46 suspected migrants found dead in trailer, unexpected Jan. 6 hearing: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: 46 dead after abandoned trailer found in Texas, officials say

Those killed are suspected migrants. Plus, White House correspondent Francesca Chambers gives a G-7 update from Germany, an unexpected Jan. 6 hearing is set for today, Ghislaine Maxwell will be sentenced this morning and reporter Terry Collins looks at polling that doesn't bring great news about the world's happiness.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 28th of June, 2022. Today, tragedy in Texas as suspected migrants are found dead amid severe heat. Plus a G7 meetings update and more.

Here are some of the top headlines:

1. At least three people were killed and dozens injured when an Amtrak train hit a dump truck and derailed in rural Missouri yesterday. The accident comes just a day after a deadly crash in Northern California, when an Amtrak commuter train slammed into a vehicle at an unmarked crossing.

2. A Subway employee was shot and killed in Atlanta Sunday after what police said was an argument with a customer about too much mayo on his sandwich. Another worker was also critically injured.

3. And Major League Baseball has suspended 12 players, managers, and coaches for a total of 47 games after a massive brawl between the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

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46 people were found dead and 16 taken to hospitals yesterday after a tractor-trailer containing people was found abandoned in a remote part of San Antonio amid summer Texas heat. Those inside were suspected migrants, and the city's police chief said a city worker heard a cry for help from the truck just before 6:00 PM Central Time yesterday. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Ron Nirenberg:

Tragic. There are, that we know of, 46 individuals who are no longer with us, who had families who were likely trying to find a better life.

Taylor Wilson:

San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said those still alive were two weak to help themselves out of the truck.

Charles Hood:

All of them were conscious at the time upon transportation. The patients that we saw were hot to the touch. They were suffering from heatstroke, heat exhaustion. No signs of water in the vehicle. It was a refrigerated tractor trailer, but there was no visible working AC unit on that rig.

Taylor Wilson:

According to the National Weather Service temperatures in the city were expected to reach near triple digits yesterday. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said three people have been taken into custody, though the investigation has been turned over to federal authorities.

Yesterday's deaths are the most recent incident that officials believe to be related to border crossings. Last year 13 people were killed when an SUV packed with at least 25 people crashed into a semi-truck in Southern California. Months later a van carrying 29 people crashed in remote Southern Texas, killing at least 10. In both incidents authorities suspected the people were migrants.

In years past, the number of crossings by undocumented migrants typically fell off during hot summer months, but faced with US policies that delay their entry, along with deteriorating conditions in some home countries, more asylum seekers have been trying to enter in the summer. According to US Customs and Border Protection stats, border agents and officials encountered more than 239,000 migrants in May at the Southwest border. That number is up from about 180,000 the previous May. This June's numbers are still being tallied, but more than 189,000 migrants crossed over last year in June, a two-decade high.

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G7 leaders spent yesterday discussing ways to help Ukraine beat back Russia's invasion, while also trying to help the cost of gas in the US. USA TODAY White House Correspondent Francesca Chambers is in Germany with more.

Francesca Chambers:

Well, G7 leaders are rolling out new sanctions against Russia and also new tariffs, which are essentially a tax on Russian goods. But one of the big things they're considering is putting a price cap on Russian oil. Now what does that mean? Well, G7 nations want to make it harder for Russia to sell its oil to countries that aren't a part of its economic block, and to do it at higher prices.

G7 leaders wrapped up their summit on Tuesday, but they'll be seeing each other again soon. They head after that to Madrid for a NATO summit, where they'll be discussing military alliance issues. Russia's war against Ukraine has been a major topic at both summits, but leaders will also be discussing China when they gather at NATO. They're looking for additional ways to counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific.

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Taylor Wilson:

The House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol will hold an unexpected hearing today. In an announcement yesterday the committee said it would present, "Recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony," but the committee gave few details about the nature of the evidence or who will testify. June hearings were initially supposed to wrap up last week. That's when the panel focused on former President Donald Trump's attempts to pressure the Department of Justice to investigate baseless claims of election fraud. Today's hearing is set for 1:00 PM. Eastern Time.

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Ghislaine Maxwell will be sentenced this morning. The British socialite was found to have helped Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underaged girls. The couple used their riches and powerful connections to lure teenage girls as young as 14. Prosecutors said Epstein sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, and could not have done so without Maxwell's help. In December a jury convicted her of sex trafficking, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, and two conspiracy charges. Prosecutors want 30 to 55 years in prison, while her lawyers are pushing for no more than five years.

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According to a new poll, much of the world's population is still unhappy more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporter Terry Collins looks into it.

Terry Collins:

It turns out that nearly half of us worldwide are still unhappy more than two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic according to a new survey by software giant, Oracle. About 45% of 12,000 people surveyed around the world by Oracle say they have not felt true happiness dating back to pre-pandemic days, so we're looking at early 2020. Another 25% surveyed said that they don't know or have forgotten what it means to feel truly happy. There's about some 88% surveyed said they are looking for new experiences to make them smile and laugh. And almost nearly 80% of those surveyed said they were willing to pay a premium for true happiness.

I find these to be startling numbers, now that we're in this phase as what some experts are calling the next normal. It shows that two-plus years we're still not getting comfortable being under the guise of this pandemic. It's both startling, and in some ways maybe a bit scary. During the pandemic 89% attempted to find happiness in online shopping. And 40% of them said that receiving packages made them happy, but about 12% of those surveyed said they struggled to remember the purchase they had made online. So it almost makes you wonder, as you take stock and inventory of some of the things you may have bought during the last two years that have come in the mail or at your doorstep, wondering like, "Hmm." And you may see something pop up somewhere and say, "Where'd that come from? Oh, I think I bought that." So, I think we're all going through some unique things in that process of those early stages of trying to find some coping mechanisms during the early stages of the pandemic.

Many people are trying to turn to brands companies and online shopping, for example, to find a sense of comfort. It was pretty interesting, but I think a lot of that falls into, if you remember, in those early days we were all quarantined and confined and we just had this big disconnect. More so, while we were connected probably more digitally than before, physically we had that big disconnect. And doing things like maybe going online to buy something or to order something gave us a sense of, in some way, that could be seen as just normal or a sense of adapting. Made us feel connected, made us feel human to an extent.

Some people still do that and found ways to continue doing that, where others maybe are breaking out more, we're getting out a little bit more. But for the most part, a lot of people are still in that phase of like, "Bro, it's okay to order stuff online," when they think they're buying a sense of comfort. But if I could say, according to the experts, buyer beware, you could find yourself in maybe in a large swath of debt going forward.

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every morning of the year, right here, wherever you're listening right now. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his fantastic work on the show, and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 46 found dead in trailer, a surprise Jan 6 hearing: 5 Things podcast