.

“Efforts are focused on helping map the debris field in preparation for recovery efforts and to support investigative actions. Efforts to mobilize equipment such as the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System have been discontinued,” a Navy official told The Associated Press.

The Navy describes the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System as a “portable, ship lift system designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity of up to 60,000 pounds for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy sunken objects such as aircraft or small vessels.”

The Titan weighed 20,000 pounds (9,071 kilograms).

The Navy is continuing to support the U.S. Coast Guard as operations continue.

On Saturday, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said that it has begun an investigation into the loss of the submersible and has been speaking with those who traveled on Titan’s mother ship, the Polar Prince.

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of probing the cause of the underwater implosion and are grappling with questions of who is responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.

“We are conducting a safety investigation in Canada given that this was a Canadian-flagged vessel that departed a Canadian port and was involved in this occurrence, albeit in international waters,” said Kathy Fox, chair of the transportation board. “Other agencies may choose to conduct investigations.”

The Polar Prince left Newfoundland on June 16, towing the ill-fated Titan. There were 41 people on board the ship — 17 crew members and 24 others — including the five-man team of the Titan.

Fox said the Canadian Transportation Safety Board will share information it collects with other agencies, like the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard, within the limits of Canadian law. Voice recordings and witness statements are protected under Canadian law, she said.

“We don’t want to duplicate efforts. We want to collaborate,” she said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also announced Saturday that they are studying the circumstances that led to the Titan deaths to decide whether a full investigation is warranted. That full probe will only take place if it appears criminal, federal or provincial law may have been broken, officials said.

The Coast Guard led the initial search and rescue mission, a massive international effort that likely cost millions of dollars. “The Coast Guard doesn’t charge for search and rescue nor do we associate a cost with human life,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the Coast Guard First District.

OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the Titan, is based in the U.S. but the submersible was registered in the Bahamas. OceanGate is based in Everett, Washington, but it closed when the Titan was found. Meanwhile, the Titan’s mother ship, the Polar Prince, was from Canada, and those killed were from England, Pakistan, France, and the U.S.

The deep-sea investigations promise to be long and painstaking. How the overall investigation will proceed is complicated by the fact that the world of deep-sea exploration is not well-regulated.

A key part of any investigation is likely to be the Titan itself. The Titan was not registered as a U.S. vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety. And it wasn’t classified by a maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction.

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was piloting the Titan when it imploded, had complained that regulations can stifle progress.

One question that seems at least partially resolved is when the implosion likely happened. After the Titan was reported missing, the Navy went back and analyzed its acoustic data and found an “anomaly” Sunday that was consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the vessel was operating when communications were lost, said a senior U.S. Navy official.

The Navy passed on the information to the Coast Guard, which continued its search because the data was not considered definitive, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive acoustic detection system.

The Titan launched at 8 a.m. that day and was reported overdue that afternoon about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to the area.

Any sliver of hope that remained for finding the crew alive was wiped away early Thursday, when the Coast Guard announced that debris had been found near the Titanic.

Killed in the implosion were Rush; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Questions about the submersible’s safety were raised by both by a former company employee and former passengers.

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of effusive marchers danced to club music in New York City streets Sunday as bubbles and confetti rained down, and fellow revelers from Toronto to San Francisco cheered through Pride Month’s grand crescendo.

New York’s boisterous throng strolled and danced down Fifth Avenue to Greenwich Village, cheering and waving rainbow flags to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall uprising, where a police raid on a gay bar triggered days of protests and launched the modern movement for LGBTQ+ rights.

While some people whooped it up in celebration, many were mindful of the growing conservative countermovement, including new laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender children.

“I’m trying not to be very heavily political, but when it does target my community, I get very, very annoyed and very hurt,” said Ve Cinder, a 22-year-old transgender woman who traveled from Pennsylvania to take part in the country’s largest Pride event.

“I’m just, like, scared for my future and for my trans siblings. I’m frightened of how this country has looked at human rights, basic human rights,” she said. “It’s crazy.”

Parades in New York, Chicago and San Francisco are among events that roughly 400 Pride organizations across the U.S. are holding this year, with many focused specifically on the rights of transgender people.

One of the grand marshals of New York City’s parade is nonbinary activist AC Dumlao, chief of staff for Athlete Ally, a group that advocates on behalf of LGBTQ+ athletes.

