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A third temporary channel opened Saturday at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Commercial vessels were able to use the Fort Carroll Temporary Alternate Channel, which has a controlling depth of 20 feet, a 300-foot horizontal clearance and a vertical clearance of 135 feet. Earlier in the month, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said they expect to open a limited access channel to the Port of Baltimore by the end of April. The channel would support one-way traffic in and out of the port for barge container service and some vessels that move automobiles and farm...

The possibility of Ukraine's army collapsing cannot be ruled out, an unnamed US official told Bloomberg. The report said, citing talks with multiple officials, that Ukraine's position on the battlefield is at its most fragile moment since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Ukraine's war effort has been weakened in recent months by a severe shortage of ammunition, dipping morale among Ukrainian soldiers, and the impasse in Congress over US aid to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. One major risk is a collapse of Ukraine's line of defense, which would allow Russia to make a major advance, Bloomberg said, citing an...

Zach presents a good summary of some unanswered questions and anomalies surrounding the Baltimore bridge collapse. The video runs just over 27 minutes long.

In a sobering assessment reported by Politico, senior Ukrainian military officials have voiced grave concerns over the potential for the country's frontlines to collapse in the ongoing conflict with Russia.These officers, who served under former Commander-in-Chief General Valerij Zaluzjnyj, paint a grim picture of the situation, highlighting Russia's superior manpower and the effective use of new glide bombs as likely to lead to significant breakthroughs and the crumbling of Ukrainian defenses.According to these officials, Ukraine is at a severe disadvantage, lacking both the technological solutions and the sheer volume of resources needed to counter the Russian military's might."There's nothing that...

Joe Biden is demanding, and pronto, more of our tax money to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. He wants more from us—naturally—but America needs, as its first priority, to investigate and determine if the bridge’s destruction was in fact unintended… or malicious. Much documented evidence is emerging as to the bridge “accident” being in fact, a political, and likely international, cyber-attack. Whether or not this is so, something is off-kilter about the serial infrastructure fails happening all around us. It is time for a much closer look. As to Biden’s call for more cash, where are the...

WASHINGTON — Small businesses in Fayette County affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are eligible to apply for U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest loans. Fayette is one of eight Pennsylvania counties where small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses, and private nonprofit organizations now are eligible for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which carry interest rates of 4% (3.25% for private nonprofit organizations) and have terms of as long as 30 years. Businesses can borrow up to $2 million to pay operating expenses if their revenues dropped due to the disaster. Businesses in Maryland;...

On Sunday, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement that Hamas in Gaza may be "collapsing from within."Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that senior Hamas operatives captured by troops in the Gaza Strip have told interrogators “the group is collapsing from within.”“In the last week or two, hundreds of terrorists have been captured and what they say about what happened to them tells the whole story. They say that Hamas is collapsing from within, the price they are paying is very heavy,” Gallant said following an assessment at the 98th Division’s headquarters.“We’re going to eliminate everyone who...

Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that claiming the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was due to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies was “foolishness.” Host Dana Bash said, “Some Republicans are trying to blame the bridge collapse on policies that encourage workplace diversity. A Utah state representative who is running for governor tweeted, quote, ‘This is what happens when you have governors who prioritize diversity over the well-being and security of citizens.’ Another Republican running for Congress in Florida posted ‘DEI did this.’ What’s your response?”

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore came as quite a shock. After a massive container ship struck one of the bridge’s pillars, the entire span quickly fell apart, costing several lives. It’s hard to overstate the bridge’s importance, particularly for the automobile industry. In addition to handling 11 million vehicles per year, it provided a vital way for trucks to access the Port of Baltimore while avoiding the dense city core. The impact on the region will be felt for months, if not years. The question is, what now? President Joe Biden has said that the...

In this episode - maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the timeline released by the NTSB from the Dali's Vessel Data Recorder and lays out some of the questions, issues that have been raised, and questions that need to be answered.

When a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last year, Pete Buttigieg drew criticism for not showing up right away. In responding to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge — a far different crisis, this time at the center of his portfolio — he’s not making that mistake again. On the day the bridge collapsed, Buttigieg had planned a trip to Wyoming and Montana — what would have amounted to his 47th and 48th states visited as Transportation secretary — to tour infrastructure projects. But before leaving from Dulles International Airport on Tuesday, his work cell phone buzzed...

Tuesday on FNC’s “Hannity,” host Sean Hannity’s monologue focused on President Joe Biden’s reaction to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. Hannity criticized Biden for making the tragedy about him in his remarks regarding the incident. Partial transcript as follows: But we start with Joe Biden himself. Now, before the president and vice president departed on separate planes for an event in North Carolina — well, Joe did try to offer some brief remarks on the tragic bridge collapse that took place in Baltimore. Here is the sad and pathetic part, as per usual, Biden made it all...

Can a Civil Engineer weigh in on this?

The tragedy in Baltimore with the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is fresh. Brave people are currently searching the dangerous tangled wreckage for any possible survivors and the dead. But where the news media this morning is also talking about the impacts on shipping on the East Coast of the USA and the impacts on traffic on the East Coast it is a valid topic of discussion to consider the next steps. 1. Reopening the Port of Baltimore will be a priority. The NTSB will predictably conduct a speedy investigation and conclude the primary cause of the collapse...

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland which crosses the Patapsco River has reportedly Collapsed within the last few minutes after being Struck by a Large Container Ship

Almost unnoticed amid the drama and crisis that hit Latin America every week, in the last days of February the Cuban government asked the United Nations for aid to address a growing food shortage. The unprecedented cry for help from a communist regime that has always prided itself on its social welfare model captures Cuba’s dire economic straits. Hurt by tightened U.S. restrictions, decaying domestic production, a weak post-COVID-19 tourism industry and indifference from its allies, the island is living through its worst economic days since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. A string of...

W5 takes an in-depth look into who Russia's oligarchs are, and whether sanctioning them would stop President Vladimir Putin's invasion in Ukraine. ...... Follow along using the transcript.

Johannesburg and the large township of Soweto nearby have been forced to endure several days without water as electricity problems have knocked out pumping stations and a late summer heat wave has strained reservoirs. Residents have been forced to rely on bottled water as local utilities have turned down water pressure, or turned off water completely. And outside Johannesburg’s wealthier, leafy suburbs, spare water has been in short supply. South Africa’s Daily Maverick reported: On Sunday, 17 March, Johannesburg Water said the system remained under “severe strain”, and the bulk supplier, Rand Water, warned that its system faced imminent collapse....

Claim: Biden claimed that the U.S. economy was on the brink of disaster when he took office. “I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world!” Biden said. Verdict: False. President Biden inherited an economy that was strongly rebounding from the pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the economy grew at an annual rate of 4.3 percent. In the prior quarter, it had grown at an annual rate of 33.1 percent, as the economy whipsawed from lockdown to reopening. As Biden took office, in the first quarter of 2021, the...

There have been murmurs for at least the last ten years about the potential for civil war in the United States. Polls have shown that roughly half the country believes that future conflict is likely. The intrusion of unchecked government power into every crevice of our private lives has transformed politics into a high-stakes cage match in which furious citizens fight to survive. Because government exerts so much control over citizens, winning control of government has become an existential imperative. Such zero-sum thinking has fractured society and pitted Americans against one another. However, something fundamental has been shifting beneath our...