U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday that cars were &#8220;going electric&#8221; whether the people were ready to go along with them or not.
Buttigieg made the comments during a CNN appearance — in response to a question about President Joe Biden&#8217;s visit to speak with striking auto workers on the United Auto Workers (UAW) picket lines in Michigan.
WATCH:
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responds to workers&#39; concerns over Biden&#39;s forced &quot;transition&quot; to electric vehicles:
&quot;These cars are going electric with or without us&quot; <a href="https://t.co/lj2ouOIBNp">pic.twitter.com/lj2ouOIBNp</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1707028528191988136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The Transportation Secretary referenced Biden&#8217;s appearance in Michigan and the fact that auto workers have voiced concerns about the transition to electric vehicles — and where that could leave their jobs moving forward.
Buttigieg began with a callback to his hometown of South Bend, Indiana, where he name-dropped two local UAW chapters before pivoting to talk about the economy and the transition to electric vehicles.
&#8220;Look, I come from South Bend, Indiana,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s the home of UAW Local 5 and UAW Local 9, I saw how the past generation of union auto jobs helped build the middle class build communities like the one I grew up in.&#8221;
&#8220;I also saw what happened when those factories closed,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;What the UAW is trying to do right now is to make sure that this next chapter of auto industry, which, let&#8217;s be very clear, these cars are going electric with or without us.&#8221;
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While President Biden was on the picket line in Michigan, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) made an appearance at a UAW protest in Wentzville, Missouri — where he took aim at the Biden administration&#8217;s efforts to force the auto industry to go electric &#8220;with or without&#8221; the workers.
&#8220;I&#8217;d call on the Biden Admin right now: Cancel all of your terrible electric mandates that are killing these guys and taking their jobs,&#8221; Hawley said. &#8220;And these companies &#8230; need to invest in America and in American workers.&#8221;
WATCH:
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WATCH: Hawley Joins UAW Picket Line In Wentzville, MO
&quot;I&#39;d call on the Biden Admin right now: Cancel all of your terrible electric mandates that are killing these guys and taking their jobs.
&quot;And these companies [&#8230;] need to invest in America and in American workers.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/fMppoa2261">pic.twitter.com/fMppoa2261</a>
&mdash; Senator Hawley Press Office (@SenHawleyPress) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenHawleyPress/status/1706701723325145193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obamas-car-czar-blasts-biden-for-joining-auto-worker-picket-line">Obama&#8217;s &#8216;Car Czar&#8217; Blasts Biden For Joining Auto Worker Picket Line</a>

Transportation Secretary Buttigieg Testifies In House Oversight Hearing

Pete Buttigieg: ‘Cars Are Going Electric, With Or Without Us’

Pete Buttigieg: 'Cars Are Going Electric, With Or Without Us'