“Uplifting the trans community has always been at the core of our events and programming,” said Dan Dimant, a spokesperson for NYC Pride.

San Francisco Pride, another of the largest and best known LGBTQ+ celebrations in the United States, drew tens of thousands of spectators to the city Sunday.

The event, kicked off by the group Dykes on Bikes, featured dozens of colorful floats, some carrying strong messages against the wave of anti-transgender legislation in statehouses across the country.

Organizers told the San Francisco Chronicle that this year’s theme emphasized activism. The parade included the nation’s first drag laureate, D’Arcy Drollinger.

“When we walk through the world more authentic and more fabulous, we inspire everyone,” Drollinger said at a breakfast before the parade.

Along Market Street, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank were spotted riding together.

In Chicago, a brief downpour at the beginning of the parade didn’t deter parade goers, who took shelter under awnings, trees and umbrellas.

“A little rain can’t stop us!” tweeted Brandon Johnson, the city’s newly elected mayor.

Chicago’s 52nd annual celebration on Sunday featured drag performers Marilyn Doll Traid and Selena Peres, as well as the Bud Billiken dancers, who drew loud praise from the crowd as they represented the celebration of Black roots in Chicago’s South Side.

“It’s very important to have a Chicago Pride parade,” Traid said. “And those that wanna go against us, you have to realize that we all stand together.”

Thousands of people also flooded the streets Saturday night in Houston to celebrate pride parades and embrace the LGBTQ+ community.

“Houston is one big diverse family. Today is about celebrating people who are themselves, their authentic selves and letting everyone know that this is a city full of love, not division, not hate,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

San Antonio also celebrated its Pride parade Saturday night, with hundreds of people lining downtown streets.

“This year’s theme is ‘Just Say Gay.’ We feel so strongly about the legislation that’s occurring, not only here in Texas, but in other states throughout the United States that are trying to put us back in the closet,” Phillip Barcena, Pride San Antonio president, told KSAT.

Also Saturday, first lady Jill Biden made an appearance at the Pride parade in Nashville, Tennessee, where she told the crowd “loud and clear that you belong, that you are beautiful, that you are loved.”

Many other cities held their marquee events earlier this month, including Boston, which hosted its first parade after a three-year hiatus that began with COVID-19 but extended through 2022 because the organization that used to run it dissolved under criticism that it excluded racial minorities and transgender people.

A key message this year has been for LGBTQ+ communities to unite against dozens, if not hundreds, of legislative bills now under consideration in statehouses across the country.

Lawmakers in 20 states have moved to ban gender-affirming care for children, and at least seven more are considering doing the same, adding increased urgency for the transgender community, its advocates say.

“We are under threat,” Pride event organizers in New York, San Francisco and San Diego said in a statement joined by about 50 other Pride organizations nationwide. “The diverse dangers we are facing as an LGBTQ community and Pride organizers, while differing in nature and intensity, share a common trait: they seek to undermine our love, our identity, our freedom, our safety, and our lives.”

Earlier Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that would make the state a “safe haven” for transgender youth and forbid law enforcement agencies from providing information that could undermine the ability for a child to get gender-affirming care.

NYC Mayor Adams made a similar move this week, issuing an executive order preventing city resources from being used to cooperate with out-of-state authorities in detaining anyone receiving gender-affirming care in the city.

The Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, a national LGBTQ+ organization, reported 101 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in the first three weeks of this month, about twice as many as in the full month of June last year.

Sarah Moore, who analyzes extremism for the two civil rights groups, said many of the incidents coincided with Pride events.

Nevertheless, Roz Gould Keith, who has a transgender son, is heartened by the increased visibility of transgender people at marches and celebrations across the country.

“Ten years ago, when my son asked to go to Motor City Pride, there was nothing for the trans community,” said Keith, founder and executive director of Stand with Trans, a group formed to support and empower young transgender people and their families.

This year, she said, the event was “jam-packed” with transgender people.

___

AP writers Juan Lozano in Houston; Erin Hooley in Chicago; Trân Nguyễn in Sacramento, California; James Pollard in Columbia, South Carolina; Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Trisha Ahmed in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

A Grassfield High graduate made his Triple-A pitching debut Sunday afternoon as the Norfolk Tides completed the International League first half with a 3-2 loss to the host Nashville Sounds before 6,936 fans in Tennessee.

