An elderly pro-life man who was brutally beaten outside of a Baltimore Planned Parenthood says he&#8217;ll keep fighting until his attacker is behind bars, even though the city is “dragging its feet” bringing him justice.
Nearly two years ago Mark Crosby, 75, was beaten alongside 86-year-old Richard Schaefer as they stood outside Planned Parenthood and urged women not to get abortions. Patrick Brice, their 28-year-old attacker, is set to be retried at the end of the month after he dodged a first-degree assault charge in March while being convicted of lesser assault charges. 
“They want us to get hurt again so we go away. But I’m not going away until this guy goes to jail,” Crosby told The Daily Wire. “I’m so prepared, I’m ready for battle, ready to win.”
Brice is set to be retried on May 28 for the first-degree assault charge that he dodged during his trial back in March. Crosby said he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-lifer-beaten-outside-of-planned-parenthood-surprised-after-no-verdict-on-key-charge">surprised</a> that the previous jury couldn’t come to a consensus because he saw them groaning and looking away while footage of the attack played. 
Footage released by the Baltimore Police Department <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDMYSWHJuNM&amp;rco=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> Brice tackling Schaefer into a potted plant after an argument outside Planned Parenthood. As Crosby ran up to assist Schaefer, Brice turned and shoved Crosby to the ground, punching him in the face before standing up and kicking him in the face before walking off. 
Crosby was treated after the attack for a fractured bone in his face, blindness in one eye, head and neck pain, two fractured fingers, and bruising on his arms and legs.
“We also want this [treated as] a hate crime because he ripped off my crucifix which was around my neck, it ended up in the bushes,” Crosby told The Daily Wire. “It was definitely a hate crime also, but these Baltimore City state attorneys are dragging their feet on everything.”
The Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City told The Daily Wire that it does not comment on pending cases when reached for comment on if there were any plans to bring hate crime charges against Brice.
Crosby said that during the first trial, Brice’s lawyer accused the elderly pro-lifers of directing a racial slur at him, which he said helped to get the jury on his side. He said that he wasn’t allowed to respond to those allegations or point out that most of the babies they have saved over the years have been black. 
He also said the judge the first time around didn’t allow him to show his eye to the jurors. This time he said his representative plans to bring an eye doctor and a shock trauma doctor to testify about the extent of his injuries. 
Since the day of attack, Crosby and Schaefer have continued to return to the Planned Parenthood where Crosby says they have had their lives threatened numerous times. He says that he has contacted the police, but they tell him that the threats against him are protected speech.
Now, just days before Brice heads to trial again, Crosby is convinced that there is no &#8220;equal protection under the law in Baltimore City.&#8221;

MixCollage-15-May-2025-02-47-PM-395

Beaten Pro-Lifer Says Baltimore Is ‘Dragging Its Feet’ Bringing Him Justice

Abortion

Baltimore

Planned Parenthood

Pro-Life Movement

Baltimore&#8217;s public school district is going on a hiring spree while student enrollment plummets and test scores remain in the basement.
Baltimore City Public Schools inflated its number of employees by nearly 19% over the six years between 2018 and last year, according to Maryland State Department of Education data <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/employee-hiring-surges-in-baltimore-schools-as-student-enrollment-plummets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analyzed</a> by Fox 45&#8217;s Project Baltimore, an investigative initiative on the city&#8217;s floundering schools.
The school district hired 1,714 more staffers while the number of students plummeted by 4,781 or 6%, the data show.
It wasn&#8217;t mostly teachers the district hired, either.
Over those six years, the district hired 992 more teachers, about a 15% increase, but it also hired 721 non-teaching staff such as administrators, a 28% increase, the analysis found.
Last school year, the Baltimore City school district had 10,874 employees for 75,811 students, about 6.9 students per staffer.
&#8220;This pattern reveals that the government school system has become more of a jobs program for adults than an education initiative for kids,&#8221; school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis told The Daily Wire.
DeAngelis noted that 40% of Baltimore high schools had zero students <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/at-13-baltimore-city-high-schools-zero-students-tested-proficient-on-2023-state-math-exam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">score</a> proficient on the 2023 state math exam.
Meanwhile, Baltimore&#8217;s public school superintendent <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/baltimore-city-schools-ceo-total-compensation-hits-479000-sonja-santelises-jackie-wlliams-josh-civin-christopher-doherty-lynette-washington-naep" target="_blank" rel="noopener">makes</a> $479,672 a year, more than the president of the United States, DeAngelis pointed out.
&#8220;These failure factories don&#8217;t give a damn about the kids,&#8221; DeAngelis said. &#8220;These overpaid administrators are leeches that extract funding away from the classroom and the kids they&#8217;re supposed to serve. Baltimore needs real accountability from the bottom-up with school choice. Families must be able to vote with their feet to schools that work best for their kids. Only then will the school system cater to the needs of children and their families as opposed to the other way around.&#8221;
School choice critics often complain that failing inner city public schools are under-funded and simply need more resources to help low-income children thrive academically.
However, Baltimore spends far more per pupil than other large city school districts whose students perform better.
Baltimore City spends $18,272 tax dollars per student, according to last year&#8217;s census, Fox 45 <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/employee-hiring-surges-in-baltimore-schools-as-student-enrollment-plummets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Meanwhile, Albuquerque, New Mexico&#8217;s, school district spends $12,964 per pupil and the Austin, Texas, district spends $12,492. Both outperform Baltimore students in every category, such as 4th and 8th grade math and reading, on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, called the &#8220;Nation’s Report Card.&#8221;
&#8220;City Schools has made targeted investments in hiring qualified staff — from classroom teachers and counselors to literacy coaches and early childhood educators,&#8221; the district <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/employee-hiring-surges-in-baltimore-schools-as-student-enrollment-plummets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;We know that students thrive when they are supported by caring adults, and when schools are fully staffed and resourced. There is more work to do, but make no mistake — progress is happening, and our students deserve recognition for it.&#8221;

US-NEWS-BALTIMORE-SCHOOL-BUS-SAFETY-BZ

Baltimore Schools Hiring Like Crazy As Enrollment Plummets, Scores Stay Dismal

Education

Money

Public Schools

U.S.

