Satellite imagery obtained by Israeli and Western officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/satellite-images-show-iran-is-rebuilding-fast-199978f7?mod=middle-east_news_article_pos1">shows</a> that Iran has quickly repaired and rebuilt infrastructure damaged by the joint U.S. and Israeli air campaign. The work covers missile bases inside mountains, bridges, ports, and production facilities.
Near Kangavar in Western Iran, Planet Labs satellite images from March showed two tunnel entrances and an access road damaged by airstrikes meant to block access to a missile base. Within weeks, Airbus imagery showed a paved road leading to freshly excavated entrances.
North of Kermanshah, Planet Labs images from the start of the war documented heavy damage to another missile base. By the first week of June, Airbus images showed crews repairing roads as trucks cleared dirt and reopened collapsed tunnel entrances.
A missile base in Dezful was struck by Israel in June of 2025 and again in early March, burying its entrances. Three months later, Airbus images showed Iran digging out multiple tunnel entrances. One Israeli military official said Iran repaired a bridge — which Israel had hit with three bombs — within days.
Planet Labs imagery from early July showed partial reconstruction at a shipyard in Bandar Anzali on the Caspian Sea, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel said it hit dozens of targets there in March, including warships, the port, a command center, and the shipyard used to repair and maintain vessels.
Near Tehran, Planet Labs images show partial reconstruction in recent weeks at Raja Shimi Industries, a plant assessed to be involved in missile component production. Several new structures appear to have been rebuilt.
Ran Kochav, former commander of Israel’s air and missile defense forces, said the recovery matches Iran’s record after the 12 day Israel-Iran war last June. “They refilled their stockpiles,” he said. “They have very impressive industrialization and reconstruction capabilities.”
Israeli military officials said strikes often collapsed entry points to mountain bases rather than destroying them. Weapons inside remained intact, meaning that Iran has only to dig them out. One official said: “Iran is rebuilding everything.” A second said Iran retains the know-how to rebuild almost everything, including missile and weapons systems.
Jim Lamson, a visiting research fellow at King’s College London and former CIA analyst, said facilities for advanced components such as carbon fiber could take months or years to restore. Iran may have stockpiled those components at underground sites, however, meaning that they could still potentially assemble dozens or hundreds of new missiles and drones in the short term.
Israeli intelligence services assess that Iran may have transferred thousands of centrifuges into tunnels inside <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-is-pickaxe-mountain-and-why-is-trump-talking-about-it">Pickaxe Mountain</a>.
The early U.S. and Israeli campaign involved more than 20,000 strikes. President Trump said last month that Iran’s military is “a complete and total mess” and that much of its navy and air force “doesn’t even exist anymore.” Netanyahu said Iran’s missile production machine was smashed and that the arsenal was emptying without new production — but that appears to have changed.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the operation destroyed Iran’s missile arsenal and production, sank its navy, weakened its militia allies, and ensured it will not possess a nuclear weapon. “This operation was a resounding victory by any objective measure,” she said.
Iran has continued to target ships and U.S. regional allies with missile and drone attacks — including Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, where an Iranian attack killed three U.S. soldiers over the weekend.
Tal Inbar, senior analyst at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said: “It turns out that the rumors about the end or the significant dwindling of the missiles were wrong.”
Iran’s leaders have not signaled any halt. “It is a matter of will, time, and money,” Inbar said.

