(WASHINGTON) — Consumer prices rose 3.3% in May compared to a year ago, easing slightly from the previous month and outperforming economists’ expectations.
The data arrived hours before the Federal Reserve is set to announce a decision about whether to move its benchmark interest rate.
Price increases have slowed significantly from a peak of about 9%, but inflation still stands more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
For nearly a year, the Fed has held interest rates steady at their highest level since 2001, hoping that elevated borrowing costs would slow economic activity, reduce consumer demand and lower prices.
Instead, the economy has hummed along and price increases have largely stalled.
A jobs report released on Friday blew past economist expectations, demonstrating the resilient strength of the economy. Blockbuster hiring in May exceeded the average number of jobs added each month over the previous year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Average hourly wages surged 4.1% over the year ending in May, the report found. That rate of pay increase exceeds the pace of inflation, indicating that the spending power of workers has grown even as prices jump.
The data marks a boon for workers but could give pause to policymakers, since they fear that a rise in pay could prompt businesses to raise prices in order to cover the added labor cost.
Economic output slowed markedly at the outset of 2024, though it continued to grow at a solid pace.
The Fed, in turn, has all but abandoned a previous forecast of three interest rate cuts by the end of the year.
The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s decision-making body on interest rates, said last month that it does not anticipate cutting interest rates until it retains confidence that inflation is moving sustainably downward.
“So far the data has not given us that greater confidence,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month. “It is likely that gaining such greater confidence will take longer than previously expected.”
Economists expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady for the seventh consecutive time at the close of its meeting on Wednesday.
The Fed risks a rebound of inflation if it cuts interest rates too quickly, since stronger consumer demand on top of solid economic activity could lead to an acceleration of price increases.
A prolonged period of high interest rates, however, threatens to place downward pressure on economic growth and plunge the U.S. into a recession.
Price increases have drawn attention from voters as the U.S. hurtles toward what appears to be a closely contested presidential election in the fall.
Eighty-five percent of U.S. adults surveyed by ABC News/Ipsos last month said inflation is an important issue, making it the second-highest priority among adults surveyed. The top priority, the economy, also relates to individuals’ perceptions of price increases.
On each of those issues, the economy and inflation, those surveyed by ABC News/Ipsos said they trusted former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden by a margin of 14 percentage points.
“Inflation is something that affects absolutely everybody,” Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution, previously told ABC News. “People notice it, whether they’re rich or poor.”
(ATLANTA) — One person was fatally shot in connection with a bus hijacking that prompted a police chase through two Georgia counties on Tuesday, authorities said.
The incident began at approximately 4:35 p.m. ET in downtown Atlanta, when police responded to a report of gunfire on a Gwinnett County Transit bus and a “possible hostage situation,” the Atlanta Police Department said.
“Upon the officers’ arrival at the scene, the bus fled the location, and a pursuit ensued,” the Atlanta Police Department said in a press release.
The suspect held the bus driver at gunpoint during the hijacking, according to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
There were 17 people on the bus at the time, including the bus driver, according to Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum.
During the pursuit, police received a 911 call from a family member of an occupant of the bus “saying he was receiving text messages that there had been a hijacking and that individuals were being held hostage against their will,” Schierbaum told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday evening.
Police then received another 911 call made from the bus, which remained open throughout the pursuit and provided information that helped “craft an end of this hostage situation,” the chief said.
The ensuing pursuit spanned multiple jurisdictions, during which police attempted “various tactics” to stop the bus, police said. The vehicle was ultimately disabled by a SWAT vehicle in Stone Mountain in DeKalb County, approximately 16 miles northeast of where the incident began, police said.
DeKalb County SWAT officers “strategically positioned the Bearcat to prevent any avenues of escape,” the DeKalb County Police Department said in a statement.
The suspect — a 39-year-old man from Stone Mountain — was taken into custody without further incident, police said.
SWAT officers found the gunshot victim while clearing the bus, DeKalb County police said. The victim was transported in critical condition to a local hospital, where they died, Atlanta police said. The name of the victim has not yet been released, pending family notification.
Investigators are working to determine when the shooting occurred, Schierbaum said.
No other injuries were reported.
The investigation remains ongoing, Atlanta police said.
The bus shooting and hijacking occurred after a separate, unrelated incident where gunfire broke out at a food court at a downtown Atlanta shopping center on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Three people were injured, and an off-duty Atlanta police officer shot the armed suspect, police said.