Department of Transportation

electric vehicles

Energy

Pete Buttigieg

Politics

A top administration official defended President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> on Sunday amid a large spike in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-disaster-biden-admin-sets-new-border-record-as-illegal-crossings-surge">border crossings</a>.
Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-buttigieg">Pete Buttigieg</a> was asked about the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly in Texas where the Department of Defense just <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/21/us/migrant-crossings-eagle-pass-state-of-emergency/index.html">bolstered</a> a National Guard deployment, during an interview with NBC News.
&#8220;Let me ask you about what we are seeing at the border. Recently, the administration sent <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2023-09-21/troops-mexico-border-migrants-11445230.html">800 active-duty troops</a> to the Texas border to deal with the surge in migrants, some record numbers this past week. Was the Biden administration caught off guard by this latest surge of migrants?&#8221; asked &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; moderator Kristen Welker.
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Q: &quot;Was the Biden administration caught off guard by this latest surge of migrants?&quot;
BUTTIGIEG: &quot;What you saw was the administration, as always, responding as needed&#8230;&quot;
Q: &quot;Were you caught off guard though?&quot;
BUTTIGIEG: &quot;The president did what needed to be done.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/llontN4RTT">pic.twitter.com/llontN4RTT</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1705967911704105296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Well, what you saw was the administration, as always, responding as needed to conditions being proactive where necessary,&#8221; Buttigieg responded.
Welker pressed the issue. &#8220;Were you caught off guard, though?&#8221; she asked again.
&#8220;Look, the president did what needed to be done. And often that involves a rapid response, like the rapid response that this administration directed. But also what we see is a political dynamic where some people seem to prefer that the problem continue, rather than to do something to actually solve it,&#8221; Buttigieg said.
&#8220;And I have to say, that kind of reminds me of what&#8217;s going on in the funding fight, where some of the very same people who would line up to take a shot at the administration over something like air travel disruption, are also trying to disrupt us from training more air traffic controllers,&#8221; he added, alluding to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-lee-argues-congress-should-avoid-government-shutdown">spending fight</a> in Congress ahead of a possible government shutdown.
The new military deployment was announced in the midst of reports about <a href="https://twitter.com/RepTiffany/status/1704137551571828886">illegal crossings</a> <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/22/us-border-migrant-families-biden">spiking to nearly 9,000 a day</a> and Eagle Pass, Texas, <a href="https://www.epbusinessjournal.com/2023/09/eagle-pass-besieged-by-migrants-declares-state-of-emergency/#:~:text=Eagle%20Pass%20Mayor%20Rolando%20Salinas%2C%20Jr.%20declared%20a%20Local%20State,and%20U.%20S.%20federal%20government%20to">declared</a> a state of emergency.
Government data released last week showed authorities encountering migrants more than 304,000 times around the nation in August, a number which was over <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-disaster-biden-admin-sets-new-border-record-as-illegal-crossings-surge">50,000 more</a> than the month before.
While Republicans have <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4213128-gop-governors-push-biden-on-border-shelters-are-full-food-pantries-empty/">criticized</a> Biden for not doing more to secure the border, Democrats have also gotten fed up as big cities across the country — and far away from the border — feel the crunch of an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyc-mayor-signals-break-in-direct-communications-with-biden-as-migrant-crisis-escalates">influx of migrants</a>. Among them is New York City.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/us/politics/aoc-third-term-congress.html">told The New York Times</a> that immigration was &#8220;arguably&#8221; the Biden administration&#8217;s &#8220;weakest issue.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kjp-responds-to-aoc-biden-has-done-more-to-secure-border-than-anybody-else">In response</a>, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued that Biden &#8220;has done more to secure the border and to deal with this issue of immigration than anybody else.&#8221;
Meanwhile, Biden has <a href="https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/watch-biden-blames-exploding-border-crisis-on-maga-republicans/">accused</a> &#8220;MAGA Republicans&#8221; of &#8220;gutting&#8221; the immigration system and undermining border security.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg Claims Biden ‘Did What Needed To Be Done’ With Migrant Surge

Buttigieg Claims Biden 'Did What Needed To Be Done' With Migrant Surge

Border Crisis

Migrants

U.S.

Spanish leader Teresa Ribera went viral after she pulled a fake bike ride to a climate conference held by the European Union, a move reminiscent of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg&#8217;s 2021 bike stunt.
Video surfaced on social media on Tuesday from the EU 2023 ES conference held in Madrid, Spain, that showed Ribera riding a bike to the conference. However, now Ribera is facing a backlash after it was revealed as nothing but reportedly a PR stunt, <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/world/spanish-minister-teresa-ribera-rides-bicycle-to-climate-summit-after-travelling-in-jet-video-goes-viral-article-101674159" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TimesNowNews</a> reported.
According to information provided to the outlet, Ribera reportedly took a private jet and chauffeured cars to the conference — which is supposedly focused on dealing with the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on the climate — before getting out of the vehicle around 328 feet from the event and riding a bike the remaining distance to the venue.
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Lo de Teresa Ribera de hacer que llegas en bicicleta a una cumbre del clima, recorriendo apenas un centenar de metros, escoltada por dos coches gasolina blindados es otra de las imágenes que definen perfectamente a este gobierno. <a href="https://t.co/qME80Oon4z">pic.twitter.com/qME80Oon4z</a>
&mdash; Froilán I de España 🇪🇸 (@FroilLannister) <a href="https://twitter.com/FroilLannister/status/1678414874404167682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Ribera&#8217;s official title is the Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge for Spain, the piece noted.
One Twitter user wrote, per the report, &#8220;Teresa Ribera&#8217;s thing about making you arrive by bicycle at a climate summit, traveling just a hundred meters, escorted by two armored gasoline cars is another of the images that perfectly define this government.&#8221;
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Spain&#39;s ecological transition minister, Teresa Ribera, reportedly flew on a private jet to attend a climate conference, traveled in a gas powered motorcade and just before arriving, got out and rode a bicycle to the event, still flanked by two security cars.
Pretty much sums up… <a href="https://t.co/m3rgMpAr0e">pic.twitter.com/m3rgMpAr0e</a>
&mdash; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1678795538781847552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Conservative host Charlie Kirk tweeted, &#8220;Spain&#8217;s ecological transition minister, Teresa Ribera, reportedly flew on a private jet to attend a climate conference, traveled in a gas powered motorcade and just before arriving, got out and rode a bicycle to the event, still flanked by two security cars. Pretty much sums up the climate cult in one scene.&#8221;
While another account tweeted that Ribera was a &#8220;climate hypocrite.&#8221;
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Climate Hypocrite. 
Far Left Spanish minister Teresa Ribera used a private jet to attend a climate conference in Madrid. 
100 yards before the venue she gets out of her limo and takes a bicycle. A security motorcade then followed her. <a href="https://t.co/Cr5jcQpvb4">pic.twitter.com/Cr5jcQpvb4</a>
&mdash; Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1678735553184006151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Far Left Spanish minister Teresa Ribera used a private jet to attend a climate conference in Madrid,&#8221; the tweet read. &#8220;100 yards before the venue she gets out of her limo and takes a bicycle. A security motorcade then followed her.&#8221;
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg biked to the White House for today&#39;s Cabinet Meeting, it would appear. <a href="https://t.co/XfYRB3COqm">pic.twitter.com/XfYRB3COqm</a>
&mdash; DJ Judd (@DJJudd) <a href="https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1377714183270240260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
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In April 2021, Buttigieg was <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/04/03/pete-buttigieg-mocked-for-phony-bike-stunt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mocked</a> online for what was called a &#8220;phony&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walk-the-walk-man-fox-panel-blows-up-over-climate-enthusiast-pete-buttigieg-flying-private-at-taxpayer-expense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stunt</a> after video of his security detail delivering his bike via SUV sparked rumors that he had driven most of the way to a cabinet meeting and then biked a short distance for show.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walk-the-walk-man-fox-panel-blows-up-over-climate-enthusiast-pete-buttigieg-flying-private-at-taxpayer-expense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8216;Walk The Walk, Man!&#8217;: Fox Panel Blows Up Over Climate Enthusiast Pete Buttigieg Flying Private — At Taxpayer Expense</a>

