Baltimore City suing owner and operator of cargo ship involved in Key Bridge collapse

Tuesday will mark four weeks since the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was destroyed by a cargo ship, slamming into one of its main vertical supports, and now the city is taking legal action.

Baltimore City is suing the owner and operator of the Dali cargo ship in the collapse. The city blames the owners for having faulty equipment on the cargo carrier.

The city claims the crew was incompetent and inattentive in allowing the ship to crash into the bridge. Baltimore is not only seeking damages related to the lost revenue at the city’s port, but also the cost of replacing the bridge.

The owners of the Dali have sought to protect themselves by using an old maritime law, which limits damages to the value of items on the vessel.

Six construction workers were killed in the collapse. Two remain missing.

Baltimore Mayor Scott unveils updated crime-fighting strategy with new focus on youth justice

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, surrounded by city officials, on Monday unveiled an updated crime-fighting strategy, with a new focus on youth justice. Scott provided updates on Baltimore’s Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, which was first released in June 2021. He pointed to cuts in the number of homicides in the city, including 28 fewer than on this date a year ago.

“Our comprehensive, public health-informed approach to public safety in Baltimore has achieved remarkable results in its first two years of implementation, but there is still significant work to do,” Scott said in a news release. “Our efforts to build out the systems and infrastructure needed to treat violence as a public health epidemic, together with the efforts of the brave men and women at BPD, helped produce an historic 20% reduction in homicides in 2023.

Trump opening statements to begin in hush money trial

ONFIRE-TV.com – After four days of jury selection, the first criminal trial of a former president gets rolling this week in New York.

Judge Juan Merchan indicated that he expects opening statements to begin Monday in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump, after 12 jurors and six alternates were sworn in last week.