All posts tagged: Baltimore

Body of the 6th Baltimore bridge collapse victim recovered in the river

Body of the 6th Baltimore bridge collapse victim recovered in the river

Published by skeptic

Workers remove wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Baltimore. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption toggle caption Matt Rourke/AP Workers remove wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Baltimore. Matt Rourke/AP The body of the last missing construction worker following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has been recovered from the Patapsco River, officials say. In a news release Tuesday, the Baltimore County Police Department confirmed the identity of the sixth victim — José Mynor López, 37, of Baltimore — after salvage teams located his body. All six construction workers who were missing and presumed dead following the incident have been found. “With heavy hearts, today marks a significant milestone in our recovery efforts and providing closure to the loved ones of the six workers who lost their lives in this tragic event,” Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., superintendent of the Maryland Department of State Police, said. The discovery comes days after salvage workers recovered the body of a fifth …

Explosives will be used to help free Dali from Baltimore Key Bridge

Explosives will be used to help free Dali from Baltimore Key Bridge

Published by skeptic

Salvage crews are preparing to use explosives to separate the Dali container ship and the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore more than a month after it collapsed. The precision explosive charges will be used to free the parts of the bridge that are stuck on top of containers on the ship, Unified Command Petty Officer Ronald Hodges said, reported by NBC News. The ship’s crew, which has remained on board since the initial crash, will shelter in place when the explosives are detonated. Hodge’s said the “unified command made that choice with their safety being their No. 1 priority.” The salvage crew members safety also remains a top priority. When asked why the ship’s crew would stay on board, Gov. Wes Moore (D) said what they are doing are “best practices and historic best practices” for removing large amounts of steel.” “We know that as soon as that operation, that precision cutting is done, then we also have the tools to be able to remove that steel from the water, to safely refloat the Dali, and to …

Baltimore Catholic parish closures a ‘punch in the stomach’ with long-term impact

Baltimore Catholic parish closures a ‘punch in the stomach’ with long-term impact

Published by Sam

BALTIMORE (RNS) — Patrice Ellerbe, a 65-year-old parishioner at St. Veronica, had come to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on April 30 for a public forum on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s proposed plan for closing about two-thirds of parishes in the city. She knew the bad news already: Two weeks before, the archdiocese had announced that her 79-year-old Black Catholic parish was among those proposed to close. “It felt like a punch in the stomach,” she said, a feeling the more than 1,000 Catholics gathered at the cathedral to give their feedback seemingly shared. As the plan was read out, the high arched ceilings of the nave began to echo with boos. The closures, in the nation’s oldest Catholic diocese, are part of a nationwide trend of restructuring in response to falling Mass attendance and priest shortages. In explaining the need to close Baltimore parishes, the archdiocese has focused on the first reason, pointing to weekend Mass attendance that has fallen below 8,000 in a city that used to have 250,000 active Catholics. At …

Fifth body recovered more than a month after Baltimore bridge collapse

Fifth body recovered more than a month after Baltimore bridge collapse

Published by skeptic

The body of a fifth person was recovered more than a month after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, officials said. Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, was found Wednesday, the Key Bridge Response Unified Command said in a statement. His body was located inside a red construction vehicle the Unified Command salvage teams found. Maryland State Police, the state’s Transportation Authority Police and the FBI assisted in the recovery. Family members of Jose Lopez, one of the men killed on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, touch handprints made on a memorial mural during a vigil on April 26 in Baltimore.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file “We remain dedicated to the ongoing recovery operations while knowing behind each person lost in this tragedy lies a loving family,” Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland Butler Jr. said in a statement. “Along with our local, state and federal partners, we ask that everyone extend their deepest sympathies and support to the families during this difficult time,” Butler added. One person …

Deepfake of Baltimore Principal Leads to Arrest of School Employee

Deepfake of Baltimore Principal Leads to Arrest of School Employee

Published by skeptic

A high school athletic director in the Baltimore area was arrested on Thursday after he used artificial intelligence software, the police said, to manufacture a racist and antisemitic audio clip that impersonated the school’s principal. Dazhon Darien, the athletic director of Pikesville High School, fabricated the recording — including a tirade about “ungrateful Black kids who can’t test their way out of a paper bag” — in an effort to smear the principal, Eric Eiswert, according to the Baltimore County Police Department. The faked recording, which was posted on Instagram in mid-January, quickly spread, roiling Baltimore County Public Schools, which is the nation’s 22nd-largest school district and serves more than 100,000 students. While the district investigated, Mr. Eiswert, who denied making the comments, was inundated with threats to his safety, the police said. He was also placed on administrative leave, the school district said. Now Mr. Darien is facing charges including disrupting school operations and stalking the principal. Mr. Eiswert referred a request for comment to a trade group for principals, the Council of Administrative …