Teresa Ribera

Spanish Leader Goes Viral After Pulling A Buttigieg With Fake Bike Ride

Climate Change

Spain

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg attacked the Christian web designer who the Supreme Court sided with last week in striking down a Colorado law that would have required her to design a website for a same-sex wedding.
In a 6-3 decision in the case of <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-476_c185.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">303 Creative LLC v. Elenis</a>, the Court cited the First Amendment in ruling that Lorie Smith could not be forced by state civil rights law to design websites that run counter to her sincerely-held religious beliefs.
Buttigieg made the remarks during an appearance on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; with host Dana Bash when asked if there was any merit to the majority opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch.
&#8220;No, there isn&#8217;t,&#8221; Buttigieg, who has no background or education in law, claimed. &#8220;And I think it&#8217;s very revealing that there&#8217;s no evidence that this web designer was ever even approached by anyone asking for a Web site for a same-sex wedding.&#8221;
&#8220;Matter of fact, it appears this Web designer only went into the wedding business for the purpose of provoking a case like this,&#8221; he claimed. &#8220;And, in that sense, I think there&#8217;s something in common between this Supreme Court ruling and what we&#8217;re seeing happening in state legislatures across the country, which is kind of a solution looking for problem, in other words, sending these kinds of things to the courts and sending these kinds of things to state legislatures for the clear purpose of chipping away at the equality and the rights that have so recently been won in the LGBTQ+ community.&#8221;
WATCH:
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When asked for his thoughts on SCOTUS decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, Pete Buttigieg claims without evidence that Lorie Smith &quot;only went into the wedding business for the purpose of provoking a case like this.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Ln6KTqsfbe">pic.twitter.com/Ln6KTqsfbe</a>
&mdash; Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinTober94/status/1675548280892129280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Buttigieg Attacks Christian In SCOTUS Case: Only Went Into Business To ‘Provoke A Case Like This’