Satellite imagery of Iran

Satellite Images Show Iran Rapidly Rebuilding Missile Bases And Infrastructure

Global Politics

Infrastructure

Iran

Iran war

Military

A massive water main break near the Sunset Strip overnight flooded parts of West Hollywood early Thursday morning, sending a river of water rushing downhill through neighborhoods of one of Los Angeles County&#8217;s most leftist enclaves.
Crews responded to the rupture near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive around 3:55 am. The broken 36-inch water main was just steps from a <a href="https://www.weho.org/community/arts-and-culture/visual-arts/urban-art-program/city-owned-artworks/bill-oberlin-rocky-and-bullwinkle">15-foot, 700-pound Rocky &amp; Bullwinkle statue,</a> which suddenly found itself overlooking a roaring urban river instead of the usual Sunset Boulevard traffic.
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The streets of West Hollywood were flooded Thursday morning after a massive water main break. It looked like white-water rapids for a while and opened a sinkhole near the Sunset Strip. <a href="https://t.co/Jne9I8MnFF">pic.twitter.com/Jne9I8MnFF</a>
— KNX News 1070 AM (@knxnews) <a href="https://x.com/knxnews/status/2077804577420689779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Reporters on the scene compared the rushing water to &#8220;white-water rapids&#8221; as it tore downhill and opened a sinkhole in an area better known for celebrity hotspots, restaurants, and luxury hotels.
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Several streets in West Hollywood are being inundated with fast-moving water following a water main break. Here&#8217;s a look at the widespread impact of the rushing water from AIR7. <a href="https://t.co/bUUdle70vp">https://t.co/bUUdle70vp</a> <a href="https://t.co/h4UNHVWd22">pic.twitter.com/h4UNHVWd22</a>
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) <a href="https://x.com/ABC7/status/2077737757871399383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The break unleashed a river of water that barreled downhill from the Sunset Strip, through residential streets, and ultimately flooded parts of Santa Monica Boulevard below. The steep terrain turned what might have been an ordinary water main break into dramatic footage that quickly went viral.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
West Hollywood now <a href="https://t.co/lMVjat1Dy6">pic.twitter.com/lMVjat1Dy6</a>
— Aurelia De La Costa (@AureliaLaCosta) <a href="https://x.com/AureliaLaCosta/status/2077731847887597627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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All of Santa Monica blvd in weho is flooded rn 3am <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/weho?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#weho</a> <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/flooding?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flooding</a> <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/losangeles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#losangeles</a> <a href="https://t.co/1lOUICwwoL">pic.twitter.com/1lOUICwwoL</a>
— padam? (@jigglypuffyyyy) <a href="https://x.com/jigglypuffyyyy/status/2077706992391799272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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ABC7 captured the tense moment when a person was briefly swept off their feet while trying to reach the sidewalk before regaining their footing.
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The sheer force of rushing water in West Hollywood temporarily swept away a person who was trying to get to the sidewalk. AIR7 caught the tense moment on video. <a href="https://t.co/lZzV7m9pZb">https://t.co/lZzV7m9pZb</a> <a href="https://t.co/SB6GgOH1Q7">pic.twitter.com/SB6GgOH1Q7</a>
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) <a href="https://x.com/ABC7/status/2077763592959426832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The floodwaters also inundated a Metro bus yard south of Santa Monica Boulevard, near the Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department West Hollywood Station and the Pacific Design Center.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars<a href="https://t.co/y3qIuvHZaf">https://t.co/y3qIuvHZaf</a> <a href="https://t.co/FZ3PpKT8bR">pic.twitter.com/FZ3PpKT8bR</a>
— KTLA 5 Morning News (@KTLAMorningNews) <a href="https://x.com/KTLAMorningNews/status/2077756431424770236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Water crews shut down the damaged water main after several hours, leaving behind a massive sinkhole near the rupture.
&#8220;Obviously, a lot of people are still in a state of shock,&#8221; West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/16/us-news/west-hollywood-water-main-break-floods-streets/">told</a> the California Post on Thursday morning. &#8220;They have had water damage to their sub-garages. Their cars have been significantly damaged. We also have a couple of units that have been impacted. Right now, people are just trying to assess the damage, get people out to help them with repairs and the remediation.&#8221;
Mayor Heilman and the Los Angeles County Fire Department <a href="https://x.com/LACoFDPIO/status/2077797539626246252">said</a> there have been no reports of injuries.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1137009" style="width: 779px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1137009" class="size-large wp-image-1137009" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2285750339-769x576.jpg" alt="" width="769" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2285750339-769x576.jpg 769w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2285750339-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2285750339-768x575.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2285750339.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px" />West Hollywood, CA &#8211; July 16, 2026: An aerial view of workers viewing a broken water main at Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive in West Hollywood that sent water gushing down many streets, closing several of them Thursday, July 16, 2026. The Los Angeles County Fire Department said at 4:37 a.m. that a major water main was broken in the area of Palm Avenue and Harratt Street. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)</div>
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) owns the water main. Officials said the break occurred on &#8220;a riveted steel pipe from 1916,&#8221; <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-07-16/weho-water-main-break">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times. The City of Los Angeles owns the DWP, although the break occurred in the City of West Hollywood.
Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass said the rupture was the consequence of aging infrastructure. &#8220;It is my understanding that these pipes are over 100 years old.&#8221;

GettyImages-2285750488

SEE IT: Century-Old Pipe Bursts, Sending A River Through One Of L.A.’s Most Leftist Enclaves

California

General

Los Angeles County

U.S.