Baltimore school principal targeted in faked audio AI scam

Baltimore school principal targeted in faked audio AI scam

Published by skeptic

In Baltimore, Maryland a former high school sports director has been arrested for using artificial intelligence to impersonate a principal, making the public believe he had made racist and anti-semitic comments. Dazhon Darien was detained by Baltimore County Police after he targeted the head of Pikesville High School, Eric Eiswert. As revealed by the Baltimore Banner, an audio clip was posted to a prominent Instagram account, revealing offensive remarks referencing “ungrateful Black kids” and their academic performance, and another comment containing a threat to “join the other side” if the speaker received one more complaint from “one more Jew in this community”. The recording also featured the names of other staff members, suggesting they should not have been hired and opining they should be removed “one way or another.” Darien’s nickname, “DJ,” was featured too. Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed Darien has been charged with disrupting school activities after he was found to have faked the voice of Eiswert and spread the content online. The police said the perpetrator accessed school networks to search …

Baltimore bridge collapse: city says ship was ‘unseaworthy’ before leaving port | Baltimore bridge collapse

Baltimore bridge collapse: city says ship was ‘unseaworthy’ before leaving port | Baltimore bridge collapse

Published by skeptic

The city of Baltimore has sued the owner and operator of the Dali container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, saying it had “an incompetent crew” and set sail despite receiving warnings. According to a court document filed on Monday, city officials say the ship’s parent company, Grace Ocean Private Ltd, and its operator, Synergy Marine Group, were “potentially criminally negligent” after causing the bridge to collapse on 26 March. The accident killed six construction workers and disrupted shipping and traffic at the port of Baltimore. The city says the collapse was caused by the owner’s “carelessness, negligence, gross negligence, and recklessness, and as a result of the unseaworthiness” of the ship. Baltimore officials allege that, before leaving port, “alarms showing an inconsistent power supply on the Dali had sounded”. “The Dali left port anyway, despite its clearly unseaworthy condition,” the documents allege. The lawsuit also alleges that the ship had “an incompetent crew” onboard who “failed to comply with local navigation customs”, and lacked proper skill and training. It …

Pro-Palestinian campus protests and Baltimore fights Dali ship owners: Morning Rundown

Pro-Palestinian campus protests and Baltimore fights Dali ship owners: Morning Rundown

Published by skeptic

A judge considers whether Donald Trump violated a gag order by calling key figures in his hush money trial ‘’sleaze bags.’’ Arrests escalate tensions at campus Gaza protests. And a study shows how the definition of “old age” is shifting.  Here’s what to know today. Judge will weigh if Trump violated gag order before witness testimony continues Angela Weiss / Pool via Getty Images Former President Donald Trump’s trial to determine whether he falsified business records is set to pick back up with more testimony from former American Media chief David Pecker. But first, Judge Juan Merchan will consider whether Trump should be held in contempt over a series of posts on Truth Social calling Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels ‘’sleaze bags’’ that prosecutors argue violated a gag order.  The hearing to consider whether Trump violated rules follows a day of opening statements from both sides. It marked the first time time New York prosecutors have laid out their case against Trump. They told a story of a “criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential …

Baltimore claims Dali was ‘unseaworthy,’ accuses owners of negligence in bridge collapse 

Baltimore claims Dali was ‘unseaworthy,’ accuses owners of negligence in bridge collapse 

Published by skeptic

The city of Baltimore on Monday argued the owner and operator of the cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge should not be able to avoid liability, claiming the vessel was “unseaworthy” when it left the Baltimore port last month, according to new court filings. In court filings Monday, attorneys for the city of Baltimore claimed the owner of the container ship Dali – Grace Ocean Private -and its operator – Synergy Marine Group – were “grossly and potentially criminally negligent.” “For more than four decades, cargo ships made thousands of trips every year under the Key Bridge without incident,” the attorneys wrote. “There was nothing about March 26, 2024, that should have changed that.” Grace Ocean Private and Synergy Marine Group, however, “saw fit to put a clearly unseaworthy vessel into the water,” the attorneys wrote. “In no way should their liability be limited.” The 984-foot cargo ship Dali was trying to leave the Baltimore Harbor on its way to Sri Lanka on March 26 when it lost power and crashed …

Baltimore battles ship owners’ effort to limit liability in bridge collapse

Baltimore battles ship owners’ effort to limit liability in bridge collapse

Published by skeptic

The owners of the Dali cargo ship were negligent and should be held fully liable for the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that killed six people, the City of Baltimore said in court filings Monday. In response to the vessel owners’ petition filed in U.S. District Court earlier this month seeking to limit their liability, Mayor Brandon Scott and the Baltimore City Council argued Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. “put a clearly unseaworthy vessel into the water,” and they called the companies’ actions “grossly and potentially criminally negligent.” The City of Baltimore is demanding a jury trial, saying the companies’ effort to limit responsibility to the vessel and cargo’s value of $43.6 million is “substantially less than the amount that will be claimed for losses and damages arising out of the Dali’s allision with the Key Bridge.” “None of this should have happened,” the city said in court filings. “Reporting has indicated that, even before leaving port, alarms showing an inconsistent power supply on the Dali had sounded. The Dali left port anyway, despite its …