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Thursday, March 28, 2024

3/28 WAKE-UP CALL: Two Bodies Recovered


The bodies of two of the six missing construction workers from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse were recovered Wednesday, Maryland authorities said at an afternoon news conference. Maryland state police Superintendent Roland Butler Jr. said divers found the two victims trapped in a red pickup truck a little before 10 a.m. in about 25 feet of water around the bridge's middle span. They were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Maryland. 

All six workers, who went missing after a cargo ship struck the bridge and sent it crumpling into the frigid Patapsco River early Tuesday, were presumed dead when the search-and-rescue mission trying to save them was called off in the evening. Two other workers were rescued Tuesday. VU.S. officials are rushing to reopen a vital shipping lane in Baltimore after a containership crashed into a bridge and caused it to collapse yesterday.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declined to say when the port will be up and running; it can’t happen until the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the ship, the Dali, are removed. About a dozen ships are stuck at the port, according to the Coast Guard.

➤CLAIM: HAMAS HARDENED BY U-N RESOLUTION: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the UN cease-fire resolution, which President Biden allowed to pass Monday, hardened Hamas' resolve to keep fighting after the terror group rejected Jerusalem's latest offer for a deal to pause the war. Hamas continues to insist any truce be permanent and include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza as well as the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants. Hamas' position proved "clearly" that it's "not interested in continuing negotiations toward a deal and served as unfortunate testimony to the damage of the Security Council decision,” the PM said. Israel will not "surrender to Hamas' delusional demand."

✡LIEBERMAN DIES: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic nominee for vice president who later became a political independent, died of complications from a fall, his family announced Wednesday. "Senator Lieberman's love of God, his family, and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest," his family said in a written statement. Lieberman, 82, a former Connecticut state senator and attorney general who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988, developed a reputation for bipartisanship during his years in Washington. Lieberman was also the first Jewish-American candidate nominated on a major party ticket.

➤STABBINGS CLAIM 4 DEAD: Four people were killed and five more were wounded in a mass stabbing early Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. A 22-year-old man thought to be the sole attacker was in custody. On the block late into the evening, a woman clutched her tote bag as she left the taped-off crime scene in the 2300 block of Holmes Street. Outside a low-slung blue house, people clustered with men in blue gloves while a neighbor peered out his window a few homes over.  Of the five people wounded, one was listed in critical condition while the others were stable, Rockford police Chief Carla Redd told reporters Wednesday. At least one of the victims’ injuries was neither stabbing nor gunshot-related, she said. Authorities had not determined a motive. Those killed include a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman and two men, ages 22 and 49, police said in a news release late Wednesday evening. Their identities weren’t immediately released.

➤KAYAKERS RESCUED: A group of 33 kayakers consisting of adults and children were saved after being stranded inside a cave on a Tennessee lake, according to authorities. The Haletown Volunteer Fire Department responded to the Nickajack Cave Wildlife Area near Chattanooga on Monday around 8:42 p.m. for "a mass water rescue," the department said in a Facebook post. When the volunteer firefighters arrived, they were helped by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Puckett EMS and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in rescuing the kayakers. "The tour group had become stranded in the high winds and choppy waters forming ahead of today's storm," according to the volunteer firefighters' Facebook post.4

➤DISNEY, DeSANTIS SETTLE:  Disney agreed to settle a long-running legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over control of the land that’s home to its most important resort. Disney’s truce with the entity that oversees the Orlando-area resort’s land and infrastructure gives DeSantis more power and influence over Disney’s operations in the Sunshine State. The settlement also enables Disney to announce the details about planned investments in its parks business. The company’s annual meeting is Wednesday.

➤RUSSIA STILL BLAMES UKRAINE AND WEST FOR CONCERT MASSACRE: Russia doubled down on blaming Ukraine and the West for last week’s Moscow concert massacre. Islamic State is responsible for the attack that killed at least 143 people and left hundreds wounded, Western officials have said, and the group claimed responsibility. Russia has provided no evidence of Ukrainian complicity. Kyiv has denied any involvement in the attack, and the U.S. yesterday dismissed Moscow’s claim. Russian investigators today said they were looking into reports that the U.S. and other Western countries had been financing and helping with terrorist attacks in their country. Blaming Ukraine is Moscow’s attempt to divert attention away from security failures that appear to have allowed the attackers into the concert hall, analysts say.