Courts

LGBTQ

Supreme Court

A section of Interstate 95 in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/philadelphia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia</a> collapsed on Sunday when a tanker truck carrying a petroleum-based product caught fire beneath an overpass, according to officials.
Despite the traffic snarl, and reports of explosions, there were no reports of injuries as of press time.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said efforts were underway to identify any individual or individuals who may be caught in at least one trapped vehicle, per <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyRuleTV/status/1668004558465802240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local media</a>. 
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🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPDATE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UPDATE</a>: Watch as drone video shows the Major collapse of the northbound lanes of I-95, as police has closed both directions According to one reporter they are still Hearing loud blasts or bangs underneath where the tanker is <a href="https://t.co/ArFad85bq7">pic.twitter.com/ArFad85bq7</a>
&mdash; R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) <a href="https://twitter.com/rawsalerts/status/1667879557263773696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Authorities blocked off a two-mile radius around the area, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/i-95-collapse-fire-philadelphia-interstate-overpass-road-closed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to CBS Philadelphia</a>. Officials urged commuters to take alternate routes or consider different forms of transportation.
&#8220;For now, please avoid the area and follow the direction of the first responders on the scene,&#8221; Shapiro said.
Shapiro said the northbound side of I-95 completely collapsed and could take “some number of months&#8221; to rebuild, local media <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyRuleTV/status/1668005488947068928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Brad Rudolph, a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/us/philadelphia-i-95-collapse-vehicle-fire.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> said a truck was driving on an offramp when a crash or other incident caused the fire.
&#8220;That structure quickly collapsed with the heat of the fire as big as it was,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And then the southbound structure was also shut down because it was compromised by the fire as well.&#8221;
Rudolph said authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash that led to the inferno and collapse.
&#8220;It seems like it was a vehicle accident,&#8221; Rudolph added. &#8220;That ramp can be tricky if you&#8217;re going at a high rate of speed.&#8221;
Several explosions were heard in the area, which Philadelphia Fire Department battalion chief Derek Bowmer attributed to fuel runoff or gas lines that could have been compromised by the accident, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-interstate-i95-highway-collapse-fire-a90c5e3dd85de025050229bb6a37b780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per the Associated Press</a>.
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I-95 is CLOSED in BOTH directions between Cottman and Academy due to an earlier tanker truck fire under I-95. The fire has caused major structural damage to the highway, so expect it to be closed for a very long time.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PhillyTraffic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PhillyTraffic</a> <a href="https://t.co/m1IcTTVDyV">pic.twitter.com/m1IcTTVDyV</a>
&mdash; TTWN Philadelphia (@TotalTrafficPHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/TotalTrafficPHL/status/1667861534544998402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Dominick Mireles, the director of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, warned of possible &#8220;environmental impacts&#8221; in the nearby Delaware River, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/us/philadelphia-i-95-collapse-vehicle-fire.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The New York Times</a>.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryPete/status/1667899119820480512" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he has been keeping tabs on the situation.
&#8220;Closely monitoring the fire and collapse on I-95 in Pennsylvania. I‘ve been in touch with [Federal Highway Administration] and spoke with Gov. Shapiro to offer any assistance that USDOT can provide to help with recovery and reconstruction,&#8221; Buttigieg said in a tweet.

US-ACCIDENT-TRANSPORT-HIGHWAY-PHILADELPHIA

Tanker Fire Leads To I-95 Collapse In Philly

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

The COVID pandemic exposed the weakness of America’s supply chain. Over-regulation, congested ports, and supplier shortages all combined to drive up the price and lead times of the products the United States imports from around the world. The supply chain has recovered, for the most part, as the global economy has slowed and shippers began utilizing ports on the East and Gulf Coasts, alleviating the congestion in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 
Today, however, the supply chain is once again teetering on the brink of a catastrophe, this time at the hands of labor unions and mother nature.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents approximately 22,000 West Coast dock workers, reached a tentative agreement with an “association representing the U.S. West Coast employers of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/west-coast-port-union-employers-reach-tentative-agreement-some-issues-2023-04-20/">port laborers</a> on some key issues,” in April 2023. These negotiations have been dragging on for nearly a year, and the contract between the “Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the union expired on July 1, 2022.”
The deal has yet to be ratified, and there are still many open issues that remain to be resolved. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-02/la-oakland-port-terminals-shut-over-congestion-labor-issues?cmpid=BBD060523_TRADE&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_term=230605&amp;utm_campaign=trade">Last week</a>, members of the ILWU effectively “shut down operations at some marine terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Similar actions shut down or severely impacted terminal operations at the ports of Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle, and Hueneme.”
The COVID-driven congestion of West Coast ports, combined with the threat of labor actions by dock workers there, have driven many supply chain professionals to divert shipments to the Gulf and East Coasts of the United States. In fact, according to Bloomberg, “West Coast container volumes were down 10% in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2019. Gulf ports saw a 43% increase in goods over the same period.”
But ports in the Gulf and East Coasts may find themselves on the outside looking in. A significant drought is lowering the water level of Gutan Lake in Panama and  the Panama Canal, resulting in both weight limits and rising surcharges for vessels traversing the canal.
The Panama Canal Authority has reduced the draft (how deep a ship can sit in the water) from 50 feet to 44 feet, which can reduce a ship’s payload by up to 40%, per <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-02/inflation-rates-may-stay-high-if-panama-canal-drought-snarls-supply-chain?cmpid=BBD060523_TRADE&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_term=230605&amp;utm_campaign=trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>. Some ocean carriers began charging per-box container fees of $300-500 on June 1 in response to draft limits. Cargo rates will “rise on other routes if low water levels for shippers to find <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/06/02/panama-canal-water-levels-drought-inflation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alternatives</a> — especially in the peak shipping months of August and September when retailers build inventory ahead of the holiday shopping season.”
If the Panama Canal continues to see its depth decrease, and the cost of shipping via the canal rise, companies will have to either utilize the Suez Canal to service East and Gulf Coast ports or rely on West Coast ports — the same ports that are under threat of a work stoppage.
Interestingly, the challenges faced by the Panama Canal could contribute to inflation in the United States, forcing the Federal Reserve to continue increasing interest rates. Steamship companies are raising rates and imposing surcharges for companies shipping via the Panama Canal. Since ships will carry approximately 40% less cargo, companies will need to ship more containers, failing to take advantage of full container load pricing. This will drive inflation. In fact, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261560622001747" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research</a> shows that a 20% increase in shipping costs will raise the inflation rate by 0.15 percentage points one year later.
A West Coast dock workers’ strike, combined with shrinking water levels in the Panama Canal, would have a devastating impact on the U.S. supply chain and the nation’s economy.
One person missing from this discussion is Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Perhaps ‘Mayor Pete’ has once again gone on vacation, as he did during the negotiations with railroad workers in the Fall of 2022.
Jim Nelles is a Navy veteran and supply chain consultant based in Chicago. His articles have appeared in the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Foxnews.com, and the Daily Wire. He has served as a chief procurement officer, chief supply chain officer, and chief operations officer for multiple companies.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Container Ship Bow