Garrett Stallings, 25, pitched 5 1/3 innings and took the loss. The former Grizzlies right-hander from the University of Tennessee yielded six hits, three earned runs, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out three on 75 pitches.

Until Sunday, he had pitched all season for the Double-A Bowie Baysox, going 3-2 with a 4.73 earned-run average in 53 1/3 innings over 13 games, including seven starts.

Stallings has been in the Orioles’ organization since December 2020, when the Angels — who drafted him in 2019 — traded him in a deal that sent shortstop Jose Iglesias from Baltimore to Los Angeles.

The Tides split the series at three wins apiece and completed the first half at 48-26, with one cancellation, earning a berth in the league championship series by finishing first among the IL’s 20 teams. The 75-game second half starts Wednesday, with Norfolk at home against Charlotte.

One of the players who led the Tides to that playoff berth, infielder Jordan Westburg, is being called up by the Orioles for his major league debut, according to ESPN. He has hit .295 with 18 home runs and 54 RBIs.

Sounds starter Jason Alexander, on a rehabilitation assignment from the Milwaukee Brewers, gave up one unearned run, four hits and no walks in 4 2/3 innings. Darrell Thompson (2-2), the second of five Nashville pitchers, threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the victory.

In the bottom of the first, Nashville shortstop Brice Turang doubled home Skye Bolt. The Tides pulled even in the third when Ramon Rodriguez — who had three hits — scored as Daz Cameron reached on a fielding error by Turang.

The Sounds went ahead to stay on Josh VanMeter’s solo homer in the fourth. Norfolk manager Buck Britton pulled Stallings out with runners at first and second in the fifth, and things became contentious on a 90-degree day when the heat index reportedly reached 108.

Tides reliever Darwinzon Hernandez sandwiched a pair of hit batsmen around a strikeout, allowing Nashville to go ahead 3-1 when Keston Hiura scored on former Tide Patrick Dorrian’s plunking. Dorrian, Sounds teammate Payton Henry and Hernandez all were ejected by plate umpire Austin Jones.

The Tides threatened in the ninth. Lewin Diaz and Rodriguez singled off reliever J.B. Bukauskas, and both runners advanced on Ben DeLuzio’s sacrifice bunt. Maverick Handley’s infield single scored Diaz, cutting the margin to 3-2, but the Sounds won as Bukauskas fielded Cesar Prieto’s grounder and turned a pitcher-to-second-to-first double play.

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

(through most of Sunday’s games)

Team, W-L, Pct., GB

c-Norfolk (Orioles), 48-26, .649, –

Iowa (Cubs), 43-30, .589, 4.5

*St. Paul (Twins), 43-30, .589, 4.5

*Louisville (Reds), 39-33, .542, 8.0

Nashville (Brewers), 40-34, .541, 8.0

Omaha (Royals), 38-34, .528, 9.0

*Durham (Rays), 39-35, .527, 9.0

Memphis (Cardinals), 39-36, .520, 9.5

Worcester (Red Sox), 39-36, .520, 9.5

Lehigh Valley (Phillies), 36-37, .493, 11.5

*Charlotte (White Sox), 35-39, .473, 13.0

Rochester (Nationals), 34-39, .466, 13.5

Scranton/W-B (Yankees), 34-40, .459, 14.0

Buffalo (Blue Jays), 34-41, .453, 14.5

*Syracuse (Mets), 33-40, .452, 14.5

Columbus (Guardians), 33-41, .446, 15.0

Indianapolis (Pirates), 33-41, .446, 15.0

Gwinnett (Stripers), 33-42, .440, 15.5

*Toledo (Tigers), 32-41, .438, 15.5

Jacksonville (Marlins), 32-42, .432, 16.0

*Does not include Sunday’s result.

c-clinched first-half title and berth in championship series in September.

TIDES THIS WEEK

(vs. Charlotte at Harbor Park)

Wednesday: 6:35 p.m.

Thursday: 12:05 p.m.

Friday: 6:35 p.m.

Saturday: 6:35 p.m.

Sunday: 6:35 p.m.

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and STEVE LeBLANC (Associated Press)

The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday it is leading an investigation into the loss of the Titan submersible that was carrying five people to the Titanic, to determine what caused it to implode.