After President Donald Trump warned that the United States could target Iran’s energy infrastructure, critics overlooked that such strikes have been a standard practice of modern warfare for nearly a century.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F*ckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
He reiterated the warning Monday, telling reporters, &#8220;Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o&#8217;clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again. I mean complete demolition by 12 o&#8217;clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to — we don&#8217;t want that to happen.”
Critics responded by warning such actions could violate international law. A spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned against targeting civilian infrastructure. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-NJ) accused Trump of proposing &#8220;mass war crimes,&#8221; arguing that destroying bridges and power plants would both harm innocent civilians and fail to reopen the Strait. Erika Guevara-Rosas of Amnesty International similarly <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/03/trump-warning-attack-iran-power-plants-is-threat-to-commit-war-crimes/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIntentionally%20attacking%20civilian%20infrastructure%20such,cause%20disproportionate%20harm%20to%20civilians.">stated</a> that attacks on power plants are &#8220;generally prohibited&#8221; and could be unlawful if they cause disproportionate civilian harm.
Yet targeting energy and infrastructure has long been a cornerstone of military strategy.
During World War II, during the <a href="https://dpaa-mil.experience.crmforce.mil/Projects/s/wwii/operation-tidal-wave">Ploești Raids</a> in 1943 (Operation Tidal Wave), U.S. bombers launched a high-risk raid on the Romanian oil refineries that supplied roughly 30% of Nazi Germany&#8217;s fuel. By 1944, <a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/0407twenty/">relentless bombing</a> of coal-to-liquid fuel plants (like those at Leuna) helped cripple German military operations due to fuel shortages.
In the Korean War, <a href="https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196085/strategic-bombing-new-flexibility/#:~:text=In%20the%20spring%20of%201952,specific%20high%2Dvalue%20economic%20targets.">Operation Pressure Pump</a> in 1952 saw U.S. forces attack major hydroelectric plants, knocking out roughly 90% of North Korea&#8217;s power grid and even causing blackouts in parts of China.
During the Vietnam War, in <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-017/h-017-2.html">Operation Rolling Thunder</a>, the U.S. targeted North Vietnamese petroleum, oil, and lubricant (POL) storage facilities. Later in the war, during Operation Linebacker, the U.S. used &#8220;smart bombs&#8221; (laser-guided) to strike the thermal power plants in Hanoi, significantly disrupting the city&#8217;s electricity.
In the 1991 Gulf War, U.S.-led coalition forces <a href="https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/infrastructure-targeting-and-postwar-iraq">destroyed</a> or disabled nearly 90% of Iraq&#8217;s national power grid within days. The United States used specialized &#8220;Graphite Bombs&#8221; (non-lethal wire-dropping canisters) to short-circuit electrical substations.
More recently, during the 2011 Libya intervention, NATO forces <a href="https://www.nato.int/en/news-and-events/articles/news/2011/07/06/nato-cuts-off-pro-qadhafi-access-to-fuel-in-brega?utm_source=chatgpt.com">targeted</a> fuel and logistics infrastructure (including refueling equipment) used by Muammar Gaddafi’s military. In the war against ISIS, Operation Tidal Wave II  <a href="https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/630352/oir-spokesman-coalition-cripples-isil-oil-distribution/">targeted</a> the oil infrastructure controlled by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

U.S. Aircraft Operate At RAF Fairford In Gloucestershire

Echoes Of The Past: Why Trump’s Iran Threat Mirrors Past U.S. War Strategy

bombing

Donald Trump

The anti-AI movement may be perceived as a grassroots band of environmentally focused individuals, but that characterization may be misleading. 
A report from the American Energy Institute found the anti-AI data center movement — which has been billed as an organic movement — received more than $39 million in funding from left-wing foreign billionaire donors. Among the major donors listed in the report is Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, known for donating to leftwing advocacy groups such as the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/18/liberal-billionaire-nonprofit-dark-money-00018513">Sixteen Thirty Fund</a> which, in turn, is well known as a major fiscal sponsor and “dark money” hub for liberal causes. 
Top recipients of the nearly $40 million funding are the Indivisible, <a href="http://350.org">350.org</a>, Oil Change International, GAIA, and Sierra Club. The national organizations farm out funding to local affiliated organizations such as the ‘Stop The Data Center Coming To Martindale Brightwood’ in Indianapolis, Indiana. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1069975" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-31-at-2.13.01-PM-300x282.png" alt="" width="300" height="282" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-31-at-2.13.01-PM-300x282.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-31-at-2.13.01-PM-613x576.png 613w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-31-at-2.13.01-PM-768x722.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-31-at-2.13.01-PM-1360x1280.png 1360w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-31-at-2.13.01-PM.png 1362w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></div>
The report found that local chapters of the Sierra Club are currently coaching residents to fight zoning changes and file lawsuits. The report also shows 350.org and the Indivisible Project received $7.5M, GAIA received 6.4M , and the Sierra Club $2.1M. 
&#8220;This report reveals that more than $39 million in foreign funding is flowing to activist groups working to block data center development and the energy infrastructure needed to support it,” said the Founder and CEO American Energy Institute. “These are not isolated protests, they are part of a coordinated national campaign to slow the buildout of the electricity systems required for AI, manufacturing, and economic growth.” He added, “When foreign-backed networks are organizing opposition to critical infrastructure, it raises serious concerns about who benefits from weakening U.S. energy capacity.&#8221; 
The funding puts a recent letter to Congress, calling for an AI moratorium, into question. The December letter had more than 230 environmental groups united in calling for a national moratorium on new data centers in the United States. Shortly after the letter was sent, Senator Bernie Sanders also called for an AI moratorium which would pause the construction and development of new AI data centers in the United States. Sanders says the goal was to give the government a chance to catch up. 
“This process is moving very, very quickly and we need to slow it down. This moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up with the transformative changes that we are witnessing,” said Sanders. Last week, Sanders proposed his AI moratorium <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-ocasio-cortez-announce-ai-data-center-moratorium-act/">bill</a> in conjunction with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 
President Trump’s AI Czar David Sacks says the AI moratorium would do nothing to slow down China, creating an unacceptable technological imbalance. 
“But again we can’t stop China from making progress. All we would be doing is ceding leadership of this AI race to China. What people like Bernie really want is they want the US to become like Europe. Europe has half the share of Global GDP they had thirty years ago. And that’s because of their hostility towards innovation and technological progress,&#8221; he said.
Another donor from the report, Hedge Fund Manager Chris Hohn has <a href="https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/chris-hohn-discusses-thompson-coburns-strategic-growth/">stated</a>, &#8220;AI&#8217;s already having an impact; it will continue to have an impact, and that may mean that our associate classes are a little bit smaller in future years.&#8221; In another interview he said Artificial Intelligence will cause disruption in ways that can&#8217;t be predicted.