The suspect in the bus hijacking boarded the bus near the shopping center but was not involved in that shooting, Schierbaum said. The suspects in both incidents are convicted felons, he said.
Mayor Dickens decried the spate of gun violence that occurred Tuesday and said it is the “result of too many people having guns in their hands.”
“We all have to say enough is enough when it comes to too many people having guns in their hands and using them in violence,” he said. “I’m thankful for the men and women of the Atlanta Police Department and all these agencies here that minimized what could have been even more dangerous.”
(KYIV, Ukraine) — Ukraine on Tuesday launched its Unmanned Systems Forces, a new branch of its military focused on drone warfare that officials said was the first of its kind.
“Ukraine is the only country in the world that has created the Unmanned Systems Forces, and this gives hope for the creation of a coalition of countries,” said Ivan Havryliuk, deputy minister of Defense of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced the creation of the new branch in February, saying that Ukrainian military drones “have proven their effectiveness in battles on land, in the sky and at sea.”
The new branch’s commander — Col. Vadym Sukharevskyi, 39 — was appointed to the position just a day before Tuesday’s launch. He has been fighting against Russia since 2014. The commander goes by the callsign “Borsuk,” which translates to “Badger,” and has been referred to as a legend of the Russian-Ukrainian war. He was the first to give an order to open fire on the Russian militants in April 2014 as they were seizing the Donetsk region.
Drones have became a key piece of new technology for both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war. At first the Ukrainian Air Force used small commercial drones, like the DJI Mavic, for reconnaissance and dropping grenades. Then they switched to first-person view drones to attack enemy personnel and vehicles. And during the last two years, Ukrainians have developed a series of different kinds of aerial, land and water drones to help to fight against the Russians when Ukraine doesn’t have enough heavy weapons, artillery and jets.
“We have everything to win the war against the Russian Federation. Everything to replace a person in the trench, at sea, in the air and underwater,” Havryliuk said.
“This is the future. No one has yet used maritime drones before Ukraine,” Ukrainian MP Vadym Ivchenko said, adding that Ukraine managed to defeat the Russian Black Sea fleet without having its own fully fledged sea fleet.
Oleksandr Yarmak, platoon uncrewed aerial vehicle commander, called the new branch a historical one of a global scale.
“This is an absolutely new structure in which nothing needs to be changed, instead we can create new approaches,” he said.
The branch’s emblem — an iron swallow — was created by AI.
“It is a tender swallow that turns into a revenge machine,” Yarmak said, adding that the swallow is among Ukrainian’s favorite birds and is featured in the song “Shchedryk,” a traditional New Year’s Eve song.
Sukharevskyi, the commander, said that with the launch of the new branch Ukraine showed the whole world that they have moved away from conservative approaches in the Armed Forces.
“By creating the USF, we began to prepare for the war of the future, not for the war of the past,” he said.
When asked by ABC News about American involvement, Sukharevskyi said, “The United States is one of our main strategic partners, and they are involved in many directions — from reconnaissance to drones production.”
“Coalition of drones works and it`s pretty efficient,” he said, referring to an organization of countries participating in the production and transfer of drones to Ukraine that consists of Latvia, Great Britain, Sweden, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands, Lithuania, Denmark, Canada and Australia.
The commander explained that those forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which already have UAV control units, will not be subordinated to the new command, so as not to disrupt the established system of work and not to create chaos.
Sukharevskyi said that during the first five months of 2024, the state supplied the Armed Forces of Ukraine with six times more drones than for the entire year of 2023.
First lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, joined by his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, leave the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 11, 2024 in Wilmington, Del. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Hunter Biden’s conviction Tuesday on three felony charges marks a historic moment — the first time a sitting president’s child has been found guilty of felonies. The verdict’s impact on the presidential race, however, may not match that moment.
Operatives in both parties predicted that the conviction would do little to move the needle in an election featuring two universally known candidates whose own poll numbers have refused to budge more than a few points even in light of historic developments surrounding President Joe Biden and Donald Trump themselves — including the former president’s own felony conviction last month.
“Considering how little the Trump verdict seemed to move the needle, I’m not sure Hunter’s will do anything either,” GOP pollster Robert Blizzard said of Hunter Biden’s conviction on three charges related to the purchase of a firearm while he was allegedly addicted to crack cocaine.
Hunter Biden, the president’s only living son, has been a target of Republican politics for years, with the GOP insisting he looped his father into years of his business dealings — claims the White House has repeatedly denied.
Joe Biden and Democrats, for their part, have sought to cast Republican talking points as conspiracy theories while the administration has emphasized the president’s support for his son and his recovery from addiction.
