PORTER, Ind. (WLS) — The mission to locate a missing vessel in Lake Michigan was called off by emergency teams Thursday evening, amid an ongoing search for a boat purportedly in distress, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Authorities honed in on an area approximately two miles northwest of Indiana Dunes State Park, prompted by a distress call picked up through a marine radio, the IDNR confirmed.

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Since the initial mayday transmission, all attempts at contact with the vessel have proved unsuccessful.

“The US Coast Guard reported receiving the sole Mayday call via a marine radio. In response, we dispatched boats and shore patrols to the scene,” explained the IDNR in a Thursday evening update. “Our search efforts were supported by the US Coast Guard’s boat and helicopter units, the Porter County Marine Unit, along with US National Park personnel on boats, the Porter Fire Department, and several other agencies who arrived via land routes. Despite extensive efforts lasting several hours, we found no distressed vessels, no unusual activity, and there were no subsequent mayday calls.”

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— The Democratic Republic of Congo is embracing America’s expanding role in its vital minerals sector, viewing it as a chance for collaboration rather than a rivalry with China. According to the country’s foreign minister, this multinational cooperation is essential for converting Congo’s abundant resources into future prosperity.

“I prefer discussing complementarity over competition,” shared Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner in a candid interview at the United Nations.

“Countries as vast as the United States, Congo, and China cannot rely on a single partner for development,” Wagner explained. “Growth comes from forming various partnerships that address unique needs and bring diverse expertise.”

These remarks surface as the Trump administration aims to boost America’s access to Congo’s crucial resources like copper, cobalt, lithium, and gold. The goal is to diversify away from mineral supply chains heavily influenced by China.

A strategic partnership signed by Washington and Kinshasa Dec. 4, 2025, calls for increased economic cooperation, investment and the development of secure and transparent critical-mineral supply chains. The agreement accompanied a broader regional framework linking economic integration to efforts to end decades of conflict between Congo and Rwanda.

A separate arrangement involving DR Congo’s state mining company Gécamines and commodities trader Mercuria could give U.S. buyers priority access to some copper and cobalt supplies, Reuters reported Dec. 5, 2025. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation also expressed interest in taking a strategic stake in the partnership.

Kayikwamba Wagner said relations between the U.S. and DR Congo were taking “a more concrete shape” based on mutual economic interests.

She said Kinshasa welcomed “more U.S. interests in the DRC” that could help the country turn its mineral wealth into “tangible transformations for the lives of Congolese,” while also delivering benefits to American partners.

Speaking separately at a high-level U.N. meeting on critical minerals Tuesday, Kayikwamba Wagner warned that the global shift toward clean energy must not reproduce an economic model in which raw materials leave Africa while processing, technology and most of the profits remain elsewhere.

“The global energy transition must not become another extractive transition,” she said. “If it merely replaces one form of dependency with another, it will have fallen short of its promise.”

She called for foreign partnerships to support local processing, infrastructure, technology transfers, research, industrialization and access to financing — not simply secure supplies of raw materials.

The minerals push is closely connected to the U.S.-mediated peace process between the DRC and Rwanda. The countries initially signed a peace agreement in Washington June 27, 2025, before presidents Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame reaffirmed the deal and signed related economic agreements on Dec. 4. The framework was intended both to reduce fighting and attract Western investment to a region rich in cobalt, copper, tantalum and other minerals.

Kayikwamba Wagner acknowledged that the agreement had not ended the violence but said Washington’s willingness to impose consequences for violations showed that the process remained meaningful.

“This is a 30-year conflict we’re dealing with,” she said. “It’s not going to happen overnight.”

She praised the administration for sanctioning the Rwanda Defense Force and senior Rwandan officials over what the Treasury Department described as their support for the M23 rebel group. Treasury said in March that the RDF had supported, trained and fought alongside M23 as it seized territory and strategic mining locations in eastern Congo. Rwanda has repeatedly denied supporting M23.

“I find it encouraging to see that we have with us a partner that is not willing to give up at the first obstacle,” Kayikwamba Wagner said.

She was in New York as the DRC, which holds the Security Council presidency for July, elevated the connection between natural resources, armed conflict and sexual violence.

Kayikwamba Wagner said rape and other forms of conflict-related sexual violence had risen sharply in areas held by M23 and Rwandan forces, affecting women and girls as well as men and boys.

Victims in occupied areas, she said, often lack access to courts, healthcare or other avenues for redress.

“This is also one of the reasons why we continue to be mobilized against this illegal occupation of eastern DRC,” she said, arguing that restoring state authority was essential to providing survivors with justice and medical care.

In her U.N. remarks, she cited the Rubaya mining area, which is under M23 control and supplies a significant share of global tantalum demand. She said U.N. experts estimated that at least 1,400 tons of coltan were smuggled into Rwanda during the first year after the mines were seized, generating approximately $800,000 per month for the armed group.

The Treasury Department imposed additional sanctions on June 25 against a network it accused of working with M23 to smuggle minerals from eastern Congo into Rwanda, saying the action was intended to support the Washington peace framework and improve transparency in regional mineral supply chains.

In the wake of a horrific boating disaster in San Francisco Bay, a devastated family is mourning the loss of their cherished member. Tondra Miller, remembered as “our beloved mother, daughter, sister, and aunt,” tragically lost her life during a voyage meant to honor a loved one’s memory.

On Thursday, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified 58-year-old Tondra Miller, also known by the name Tondra Madruga, as one of three individuals missing following the capsizing of the private cabin cruiser Volare. The vessel, which measured 49 feet, succumbed to the turbulent waters Tuesday afternoon, sinking and leading to heartache for those involved.