US-NEWS-NEV-DATA-CENTERS-LV

Left-Wing Foreign Billionaires Fund Groups Trying To Cripple AI Infrastructure

Artificial Intelligence

Politics

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador called for an end to a “discriminatory” federal program that costs states millions of dollars by pushing them to go with more expensive “diverse” contractors.
In a Wednesday <a href="https://www.ag.idaho.gov/content/uploads/2025/07/Mid-America-Milling-Amicus-Brief-DBE-Program_As-Filed.pdf">court filing</a> joined by 20 states, Labrador urged a federal judge to accept a proposal from the Trump administration to end an affirmative action program that favors minority- and women-owned businesses for state infrastructure projects. The initiative, known as the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, set aside $37 billion under the Biden administration for “disadvantaged” groups. 
The program, which has been in effect since 1983, was originally challenged in September 2023 by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of two Indiana-based companies that claim they lost business opportunities based on the policy. The Biden administration fought back against the challenge, but the Trump administration has asked a judge to side with the complaint and disband the program. 
In an amicus brief, Labrador and the other plaintiffs urged Federal Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, a George W. Bush nominee, to accept a consent decree proposed by the Trump administration that would end race and sex as components to qualify as a “disadvantaged business.” 
“This discrimination is expensive. It routinely requires States to reject the lowest bid on a project in favor of a less-efficient DBE-compliant bidder, and even when States can choose the lowest bid, the price is usually inflated because contractors have to use DBE-compliant subcontractors,” the filing says. &#8220;The DBE program wastes money on purpose. When supposedly disadvantaged entities are the lowest bidders, the program has no effect-its whole point is to force States to hire disadvantaged entities when they are not the lowest bidders.”
Labrador told The Daily Wire that the rule has cost his state at least $15.2 million over a 44-month period. In one instance, he said that Idaho had to take a $2.7 million bid instead of a $2.2 million bid. 
“This federal program has operated like a racial quota system for decades,” he said. “Federal bureaucrats forced states like Idaho to reject better bids from qualified contractors, wasting roughly $15 million in just a few years by requiring states to award a certain percentage of contracts based on race and gender instead of merit.”
A 2009 MIT <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25651355?seq=1">study</a> found that affirmative action in contracting can increase the cost when comparing state contracts without preferences to federal contracts with preferences. The study found that bids without preferences were at least 5.6% lower than the preferential contract. 
Other states that signed onto the legal filing include North Dakota, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and the Arizona state legislature. 
“While the Biden Administration defended this system in court, President Trump is working to restore equality under the law,” Labrador said. “My office will continue fighting any federal program that forces states to treat citizens as members of groups rather than individuals with equal constitutional rights.”

Construction worker holding hardhat

Republican Attorney General Calls For End To Federal DEI Program That ‘Wastes Money On Purpose’