An elderly pro-life sidewalk counselor who was brutally beaten outside of a Baltimore Planned Parenthood said he would be willing to go back to court after a jury declined to convict his attacker of first-degree assault.
Mark Crosby told The Daily Wire this week that he would be willing to have his case go to trial again after a jury convicted 28-year-old Patrick Brice of multiple lower assault charges while not reaching a verdict on the more serious first-degree assault charge. Brice was caught on video beating then 73-year-old Crosby and 80-year-old Richard Schaefer back in 2023 outside of a Planned Parenthood building.
Last week, a jury in Baltimore convicted Brice on two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of reckless endangerment while not coming to an agreement on the first-degree assault charge after a two day trial. A first degree assault conviction could have carried 25 years in prison.
Crosby told The Daily Wire that he was surprised that Brice was not convicted on the first-degree assault charge, saying that the surveillance video posted during the trial seemed to have an impact on the jurors.
“Some of the jurors were actually moaning and one was crying, and they were looking away, gasping at his attack on us,” he said.
The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDMYSWHJuNM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">footage</a> shows Brice tackling Schaefer into a large potted plant after a heated exchange. Crosby then ran over to help Schaefer before he was forced to the ground. The man in the video punches Crosby in the face and kicks him in the head.
&#8220;I call it attempted murder. If you watch the video, he actually is straddling me and he hits me double fisted,” Crosby said.
Crosby was treated after the attack for a fractured bone in his face, blindness in one eye, head and neck pain, two fractured fingers, and bruising on his arms and legs.
“Whether we want to retry it, we’ll see,” he said, saying it would be up to the legal team at the Thomas More Society. “I’m willing to retry it even though it’s a major stress for me.”
He added that the &#8220;result is probably better than nothing,” but would wait to see when Brice is sentenced on March 20. A maximum sentence for second-degree assault could be up to 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Crosby believed that one of the reasons for the attack was because he and Schaefer had been effective in convincing women to turn to a nearby crisis pregnancy center. He <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trial-begins-for-man-accused-of-brutally-beating-elderly-pro-lifers-outside-planned-parenthood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously told</a> The Daily Wire that both men have frequently returned to the Planned Parenthood. He said Schaefer still stood outside five days a week and that he would be “back in action” after the trial ended.

Bill Tompkins  Planned Parenthood signage Archive

Pro-Lifer Beaten Outside Of Planned Parenthood Surprised After No Verdict On Key Charge

Courts

Baltimore Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott, elected in 2020, attacked President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the DEI movement, <a href="https://democracyforward.org/updates/anti-deia-executive-order-challenge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> he and other DEI advocates would “fight it with every legal tool available to us.”
“The Left’s divisive focus on DEI policies undermines decades of progress toward true equality,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields has <a href="https://lasvegassun.com/news/2025/feb/05/baltimore-mayor-fights-back-against-attacks-on-dei/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. “The Trump administration rejects this backward thinking and will pursue an agenda that lifts everyone up with the chance to achieve the American Dream.”
In a <a href="https://mayor.baltimorecity.gov/news/press-releases/2025-02-04-mayor-scott-and-city-baltimore-celebrate-black-history-month-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release</a> on Tuesday celebrating “Black History Month,” Scott wrote: “Some have chosen to intentionally misconstrue the goals of DEI initiatives and chosen to attempt to scapegoat diversity for any and every challenge facing our nation. This brazenly political attack only underscores the necessity for proactive measures to protect and promote the value that our diversity brings.”
Scott has joined a <a href="//F9F92F76-A206-4D21-88E3-07D6D6B836F4/v" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> targeting Trump and other Cabinet officials, naming Trump’s Executive Orders 14151, “Ending Radical Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” and Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
The lawsuit claimed, “President Trump’s history and explicit call to dismantle anything connected to DEI presses the question of which ‘programs promoting DEI’ President Trump views as ‘illegal.’ &#8230; The President has made clear—during both his campaign and his previous administration—that his goal is to punish those who recognize or choose to speak out about this country’s history on issues of enslavement, racial exclusion, health disparities, gender inequality, treatment of individuals with disabilities, and discrimination. President Trump wishes to see the end of all diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs of any kind whatsoever.”
Speaking of Baltimore, the lawsuit stated, “The diversity of the city is its strength,” adding, “Baltimore receives $250 million in federal funds under the Justice40 Initiative intended to benefit disadvantaged communities.”
Of another plaintiff, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), the lawsuit revealed: “NADOHE’s institutional members with endowments greater than $1 billion and those institutions’ diversity officers are under threat from the J21 Order’s requirement for agencies to identify targets for civil compliance investigations.”

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act WH

Baltimore Mayor Attacks DEI Opponents: ‘Attempt To Scapegoat Diversity’