Buttegieg’s Looming Maritime Supply Chain Crisis

Los Angeles

Panama Canal

Readers Pass

Supply Chain

WIRED Magazine took a beating on social media for a Thursday puff piece on U.S. Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pete-buttigieg-triggered-by-claims-he-only-went-to-east-palestine-because-trump-did" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Buttigieg</a>.
The outlet touts itself as a site where &#8220;conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business, science to design.&#8221; But Thursday&#8217;s front page &#8220;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/pete-buttigieg-interview-god-beer-electric-mustang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">big interview</a>&#8221; — titled &#8220;Pete Buttigieg Loves God, Beer, and His Electric Mustang&#8221; — barely contains author Virginia Heffernan&#8217;s fawning admiration for the former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pete-buttigiegs-press-secretary-only-wants-to-do-her-job-if-cameras-are-off" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayor of South Bend</a>, Indiana.
&#8220;THE CURIOUS MIND of Pete Buttigieg holds much of its functionality in reserve. Even as he discusses railroads and airlines, down to the pointillist data that is his current stock-in-trade, the US secretary of transportation comes off like a Mensa black card holder who might have a secret Go habit or a three-second Rubik’s Cube solution or a knack for supplying, off the top of his head, the day of the week for a random date in 1404, along with a non-condescending history of the Julian and Gregorian calendars,&#8221; the piece begins, and it does not slow down.
&#8220;I slowly became aware that his cabinet job requires only a modest portion of his cognitive powers,&#8221; Heffernan continues. &#8220;Other mental facilities, no kidding, are apportioned to the &#8216;Iliad,&#8217; Puritan historiography, and Knausgaard’s &#8216;Spring&#8217;—though not in the original Norwegian (slacker). Fortunately, he was willing to devote yet another apse in his cathedral mind to making his ideas about three mighty themes—neoliberalism, masculinity, and Christianity—intelligible to me.&#8221;
Heffernan&#8217;s effusive praise was not lost on critics, who quickly pointed out that the article was more fluff than substantive interview.
&#8220;I legitimately wasn&#8217;t sure if this article was a parody &#8230; The American people deserve better from our media than this slobbering,&#8221; Meghan McCain <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1659236029440638977" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commented</a>. &#8220;Pete took WEEKS to visit a toxic dump in Palestine, Ohio and has had a string of controversies, screw ups &amp; tone deaf responses since in office.&#8221;
&#8220;With this kind of glowing coverage, Biden and Kamala must be hearing footsteps!&#8221; Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1659212784364826624" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
&#8220;To fully appreciate what Wired has become, you have to compare the doe-eyed admiration of Buttigieg profile to the furious contempt of the Brandon Sanderson profile,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/politicalmath/status/1659212717386010632?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">another said</a>.
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&#8220;Please read this entire profile with the understanding that it isn&#8217;t parody &#8230;&#8221; Joe Concha <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeConchaTV/status/1659221092542685190?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advised</a>.
The Federalist&#8217;s Sean Davis <a href="https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1659200915218522115?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, &#8220;I asked ChatGPT to write the most obscene, over-the-top hagiography in the style of a deranged superfan with no self-awareness writing about her crush—an utterly unimpressive dullard with chronic verbal diarrhea—and this is what it came up with.&#8221;
&#8220;&#8216;Hey, let&#8217;s tone it down a notch, Wired&#8217; &#8211; North Korean State TV,&#8221; said <a href="https://twitter.com/iowahawkblog/status/1659196001025163264?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Burge</a>.
&#8220;This is the most unintentionally hilarious thing you will read all week,&#8221; was Emily Zanotti&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/emzanotti/status/1659190121499860997?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assessment</a>.