The messaging on each side is not anticipated to stop anytime soon, especially in a cycle where Republicans’ claims of a “rigged” justice system are a mainstay of today’s campaign rhetoric.
However, it’s unclear how much Hunter Biden’s conviction moves the race forward rather than keeps it where it is.
“I don’t think the verdict will materially impact the race,” said Republican strategist Rob Stutzman. “It does mute GOP claims that the Biden DOJ is weaponized against Trump and MAGA, but the election isn’t turning on that question.”
To be certain, Republicans still seized on the verdict as a bad look for the president that could impede his messaging.
Dave Carney, a veteran GOP strategist recently tapped to lead a new pro-Trump super PAC, said the ruling could have “some” impact on the race but also cut into new attacks from the Biden campaign against Trump’s convictions.
“It takes the ‘convicted felon’ issue off the table for Biden. Their toolbox is looking bleaker,” he said, referencing a newly common phrase in statements from the president’s camp.
Others touted vindication on Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop, a device introduced into evidence that was allegedly left with a Wilmington, Delaware, computer repairman. Republicans had claimed the computer included personal details, while Democrats dismissed that messaging as a conspiracy theory — an assertion that GOP strategist Scott Jennings said could rub voters the wrong way after the laptop was essentially validated by being introduced as evidence.
“I do think Biden’s ability to recover is going to be based somewhat on whether people find him to be credible,” he added. “Do they think he’s telling them the truth? Do they believe it when he says things to them about himself or about Donald Trump? And now, one of the problems is they know full well he lied right to their face about this laptop.”
Democrats swatted away any claims that voters would negatively link the president to Tuesday’s verdict.
While Republicans have been railing against Hunter Biden’s business dealings for years, strategists estimated that undecided voters would not be swayed by the conviction amid concerns over other issues, including Trump’s own legal hurdles.
“I don’t think Hunter Biden matters to folks much at all except for extreme Trumpers who will say ‘see!’ But their candidate got convicted, not one of his kids. That’s a voting issue. The Trump verdict I think could force some lean conservative people to stay home. No poll can measure that. No one is staying home because of Hunter,” said Democratic strategist Peter Giangreco, who worked on former President Barack Obama’s campaigns.
Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson said “voters know that there’s only one candidate for president who thinks he’s above the law and is convicted of 34 felonies for fraud.”
Hunter Biden’s conviction also echoes struggles of millions of families across the country who have a loved one battling addiction, with Democrats suggesting the verdict may be both difficult to attack on the trail and relatable to everyday Americans.
“On one hand, it reminds us that President Biden’s lived experience is more like the majority of Americans than Trump’s. Millions of American families deal with addiction, the impact of addiction and the journey of recovery,” said Democratic strategist Karen Finney, a veteran of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Biden fundraiser John Morgan said “only a person with no heart would not be sympathetic” to the story of addiction and recovery.
“And [Biden] isn’t saying the trial is rigged. The contrast between the two trials will be a huge boost for the president,” Morgan added.
Joe Biden for his part largely sought to avoid any political commentary on the verdict, releasing a personal statement only from the White House and not from his campaign.
“As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery. As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal,” the president said in a statement.
(WASHINGTON) — For years, Hala Rharrit was a career veteran diplomat who took pride talking about American values such as human rights and freedom of the press.
Now, she’s the first U.S. diplomat to resign her post in protest of Biden administration policies toward Israel and the war in Gaza.
In an interview with ABC News this week, Rharrit said she believes the steady stream of U.S. bombs and other weapons sent to Israel with few conditions is putting America’s national security at risk as the Arab world grows more volatile — and hostile to U.S. interests — than ever.
“None of this is helping Israel,” Rharrit said of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
And the policy of shipping military aid with few conditions to Israel is “fundamentally bad for America,” she added.
The idea of diplomats and career government workers quitting their posts isn’t new. Resignations also occurred in the George W. Bush administration during the Iraq War as officials questioned the rationale for the U.S. invasion and deaths of American service members.
Those protest resignations are back on the rise this spring as Rharrit has been joined by nearly a dozen government workers in recent months who have abruptly resigned in protest of Biden administration policies toward Israel and the Gaza conflict.
Others to leave their federal government jobs include Josh Paul and Stacy Gilbert — both longtime officials at the State Department who had direct roles in overseeing U.S. policy toward Israel — and U.S. Army Maj. Harrison Mann, an executive officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Middle East-Africa Regional Center.