Donald Trump

Executive

Maryland

Politics

Social Issues

The trial for a man accused of brutally beating two Catholic pro-life sidewalk counselors outside of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baltimore" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baltimore</a> Planned Parenthood is set to begin Wednesday.
Jury selection begins at 9:00 a.m. local time at Baltimore City Court for the trial of 27-year-old Patrick Brice, who is charged over the beating of then 80-year-old Dick Schaefer and 73-year-old Mark Crosby on May 26, 2023. The two men were outside a Planned Parenthood in Baltimore when they were left bloodied after they were violently attacked. 
Brice has been <a href="https://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/casesearch/inquiryDetail.jis?caseId=C24CR24001185&amp;loc=69&amp;detailLoc=ODYCRIM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment. 
No arrests were made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-arrest-man-over-brutal-beating-of-pro-lifers-outside-baltimore-planned-parenthood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">until over a year</a> after the attack on July 1, 2024, when law enforcement identified Brice as the man behind the attack. The entire incident was caught on camera, and surveillance footage shows a man tackling Schaefer into a large potted plant. Crosby then ran over to help Schaefer before he was forced to the ground. The man in the video punches Crosby in the face and kicks him in the head. 
Recounting the incident on Tuesday, Crosby told The Daily Wire that incident started after the attacker started an argument with Schaefer about abortion while outside of Planned Parenthood. He said he then saw the attacker “get in a football rushing position” before running Schaefer into a concrete planter and against the wall.
When Crosby ran over to help, he said that Brice “hit me a couple times” before forcing him to the ground. He then said that Brice “reared back” and “kicked me as hard as he could.”
The attack left Crosby seriously injured and hospitalized. After the incident, he was treated for a fractured bone in his face, blindness in one eye, head and neck pain, two fractured fingers, and bruising on his arms and legs. 
<div id="attachment_871687" style="width: 1554px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-871687" class="wp-image-871687 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-04-at-6.35.33-PM.png" alt="" width="1544" height="876" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-04-at-6.35.33-PM.png 1544w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-04-at-6.35.33-PM-300x170.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-04-at-6.35.33-PM-1015x576.png 1015w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-04-at-6.35.33-PM-768x436.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-04-at-6.35.33-PM-1536x871.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1544px) 100vw, 1544px" />Mark Crosby (Courtesy: Jay Walton)</div>
Despite the attack and future hostile encounters with Planned Parenthood employees, Crosby said both men have frequently returned to the Planned Parenthood. He said Schaefer still stood outside five days a week and that he would “back in action” after the trial ended. 
Crosby said he wished that local Catholic leadership had been more outspoken in supporting them, noting that the Planned Parenthood where the attack took place is only a five minute walk away from the Baltimore Basilica, the first Catholic church built in the United States after it declared independence.
Crosby told The Daily Wire that he was being represented by the Thomas More Society, while Schaefer had the counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice.

Trial Begins For Man Accused Of Brutally Beating Elderly Pro-Lifers Outside Planned Parenthood

Violence

Baltimore police have arrested a 27-year-old man over the brutal beating of two pro-lifers last year, law enforcement confirmed to The Daily Wire on Monday.
On May 26, 2023, then 84-year-old Dick Schaefer and then 73-year-old Mark Crosby were severely beaten by a man as they offered pro-life sidewalk counseling outside of a Baltimore Planned Parenthood. Last week, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) <a href="https://aclj.org/pro-life/breaking-suspect-arrested-who-brutally-assaulted-pro-lifers-outside-planned-parenthood-clinic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that police had told Schaefer and Crosby that a man had been arrested for the beating more than a year after the incident occurred. The ACLJ did not name the suspect. 
Baltimore Police Detective Niki Fennoy told The Daily Wire on Monday that an arrest had been made over the violent attack. 
“I can confirm that Patrick Brice (W/M, D.O.B. 12/15/1996) was arrested on July 1, 2024, for the assault of two men in the 300 block of North Howard Street on May 26, 2023,” she said in an email. 
Court records show that Brice, who is  6&#8217;5&#8221; and 200 pounds, was charged with first-degree felony assault, two counts of second-degree assault, and two counts of assault on the elderly. He is scheduled for his first court appearance on August 1 at Baltimore City District Court.
Brice was released on his own recognizance on July 2 with no bail amount set. When asked to provide a booking photo, Fennoy said that she couldn’t because Brice was just charged with assault. 
“Unfortunately, we only provide arrest photos for attempted murder and murder,” she said. 
The ACLJ, which has been working with Schaefer and Crosby, said that both men spent about two hours every day, Monday-Friday, outside Planned Parenthood speaking to women about alternatives to abortion. 
On the day of the incident, Schaefer was tackled from behind by a man he had previously been speaking to about abortion. The man reportedly told Schaefer that “God gave everyone free choice” and “God is all merciful. Everyone is forgiven, so what are you doing here?”
Surveillance <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDMYSWHJuNM&amp;rco=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> posted by Baltimore Police from the time of the incident shows a man tackling Schaefer into a large potted plant. The video shows Crosby running over, wearing a blue pro-life shirt, to help before he is forced to the ground. The man in the video punches Crosby in the face and then kicks him in the head. 
Photos of the men after the incident show Schaefer with purple bruises on his arms and face, Schaefer’s face covered in blood, and his right eye swollen shut. 
<div id="attachment_771925" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-771925" class="wp-image-771925 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-29-at-12.52.39-PM-1024x574.png" alt="" width="1024" height="574" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-29-at-12.52.39-PM-1024x574.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-29-at-12.52.39-PM-300x168.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-29-at-12.52.39-PM-768x431.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-29-at-12.52.39-PM-1536x861.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-29-at-12.52.39-PM.png 1582w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Mason (Courtesy Jay Walton).</div>
&#8220;Both men sustained extensive injuries,&#8221; the ACLJ stated. &#8220;Mr. Schaefer had cuts and scrapes all over his body, as well as a cut on his hand that required special bandaging. Mr. Crosby sustained traumatic injuries to his head, including a fractured bone in his face, blindness in one eye, head and neck pain, two fractured fingers, and bruising on his arms and legs. Mr. Crosby required several surgeries on his face.&#8221;
&nbsp;

Police Arrest Man Over Brutal Beating Of Pro-Lifers Outside Baltimore Planned Parenthood

