MLK Files, Aviation Incidents, & Shark Attack Tips

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Adam Rogers
July 22, 2025

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A Bangladeshi air force training jet crashed into a school in Dhaka, killing at least 19 people, including the pilot, and injuring 164 others. The F-7 aircraft had mechanical failure after takeoff and slammed into Milestone School and College, which serves students aged 4-18, sparking a fire in the two-story building.
Flight Lieutenant Md. Taukir Islam attempted to steer the jet away from populated areas after the mechanical fault occurred, but was unable to prevent the crash. Bangladesh announced a national day of mourning for Tuesday.
In other aviation incidents, a Delta regional jet performed evasive maneuvers to avoid a midair collision with an Air Force B-52 bomber while approaching Minot, North Dakota. The FAA is investigating why no advance warning was given. Alaska Airlines also grounded all flights Sunday night due to a computer system outage, causing delays into Monday.

The Trump administration released 230,000 pages of MLK assassination files despite protests from King's surviving children, who asked for "empathy, restraint, and respect" given the FBI's history of targeting their father. The release was part of Trump's January order to declassify all remaining government records on the assassinations of King, JFK, and Robert Kennedy. (Browse the files here)
The files detail the FBI’s investigation into Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 assassination, including case leads, internal memos, and records on James Earl Ray—the escaped convict who shot King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He had broken out of prison a year earlier, and one former cellmate later claimed he had mentioned a possible assassination plot. The release also includes newly declassified CIA records on the global search for Ray after the shooting.
King's assassination has long fueled conspiracy theories about government involvement due to the FBI's extensive surveillance of the civil rights leader under J. Edgar Hoover. Ray pleaded guilty to shooting King but later recanted his confession, claiming he was part of a larger conspiracy involving federal agencies.

China has begun construction of the world's biggest hydropower dam, a $124 billion project on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet. The dam will generate 300 million megawatt hours of electricity annually, enough to power nearly every home in the US for a year. It will span five cascading hydropower stations and produce over three times the output of China's Three Gorges Dam.
India and Bangladesh have voiced strong concerns over the project, fearing China could use water as leverage by blocking or diverting the river that flows into both countries, as the Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers. The dam could affect millions of people downstream.
Tibetan groups and environmentalists have also criticized the project over potential displacement of local populations and threats to sacred sites along the river. Chinese officials defend the megadam as essential for the country's renewable energy goals and regional economic development.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey lost his Democratic party endorsement to socialist challenger Omar Fateh in a contested process that Frey plans to appeal over alleged irregularities. (More)

Brett Hankison became the only police officer convicted in Breonna Taylor's death, receiving 33 months in prison for using excessive force during the 2020 raid. (More)

Trump's tax bill will add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over ten years and leave 10 million more people without health insurance, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. (More)

Typhoon Wipha killed three people in the Philippines and now heads toward Vietnam, where authorities canceled flights and ordered evacuations before today’s expected landfall. (More)

Central European Petroleum discovered Poland's largest oil deposit in a decade off the Baltic coast, containing 22 million tons that could double the country's current reserves. (More)

Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza's Deir al-Balah for the first time Monday, displacing tens of thousands from one of the few areas without major ground fighting. (More)

US stock markets closed mixed on Monday (S&P +0.14%, Nasdaq +0.38%, Dow -0.04%). The S&P and Nasdaq finished at record highs due to optimism around earnings reports. (More)

PepsiCo will launch a prebiotic cola this fall with three grams of fiber and cane sugar, following its $1.95 billion purchase of gut-health soda maker Poppi. (More)

JPMorgan research found Americans are shifting money from regular bank accounts to higher-paying investments, helping explain why consumer spending stayed strong despite recent economic uncertainty. (More)

Venus Williams, 45, returned to tennis after more than a year away, winning her doubles comeback match at the DC Open alongside partner Hailey Baptiste in straight sets. (More)

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who starred as Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," died at 54 after accidentally drowning while swimming in Costa Rica on Sunday. (More)

Chris Paul, the NBA's second all-time assist leader, signed with the Los Angeles Clippers to chase a championship alongside Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. (More)

Researchers created a genetic test using data from 5 million people that can predict a child's obesity risk before age 5, potentially enabling early lifestyle interventions. (More)

Astronomers discovered a black hole that destroyed the same star twice over two years, marking the first confirmed case of a star surviving its first encounter with destruction. (More)

Microsoft released an emergency patch for a security flaw that hackers used to break into business and government computer systems worldwide. (More)

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