Capt. Jason Neubauer, chief investigator, said the salvage operations are ongoing, and they have mapped the accident site. He did not give a timeline for the investigation. Neubauer said the convening of a Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of investigation conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Investigators are working closely with other national and international investigative authorities, including the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the French marine casualties investigation board and the United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Neubauer added. Evidence is being collected in the port of St. John’s, Newfoundland, in coordination with Canadian authorities.

The Coast Guard board can make recommendations to prosecutors to pursue civil or criminal sanctions as necessary.

The U.S. Navy said Sunday that it won’t be using a large piece of salvage equipment that it had deployed to the effort to retrieve the Titan submersible.

The Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System had the capability of lifting an intact Titan back to the surface. The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Thursday that debris from the submersible had been found roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the Titanic in North Atlantic waters.

The Titan submersible imploded on its way to tour the Titanic wreckage, killing all five on board. Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater.

The Navy would only use the ocean salvage system if there were pieces large enough to require the use of the specialized equipment.

“Efforts are focused on helping map the debris field in preparation for recovery efforts and to support investigative actions. Efforts to mobilize equipment such as the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System have been discontinued,” a Navy official told The Associated Press.

The Navy describes the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System as a “portable, ship lift system designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity of up to 60,000 pounds for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy sunken objects such as aircraft or small vessels.”

The Titan weighed 20,000 pounds (9,071 kilograms).

The Navy is continuing to support the U.S. Coast Guard as operations continue.

On Saturday, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said that it has begun an investigation into the loss of the submersible and has been speaking with those who traveled on Titan’s mothership, the Polar Prince.

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of probing the cause of the underwater implosion and are grappling with questions of who is responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.

“We are conducting a safety investigation in Canada given that this was a Canadian-flagged vessel that departed a Canadian port and was involved in this occurrence, albeit in international waters,” said Kathy Fox, chair of the transportation board. “Other agencies may choose to conduct investigations.”

The Polar Prince left Newfoundland on June 16, towing the ill-fated Titan. There were 41 people on board the ship — 17 crew members and 24 others — including the five-man team of the Titan.

Fox said the Canadian Transportation Safety Board will share information it collects with other agencies, like the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard, within the limits of Canadian law. Voice recordings and witness statements are protected under Canadian law, she said.

“We don’t want to duplicate efforts. We want to collaborate,” she said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also announced Saturday that they are studying the circumstances that led to the Titan deaths to decide whether a full investigation is warranted. That full probe will only take place if it appears criminal, federal or provincial law may have been broken, officials said.

The Coast Guard led the initial search and rescue mission, a massive international effort that likely cost millions of dollars.

OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the Titan, is based in the U.S. but the submersible was registered in the Bahamas. OceanGate is based in Everett, Washington, but it closed when the Titan was found. Meanwhile, the Titan’s mother ship, the Polar Prince, was from Canada, and those killed were from England, Pakistan, France, and the U.S.

The deep-sea investigations promise to be long and painstaking. How the overall investigation will proceed is complicated by the fact that the world of deep-sea exploration is not well-regulated.

A key part of any investigation is likely to be the Titan itself. The Titan was not registered as a U.S. vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety. And it wasn’t classified by a maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction.

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was piloting the Titan when it imploded, had complained that regulations can stifle progress.

One question that seems at least partially resolved is when the implosion likely happened. After the Titan was reported missing, the Navy went back and analyzed its acoustic data and found an “anomaly” Sunday that was consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the vessel was operating when communications were lost, said a senior U.S. Navy official.

The Navy passed on the information to the Coast Guard, which continued its search because the data was not considered definitive, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive acoustic detection system.

The Titan launched at 8 a.m. that day and was reported overdue that afternoon about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to the area.

Any sliver of hope that remained for finding the crew alive was wiped away early Thursday, when the Coast Guard announced that debris had been found near the Titanic.

Killed in the implosion were Rush; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Questions about the submersible’s safety were raised by both by a former company employee and former passengers.

A man was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after being shot Sunday in Hampton, police said.

Police received multiple calls about gunshots around 2 p.m. and responded to the first block of Sacramento Drive, near Machen Elementary School. Officers found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside a residence, according to a news release from police. Members of the fire and rescue division took him to a hospital for treatment.

The incident is under investigation by the Major Crimes Unit. Police encouraged anyone with information to contact 757-727-6111 or submit an anonymous tip online at p3tips.com.

Cianna Morales, 757-957-1304, [email protected]