At least 20 people are dead after a bus veered off an overpass near Venice, Italy, on Tuesday evening, authorities said.

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Italian state TV channel Rai News24 that there were "at least 20 dead" after a bus veered off the road and fell a few meters close to railway lines in Mestre, a suburb of Venice. Following the crash near railway tracks, the bus caught on fire.

"There are at least 20 dead, but some people are still trapped in the wreckage," Brugnaro said.

Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said that there were 15 survivors from the crash. 

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The cause of the incident is still unclear with emergency crews on the scene accessing the damage.

Following the crash, Brugnaro wrote on X, in a translated post, that the scene of the crash was "apocalyptic" and that he had already ordered the "city to mourn" for the "numerous victims" who were on the bus.

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"A huge tragedy struck our community this evening" Brugnaro wrote. "I immediately ordered the city to mourn, in memory of the numerous victims who were on the fallen bus. 

"An apocalyptic scene, there are no words," he said.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, gave her condolences to residents, saying that she is close with local government during this time of "profound pain."

"My deepest condolences to the families of the victims and those injured in the serious accident in Mestre," Von der Leyen wrote in a translated X post. "I am close to President Mattarella, President Meloni and the mayor of Venice Brugnaro in this moment of profound pain."

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden's son Hunter pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal gun charges in Delaware. But his high-priced lawyers plan to argue that the earlier "sweetheart" plea deal is legally enforceable so that their client should never be tried and, thereby, skate on any prison time.

It won’t work. It was a crooked deal that imploded in July when a suspicious judge exposed a hidden immunity clause buried in the ancillary documents. At that point, Hunter’s attorneys announced in court that they were "tearing up" the agreement. Now they want to paste it back together. Good luck with that.

It’s true that then-U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who appears to have been acting covertly as a member of Hunter’s defense team, agreed to the deal. But under the law, that’s not enough. It must be approved by the probation officer, who declined to do so. Judge Maryellen Noreika also refused to accept the plea. That makes it dead as a doornail. 

HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CHARGES ON OCT 3

Veteran defense attorney Abbe Lowell, meanwhile, is prepping Plan B. He’ll claim that the gun law is an unconstitutional violation of the Second Amendment by citing a recent decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that tossed out the criminal conviction of a marijuana user who possessed a gun. Ironically, Joe Biden’s solicitor general is appealing the very ruling that the president’s son wants to rely on.

Regardless, the Fifth Circuit’s pronouncement covers Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. It is not binding on Delaware, although the U.S. Supreme Court may have the final say on its validity. But that still leaves two separate counts of making false statements, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars upon conviction.

If the past is prologue, Weiss —who was elevated by Attorney General Merrick Garland to special counsel— won’t let that happen. He’ll likely conjure up another lenient deal or otherwise drag his feet by letting the case collect dust balls through the upcoming election cycle.

How do we know this? Because Weiss spent five years dithering in the face of compelling evidence that Hunter committed far more serious felonies of influence peddling, bribery, conspiracy, money laundering, foreign lobbying crimes, obstruction of justice, tax fraud and tax evasion. Those schemes netted tens of millions of dollars from overseas adversaries by appearing to sell access to Joe Biden and promises of future influence.

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Yet, no charges have ever been brought. Indeed, Weiss deliberately allowed the statutes of limitations to run on many of the suspected crimes. Hunter’s lawyers were tipped off about a surprise interview. A search of Hunter’s storage locker was halted despite probable cause being established. Privileged information was secretly divulged. Investigators were blocked from asking about Joe Biden’s involvement, instructed to ignore Hunter’s incriminating laptop, and told to ignore the immense paper trail of overseas wire transfers. A written agreement to bring six felony charges against Hunter was scuttled.

Who does that? A corrupt or incompetent U.S. Attorney who’s been running an obvious protection racket to shield his boss, the president, who is implicated as complicit in his son’s scams and schemes.

Weiss almost got away with it until two IRS whistleblowers stepped forward to reveal the chicanery. They informed Congress of the constant political interference and preferential treatment that slow-walked the investigation, suppressed evidence, and diverted the case. 

Now exposed, perhaps Weiss has experienced an epiphany. Maybe he will suddenly embrace the rule of law and aggressively pursue the escalating evidence of pervasive crimes committed.

But something tells me that lottery tickets are a better bet. 

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