Crime

A Baltimore County athletic director made headlines last month after he allegedly used <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">artificial intelligence</a> to make it sound like the school&#8217;s principal made racist and anti-Semitic comments. Even before that alleged misconduct, however, the 31-year-old AD made it a habit to lie on job applications before he was hired at multiple schools across the country, according to an investigation by <a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/dazhon-darien-pikesville-high-baltimore-county-SQVT7K63OFGOBCBG44TF7272GA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Baltimore Banner</a>.
Dazhon Darien, Pikesville High School&#8217;s former athletic director, used two different names to fill out four job applications, which he filled with around 29 false claims, The Baltimore Banner reported. In Darien&#8217;s two resumes that he submitted to Baltimore County Schools, he made 16 false claims, but the man was hired after the school system said it conducted a background check and checked fingerprints and references.
“This is a clear case of an individual willing to fabricate anything — including his own qualifications — and to go considerable lengths to do so,” County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said in a statement. “This incident is concerning and reinforces the need for all public organizations to take a comprehensive look into hiring practices to ensure all appropriate steps are being taken to prevent this type of application fraud.”
Darien was fired after just three months at Colorado Mesa University in 2018. Then, when applying for a position in Texas, Darien appeared to exaggerate his credentials, claiming he worked “the last 8 years in higher education as an administrator in student affairs,” and served “in the positions of Director of Student Life and Dean of Students,&#8221; but there was no evidence that he held those positions for that length of time.
Darien was hired by Pikesville High School last fall despite not obtaining a Maryland teaching certificate, which is required for all public school teachers, according to the Baltimore Banner. Darien joined the Pikesville High staff after working for a few weeks as a social studies teacher at Randallstown High School, which is also in Baltimore County, in the spring of 2023.
The athletic director was being investigated for mishandling school funds when he allegedly used AI to create a fake recording of Pikesville High principal Eric Eiswert &#8220;spewing racial and anti-Semitic insults about staff and students,&#8221; the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13351569/Black-Baltimore-athletics-director-charged-fake-racist-rant.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The recording appeared to capture Eiswert, who is white, saying &#8220;ungrateful black kids &#8230; can&#8217;t test their way out of a paper bag,&#8221; adding, &#8220;And if I have to get one more complaint from one more Jew in this community, I&#8217;m going to join the other side.&#8221;
The fake recording was posted to social media where many students at the school heard it and became outraged as the media swarmed to cover what looked like a scandal covered in racism. Darien&#8217;s alleged deception was found out after the recording was analyzed by experts who said that AI had been used to create a voice mimicking Eiswert. Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said his department worked with the FBI and forensic experts from the University of California at Berkeley to look into the recording.
&#8220;Dazhon Darien, the school&#8217;s athletic director, produced the recording to retaliate against Principal Eiswert, who had initiated a probe into the mishandling of school funds,&#8221; McCullough said.
Darien was arrested and charged with stalking, disruption of school operations, and retaliation against a witness, according to <a href="https://abc13.com/disgruntled-ex-athletic-director-dazhon-darien-used-ai-to-generate-fake-racist-rant-in-pikesville-hs-principal-eric-eiswerts-voice-police/14734616/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC 13</a>.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
As far as the troubling details surrounding Darien&#8217;s hiring, officials are pushing for the school district to review its practices. Ryan Coleman, president of the Randallstown NAACP, said, “The next question is, did they miss anything else? Is there anything in his background that says he shouldn’t be around children?” He added that the situation worries him about the role models children have in the community&#8217;s schools, but said he is optimistic that Superintendent Myriam Rogers will &#8220;right the ship,&#8221; The Baltimore Banner reported.
Baltimore schools are also facing <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/09/23/students-at-40-of-baltimore-high-schools-failed-math-proficiency-exam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">staggering rates</a> of failing grades as none of the students at 40% of its high schools were proficient on the state math exam last spring.

Pikesville High School

Athletic Director Accused Of Impersonating Principal With AI Allegedly Lied Dozens Of Times On Applications, Took Jobs At Numerous Schools: Report

Artificial Intelligence

High School

The container ship that rammed into a support beam of Francis Scott Key Bridge — which caused the Baltimore bridge to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/baltimore-bridge-collapses-resulting-in-mass-casualty-event-after-its-struck-by-cargo-ship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapse</a> in March — suffered a pair of electrical blackouts the day before the collision that resulted in the deaths of six construction workers, according to federal investigators.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the March 26 incident that took place in one of America&#8217;s busiest ports and released a report on Tuesday, saying that the ship, called the Dali, had two electrical malfunctions on March 25. Just hours later, two more electrical blackouts made it impossible for the Dali&#8217;s crew to steer the ship away from the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
&#8220;On March 25, about 10 hours before leaving Baltimore, the Dali experienced a blackout (loss of electrical power to the HV [high voltage] and LV [low voltage] buses) during in-port maintenance,&#8221; the NTSB preliminary <a href="https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA24MM031_PreliminaryReport%203.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> said. The loss of power occurred after &#8220;a crewmember mistakenly closed an inline engine exhaust damper.&#8221;
&#8220;Vessel power was restored when crewmembers manually closed HR2 and LR2 [step-down transformers]. Generator no. 3 continued to run for a short period, but insufficient fuel pressure caused its speed to decrease, and its breaker (DGR3) opened; a second blackout (another loss of electrical power to the HV and LV buses) occurred,&#8221; the report added.
In the early hours of March 26, the Dali suffered two more electrical blackouts before it collided with the bridge&#8217;s support beam and caused the middle section of the 1.6-mile-long bridge to crash into the Patapsco River. Video of the incident shows the Dali&#8217;s lights go out moments before it rams into the support beam. Six men who were working on the bridge at the time fell into the water and died.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Breaking News: Mass Casualty event declared in the US after a ship slams into a Bridge
The full video can be seen here.
Developing story<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Baltimore?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Baltimore</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bridgecollapse?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bridgecollapse</a> <a href="https://t.co/E5bWMovtjo">pic.twitter.com/E5bWMovtjo</a>
&mdash; Jim Ferguson (@JimFergusonUK) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimFergusonUK/status/1772538786276053349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Dali remained stuck in the bridge wreckage until earlier this week when authorities used precision explosive charges to remove part of the bridge that was still on top of the container ship, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/baltimore-bridge-span-removed-ship-freed-precision-blast-rcna152065" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a>. Maryland Governor Wes Moore also announced that a channel should finally be open for ships by the end of the month, which would be key to &#8220;fully opening vessel traffic to the port.&#8221;
Days after the collision, the NTSB released a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ntsb-reports-timeline-of-baltimore-bridge-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> describing the events that led up to the bridge&#8217;s collapse.
“Around 01:26:39 the ship’s pilot made a general VHF [very high frequency] call for tugs in the vicinity of the DALI. MDTA data from around this time indicated the pilot association dispatcher phoned the MDTA duty officer regarding the blackout. Around 1:27:04, the pilot commanded the DALI to drop the port anchor and issued additional steering commands,” the NTSB said. “Around 1:27:25, the pilot issued a radio call over the VHF radio and reported the DALI had lost all power approaching the Key Bridge,” adding that at roughly 1:29 a.m., “the ship’s speed over ground was recorded as just under 7 knots/8 miles per hour. From this moment until approximately 1:29:33, VDR audio recorded sounds consistent with the collision with the Key bridge.”
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The Dali&#8217;s mayday signal allowed transportation officials to stop traffic from traveling across the bridge before the ship struck the support beam, a move that &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/8-people-were-on-baltimore-bridge-at-time-of-collapse-ship-issued-a-mayday-before-collision-authorities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saved lives</a>,&#8221; according to Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapses After Being Struck By Cargo Ship