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Idaho

Trump Administration

On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the Department had approved another 180 infrastructure grants as the Trump administration slices through the backlog of more than 3,200 projects the Biden administration left behind.
The largest grant in the $3.2 billion package will be directed to the building of Alabama’s I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Multimodal Project to update the aging tunnels and bridges that have plagued the Yellowhammer State.
“As part of this process, the Department has ripped out burdensome DEI, Green New Scam, and social justice requirements that Congress deliberately did not mandate. This includes social cost of carbon accounting, pointless greenhouse gas emission reporting, and discriminatory DEI language,” the Department <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-approves-another-180-grants-get-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>.
“America is building again,” Duffy enthused. “At the Department of Transportation, that means getting back to basics: Building More, Building Efficiently and Building Quickly. The last administration liked to grab the headlines but didn’t want to do the hard work of building. They also tied road construction up with red tape and leftist social requirements – adding millions in costs and months of delay – all while our outdated infrastructure sat in disrepair. This administration has a different vision: drain the swamp and make government work for the American people.”
“Road construction costs <a href="https://enotrans.org/article/fhwa-highway-construction-costs-continued-to-grow-at-24-annual-rate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skyrocketed</a> roughly 70% under the last administration,” the Transportation Department said. “The greenhouse gas reporting burden alone increased project costs and added months to the permitting process.”
<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/infrastructure-investment-and-jobs-act/grants-press-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Other states</a> where bridges will receive funding include Mississippi, Montana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, Maryland, and California. Airport terminal programs in 22 states will receive funds. Consolidated rail structures in five states will also receive funding.
“There are more than 623,000 bridges across the country, of which 49.1% are in ‘fair’ condition, 44.1% are in ‘good’ condition, and 6.8% are in ‘poor’ condition,” the 2025 Report for America’s Infrastructure <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/bridges-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detailed</a>. “Unfortunately, the nation continues to see the number of fair bridges surpassing those in good condition. As bridges in fair condition continue to age—presenting the possibility of being further downgraded—they also exemplify an opportunity because they can be preserved at a lower cost than bridges in poor condition.”
“Most bridges have a lifespan of about 50 years. Experts say that the average bridge in America is about 47 years old, meaning it&#8217;s a pivotal moment in the age and future of bridge infrastructure,” KETV <a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/state-of-us-bridges/64204583" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.

Newark Situation Not Ideal But Still Safe, Duffy Says

‘America Is Building Again’: Transportation Dept Clears Biden Infrastructure Backlog

Department of Transportation

Sean Duffy

A federal judge this week ruled against a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden-Harris</a> administration program that allocated around $37 billion in federal road contracts for businesses owned by women and racial minorities, raising questions about the future of a decades-old affirmative action program.
Since the 1980s, the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program has required around 10% of federal dollars allocated for road construction contracts to go to women and certain racial minorities. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Biden signed in 2021, reauthorized the DBE and set aside $37 billion for eligible recipients.
This year, two small businesses sued the Transportation Department, saying that the DBE program caused them to lose out on business. On Monday, Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove <a href="https://will-law.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/OPINION.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> that the Biden-Harris administration could not enforce the DBE&#8217;s affirmative action quotas against the businesses.
“The Court is keenly aware of the past discrimination that certain groups of people have faced in this country,” Tatenhove wrote. “And the Court is sure that the federal government has nothing but good intentions in trying to remedy past wrongs. But remedying those wrongs must still pass constitutional muster. The federal government cannot classify people in such a manner that violates the principles of equal protection.”
This is the latest caste that builds off the Supreme Court&#8217;s June 2023 ruling that affirmative action was unconstitutional. One federal judge <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2024-03-06/a-federal-judge-has-ordered-a-us-minority-business-agency-to-serve-all-races" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> that the Minority Business Development Agency needed to be open to working with business owners of all races, while another judge <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/07/sba-8a-program-ruling-affirmative-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the Small Business Administration could not distribute contracts based on the claim that certain races are inherently disadvantaged.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Mid-America Milling and Bagshaw Trucking. The businesses, which are owned in part by white males and operate in Kentucky and Indiana, routinely bid on federal contracts. Mid-America says it has lost out on 82 contracts in Indiana since January 2022 because of the DBE program.
In his decision, Van Tatenhove wrote that both companies have “previously lost out on federally funded contracts to DBE firms, even when Plaintiffs’ bids were lower.” 
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726313279401000&amp;usg=AOvVaw115_qPFFEePDP86-Fvo-Vd">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
WILL lawyer Daniel Lennington told The Daily Wire that the decision was a major blow for the Biden-Harris administration’s “equity agenda,” which pushes race-based programs throughout the federal government. 
Lennington noted that after a period of discovery, WILL would ask for a final decision from the judge that would block any business from being subject to the DBE program. 
“The DBE program is really baked into the DNA of road building in America and companies all across America just assume that this program is never going to go anywhere,” he said. “We believe that’s unconstitutional and it hurts real people that have real businesses every day.&#8221;

Road Construction As Muni Bond Sales Surge With Debt Met By Eager Investor Demand

Judge Blocks Biden Plan To Give $37 Billion In Construction Contracts To Women And Minorities

