A cruise liner completing its journey from the Bahamas to Charleston, South Carolina, was battered in its final stretch Friday by a powerful storm, which left glass shattered, hallways flooded, and some passengers praying for relief.
The gargantuan waves and strong winds that rocked the Carnival Sunshine, a 102,853-ton ship with a guest capacity of over 3,000 souls, were resultant of a low-pressure storm system that hit the East Coast over the weekend.
Daniel Taylor, a passenger aboard the vessel, told the Daily Mail that around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, the ship sailed into choppy waters, prompting the captain to both issue an advisory about adverse weather conditions and warn of a possible delay.
"He said that the staff would do everything they could to minimize discomfort," said Taylor. "I went to a show in the Liquid Lounge at the front of the ship at that time. ... The sound of us crashing into the swells could be heard over the music playing."
Taylor's intended distraction at the lounge served only to highlight the intensity of the storm.
"Stage lights mounted on the ceiling began to shake, the disco ball started swinging, and the LED wall on the stage ... began rolling side by side on its own," added Taylor.
Sharon Tutrone, a professor at Coastal Carolina University who was a passenger on the battered ship, noted on Twitter that the Sunshine spent "11 hours pitching, diving, and rolling," all the while surrounded by lightning.
Tutrone added that at one point, "the ship took a huge hit by a wave and sounded like it split in two."
The situation reportedly continued to deteriorate into the night, with only sporadic updates from the crew as water began pouring from the ceilings and into the hallways.
WCIV reported that passenger Christa Seifert-alicea said the silence from crew members amid the dark and rocking was the "worst part."
"What we endured is indescribable, not only to feel it yourself but to hear and see it set in on every single person around you from adult, child, and the elderly is something I will never forget," said Seifert-alicea.
Videos shared online by various passengers show the ominous weather that delayed the ship's return as well as the damage wrought within the vessel.
\u201cFootage from the Carnival sunshine cruise \ud83d\ude33\ud83c\udf0a Video credit: \ud83d\udcf9 TT: k8lyns_m\u201d— Wow Terrifying (@Wow Terrifying) 1685403445
The Daily Mail reported that minor injuries were sustained and one person aboard indicated, "You could smell people being sick walking down the halls."
Vomit ejected by the panic-stricken was not the only thing racing down the halls during the ship's Odyssean thrashing.
One video of a lower deck shows debris, broken doors, and waste traveling down one hallway on a surge of water:
\u201cThe aftermath aboard Carnival Sunshine after a severe storm. \nThe crew from Deck 0-4 evacuated to the theater, and anywhere they could rest\u2026 the crew bar destroyed.\u201d— Crew Center (@Crew Center) 1685268922
Passenger Brenda Shobert wrote on Facebook, "We had a 40 foot wave hit our side of the ship,.. we almost fell out the bed.. things were crashing all around us and the carpet on my side of the bed was soaked bc water came in thru our balcony door."
The cruise line said in a statement to Fox Weather, "Carnival Sunshine’s return to Charleston was impacted by the weather and rough seas on Saturday. The weather’s prolonged impact on the Charleston area delayed the ship’s arrival on Sunday and as a result, the next voyage’s embarkation was also delayed. We appreciate the patience and understanding of all our guests."
Carnival added, "The weather and rough surf led to some crew cabins being temporarily taken out of service while we clean up water damage. All the public areas of the ship are open and in service and Carnival Sunshine is currently operating its next cruise, a five-day Bahamas sailing."
\u201c@CarnivalCruise #carnivalsunshine The morning after the storm. 9:07am.\u201d— FlyersCaptain\u2122\u00ae\u00a9 (@FlyersCaptain\u2122\u00ae\u00a9) 1685319945
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A left-leaning government watchdog has filed an ethics complaint against White House press secretary Jen Psaki alleging she violated federal law when she seemingly endorsed Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.
During Thursday's White House press briefing, Psaki appeared to say the White House was actively working to help McAuliffe's campaign, and said Biden wants McAuliffe to win the Virginia gubernatorial election.
"[W]e're going to do everything we can to help former Gov. McAuliffe, and we believe in the agenda he's representing," Psaki said.
Earlier in the briefing, Psaki admitted, "Look, I think the president, of course, wants former Gov. McAuliffe to be the future governor of Virginia."
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning government watchdog, filed an ethics complaint with the Office of Special Counsel alleging that Psaki violated the Hatch Act.
"By mixing official government business with support of a candidate for partisan political office in the weeks before the election and engaging in political activity while on duty, Ms. Psaki appears to have used her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election, political activity that is prohibited by law," the ethics complaint reads.
The Hatch Act is a federal law that, according to the OSC, prohibits, in part, federal executive branch employees from "using their official titles or positions while engaged in political activity" and engaging in political activities, such as "activity directed at the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group."
CREW president Noah Bookbinder commented Psaki's apparent violation of the Hatch Act by slamming former President Donald Trump.
The last administration systematically co-opted the government for the president's reelection. While this conduct does not come close to rising to the level of the outrageous offenses of the Trump administration, that does not mean we should be casual about compliance with an important ethics law. The Biden administration should not follow the Trump administration down that path.
Speaking with CNN host Jake Tapper, Psaki dismissed her apparent violation of federal law, only saying she would strive to do better "next time."
"I take ethics seriously. So does this president, of course," Psaki said. "And I'll be more careful with my words next time. Words certainly matter."
CREW and the banal-sounding Free Speech for People are leading the campaign to take Trump down with a bogus reading of the 14th Amendment’s 'insurrection clause.'
The spokeswoman for the Department of the Interior called me a 'troll' for doing what journalists are supposed to do.
Not a single post from the entire platform was cited to justify mass censorship in the form of complete removal from the App Store.
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