Ship That Caused Baltimore Bridge Collapse Had Two Electrical Blackouts Day Before Deadly Collision: Federal Investigators

Disasters

Francis Scott Key Bridge

Transportation

In January, a television news crew with CBS Baltimore showed up at the home of a high school principal named Eric Eiswert, looking for an interview. 
Once the crew arrived, they didn&#8217;t record any newsworthy footage whatsoever. Eric Eiswert wasn&#8217;t even home. Nevertheless, CBS went ahead and aired very clear images of the man’s house on their evening broadcast.
They did that for one reason, which is that a mob demanded it. At the time, Eiswert was accused of making anti-black comments, on tape, in front of several administrators. Through a <a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/pikesville-high-principal-eric-eiswert-NT7K7N4K6RDEJNL5Z7ULTEG7VY/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">representative</a>, Eiswert had already denied making the comments, but the media didn&#8217;t care. It was the kind of story the media loves to report — a white principal at a struggling, mostly black school had supposedly validated all of their paranoia about white supremacy. So without verifying the recording in any way, the media immediately went to his home to harass him. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 Principal Racist Rant" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BYTNbehOCh4?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Whatever possible justification those reporters thought they had for going to this principal&#8217;s home, it was over when they got there and he didn&#8217;t answer the door. That&#8217;s the moment CBS should have packed up the cameras and gone back to the station. But they didn&#8217;t. Instead, they spoke to some unnamed person behind the door and aired that footage instead, so that millions of people could see exactly what the front of this principal’s house looks like. And they did that after heavily implying he said horrible racist things on a recording — even though they admit they haven&#8217;t authenticated the recording, and say they can&#8217;t even play it on-air because of how unreliable the recording may be. This is what journalistic malpractice looks like.
But CBS wasn&#8217;t alone. The local NBC News affiliate had similar coverage. They didn&#8217;t play the recording of these alleged racist comments either. But they did speak to several students who said confidently that this principal needed to resign immediately:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="006 Students React" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NUZ1i-9a2ZM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The police are called in because they&#8217;re worried about violence at the school. Meanwhile, the reporters are visiting this man&#8217;s home and broadcasting footage of where he lives. And the news stations are insinuating that this principal said something so horrible that they can&#8217;t even air it on television.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1356-we-ve-crossed-the-rubicon-race-hoaxers-are-now-using-ai-member-exclusive">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
To be fair, they didn&#8217;t have to air it because other media outlets were spreading it all over the internet. Philip Lewis, the deputy editor of Huffington Post, posted the audio along with this message implying the principal&#8217;s guilt. Here&#8217;s <a href="https://x.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1747708846942851493" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what he wrote</a>: &#8220;Baltimore County Public Schools is investigating the principal at Pikesville High for alleged derogatory remarks about students and staff. A voice believed to be the principal can be heard ranting about Black students and Jewish families.&#8221; 
Who exactly &#8220;believed&#8221; the voice to be the principal? The Huffington Post editor didn&#8217;t say. He certainly didn&#8217;t investigate the recording himself. But in reply to Philip&#8217;s posts, a lot of people called for the principal&#8217;s termination anyway. &#8220;What&#8217;s there to investigate?&#8221; said one person.
Here&#8217;s the audio of the principal&#8217;s alleged racist meltdown, which Philip posted:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="007 Racist Tape" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nrYHH-_i5vE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Now, I remember hearing this audio when it was originally circulating. And it seemed authentic to me, on a technical level at least. I didn&#8217;t think it was digitally altered. It sounds like a person — some person, anyway — saying those things. But it also seemed strangely… off… in a few different ways. It was obviously suspicious for a principal in Baltimore, of all places, to say these kinds of things in front of other people. People with these points of view aren&#8217;t getting hired to teach in Baltimore, much less run the schools. And everything he says is over-the-top, even in the context of a supposedly racist rant. He&#8217;s attacking black kids and Jewish people in the span of 45 seconds for some reason. It&#8217;s like listening to a leftist&#8217;s comic book idea of what a bigoted school administrator would sound like. The “I’m going to join the other side” line is so on the nose as to be almost comical.
The local news media in Baltimore, however, didn&#8217;t share any of my skepticism. One popular talk show suggested that the tape was almost certainly legitimate, because the voice in the recording mentions specific people at the school by name. That was the reasoning. It can&#8217;t possibly be fake because someone put the bare minimum amount of effort into it, to make it seem legitimate. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="008 Radio" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pz2b4ayy75g?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Yes, how could anyone at the school possibly have “an axe to grind”? How could any faculty member conceivably want to concoct some race hoax in order to bring down the principal? When have people ever lied about being victims of racism? Somehow that kind of thinking still exists in this country in 2024, after about ten million other race hoaxes have been exposed.
But to the great surprise of virtually every media outlet in Baltimore, the ruse came crashing down yesterday, when we learned that this recording is, indeed, yet another one of these race hoaxes. 
The principal never said any of the things on that recording. There was no recording at all. 