Biden Administration

Courts

Racial Discrimination

The White House&#8217;s order for federal agencies to install thousands of signs along the nation&#8217;s highways praising Joe Biden has one Republican senator pressing the administration for more information on what she says is &#8220;public financing for the president’s own campaign.&#8221;
The Executive Office of the President’s <a href="https://www.cfo.gov/assets/files/CA-23-06_Enhancing%20Transparency%20Through%20Use%20of%20the%20Investing%20in%20America%20Emblem%20on%20Signs.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Office of Management and Budget wrote</a> in February 2023 that “Federal awarding agencies are strongly encouraged” to make it a requirement of each grant that the recipient, such as a local government, put up signs based on the “Official Investing in American Emblem Style Guide,” which <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Investing-in-America-Brand-Guide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prescribes signs</a> that say “Project Funded By President Joe Biden’s [Insert Name of Law].”
“The Administration believes that clear and prominent signage on projects is one of several ways to inform taxpayers about how Federal funds from these laws are being spent and advance the goals of accountability and transparency of Federal spending,” it said.
The signs credit Biden for acts passed by Congress, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) says they amount to using taxpayer money for campaign signs before the November election. She wrote in a Thursday letter to the Office of Management and Budget that it&#8217;s absurd to pay for campaign signs with taxpayer money.
“Political campaign signs are not infrastructure. They do nothing to improve our roads or bridges and it’s obvious their real intent is only to pave the way for Biden’s re-election,” she wrote to OMB Director Shalanda D. Young.
She said that even though OMB justifies the signs as “transparency,” they are not in compliance with laws requiring agencies to disclose how much taxpayer money was spent when discussing a project. Complying with that law could have the opposite of the effect Biden hopes for, she wrote.
The administration&#8217;s order was a more detailed version of one originally sent out in <a href="https://www.cfo.gov/assets/files/Controller%20Alert%20EnhancingTransparencyBipartisanInfrastructureLaw.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">August 2022</a>, a few months before the midterm elections.
Agencies have complied. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/invest/investing-america-signage">website specifies</a> that &#8220;for construction projects funded in whole or in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or Inflation Reduction Act through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recipients must place a sign at construction sites that display the Investing in America emblem and identify the project as a ‘project funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’ or ‘project funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.’”
Biden has been accused of using taxpayer dollars to buy political favor, such as sending <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2023/11/28/biden-email-announces-student-loan-forgiveness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emails</a> to college graduates, signed by Biden, telling them that their student loans were forgiven, that his &#8220;administration has delivered on that promise,&#8221; and asking them to &#8220;share your story about what this relief means to you.”
But the language on the signs is even more audacious because, unlike the likely unconstitutional executive action Biden took to forgive loans, presidents do not make laws.
Ernst suggested to OMB in the letter that the administration put up signs to highlight the embarrassments of Biden&#8217;s spending.
“Why is there no billboard next to the seven electric vehicle charging stations built over the past two years boasting that they were bought by the Biden administration with $7.5 billion? Such a sign could proudly declare, &#8216;This billion dollar boondoggle brought to you by President Biden!&#8217;” she wrote.
&#8220;A similar sign should be posted alongside the route of the 1.3-mile San Francisco rail extension the Biden administration has committed at least $3.4 billion to build, which is only a fraction of the megaproject’s ballooning $8.3 billion price tag. This gravy train is on track to be one of the most expensive transit projects in the world. That certainly makes it qualify as a historical attraction deserving of a sign for public recognition,&#8221; Ernst added.
Despite costing $1.2 trillion, the &#8220;infrastructure&#8221; law has accomplished so little that most Americans <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/06/biden-infrastructure-democrats-voters-00064694" target="_blank" rel="noopener">don&#8217;t even know it exists.</a>
The signs also could violate the Highway Beautification Act, which limits signage on federal highways, according to Ernst. 
The senator asked OMB to disclose the cost of the signs and whether there “was a legal determination made as to whether these taxpayer-funded campaign advertisements and billboards misuse official government resources for political campaign purposes.”
She also pressed the OMB to explain “what actions have been taken or are planned by OMB to enact the provisions of Public Law 118-47 requiring all projects funded by the White House and other agencies and departments with taxpayer dollars to disclose the cost.”
Ernst has successfully inserted those provisions into federal law, and she wrote that “If you check Section 632 of Division B, Title VI of Public Law 118-47, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-47), you will notice the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2882" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COST Act</a> requirements” requiring OMB to “clearly state… the dollar amount of Federal funds for the project or program” when “issuing statements, press releases, [or] describing projects or programs.”
Ernst said that massive federal spending has led to inflation that has wiped out any benefits of the stimulus package. “Highway construction costs are up <a href="https://enotrans.org/article/fhwa-highway-construction-costs-continued-to-grow-at-24-annual-rate/%23:~:text=The%20July%2DSeptember%202023%20NHCCI,the%20October%2DDecember%202020%20quarter.">nearly 70 percent</a> since Biden became president. Because the dollar isn’t going nearly as far as it once did, the actual amount put towards transportation could be reduced as much as 40 percent over the next five years, <a href="https://www.bts.gov/data-spotlight/increases-highway-construction-costs-could-reduce-bil-funding-allocated">according to the administration’s own estimates</a>,” she said in a statement.