➤SUBARU ISSUES RECALL: Subaru of America is recalling over 118,000 of certain Outback and Legacy vehicles due to a potential issue with deployment of air bags in a crash. According to a recall notice posted Friday from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, around 118,723 of 2020-2022 Subaru Outback and Legacy vehicles are affected by the recall. VA capacitor in the sensors for the occupant detection system may crack and short circuit, which can prevent the front passenger air bag from deploying in a crash. Subaru dealers will replace the sensors on the front passenger seat, free of charge. Letters informing the owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed by May 21 and owners will receive a second letter once the remedy for the recall is available.


🥚EGGFLATION IS BACK: Most Americans wait until the Holy Week to shop for Easter, but no matter how long you wait this year, eggs aren’t likely to go on sale for much less than they are now. Let's crack it open: A dozen eggs cost around $3, on average, according to Federal Reserve data. That’s down from January 2023’s record $4.82, but still more than double the $1.45 average cost before the pandemic in February 2020. Will the prices be enough to dissuade people from dyeing a lot of eggs?

⚾DODGERS, WILL SMITH AGREE TO 10-YEAR DEAL: The Los Angeles Dodgers and catcher Will Smith have agreed to a 10-year contract extension worth $140 million, the team announced Wednesday. Almost $45 million of that will be deferred, according to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, and includes a $30 million signing bonus. This is the third largest in MLB history ever given to a catcher. Ahead of Smith's pact would be Joe Mauer's $184 million extension with the Twins (2011-18) and Buster Posey's $167 million extension with the Giants (2013-21).  Smith, who turns 29 on Thursday, was slated to reach free agency after the 2025 season.

⚾YANKEES MAKE LAST MINUTE TRADE:  The New York Yankees have acquired veteran infielder Jon Berti from the Miami Marlins in exchange for outfield prospect John Cruz, Jon Heyman reports. According to CBS Sports, Craig Mish initially reported that the Yankees were trading for Berti. and MLB.com's Christina De Nicola identified it as a three-way trade also involving the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees' American League East rivals. The New York Post's Joel Sherman reports that catcher Ben Rortvedt will be going from the Yankees to the Rays in the trade, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times adds that the Rays are sending outfield prospect Shane Sasaki to the Marlins. The Yankees figure to install Berti as their starting third baseman to begin the regular season. Injuries to DJ LeMahieu (bone bruise on foot) and Oswald Peraza (shoulder strain) have the Yankees in a clear state of need at the position.  Berti, 34, had been in the mix for Miami's starting shortstop job.

⚾MLB OPENING DAY: 2024 baseball season gets started in earnest on Thursday, with almost all Major League Baseball teams scheduled to be in action. Originally, all 30 MLB teams were slated to play, but there were two rainouts on Thursday's schedule: Mets vs. Brewers in New York and Phillies vs. Braves in Philadelphia. Those four teams will start their seasons on Friday, but everyone else is in action Thursday. The 2024 MLB regular season technically started last week with the two-game Seoul Series between the Dodgers and Padres in South Korea, but Thursday marks the true start of the season. The 2024 MLB Opening Day schedule gets started at 3:05 p.m. ET with Orioles vs. Angels at Camden Yards. A majority of the games will be held in the afternoon, including Dodgers vs. Cardinals and Astros vs. Yankees. The reigning champion Rangers will celebrate their 2023 World Series title before they host the Cubs at 7:35 p.m. ET, and Mariners vs. Red Sox is an intriguing part of a three-game nightcap.

🗲HURRICANE FORECAST..POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE: AccuWeather on Wednesday released its seasonal forecast, predicting a “potentially explosive” hurricane season this summer and fall. The season runs June 1 to the end of November, but there is the potential for tropical systems — storms that gain their energy from hot sea surface temperatures as opposed to a front – forming early this year. 

The forecast called for 20 to 25 named storms, with eight to 12 of those strengthening into hurricanes, and four to six of those storms potentially directly impacting the U.S. An average season has 14 named storms. By contrast, the 2023 season had 20 named storms with seven hurricanes. Hurricane Idalia was the only 2023 storm to make landfall in the U.S., striking the Big Bend region of Florida on Aug. 30 as a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds.

➤THURSDAY'S WEATHER MAP:



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