It was all created by AI. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="009 Investigation Update" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MedDClwZ2Zc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Oddly enough, watching that video, it almost looks like the police press conference was AI generated too. The officer&#8217;s mouth doesn&#8217;t match the sounds. That&#8217;s the era we&#8217;re now living in. In any event, in this case, the audio was generated by an AI program that&#8217;s extremely simple to use. All you would have to do is upload a short audio file containing a voice — it can be just a single sentence — and then you can have the AI say whatever you want, in that person&#8217;s voice.
Police have <a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/eric-eiswert-ai-audio-baltimore-county-YBJNJAS6OZEE5OQVF5LFOFYN6M/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> the school&#8217;s athletic director, a 31-year-old man named Dazhon Darien, and charged him with creating this AI voice file. Specifically, he&#8217;s been hit with a variety of offenses, including stalking, theft, and disruption of school operation.
What would Darien&#8217;s motivation be for making up a fake recording like this? It turns out that he was under investigation by the principal for allegedly paying teachers under the table using school funds. There was also other alleged misconduct as well, so Darien&#8217;s contract wasn&#8217;t being renewed. In response, he decided to generate fake evidence that he was being fired because he&#8217;s black. On the tape, the principal supposedly says he needs to get rid of black employees by any means necessary — including D.J., which is Darien&#8217;s nickname. Then Darien allegedly shared the audio file with another teacher (a black woman who has since resigned), who in turn then shared it with a student who put it on social media. (As of now, no one has been charged with any wrongdoing except this athletic director). 
As a quick aside, notice what Darien allegedly chose to include in the fake audio. There&#8217;s an angry complaint in there about black students performing poorly on test scores. It&#8217;s interesting this is something the athletic director thought to include in his fake racist screed. This is how broken Baltimore&#8217;s schools are now. The only impassioned comments you&#8217;ll hear about black students failing their tests are in an AI-generated racist deep fake designed to destroy the life of the school&#8217;s white principal. Otherwise, no one seems to care about the academic performance in these schools.
This case was apparently solved by analysts who determined conclusively that the recording was AI. For some reason, the media apparently didn&#8217;t speak to any of these analysts in January, when they were visiting the principal at his home. But the Baltimore Banner interviewed several of these experts last month. They determined with 99% certainty that they were dealing with AI, based on some telltale signs.
One of the experts <a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/eric-eiswert-ai-deepfake-YUNO6ITYM5FWZPQAE24RIBV5CQ/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>: “There are some signs of editing, like putting different pieces together. This has the sound features of AI generation. The tone is a little flat.” Additionally, there was a lack of &#8220;consistent breathing sounds or pauses&#8221; in the recording, as well as &#8220;unusually clean background sounds.&#8221; The analysts also noted, quote, &#8220;sudden and incredibly short stops between bits of dialogue that indicate the absence of sound, which itself indicates some level of file manipulation.&#8221;
So this was pretty open- and shut at a technical level. It wasn&#8217;t a sophisticated deepfake at all. And even then, it took months until the truth came out and this principal could clear his name. That&#8217;s how long it took the FBI, Berkeley, and several other AI experts to vindicate this man.
What this means is that we have officially entered into a new era of race hoaxes. We all knew that this would happen eventually. Now we&#8217;ve crossed the Rubicon. Unfortunately, it&#8217;s only going to get worse from here. We already know there&#8217;s a deep desire and willingness among many people to frame innocent people as racists and bigots. AI will be used relentlessly to that end.
Before long, the technology will advance to the point that &#8220;experts&#8221; won&#8217;t be able to identify AI as easily. The tone of the audio will be less &#8220;flat,&#8221; and there won&#8217;t be any awkward spots in the recording. What happens then? Keep in mind, again, that this fake recording — which does at least sound like a real human being — was made by some dumb race hoaxer working at a public school. What could someone with a bit more expertise and access to better technology do? And what happens when the video deep fakes become as convincing as the audio ones? Then we&#8217;ll have real problems. Fake hate crimes will be the least of our worries. Total destabilization of society is what we&#8217;re facing.
Imagine AI-generated videos of police officers killing unarmed black suspects. Is there any doubt that kind of video would cause nationwide riots? A few weeks ago, an armed black criminal out on pretrial release actually shot at police officers on camera, and the media still <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-media-nominates-their-new-george-floyd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nominated</a> the shooter as their new George Floyd. And that&#8217;s just the beginning.
Picture AI-generated politicians committing gaffes, making promises, and even declaring war. What happens when AI Joe Biden announces, say, a ground invasion of Russia at 7:00 p.m., just as the real Joe Biden falls asleep? You can imagine the hysteria — especially when an AI-generated Karine Jean-Pierre heads to the fake podium to confirm it.
It&#8217;s obvious that we need some kind of legislation in place to stave off the catastrophe we can all see coming. Unfortunately, judging by the fact it took several months to disprove this AI hoax, it&#8217;s clear that most people aren&#8217;t ready for that conversation. Millions of people see AI-generated clips that affirm what they already believe, and they don&#8217;t have any interest in checking if the clip is real or not.
In this case, the AI clip of that principal supposedly affirmed the fiction that white supremacy is alive and well in Baltimore. It was too good to check, so it went viral immediately. That&#8217;s why the AI-generated narratives will keep coming. That&#8217;s why the number of victims will continue to rise. And it&#8217;s why, to save not only jobs but also lives, we need to rein in this technology while we still can.

