Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Search Stopped, Six Presumed Dead In Baltimore Bridge Destruction
The search-and-rescue efforts in Baltimore turned into a recovery mission last night at the scene of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Six people remain missing who were working on the bridge when a support footing was struck by the container ship Dali, sending the bridge and the workers into the frigid waters below. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon N. Gilreath said yesterday afternoon, “We do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” referencing the water temperature and the amount of time the people had been missing. Rescue crews used sonar to look for victims of the bridge collapse and found at least five vehicles in the 50-foot-deep water, including three passenger cars, a cement truck, and another unidentified vehicle. Authorities said they don’t believe anyone was inside the vehicles. Investigators quickly determined that the incident was an accident and not an act of terrorism, but that did little to stop the flow of conspiracy theories that erupted online about the tragedy.
2 Supreme Court Seems Ready To Reject Ban On Abortion Pills
During oral arguments yesterday, the Supreme Court seemed to show that it’s inclined to side with the Food and Drug Administration when it comes to the abortion drug mifepristone. The drug is taken with another to terminate an early pregnancy and was approved by the FDA in 2000. In 2016 and 2020, the FDA took things a step further and allowed it to be taken later in a pregnancy and delivered through the mail without visiting a doctor. After a group of anti-abortion rights doctors and medical associations filed suit against the FDA’s decisions, a federal appeals court found that the agency’s actions were unlawful, a decision that was appealed by the FDA to the Supreme Court. During yesterday’s arguments, the justices seemed to be doubtful that any of the plaintiffs had the standing to actually sue in an effort to reverse the FDA’s ruling. Two of the doctors in the lawsuit claim that they shouldn’t be required to provide medical care to someone who’s taken the drug because of their objection to abortion, but Justices Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Ketanji Brown Jackson all questioned the reach of the appeals court decision, and Chief Justice John Roberts asked why the courts couldn’t provide narrow relief to the doctors without targeting the FDAs approval for the entire country. The court is expected to issue its ruling on the case by June.
3 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Avoids Fraud Trial With New Deal
Prosecutors agreed yesterday to drop felony fraud charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in exchange for community service. Shortly after he entered office in 2015, Paxton was charged with allegedly defrauding investors by encouraging them to fund a tech startup up he was being paid to promote. Paxton pleaded not guilty, and the new agreement doesn’t require a plea; what it does require is community service, legal ethics courses, and restitution payments of almost $300,000. If he had been convicted of fraud, he could have spent decades in prison.