Wednesday, March 27, 2024

3/27 WAKE-UP CALL: 6 Presumed Dead In Bridge Collapse





Missing workers in Key Bridge collapse presumed dead. The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday evening it was calling off the search-and-rescue mission for the six construction workers that went missing when a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early in the morning, sending it collapsing into the frigid Patapsco River and shutting down a critical artery for East Coast shipping.

Officials said water temperatures around 46 to 48 degrees, poor visibility and changing currents played a role in the decision after a dogged attempt to find the workers. “Based on the length of time that we’ve gone on this search, the extensive search efforts that we’ve put into it, the water temperature, at this point we do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,'' Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon N. Gilreath said in a news conference. "So this evening at about 7:30 we are going to suspend the active search-and-rescue efforts.’’

The dramatic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after being struck by a container ship as large as the MV Dali was inevitable, an engineering expert revealed. The Singapore-flagged vessel rammed into one of the bridge’s pivotal points around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, causing the nearly 50-year-old steel structure to crash into the Patapsco River, footage shows. Ben Schafer, a structural engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University, said that he doesn’t believe most bridges would have withstood the impact of a modern cargo ship.

➤TRUMP GAGGED AGAIN: Former President Donald Trump has been blocked from publicly commenting about the participation of potential witnesses, such as adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, in his New York criminal hush money case. The Tuesday gag order from Judge Juan Merchan also bars Trump from publicly commenting on court staff and prosecution lawyers other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg if the comments are meant to significantly interfere with their work in the case. Merchan extended that protection to the staff and lawyers' family members as well, and he blocked Trump from making any public comments about prospective and actual jurors. The order comes one day after Merchan scheduled the criminal trial — the first ever against a former president — to start on April 15. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made the $130,000 payment to Daniels soon before the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors say Trump later reimbursed Cohen for the payment and falsified records about the reimbursement.

➤TRUMP MEDIA SHARES SOAR: Shares of Donald Trump's Trump Media & Technology Group surged as much as 59% on Tuesday in their Nasdaq debut, lifted by the former U.S. president's supporters and providing him a potential windfall as he grapples with the costs of several legal cases. At its session high of $79.38 per share, TMTG's market capitalization crossed $10 billion on an undiluted basis, an astronomical valuation for a company that reported an operating loss of $10.6 million for the first nine months of 2023 on revenue of just $3.4 million. The stock closed 16% higher at $57.99, valuing the company at nearly $8 billion. Trump's majority stake in TMTG was last valued at about $6 billion, although lock-up restrictions for six months could prevent him from selling or borrowing against his shareholding.

➤SUPREME COURT EXPECTED TO PRESERVE ACCESS TO ABORTION PILL: In arguments Tuesday, the justices suggested that protecting doctors who oppose abortion wasn’t enough to justify limiting access to mifepristone. The case is the first major abortion issue to reach the Supreme Court since it eliminated in 2022 the constitutional right to an abortion, overturning Roe v. Wade. Medication abortion is the most common form of the procedure, even in states that protect reproductive rights. A decision in the case is expected by early July.

➤DEM VOTERS FEAR TRUMP WIN:  Many Americans are unenthusiastic about a November rematch of the 2020 presidential election. But presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump appears to stoke more anger and fear among Americans from his opposing party than President Joe Biden does from his.



A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Democrats are more likely to report feeling “fearful” or “angry” about the prospects of another Trump term than Republicans are about the idea of Biden remaining in the White House. The emotional reaction Trump inspires may work in his favor too, though, since the poll also found that Republicans are more excited about the prospect of a Trump win than Democrats are about a Biden victory. Seven in 10 Democrats say the words “angry” or “fearful” would describe their emotions “extremely well” or “very well” upon a Trump victory. A smaller majority of Republicans – 56% – say the same about a Biden triumph. About 6 in 10 Democrats cite both emotions when contemplating a Trump victory. Again, that exceeds the roughly 4 out of 10 Republicans who said they would feel both angry and scared about Biden prevailing.

💳CREDIT CARD TO LOWER MERCHANT FEES:  Visa, Mastercard and the largest U.S. credit-card issuing banks agreed to lower merchant fees, settling a long-running lawsuit.  In the proposed deal, the credit-card networks and banks would cut the rates that businesses pay to accept credit cards by 0.04 percentage point and cap them for five years. Known as swipe fees or interchange fees, these average around 2%. The merchants’ lawyers said the settlement, which a federal judge has to approve, would eliminate $30 billion in fees over five years. The networks and banks collected $72 billion in interchange fees last year, according to card data company Nilson Report. The deal also would enable merchants to guide consumers to cards that have lower fees and let small businesses form groups to negotiate swipe fees, like large retailers do.

💸WE HAVE A WINNER!   The first Mega Millions jackpot-winning ticket of 2024, worth $1.13 billion, was won in New Jersey on Tuesday night. The winning numbers were 7, 11, 22, 29, 38, and the gold Mega ball 4. The $1.13 billion jackpot is the 5th largest prize in the lottery’s history. The new billionaire can receive the $1.13 billion in annual payments or a one-time lump sum estimated at $537.5 million.

➤MICKEY D's TO SELL DONUTS: Krispy Kreme doughnuts will soon be available at all McDonald's restaurants in the United States, the companies announced Tuesday. Customers will begin seeing Krispy Kreme doughnuts in their local McDonald's restaurants later this year as part of a "phased market rollout" throughout the country. Nationwide availability at participating restaurants is expected by the end of 2026, the companies said. Three of Krispy Kreme's most popular doughnuts will be delivered fresh to McDonald's restaurants every day, and they will be available individually or in boxes of six, starting at breakfast and lasting throughout the day. The flavors that will be available are the Original Glazed Doughnut, the Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles Doughnut and the Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled Doughnut.

➤FAST FOOD WORKERS LOSING JOBS: Fast food workers are losing their jobs in California as more restaurant chains prepare to meet a new $20 minimum wage set to go into effect next week. Restaurants making cuts are mostly pizzerias, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal. Multiple businesses have plans to axe hundreds of jobs, as well as cut back hours and freeze hiring, the report shows. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Act back in September to require fast food chains with 60 or more locations nationwide to meet that wage increase after labor unions fought for it alongside the healthcare industry, which will also see a boost to earnings in June.

➤WEDNESDAY'S WEATHER MAP:



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