The sign federal agencies are instructed to erect. / Office of Management and Budget

Biden Ordered Fed Agencies To Install Nationwide Signage Praising Him Before Election

Joe Biden

Joni Ernst

Former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain wishes President Joe Biden would stop talking about bridges and focus more of his attention on economic issues.
Biden&#8217;s former top man <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/09/ron-klain-joe-biden-infrastructure-00151438" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told POLITICO</a> that while there was certainly nothing wrong with Biden talking about infrastructure, even the greatest accomplishments might not move the needle if the American people were worried about day-to-day issues like the cost of gas, groceries, and rent.
&#8220;I think the president is out there too much talking about bridges,&#8221; Klain lamented. &#8220;He does two or three events a week where he’s cutting a ribbon on a bridge. And here’s a bridge. Like I tell you, if you go into the grocery store, you go to the grocery store and, you know, eggs and milk are expensive, the fact that there’s a f**king bridge is not &#8230;&#8221;
Klain went on to argue that a focus on local infrastructure projects might be more effective for a candidate running for Congress who was trying to show how effective he had been in bringing federal funding home to his district — but did not have the same impact to someone running for another term in the White House.
&#8220;He’s not a congressman. He’s not running for Congress. I think it’s kind of a fool’s errand. I think that [it] also doesn’t get covered that much because, look, it’s a f**king bridge. Like it’s a bridge, and how interesting is the bridge? It’s a little interesting but it’s not a lot interesting,&#8221; he added.
Klain&#8217;s advice was for Biden to stick to the economy — but not the current economy so much as the one he planned to foster in a second term.
&#8220;The president’s most effective economic message is contrast around whose side are you on, and compassion for the [pinch] of family budgets, and his agenda to bring down costs and raise incomes — and that lauding achievements — especially ones with abstract benefits — is less persuasive with voters,&#8221; Klain explained.
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Biden may yet face an uphill battle even if he takes Klain&#8217;s advice, as recent polling suggests more Americans believe the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-claims-of-economic-victory-slapped-back-by-worse-than-expected-inflation-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economy</a> was better prior to Biden taking office in 2021.
Even an <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1778070441648623789">informal poll</a> done during a live MSNBC segment resulted in everyone surveyed saying that the economy was better under former President Donald Trump.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Raise your hand if you think President Trump&#39;s policies on the economy would be better for your family ✋ <a href="https://t.co/5WqShG0mlZ">pic.twitter.com/5WqShG0mlZ</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1778070441648623789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ron Klain

Biden’s Former Chief Of Staff Wants Him To Stop Talking About Bridges

Biden's Former Chief Of Staff Wants Him To Stop Talking About Bridges

2024 Election

Elections

Executive

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

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Highlights The Sorry State Of American Infrastructure

Baltimore

Francis Scott Key Bridge

Inflation Reduction Act

Readers Pass

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said during an interview over the weekend that everyone who was killed last week on the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a migrant.
Van Hollen made the remarks during a Sunday interview on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; while talking about the incident in which a 1,000-foot cargo ship, the Dali, hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing the bridge to collapse instantly.
&#8220;We’re working to help the families of the six individuals,&#8221; Van Hollen said. &#8220;All of them, all immigrants. It’s a clear example about the contributions and the sacrifices that immigrants make.&#8221;
Host Martha Raddatz said that the migrants came from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, and Guatemala.
&#8220;And the other priority right now is to open the channel because this is a thriving port of Baltimore. We have over 15,000 people working directly for the port,&#8221; Van Hollen said. &#8220;Thousands of others — their livelihood depends on the port. So, opening that channel is the priority.&#8221;
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&#8220;And I want to thank President Biden because he has followed through on his commitment,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;The Army Corps of Engineers will cover all the cost of clearing the channel. We have submitted our requests for rebuilding the bridge to the emergency relief program. We’ve been invited in that program. The federal government will pay 90 percent of the costs and Senator [Ben] Cardin and I are planning to introduce legislation to cover the other 10.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen provides an update on the rebuilding plan following the collapse of Baltimore&#39;s Key Bridge. 
“The federal government will pay 90% of the cost and Senator Cardin and I plan to introduce legislation to cover the other 10.” <a href="https://t.co/tbdPPdCc6Y">https://t.co/tbdPPdCc6Y</a> <a href="https://t.co/rJZZHW5lJV">pic.twitter.com/rJZZHW5lJV</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1774440716221006192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Chris Van Hollen Jan 18

Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen: All Those Killed In Bridge Collapse Were Migrants