The State Department declined to discuss personnel issues, but said officials have sought feedback from its employees throughout the war.
“I can say broadly that our staff have many ways to provide feedback and recommendations, both through the dissent channel and through more routine mechanisms including cables, emails, meetings, and spot reports,” a State Department spokesperson wrote in a statement.
“Since October 7, the Department has held multiple listening sessions specifically designed to give policy feedback related to the conflict. The Secretary, Deputy Secretaries, and Undersecretaries have participated in these sessions,” the statement added.
From the Biden administration’s standpoint, the steady flow of ammunition to Israel and statements of “ironclad” support were necessary to deter Iran and its proxies in the region, as well as terror groups like Hamas.
Officials also note that Hamas is to blame for the startling civilian death toll by hiding in encampments and in hospitals and schools. Hamas could lessen hostilities, they say, by releasing the remaining hostages and surrendering to Israel, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the notion of a permanent cease-fire.
U.S. advisers close to Biden also insist they haven’t given Israel a pass — repeatedly calling out Israel for not doing enough to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and publicly demanded that Israel do more to protect civilians, including thousands who has sought shelter in the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
Meanwhile, Israel also has accused Hamas of operating from civilian sites and insisted Israel won’t be safe until every Hamas fighter is eradicated.
For Rharrit, part of her job at the State Department immediately following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel was to report back to Washington how Arab audiences viewed the conflict. As an Arab-language spokesperson based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Rharrit would scour local media outlets and track popular personalities on social media reporting on the war.
What Arab audiences watched, she said, was mostly traumatized images of children being killed or severely wounded in Israel’s bombing campaign. Young people, freshly orphaned, were everywhere, too — vowing revenge against Israel and the U.S. for supplying the weapons. There were also images of aid trucks backed up along the border juxtaposed with infants dying of malnutrition.
At the same time, Rharrit said she was given talking points to deliver to those Arab outlets — carefully crafted phrases approved from State Department headquarters in Washington.
“Israel has a right to defend itself” and “the U.S. stands with Israel” were the oft-repeated phrases that omitted any mention of the heavy death toll of civilians, journalists and aid workers inside Gaza.
Rharrit said she pushed back, telling higher-ups the talking points were “disconnected” from what Arabs were seeing on their phones. The statements also were at odds with Biden administration statements on other conflicts like Ukraine that frequently called out attacks on civilians, offered condolences to communities and called for the protection of journalists, she said.
Then in January, her headquarters in Washington asked her to stop filing reports because they were no longer needed, she said.
When asked about the details, the State Department said reporting written by “the Dubai Regional Media Hub’s reporting after the October 7 attacks was read at the highest levels of the Department.”
From Rharrit’s viewpoint, senior officials at the State Department were willfully choosing to ignore how the nearly unconditional flow of offensive weapons to Israel was damaging support for U.S. policies overseas and its standing on the international stage.
“We [the U.S.], in the Arab world were seen as complicit because we were surging munitions” to Israel, said Rharrit, who resigned April 24.
In May, Biden took the unprecedented step of withholding a single shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel — devastating, non-precision weapons he said Israel could use to kill civilians — in a bid to urge restraint in Rafah. The move was meant with swift and angry pushback from Republican lawmakers who said he had no right to withhold an aid package Congress had approved.
Other military aid continues to flow to Israel, as it has for decades, including both offensive and defensive weapons.
A recent report by the State Department concluded that it was “reasonable to assess” that U.S. weapons have been used by Israel in a way that is “inconsistent” with Israel’s obligation under international law. At the same time, the report concluded the U.S. didn’t have “complete information” and would not withhold weapons to Israel.
Hamas killed some 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and more than 240 were kidnapped in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, according to Israeli officials.
The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health estimates more than 37,000 people have been killed in the conflict, although those numbers could not be independently verified.
Israel has denied that it has violated international humanitarian laws and said it has the right to eliminate the same Hamas fighters that attacked civilians on Oct. 7.
Rharrit said she believes more staff resignations are possible. Still, she acknowledges many of her former colleagues are hoping the war will end before that happens and are waiting it out.
Either way, Rharrit said she believes there is a heightened risk for Americans working abroad, including U.S. service members stationed in the Middle East and diplomatic staff, because, she said, the U.S. is now inextricably bound to this war.
While none has been attacked so far, “the administration is willfully putting a target on our backs,” she said.
(WASHINGTON) — The release of inflation data on Wednesday will reveal the latest movement for consumer prices, which continue to strain households and top surveys of voter priorities less than five months before the November election.