Conference Of Mayors Held In Washington, DC

Wired Mag Trashed For ‘Unintentionally Hilarious’ Puff Piece On Pete Buttigieg

Wired Mag Trashed For 'Unintentionally Hilarious' Puff Piece On Pete Buttigieg

Biden Administration

Media

Twitter

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-transportation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transportation</a> Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-buttigieg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Buttigieg</a> announced on Monday that the agency introduced rules requiring <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/air-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">airlines</a> to reimburse customers who incur expenses due to certain delayed and canceled flights, a move which comes as the industry faces elevated demand and a constrained labor force.
The proposed rules, which would apply when an airline delays a flight for more than three hours or cancels a flight for a “controllable” reason, would mandate that the firms offer compensation for stranded passengers, as well as a meal or meal voucher, overnight accommodations, and ground transportation between the airport and hotel.
“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said in a <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/dot-propose-requirements-airlines-cover-expenses-and-compensate-stranded-passengers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, noting that the proposed reimbursement rules would be the first in American history.
The move comes after Southwest Airlines experienced holiday travel disruptions last year due to extreme winter weather conditions, staff shortages, and an outdated computer system. The carrier canceled thousands of flights days after other carriers had resumed normal operations. Buttigieg <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/buttigieg-sends-brutal-letter-to-southwest-ceo-demanding-airline-follow-through-with-reimbursing-travelers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the company, which has since promised to compensate passengers for all expenses incurred during that time, that the disruptions were “unacceptable” and promised that his agency would exercise “the fullest extent of its investigative and enforcement powers” to ensure customers are reimbursed.
The new proposals also occur as the sector faces a severely limited pool of available pilots and frontline staff. Carriers previously encouraged commercial pilots to retire as worldwide lockdowns caused demand for air travel to plummet in the spring of 2020, worsening a previous trend toward a lack of available pilots. Elevated prices for airline tickets and a rapid return in travel demand, however, are now prompting lawmakers to consider the problem.
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Regional Airline Association CEO Faye Malarkey Black told members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last month that more than 50% of current pilots would be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-tsunami-of-commercial-pilot-retirements-is-coming-experts-warn-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forced</a> to retire within the next 15 years because of federal rules mandating that pilots exit their positions once they reach 65 years of age, even as only 8% of pilots are below 30 years of age due to the high cost of flight education. Buttigieg has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/buttigieg-slams-airlines-for-flight-cancellations-but-rejects-key-reform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposed</a> legislation that would increase the retirement threshold to 67 years of age, contending that “the answer is to make sure we have as many and as good pilots ready to take their place, to have a stronger pipeline.”

Airlines May Soon Be On The Hook For Delayed And Canceled Flights, Transportation Dept Says

Air &amp; Space

Air Travel

Secretary of Transportation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sorry-i-lost-my-train-of-thought-buttigieg-makes-series-of-errors-in-timid-unprepared-east-palestine-appearance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Buttigieg</a> is wrong about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/buttigiegs-focus-is-ramming-through-equity-not-assuring-transportation-safety-his-departments-website-proves-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a lot of things</a>, but the importance of having female crash dummies is not one of them.
Recently, the Biden administration requested $20 million from Congress to create and test a variety of female crash dummies for transportation safety, citing that women are more likely to be injured in car crashes than men. In response, some critics claimed that this was a &#8220;woke&#8221; waste of money.
While the exorbitant fee might be overpriced — it&#8217;s a government project after all — the need for anthropomorphic test devices that anatomically reflect the differences between the sexes isn&#8217;t woke. Far from it. It actually proves there is a biological difference between men and women — something the radical gender ideology advocates deny.
&#8220;I just saw Fox News making fun of me for the work that we&#8217;re doing on safety, including the use of crash test dummies that simulate men, women, and children,&#8221; he said Tuesday evening in an interview with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa13LIzDpsw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Comedy Central</a>. &#8220;And somehow this is considered a woke priority to have female crash test dummies, even though that&#8217;s something that&#8217;s been around for a very long time.&#8221;
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Buttigieg, believe it or not, is correct here.
Hiring women purely for being women and giving promotions out to minorities because of their skin color is woke. Advancing the rainbow agenda at all costs is woke. Punishing white Americans to rectify past discrimination is woke. Advocating the destruction of the American justice system to root out supposed inequalities is woke.
But making sure that we&#8217;re using models which reflect the contrasts in height, size, and bone density between men and women is not woke.
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For years now, adult crash test dummies have generally been the size of the average adult male. The average size of adult women is obviously smaller than that. They also have breasts. Those distinctions change the level of safety that seatbelts and airbags provide for drivers and passengers — but are not accounted for during testing because the male-sized dummies cannot accurately record potential injuries to women during studies.
In 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a safety report which found that women were &#8220;susceptible to neck and abdominal injuries&#8221; and more likely to be killed during a motorist accident, <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a41871618/crash-test-dummies-female/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Car &amp; Driver</a> reported.
Astrid Linder, director of traffic safety at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, also has conducted research that suggests that those accidents can be reduced if they&#8217;re prevented by using female crash dummies to conduct safety tests.
Men and women &#8220;have differences in the shape of the torso and the center of gravity and the outline of our hips and pelvis,&#8221; Linder told media, explaining why female crash dummies are needed.
In turn, manufacturers can change the position of the seatbelt, airbag, and whatever else is needed to make sure both men and women are protected.
Men and women are not the same — spiritually, physically, or biologically. Crash dummies show that, but Buttigieg will never admit it.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Dummy  Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg Is Right, Female Crash Dummies Aren’t ‘Woke’

