Search for bodies: Divers were back in the waters of the Patapsco River at Baltimore this morning as the search continued for the bodies of victims of yesterday’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. A container ship lost propulsion and steering and hit a bridge support structure. Members of a road crew had been filling potholes on the bridge’s roadway when the collapse occurred. Six are missing and presumed dead. President Biden said that he wants the federal government to cover the costs of rebuilding the bridge and that the Army Corps of Engineers is already starting to plan for removing the debris so the Port of Baltimore can be reopened. The ship’s data recorder has been recovered by investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Gag order: Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding in the case in which Donald Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels has imposed a gag order on Trump. Trump is banned from making statements about jurors, witnesses, court employees, prosecutors, lawyers and their families. Judge Merchan said Trump has a history of making threatening, inflammatory and denigrating statements about people involved in court cases brought against him. The ban does not apply to statements by Trump about Merchan or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the hush money case against Trump.
NBC dumps McDaniel: NBC News has reversed itself and announced that former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel will no longer be employed as a political commentator. McDaniel, who was ousted from the RNC by Donald Trump, had spread false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and also was active in various schemes to overthrow the government and keep Trump in power. Members of the staff at NBC News including many on-air personalities went public with their criticism of the network for hiring McDaniel.
U.N. food report: Households across all continents wasted over one billion meals a day in 2022, while 783 million people were affected by hunger and a third of humanity faced food insecurity, according to a report issued today by the United Nation’s Environment Programme (UNEP). The report says that food waste continues to hurt the global economy and fuel climate change, nature loss, and pollution. According to recent data, food loss and waste generates 8% to 10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, almost 5 times that of the aviation sector. The U.N. has set a goal of cutting in half food waste by 2030, particularly in retail stores and food service establishments.
Israel-Hamas negotiations: A spokesperson for Qatar says that talks involving Israeli officials and representatives of Hamas continue in an effort to reach a cease-fire deal and hostage release. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said he was pulling Israel out of those talks after the U.S. failed to veto a U.N. resolution demanding a cease-fire. Israeli police arrested several people last night as protesters shut down a major highway in Tel Aviv. The protesters were demanding that Israel continue to negotiate with Hamas until a deal is reached that will free the remaining hostages.
Jackpot winner: There was a single winner of the $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawing last night. The winning ticket was sold in Neptune, New Jersey. A New Jersey state law allows lottery winners to remain anonymous. One ticket sold in New York was a $2 million winner, and there were tickets valued at $1 million sold in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, Colorado and Florida. A Powerball drawing to be held tonight has a jackpot worth $865 million.
Cover photo of U.N. building via Google Maps.