The data will arrive hours before the Federal Reserve announces a decision about whether to move its benchmark interest rate.
Economists expect prices to have risen 3.4% over the year ending in May, which would leave the inflation rate unchanged from the previous month. Such a reading would extend a bout of stubborn inflation that stretches back to last year.
Price increases have slowed significantly from a peak of about 9%, but inflation still stands more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
For nearly a year, the Fed has held interest rates steady at their highest level since 2001, hoping that elevated borrowing costs would slow economic activity, reduce consumer demand and lower prices.
Instead, the economy has hummed and price increases have stalled.
A jobs report released on Friday blew past economist expectations, demonstrating the resilient strength of the economy. Blockbuster hiring in May exceeded the average number of jobs added each month over the previous year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Average hourly wages surged 4.1% over the year ending in May, the report found. That rate of pay increase exceeds the pace of inflation, indicating that the spending power of workers has grown even as prices jump.
The data marks a boon for workers but could give pause to policymakers, since they fear that a rise in pay could prompt businesses to raise prices in order to cover the added labor cost.
Economic output slowed markedly at the outset of 2024, though it continued to grow at a solid pace.
The Fed, in turn, has all but abandoned a previous forecast of three interest rate cuts by the end of the year.
The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s decision-making body on interest rates, said last month that it does not anticipate cutting interest rates until it retains confidence that inflation is moving sustainably downward.
“So far the data has not given us that greater confidence,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month. “It is likely that gaining such greater confidence will take longer than previously expected.”
Economists expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady for the seventh consecutive time at the close of its meeting on Wednesday.
The Fed risks a rebound of inflation if it cuts interest rates too quickly, since stronger consumer demand on top of solid economic activity could lead to an acceleration of price increases.
A prolonged period of high interest rates, however, risks placing downward pressure on economic growth and plunging the U.S. into a recession.
Price increases have drawn attention from voters as the U.S. hurtles toward what appears to be a closely contested presidential election in the fall.
Eighty-five percent of U.S. adults surveyed by ABC News/Ipsos last month said inflation is an important issue, making it the second-highest priority among adults surveyed. The top priority, the economy, also relates to individuals’ perceptions of price increases.
On each of those issues, the economy and inflation, those surveyed by ABC News/Ipsos said they trusted former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden by a margin of 14 percentage points.
“Inflation is something that affects absolutely everybody,” Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution, previously told ABC News. “People notice it, whether they’re rich or poor.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will announce its latest decision on interest rates, just hours after fresh inflation data is set to reveal the status of the central bank’s fight to slow price increases.
At six consecutive meetings spanning nearly a year, the Fed has opted to hold rates steady in response to elevated inflation and robust economic performance. Economists expect the Fed to continue that approach on Wednesday.
In theory, the prolonged stretch of high interest rates should weigh on economic activity, reduce consumer demand and cut prices. Instead, a resilient economy and stubborn inflation have defied the Fed’s efforts.
Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of 9.1%, but price increases have held steady in recent months and remain more than a percentage point higher than the Fed’s target rate of 2%.
The Fed has all but abandoned a previous forecast of three interest rate cuts by the end of the year.
The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s decision-making body on interest rates, said last month that it does not anticipate cutting interest rates until it retains confidence that inflation is moving sustainably downward.
“So far the data has not given us that greater confidence,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month. “It is likely that gaining such greater confidence will take longer than previously expected.”
Some observers expect the Fed to forgo interest rate cuts for the remainder of 2024.
Roger Aliaga-Diaz, chief economist at the investment giant Vanguard, said in a statement to ABC News that the Fed would keep interest rates at current levels for at least the next six months.
The forecast, Aliaga-Diaz added, owes to “inadequate progress in the inflation fight and continued growth and labor momentum.”
In a note to clients, Deutsche Bank echoed skepticism about rate cuts anytime soon.
“Fed officials have clearly signaled that they are in a wait-and-see mode with respect to the timing and magnitude of rate cuts,” the note said.
The Fed risks a rebound of inflation if it cuts interest rates too quickly, since stronger consumer demand on top of solid economic activity could lead to an acceleration of price increases.
A prolonged period of high interest rates, however, threatens to place downward pressure on economic growth and plunge the U.S. into a recession.
A jobs report released on Friday blew past economist expectations, demonstrating the resilient strength of the economy. Blockbuster hiring in May exceeded the average number of jobs added each month over the previous year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Average hourly wages surged 4.1% over the year ending in May, the report found. That rate of pay increase exceeds the pace of inflation, indicating that the spending power of workers has grown even as prices jump.
