Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’re talking about the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse, Japan selling fighter jets, Julian Assange, Ukraine hitting Russian targets, mifepristone, Biden backing up protesters, and what’s going on with Diddy.
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“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire
A Bad Bridge Breakage In Baltimore
(Aerial view of bridge by Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images)
It’s a bad start to the week in Baltimore. Early Tuesday morning, a massive cargo ship lost power while leaving the port of Baltimore and it crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The ship rammed into one of the bridge’s supports, crumpling part of the span in a matter of seconds.
Luckily, the ship’s crew was able to issue a mayday warning and lower the vessel’s anchors as its power went out, giving local authorities enough time to stop more traffic from driving onto the bridge. Eight people were on the bridge during the time of the crash, and two have been rescued so far – as of writing, six others, who were part of a crew repairing potholes, are still missing. The ship’s crew of 22 people was unharmed.
The Port of Baltimore has suspended all maritime traffic until further notice. The port is a key shipping hub on the East Coast thanks to its proximity to the Midwest, and handles the most autos and light trucks of any port in America. President Biden has already announced that “the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge,” though Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the recovery will “not be quick.”
Japan Scrambles To Sell Its Jets
On Tuesday, Japan’s cabinet approved a plan to sell the next-generation fighter jets it’s developing with Britain and Italy. The decision is the latest move in the country’s shift away from its pacifist constitution, which was put in place by the U.S. during the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the sale of the jets, along with a new revision to guidelines allowing co-produced lethal weapons to be sold to non-partner countries, is necessary to maintain the country’s security, but he told reporters, “We have clearly demonstrated that we will continue to adhere to our basic philosophy as a peaceful nation.”
The new jet project will build a replacement to Japan’s U.S.-designed F-2 fighters, as well as the U.K. and Italy’s Eurofighter Typhoons. The joint venture will combine Japan’s F-X jet project with its European counterparts’ Tempest program, and should be ready for deployment by 2035. Public opinion in Japan appears split on the issue – some have criticized Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for not involving voters more in the decision, though the government says it’s put stringent measures in place to avoid the jets being sold to countries in active wars.
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(Protests outside court in U.K. by Steve Taylor via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, a British court ruled that the U.S. would not be allowed to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on espionage charges unless Washington can guarantee that he won’t be charged with the death penalty. Assange is viewed as a threat by America’s intelligence community due to his project’s publishing of classified American documents on U.S. military misconduct (to put it nicely) in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A pair of High Court judges said that Assange will be granted another appeal in his extradition case unless the U.S. outlines its plans for the whistleblower within the next three weeks. The judges announced that the U.S. must guarantee that Assange is “afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen.” Assange’s supporters say he’s a journalist and should be protected by the First Amendment.
Kyiv Calls Its Strikes
According to Ukraine’s navy, a Ukrainian missile attack landed hits on multiple Russian vessels over the weekend. Hits on two ships, the Azov and Yamal large landing ships, were announced on Monday, but on Tuesday Kyiv added that the strike had also hit two other ships, a Russian naval reconnaissance vessel and a large landing warship.
If the success of the strikes can be confirmed by a party other than Kyiv, Russia’s naval power in the Black Sea is being severely degraded by Ukrainian missile attacks. “Out of 13 (large landing ships), four have been destroyed, four are being repaired, and five are in working order,” said navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk. The Black Sea is a key area for Ukraine, as most of its important exports leave the country through its ports on the sea.
Yesterday, the ultra-conservative Supreme Court heard arguments about whether to restrict access to mifepristone even in states where it is still allowed. Of course, things could change before the justices hand down their final ruling, but they all seemed, shockingly, to be on the same page and skeptical of those trying to prevent access.
Lower-court rulings have rolled back recent Food and Drug Administration decisions to expand access to mifepristone, but the justices all seemed curious as to why the case was brought in the first place – the doctors who brought the case could simply assert their objections individually and refuse to provide the medication, and a national ban wouldn’t be necessary.
Biden Bends (A Bit)
Two protesters were escorted out of President Biden’s speech in Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday. Biden was talking about health care when the two people yelled, “What about the health care in Gaza?” “Everybody deserves health care,” Biden said as they noted that hospitals were being bombed in Gaza.
In an interesting break from the past six months of staunch support for Israel, Biden asked the rest of the crowd to “be patient” with the protesters, before saying, “They have a point. We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.” His concession, though mild, earned him a standing ovation from the crowd.
On Monday, federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and some of their coworkers searched two properties owned by rapper and producer Sean “Diddy” Combs. Law enforcement officials told the press that the searches were related to an ongoing federal sex trafficking investigation, but didn’t say whether Diddy was the main target of the investigation.
Diddy (f.k.a. Puff Daddy) is the founder of Bad Boy Records, one of hip-hop’s most prestigious labels. Stars including the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, and Lil Kim were all signed to the label, and he’s also worked on multiple other projects, including a clothing line, a TV channel, and the show “Making the Band” on MTV.
Diddy has been slammed with multiple sexual assault lawsuits over the past few months. One suit, by a music producer, alleged that Diddy coerced him into soliciting prostitutes before pressuring him to have sex with them. Another alleged that Diddy had raped her when she was 17. Yet another case, brought to court by R&B singer Cassie (who was in a relationship with Diddy when she was 21 and he was 38), accused the rapper of sexually abusing her for years. The suit was settled out of court after just one day.