Congress

Maryland

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) put a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consultant on the Maryland Port Commission just months before a container ship crashed into Baltimore&#8217;s Francis Scott Key Bridge. The supply chain on the East Coast and beyond now hangs in the balance as authorities will have to swiftly undertake complex feats of engineering to reopen the port and, eventually, the bridge.
Moore named Karenthia Barber to the Commission last August. The headline of the <a href="https://fox2now.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/648711993/karenthia-a-barber-appointed-first-black-woman-to-serve-as-maryland-port-commissioner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> announcing the hire hailed her as the “first black woman to serve as Maryland Port Commissioner.” Her <a href="https://mpa.maryland.gov/Pages/KarenthiaBarber.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ports Commission bio</a> says she is “the Founder and CEO of Professional Development Associates, LLC. [sic] a consulting practice that provides leadership and workforce training, coaching, and diversity, equity and inclusion audits and consulting,” and a volunteer for the Maryland Democratic Party.
According to an <a href="https://www.pobdirectory.com/article/helping-the-port-thrive.html">interview with Barber</a> posted to the port website this January, part of her job was to bring her DEI expertise to the commission.
&#8220;In the words of our Governor, I want to make sure the MPA is leaving no one behind — that we are broadening our impact, our revenue, but also expanding the net of inclusion,&#8221; Barber said.
Barber did not return a request for comment from The Daily Wire on her qualifications. The <a href="https://mpa.maryland.gov/pages/port-commission.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Port Commission website</a> says it “establishes policies directed toward improving the competitive position of the Port of Baltimore within the international maritime industry. Commission meetings are held once a month and include a session open to the public. Members of the MPC are appointed by the governor.” Its <a href="https://mpa.maryland.gov/Documents/port-commission/March72024OpenSessionAgenda.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 7 meeting</a> included a “Safety Program Annual Report.”
The three current commissioners who were appointed by past Republican governors have expertise in managing major transportation hubs or maritime ventures. They are Edward McDonald, who served as chief of staff for the Maryland Department of Transportation; David Richardson, the former chief of staff at the Maryland Aviation Administration; and Brenda Dandy, who co-founded a marine business.
Moore — the state’s first black governor — appointed Barber and two other commissioners: <a href="https://mpa.maryland.gov/Pages/SandyRoberts.aspx">Sandy Roberts</a>, an attorney who has practiced civil rights and international transactions law and operates an airport concessionaire business; and <a href="https://mpa.maryland.gov/Pages/MScottWebb.aspx">Scott Webb</a>, a member of the International Longshoremen&#8217;s Association labor union who worked on the water.
<div id="attachment_716057" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-716057" class="size-large wp-image-716057" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-2117511347-864x576.jpg" alt="BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MARCH 27: Workers continue to investigate and search for victims after the cargo ship Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse yesterday, on March 27, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. Two survivors were pulled from the Patapsco River and six missing people are presumed dead after the Coast Guard called off rescue efforts. A work crew was fixing potholes on the bridge, which is used by roughly 30,000 people each day, when the ship struck at around 1:30am on Tuesday morning. The accident has temporarily closed the Port of Baltimore, one of the largest and busiest on the East Coast of the U.S. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-2117511347-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-2117511347-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-2117511347-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-2117511347.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Scott Olson/Getty Images</div>
After a cargo ship collided with a pier on the Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, leading to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ntsb-reports-timeline-of-baltimore-bridge-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">massive bridge&#8217;s collapse</a>, supply chains across America hang in the balance as authorities manage a cleanup of the Baltimore port that includes removing the wreckage of the bridge so that cruise ships and cargo freighters can pass through, determining how the catastrophe might have been prevented, and constructing a new bridge.
Barber&#8217;s website <a href="https://www.KBMotivator.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KBMotivator.com</a> positions her as a professional motivational speaker, and pictures her hobnobbing with various Democrat politicians. It says Barber is “recognized as an engaging, inspiring and educational world class speaker&#8221; and hails her as a public speaker.
&#8220;Ms. Barber provides keynotes on a range of topics including: Leadership; Diversity, Inclusion and Equity; Generations At Work, and Communications,” it says.
Her bio said she served as chair of the Board of Trustees of Maryland Automobile Insurance, and the website said she had done “workshops and training sessions” for clients that included the U.S. Navy.
Her father was also a member of the longshoreman’s union. But there was little evidence of substantive maritime experience by Barber; the website said the goal of consulting at various agencies she worked was to “drive invention, inspiration, and innovation.”
Her biography brags that “the Baltimore native is a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Baltimore (MD) chapter The Links, Inc., a national service organization of prominent Black women.” It also states that Barber is a recipient of “the Living Legend Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women&#8217;s Clubs.&#8221;

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) and Karenthia A. Barber (Maryland Port Commission)

Less Than A Year Before Bridge Fiasco, Maryland’s Dem Gov Put A DEI Consultant On State’s Port Commission

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