 Buttigieg Is Right, Female Crash Dummies Aren't 'Woke'

General

Wokeness

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg mocked Republicans who are concerned about men playing in women’s sports, arguing that their focus on the issue is “getting in the way” of repairing bridges and increasing transportation safety.
Buttigieg was interviewed by The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic, who asked, “Why do you think some Republicans are stalling on this? Is it because they’re too busy focused on starting culture wars?
“Well, I do think that the culture wars are getting in the way sometimes,” Buttigieg answered. “I mean, just the other day I was testifying in the appropriations subcommittee explaining how our budget was going to help with things like railroad safety, air traffic control, and other transportation needs, and we had to take a break so they could all go and vote on a bill to kick transgender teenagers off of sports teams.”
“That was the priority for the House GOP that day,” Buttigieg declared. “So these things really are getting in the way of our ability to get work done. We’re literally building bridges, and they are literally banning books.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Secy. <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteButtigieg</a> tells the Daily Show: House Republicans&#39; bill restricting transgender participation in women&#39;s sports is &quot;really getting in the way of our ability to&quot; repair bridges &amp; railroads. 
&quot;We are literally building bridges, and they are literally banning books.” <a href="https://t.co/oAOOaBvJXg">pic.twitter.com/oAOOaBvJXg</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1651188728419737601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Buttigieg’s performance as transportation secretary has elicited harsh criticism from members of Congress.
“What in the hell does Pete Buttigieg have to do to get fired?” Senator Ted Cruz <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1628780471709736965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1628780471709736965%7Ctwgr%5Ea3316d66b93cb0e3b3bf8a4f5f5fb04149455407%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywire.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D505186action%3Dedit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. “Like in the history of this country, has there ever been a transportation secretary who has screwed more things up? From in his first year in office, a supply chain crisis that impacted the entire country that made it hard to get basics and essentials?”
“The recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio is nothing short of a tragedy,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAndyBiggsAZ/status/1625152004774322177" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commented</a>. “This is another transportation failure under Mayor Pete&#8217;s leadership. Where is he?”
During the supply chain crisis, Buttigieg took months of paid leave. He later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/buttigieg-vacationed-in-posh-european-tourist-destination-as-rail-unions-neared-strike" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vacationed</a> in Portugal as a nationwide rail strike was imminent, and has also been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bernie-sanders-ro-khanna-tear-into-pete-buttigieg-over-southwest-airlines-fiasco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> by Democratic officials for his alleged failure to prevent mass delays and cancellations at Southwest Airlines over the holidays.
Additionally, Buttigieg, an ardent proponent of reducing carbon emissions, had taken taxpayer-funded private jets rather than commercial planes at least 18 times since he was inaugurated into office, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-flies-taxpayer-funded-private-jets-flight-data-show">reported</a> in December 2022.

Buttigieg Mocks GOP Focus On Men In Women’s Sports: ‘Getting In The Way’ Of Fixing Bridges

House Republicans

Transgender Athletes

A BNSF train derailment in Minnesota on Thursday caused an evacuation in a small town after several of the train&#8217;s cars caught on fire.
The Kandiyohi County Sheriff&#8217;s Office said in a statement that the derailment happened at approximately 1:00 a.m. in the city of Raymond, which is in the southwestern portion of the county.
&#8220;Fire departments from Raymond and numerous area departments responded as several of the derailed tankers started on fire and were determined to be carrying a form of ethanol and others with a corn syrup liquid,&#8221; the statement said.
CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/30/us/raymond-minnesota-train-derailment/index.html">reported</a> that preliminary information suggests that approximately 14 of the train&#8217;s 40 cars were carrying the hazardous materials.
Law enforcement officials established an evacuation area of half a mile around the crash site.
&#8220;Residents were instructed to leave their homes and an emergency collection site for those with nowhere to go was established at the Central Minnesota Christian School building in nearby Prinsburg,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;The site remains active as the fire is being contained, no travel is advised to the city of Raymond.&#8221;
Law enforcement officials later said that no injuries have been reported from the train derailment and that BNSF specialists are on scene.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg released a statement saying that the department was closely monitoring the situation.
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&#8220;FRA is on the ground after a BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed early this morning, leading to an evacuation in the area of Raymond, MN,&#8221; Buttigieg said. &#8220;At present no injuries or fatalities have been reported. We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigation.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
FRA is on the ground after a BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed early this morning, leading to an evacuation in the area of Raymond, MN. At present no injuries or fatalities have been reported. We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigaton.
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryPete/status/1641395937074466816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that he was en route to the scene and that he had spoken to the Biden administration about the issue.
&#8220;I’ve been briefed on the situation unfolding in Raymond and I’m on my way to the site of the derailment now,&#8221; he tweeted. &#8220;Just got off the phone with @SecretaryPete and will be on the ground with local officials soon. The state stands ready to protect the health and safety of the community.&#8221;