AI speaks letters, text-to-speech or TTS, text-to-voice, speech synthesis applications, generative Artificial Intelligence, futuristic technology in language and communication.

We’ve Crossed The Rubicon. Race Hoaxers Are Now Using AI.

We've Crossed The Rubicon. Race Hoaxers Are Now Using AI.

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Race

Racism

Readers Pass

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a> has opened a criminal investigation into the ship crash that caused a deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore last month, according to multiple reports on Monday.
Sources <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/15/balitmore-key-bridge-criminal-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Washington Post</a> the federal inquiry is reviewing events leading up to the collision, including whether the crew left port knowing the transport had problems with its systems.
The vessel&#8217;s owner, operators, and attorneys did not immediately respond to the news outlet&#8217;s request for comment.
Federal agents appeared to be on the ship conducting a search on Monday morning. The bureau acknowledged in a statement that agents were on the Dali performing &#8220;court authorized law enforcement activity.&#8221;
Erek Barron, the U.S. attorney for Maryland, said the &#8220;public should know, whether it’s gun violence, civil rights abuse, financial fraud, or any other threat to public safety or property, we will seek accountability for anyone who may be responsible.&#8221;
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott separately <a href="https://mayor.baltimorecity.gov/news/press-releases/2024-04-15-mayor-scott-announces-legal-steps-taken-city-baltimore-response-key" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> his city is &#8220;seeking recourse from those who may potentially be responsible, and with the ship’s owner filing a petition to limit its liability mere days after the incident, we need to act equally as quickly to protect the City’s interests.&#8221;
A Singapore-flagged container ship named Dali lost power and rammed into a support beam of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing a large section of the structure to break apart <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-timeline-911-call-dali-cargo-ship-mayday-maps-construction-worker-recovery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at around 1:30 a.m.</a> on March 26.
ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-opens-criminal-investigation-francis-scott-key-bridge/story?id=109235433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that no one on the cargo ship was injured in the crash, but some containers fell into the channel.
Authorities have said <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/27/us/baltimore-key-bridge-collapse-victims/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six people</a>, identified as construction workers who were filling potholes, were presumed dead after the bridge crumbled into the Patapsco River. Three bodies have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/05/us/politics/body-victim-bridge-collapse-found.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">been recovered</a>.
The National Transportation Safety Board, tasked with determining the probable causes of transportation accidents and issuing safety recommendations, is also investigating the collapse.
The agency&#8217;s chairwoman, Jennifer Homendy, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-investigators-interview-ship-personnel-maryland-bridge-collapse-2024-04-10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at a Senate hearing last week that investigators had interviewed personnel from the ship and were collecting data, per Reuters.
Cleanup crews have been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRoS0zpuZK8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">working</a> to clear the wreckage.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/275139/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in early April that the Baltimore shipping channel was expected to partially reopen by the end of the month and fully reopen by the end of May.
President Joe Biden <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-visit-baltimore-bridge-collapse-politics-b4388845fc912f0a0b491d05b5ac5cf8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visited</a> Baltimore on April 5 to survey the bridge collapse site and pledged federal support for reconstructing the bridge, saying, &#8220;Your nation has your back.&#8221;

Girders of the Francis Scott Key Bridge stick out of the water

FBI Opens Criminal Probe Into Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Reports

General

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said during an interview over the weekend that tremendous progress has already been made in in process of getting the port in Baltimore up and running again after a large container ship demolished the Francis Scott Key Bridge late last month.
Moore made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face The Nation&#8221; with Margaret Brennan when asked about the recovering and rebuilding process.
&#8220;We heard when the President visited that reiteration of a pretty aggressive timeline, though, to get things up and running again, perhaps even by the end of May,&#8221; Brennan said. &#8220;Is that realistic?&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s realistic,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And I think that it&#8217;s going to take some time. It&#8217;s gonna be a 24/7 operation to have full functioning.&#8221;
&#8220;And that means being able to not just continue the maritime operations that we have,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And also, it&#8217;s understanding how important that port is not just to Baltimore, but to the entire country. And right now, if you look at the Port of Baltimore, we have operations that are taking place by a truck and by rail. It&#8217;s just the maritime operations that have come to a halt. But we are going to do everything in our power to make sure we&#8217;re bringing closure and comfort to these families to be able to reopen this channel to be able to support our workers and support families who have been impacted by it and also begin the process of the rebuild of the bridge. It is an aggressive timeline, but we are going to work around the clock to make sure that we hit this timeline.&#8221;
Moore said he did not know what the final price tag was going to be to get everything back up and running again but given the enormous economic impact the port has on the U.S. economy he was sure that the resources would be available to get it done.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been amazed, because if you would have told me nine days ago, after what I saw that first morning, that we could be here on this Sunday morning, with already channels opened up, already ships that are up to a 14-foot depth that are now able to traverse the river and get to the port,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If you would have told me that we were already started moving — you know, we have now moved hundreds of tons out of the river. And if you look at the fact that even just in the past few days, we&#8217;ve received — we removed over 250 tons from the river, that is the equivalent to the weight of the Statue of Liberty. And so, I&#8217;ve been amazed at how this coordination between federal, state, local, the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Army Corps of Engineers, how everything is working in a synced way and I&#8217;ve been very proud of the response.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Gov. Wes Moore says “aggressive timeline” to reopen channel after bridge collapse is realistic" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n7FfQOe_qFw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

President Biden Visits Site Of Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Maryland Governor Says State Pursuing ‘Aggressive Timeline’ On Bridge Recovery