The data marks a boon for workers but could give pause to policymakers, since they fear that a rise in pay could prompt businesses to raise prices in order to cover the added labor cost.
Economic output slowed markedly at the outset of 2024, though it continued to grow at a solid pace.
While the Fed has resisted lowering interest rates, consumers have faced high borrowing costs for everything from mortgages to credit cards.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.99%, according to Freddie Mac data released last week.
When the Fed imposed its first rate hike of the current series in March 2022, the average 30-year fixed mortgage stood at just 3.85%, Freddie Mac data showed.
In an aerial view, salvage crews continue to clean up wreckage from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Patapsco River on June 11, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(BALTIMORE) — The Port of Baltimore’s federal channel was safely reopened to its original dimensions of 700 feet wide by 500 feet deep without any major injuries, The White House said.
Work continues to remove debris outside of the McHenry Federal Channel, and a safety zone will be maintained to protect workers. Deep draft vessels will be required to have a single escort tug until the work is complete.
The preliminary costs to rebuild the bridge as quoted by the Department of Transportation are between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion, officials said.
A 984-foot-long cargo ship, the Dali, struck the Key Bridge on March 26, triggering a collapse that killed six workers and affected entry into the port. The ship was refloated and moved from the crash site on May 20.
Around 50,000 tons of steel were cleared, equivalent to 3,800 fully loaded dump trucks, according to Maj. Gen. Butch Graham of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Graham credited crane operators, divers, mariners and salvage workers for their efforts, stating they have been working below, underneath and on the Patapsco River since March 30.
According to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, traffic redirected to other ports earlier should now be able to pass through.
“Our belief and expectation is that all of those disruptions and adaptations, as important as they were, were temporary and that traffic that would have been going to Baltimore the day before this happened, belongs in Baltimore today,” the secretary said.
He added, “We have every indication that that is what is taking place, but we’ll be reinforcing that expectation as we speak with players up and down the supply chains, including a conversation that we plan to have later this week.”
Buttigieg said the port opening’s major impact would be on local workers, especially the International Longshoremen’s Association workers, as they were not working with ships not arriving at the Port of Baltimore.
“We felt enormous urgency about making sure that we did everything we could to get back to normal there,” he said. “And now those workers can count on that business returning. It’s been a gradual process, and some of them have been working for some time. Now we can say that it is fully back to normal.”
Buttigieg reiterated President Joe Biden’s intention to secure federal funding for rebuilding the bridge and added that the Maryland delegation is leading a process in Congress to make that happen.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Police in Memphis have detained two people after three juveniles and one adult were left critically injured in a shooting incident on Tuesday night, officials said.
Memphis Police responded to a shooting call at 5:12 p.m. CT near 240 West and Poplar Avenue.
Four people found injured were taken to Baptist East hospital, where they remain in critical condition, police said.
While investigating, officers spotted a suspect vehicle and police began a pursuit, officials said. As the chase ensued, one officer was in a car wreck at the 3500 block of James.
With other officers still in pursuit of the suspect vehicle, the suspect — who has not been named — also ended up in a wreck.
Police detained two individuals after what they said was “a brief foot chase” that followed the vehicle pursuit.
The officer who was involved in the wreck is uninjured, Memphis police said.
(ATLANTA) — The Georgia Bureau of Investigations said Tuesday night it’s stepping in at the request of the Atlanta Police Department to investigate following an officer-involved shooting at an Atlanta mall earlier in the day.
Jeremy Malone, 34, who the GBI has identified as a suspect, went to the Peachtree Center Mall in Atlanta, Georgia, around 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Inside the mall, he “got into an altercation with a man, and Malone pulled out a gun and shot him,” the GBI alleged.
The suspect also shot and injured two other people in the food court, police and the GBI said.
As people fled for safety, an off-duty Atlanta police officer confronted the armed suspect and shot him, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said.
The three victims and the suspect were treated at local hospitals. The victims are said to be in stable condition and receiving treatment, the GBI said Tuesday night.
The victims were identified as a 47-year-old man, a 69-year-old woman and a 70-year-old woman, police said.
Malone has since been released into the custody of the Atlanta police, officials said.
The suspect’s handgun was recovered, police said.
The suspect has served prison time for armed robbery, Schierbaum said.
“This is an individual who should have never been possessing a gun,” Schierbaum said.