Train Derailment

Train Carrying Hazardous Materials Bursts Into Flames After Derailing In Minnesota, Sparks Evacuation

Disasters

Minnesota

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ted-cruz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ted Cruz</a> (R-TX) used a congressional hearing on Wednesday to air criticisms of Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-buttigieg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Buttigieg</a>&#8216;s response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/east-palestine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">East Palestine</a>, Ohio, early last month.
The Texas Republican argued how a &#8220;delayed and disjointed response by the Biden administration&#8221; has not allayed the concerns of local residents terrified by the health and environmental threats posed by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/air-quality-following-controlled-burn-at-ohio-derailment-site-basically-what-it-was-before-train-crash-governor-claims" target="_blank" rel="noopener">so-called controlled burn</a> of toxic chemicals that spilled out of tanker cars.
&#8220;It took Secretary Buttigieg 10 days to even acknowledge the derailment,&#8221; Cruz said. &#8220;After he was called out, he did a 180 and tried to sell a slew of big government regulatory proposals, desperate to disguise the failure of the administration to act sooner.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It took 10 days for Pete Buttigieg to even acknowledge the East Palestine derailment.
And when he finally said something, he only tried to distract from his own failures and push regulations which have little to no connection to the East Palestine derailment. <a href="https://t.co/1YtTGJtW0T">pic.twitter.com/1YtTGJtW0T</a>
&mdash; Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTedCruz/status/1638566212102770691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Blunders followed, according to Cruz, who cited the secretary&#8217;s mention of a particular withdrawn brake rule as an example of why the Transportation Department <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/02/23/ntsb-chair-brake-rule-buttigieg-blamed-trump-for-repealing-would-not-have-prevented-east-palestine-derailment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced &#8220;constraints.&#8221;</a> Illustrating the problem with that comment, Cruz pointed out, was that the Biden administration&#8217;s own chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, had <a href="https://twitter.com/JenniferHomendy/status/1626379361027858432?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to then go and explain how it was &#8220;FALSE&#8221;</a> to say it would have prevented the East Palestine derailment.
&#8220;Undeterred, Secretary Buttigieg then released a laundry list of regulatory proposals, many of which had little to no connection to the East Palestine derailment,&#8221; Cruz added.
&#8220;In an effort to further distract from his own failed response, Secretary Buttigieg has suggested that President Trump was responsible for the derailment in East Palestine,&#8221; the senator said.
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&#8220;I know that&#8217;s a frequent playbook of this administration, blaming every problem on President Trump, but not even The Washington Post fact-checker who usually goes out of his way to back Democrat claims, bought this claim,&#8221; Cruz continued before <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/27/so-far-trumps-rollback-regulations-cant-be-blamed-ohio-train-wreck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">citing a passage</a> from the publication&#8217;s analysis.
The remarks were made during a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2023/3/executive-session" target="_blank" rel="noopener">focused on improving rail safety</a> following the East Palestine incident. Cruz is the ranking member of the panel.
Buttigieg has called not speaking out sooner about the train derailment a &#8220;lesson learned&#8221; for himself. &#8220;I was focused on just making sure that our folks on the ground were all set, but could have spoken sooner about how strongly I felt about this incident,&#8221; <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-train-derailment-pete-buttigieg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he told CBS News</a>.
The secretary travelled the site in late February, but only after former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook-pm/2023/02/23/buttigieg-admits-regret-at-derailment-site-00084178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paid a visit a day earlier</a>.
At the conclusion of his opening remarks on Wednesday, Cruz lauded two of the witnesses, Sens. J.D. Vance and Sherrod Brown, a Republican and Democrat from Ohio, respectively, for their efforts to bring attention to helping people affected by the derailment.
&#8220;I look forward to continuing to work closely with both of you and with the chairwoman on a bipartisan, serious rail safety package,&#8221; Cruz concluded.

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