Economy

Though the exact cause of a container ship&#8217;s collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland — which caused the structure&#8217;s collapse — is under debate, the disaster that has claimed at least two lives and caused an untold amount of economic damage has drawn attention to the state of America&#8217;s infrastructure.
The bridge itself accommodated almost 30,000 vehicles each day, and the Port of Baltimore, which will be heavily disrupted by the collapse and reconstruction, saw 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo and 11.7 million tons of general cargo coming into the port in 2023.
President Joe Biden has already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-pushes-for-federal-gov-to-pay-for-entire-cost-of-rebuilding-baltimore-bridge-but-says-it-will-take-some-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promised</a> that the federal government will foot the bill for the repairs to the bridge.
“It is my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect Congress to support my effort,” Biden said. “This is going to take some time, and the people of Baltimore can count on us though to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”
The bridge was originally built in the 1970s at an estimated cost of $141 million, which is around $743 million in today’s dollars, CNS Maryland <a href="https://cnsmaryland.org/2024/03/26/the-history-of-baltimores-key-bridge/#:~:text=Bridge%20construction,%24743%20million%20in%20today's%20dollars." target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Experts have estimated that roughly $15 million a day in economic activity will be disrupted as a result of the disaster, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baltimore-port-closure-could-cost-15-million-per-day-2024-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Business Insider.
However, it seems like every election year politicians of both parties clamber to pitch grand infrastructure projects that promise to make voters&#8217; commutes smoother and produce all-important &#8220;shovel-ready&#8221; jobs. Such an infrastructure overhaul was one of the pillars of Biden&#8217;s presidential campaign in 2020, and, on paper at least, he delivered.
Two gigantic pieces of legislation passed during Biden&#8217;s two years in office, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in late 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, invested over a trillion dollars into multiple sectors of infrastructure — everything from roads to waterways to broadband — over the next decade, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-start-of-americas-infrastructure-decade-how-macroeconomic-factors-may-shape-local-strategies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Brookings.
<div id="attachment_717107" style="width: 979px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-717107" class="size-large wp-image-717107" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1353523670-969x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 15: U.S. President Joe Biden (C) signs H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, during a ceremony on the South Lawn at the White House on November 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images)" width="969" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1353523670-969x576.jpg 969w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1353523670-300x178.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1353523670-768x457.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1353523670.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px" />Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images</div>
In truth, only a little over $110 billion in the IIJA will actually go toward repairing roads and bridges, the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/10/senate-infrastructure-bill-what-is-in-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>. The rest is parceled out among a myriad of other projects, most notably railroads, broadband, and utility infrastructure.
In 2023, the Federal Highway Administration reported that over 42,000 bridges across the U.S. were in &#8220;poor&#8221; condition, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/26/baltimore-bridge-collapse-cost-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to WaPo. Between 2020 and 2023, the number of U.S. bridges rated &#8220;good&#8221; increased in only 11 states, while the number considered to be in &#8220;poor&#8221; condition increased in 37 states. While 43,000 bridges saw an improved rating in 2023 compared t0 2020, a whopping 70,000 received a lower rating. Almost 13,000 bridges were downgraded from &#8220;fair&#8221; condition to &#8220;poor,&#8221; but only 10,000 bridges were improved from a &#8220;poor&#8221; rating.
American Road and Transportation Builders Association said that a full third of U.S. bridges are in need of significant repairs or replacement, while 7% of bridges are &#8220;structurally deficient,&#8221; the Council on Foreign Relations <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/state-us-infrastructure" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) releases a report card every 5 years on the overall health of the nation&#8217;s infrastructure, giving it an overall &#8220;C-&#8221; grade in 2021. The group&#8217;s diagnosis of bridges and roads in particular does not paint a rosy picture.
The nation&#8217;s roads <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Roads-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> a &#8220;D&#8221; grade from the group, which noted that 40% of public roads are in mediocre or poor condition. Commuters are forced to spend nearly $130 billion a year in repairs and operating coasts because of the prevalence of poor quality roads, and 17% of all vehicle miles were driven on roads deemed to be in &#8220;poor condition.&#8221;
Bridges <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Bridges-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> a slightly higher score from the ASCE, a &#8220;C,&#8221; but the group still expressed a great deal of concern. Over 40% of U.S. bridges are over half a century old, the ASCE stated, and the backlog of repairs in 2021 stood at $125 billion. The report advised a much higher investment level over the next few decades to improve the situation.
&#8220;At the current rate of investment, it will take until 2071 to make all of the repairs that are currently necessary, and the additional deterioration over the next 50 years will become overwhelming,&#8221; the ASCE report said.
The ASCE <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2021-IRC-Executive-Summary-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated</a> in 2021 that the nation&#8217;s &#8220;infrastructure investment gap&#8221; had increased to almost $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years. The organization warned that the deficit could cost the U.S. $10 trillion in GDP, 3 million jobs, and $2.4 trillion in exports by 2039. It noted that the infrastructure investment gap, if allowed to continue, would cost the average American family $3,300 a year in higher costs.
<div id="attachment_717119" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-717119" class="size-large wp-image-717119" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1232147264-864x576.jpg" alt="FREDERICKSBURG, VA - APRIL 6: In an aerial view, vehicles on Interstate 95 travel past a construction project to add three lanes to the I-95 Rappahannock River Crossing on April 6, 2021 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The site of the work is a vital chokepoint for cars and freight trucks moving both north and south along the East Coast. At the end of March, President Joe Biden introduced a $2 trillion plan to overhaul and upgrade the nation's infrastructure. The plan aims to revitalize the U.S. transportation infrastructure, water systems, broadband internet, make investments in manufacturing and job training efforts, and other goals. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1232147264-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1232147264-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1232147264-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1232147264.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Drew Angerer/Getty Images</div>
Repairing the nation&#8217;s bridges represents such a huge stumbling block for the federal government because of its inability to appropriate the necessary funds to tackle traditional infrastructure (large portions of Biden&#8217;s infrastructure packages went toward green initiative) and the skyrocketing cost of those necessary repairs.
“I look at South Carolina when the infrastructure bill came through. We only got about $1 billion more than we otherwise would have over a five-year period,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/26/baltimore-bridge-collapse-cost-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Newsmax in the wake of the Baltimore disaster. “I can barely build a bridge in my district for $1 billion.”
Between October 2020 and September 2022, the average cost for highway construction projects increased by 50%, and highway construction costs are almost 3 times higher than they were in 2003, <a href="https://enotrans.org/article/highway-construction-costs-have-risen-50-in-two-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the National Highway Construction Cost Index (NHCCI). The index <a href="https://www.constructiondive.com/news/high-prices-road-builders-2024-construction-labor/703909/#:~:text=The%20National%20Highway%20Construction%20Cost,these%20high%20prices%2C%20said%20Black." target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached</a> an all-time high in the second quarter of 2023.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse isn&#8217;t the first major infrastructure disaster of Biden&#8217;s tenure. In 2023, a Norfolk Southern train <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/controlled-burn-of-toxic-chemicals-that-unleashed-mushroom-cloud-over-east-palestine-wasnt-necessary-federal-official-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">derailed</a> in East Palestine, Ohio, resulting in a controlled burn of toxic chemicals that were released into the air and affected local residents.
Biden was slammed for waiting a year before he visited East Palestine and was met with disappointed East Palestine residents when he made the trip to the small town last month. The total cost of the derailment is <a href="https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2024/01/31/758843.htm#:~:text=The%20railroad%20now%20estimates%20the,additional%20penalties%20that%20haven't" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated</a> at $1.1 billion.
Despite two major infrastructure initiatives within the last 4 years, the long-term health of America&#8217;s roads and bridges does not look hopeful. Without a major decrease in the cost of repairs and an increase in infrastructure investments, the deterioration will continue, perhaps even accelerate. A poor network of roads and bridges will not only directly pass costs on to normal Americans, but also affect the nation&#8217;s economy as a whole, accentuating our financial woes. And perhaps most importantly, it will almost certainly increase the rate at which we see deadly disasters like the one in Baltimore.

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Highlights The Sorry State Of American Infrastructure

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