Miller had joined 19 other family members and friends, journeying together from Stockton and Sacramento. They convened to honor Maria Boisa, a Fremont nurse who passed away a decade ago at the young age of 32, by scattering her ashes in the bay.

After a serene three-hour visit to Ayala Cove on Angel Island, the group began their return. However, their passage back to shore took a tragic turn when the boat encountered fierce conditions. A mighty swell struck, causing the top-heavy vessel to tilt, allowing water inside, and ultimately leading it to sink.

While sixteen passengers were fortunately rescued, with three sustaining injuries, the incident claimed the life of another individual, 79-year-old Clifford Joseph Boisa. Boisa, a retired Sutter County reserve deputy, was another casualty in this devastating incident.

Two people remain missing and are believed to be trapped inside the sunken vessel, which rests about 120 to 130 feet below the surface west of Alcatraz Island.

Madruga was a friend of Maria, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

In a Facebook statement shared by Quin Madruga, the family said they were “heartbroken by the loss of our beloved mother, daughter, sister, and aunt, Tondra Madruga.”

They asked for privacy as they grieve, saying, “Our hearts remain with every family impacted,” while thanking the public for its kindness and understanding.

The family also expressed their gratitude to the US Coast Guard, the San Francisco Fire Department, the San Francisco Police Department, first responders, civilian boaters and community members who helped rescue survivors and search for the missing, saying their dedication “mean more to our family than words can express.”

The statement, signed by Breanna Hewitt Crouch, concluded with a simple message: “Thank you for your prayers, love, and support.”

The cause of death for actor Josh Grisetti, known for his role in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, has been officially determined just six days after his tragic death at the age of 44.

Rob McClure, a friend and fellow performer, broke the news to the public on Sunday. McClure shared that Grisetti, who was also celebrated for his roles in Broadway productions like Something Rotten! and It Shoulda Been You, had passed away by suicide the previous Friday.

According to the California’s Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Grisetti’s death was caused by a gunshot wound, as detailed in a report obtained by the Daily Mail.

The autopsy findings specified that the injuries included “multiple bilateral temporal calvarial fractures and a brain injury,” reflecting the severity of the incident.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for additional comments but has yet to receive a response. 

Announcing the death on Sunday, McClure wrote, ‘It is with a shattered heart that I share that the brilliant Josh Grisetti took his own life on Friday.

‘I’m not ready to even attempt to understand. My heart is with his wife and family as they try to deal with the reality of this.’

McClure said that ‘communities around the world will never be the same without him,’ calling Grisetti’s passing ‘a cataclysmic loss.’

He continued, ‘Some of my all-time favorite memories were by this man’s side, playing his brother onstage for years, watching him inspire students while transforming the Musical Theatre program at Cal State Fullerton… and having the honor of being the Best Man at his wedding.’

Grisetti’s representative Rick Ferrari told the Daily Mail Monday the late actor was ‘a tremendous talent’ who ‘shared his gift with everyone who wanted it.’

He added: ‘His students at Cal State Fullerton, theater program, cherished him … we are stunned and heartbroken.’

McClure added that he and his spouse were ‘beyond heartbroken,’ adding that details about a memorial would be released in time.

Grisetti played the role of Ralph Emerson over eight episodes of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel in 2023.

The Washington, DC-born creative also appeared on TV shows such as The Knights of Prosperity, Nurse Jackie and The Good Fight.

Grisetti had been seen in Broadway productions such as Broadway Bound, Camelot in concert, with Off-Broadway credits in Rent, Enter Laughing, Candida, After the Ball and Red Eye of Love.

His film credits included motion pictures such as The Namesake, The Immigrant and Revolutionary Road.

Grisetti was also an educator, as he led California State University, Fullerton’s Musical Theatre program after prior stints at Southern California schools such as Loyola Marymount University and Fullerton College. 

Grisetti, who resided in Southern California at the time of his death, lived in Virginia growing up and was educated at North Carolina School of the Arts and the Boston Conservatory. 

In what was his last post on Instagram, the beloved performer thanked the cast of Legally Blonde: The Musical, which he was directing at the Trentino Music Festival in Italy, for a tribute they did for him as he alluded to departing the production ‘for personal reasons.’

He said, ‘When you have to leave a production for personal reasons before getting to see the show open, and the cast and team do stuff like this… 

‘Literally cried on the plane… little gestures go a long way when your heart is hurting… Love this group of misfits right back!! Happy opening, Legally Blonde… I’m so proud of you all.’

Grisetti was warmly remembered by a number of his peers on Broadway.

Donna Murphy said news of Grisetti’s passing was ‘truly devastating & heartbreaking,’ calling him ‘a beautiful, gifted human & artist.’

Sierra Boggess, who worked with Grisetti on It Shoulda Been You, called her late friend ‘a BRILLIANT actor and director and writer.’ 

She added, ‘You have left such a space in all the lives of everyone who knows you and loves you.

‘We will have more details on celebration of life but for now, we love you Josh. If ‘whatever’ means ‘we love you’ then ‘I’ll take whatever, whenever with you.”

Erika Henningsen, who worked with Grisetti on the musical Diner, wrote, ‘Oh Josh. I just loved you. I wish you were still here. Thank you for changing my life. For making me believe in myself. I know you did the same for so many others.

‘My heart is deeply with your loved ones and also students today. They were lucky to have known you and been led by you: your wit, your curiosity, and your indefatigable insistence that what we do as actors matters. I hope you know you mattered. So very, very much.’

Ariana Debose wrote, ‘My sincerest sympathies’ with a brokenhearted emoji, adding, ‘sending so much love and care to his nearest and dearest.’ 

Grisetti is survived by his wife Mackenzie, who he was wed to for six years.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.