ZWF: What to know about the Baltimore Bridge Collapse
Zander's Weekend Facts #112: Sunday, March 31, 2024
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, what to know about the bridge collapse making headlines in Baltimore, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast! Episode 136 features an exclusive real of Zander’s March Madness bracket, which was sadly busted in the second game of the tournament. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, March 31, 2024:
Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses in Baltimore
Early Wednesday morning, a giant container ship crashed into a pylon for the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, sending the heavily used artery crumbling into the Patapsco River. The ship, a 985-foot-long vessel called the “Dali”, lost power while leaving the Port of Baltimore, which is believed to have caused the ship to crash into the bridge.
Investigators have not yet identified for certain a cause for the incident, claiming that an investigation could take years. The bridge, which carried traffic on Interstate 695, could take years to rebuild. Crews are now clearing debris to reopen traffic to the Port of Baltimore, which is one of the busiest ports in the U.S.
Six construction workers are presumed to have died when the bridge collapsed, marking the deadliest bridge in over ten years in the U.S. It’s believed that closing traffic to the bridge just before the ship crashed into a pylon saved many more lives.
To learn more about what you need to know, check out the latest updates from The New York Times.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from The New York Times - What We Know About the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in Baltimore
What Zander’s been reading
LSU women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey recently attacked the Washington Post and writer Kent Babb during a press conference for a story that hadn’t even been published. That story was published on Saturday, and while it did shed light on the controversies surrounding Mulkey as she continues to win at a high level, it was light on explosive details that hadn’t previously been known to the public.
Check out this week’s featured article at the Washington Post - The Kim Mulkey way
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
Men’s March Madness: Two spots in the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament have been clinched, with the remaining two spots being decided later today. Yesterday, #1 UConn throttled #3 Illinois 77-52 to get to the Final Four for the second consecutive year, while #4 Alabama beat #6 Clemson 89-82 to get to the program’s first-ever Final Four. In today’s Elite Eight matchups, #2 Tennessee will take on #1 Purdue at 2:20 pm ET, while #11 NC State will face #4 Duke at 5:05 pm ET. Both games will air on CBS. The Final Four will take place on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona, with the games being played at 6:00 pm ET and 8:30 pm ET and airing on TBS.
Women’s March Madness: The Elite Eight round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament begins later today as the four spots in the Final Four are up for grabs. In today’s matchups, #3 Oregon State will take on #1 South Carolina at 1:00 pm ET, with #3 NC State facing #1 Texas at 3:00 pm ET. Both games will air on ABC. On Monday, #3 LSU plays #1 Iowa in a rematch of last year’s National Championship game at 7:00 pm ET, followed by #3 UConn taking on #1 USC at 9:00 pm ET. Both Monday games will air on ESPN. The Final Four will be played on Friday night with games taking place at 7:00 pm ET and 9:30 pm ET on ESPN from Cleveland, Ohio.
MLB Opening Day: Major League Baseball began the 2024 season on Thursday with Opening Day. The defending World Series champion Texas Rangers won their game against the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings after raising the franchise’s first World Series banner. Opening Day also saw the regular season debuts of several notable offseason acquisitions, including Shohei Ohtani for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Juan Soto for the New York Yankees. Also on Thursday, the Arizona Diamondbacks scored 14 runs in one inning during their 16-1 win over the Colorado Rockies, the most runs in a single inning ever on Opening Day.
Concacaf Nations League: The United States Men’s National Team took down arch-rivals Mexico 2-0 in last Sunday’s Concacaf Nations League final to win their third title in the competition. The U.S. is still the only nation to have won the tournament, which was in its third iteration this year. The U.S. got goals from Tyler Adams in the final minutes of the first half and from Gio Reyna in the 63rd minute. The U.S. has not lost to Mexico in a competitive match since the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup final. The match was the final competitive match for both the U.S. and Mexico before the CONMEBOL Copa America tournament, which begins on June 20.
NFL Kickoff Rule: At the NFL’s offseason league meetings, team owners passed a new rule on kickoffs. For the kicking team, kickoffs will remain at the 35-yard line. However, the remaining 10 players of the kicking team will line up at the opponent’s 40-yard line. On the receiving team, at least seven players will line up in the “set-up zone” between the 35- and 30-yard lines, with a maximum of two players lining up in the “landing zone” between the 20-yard line and the goal line. Once the ball is kicked, the kicker cannot cross the 50-yard line and the remaining kicking team players, along with the returning team players in the set-up zone, cannot move until the ball hits the the ground or a player in the landing zone, or goes into the end zone.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Biden Fundraiser: President Joe Biden held a campaign fundraiser that broke records on Thursday. Biden was joined by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama for a fundraiser that raised over $26 million towards Biden’s reelection campaign, a single-event fundraising record. At the end of February, the Biden campaign had $155 million cash on hand, more than former President Donald Trump’s campaign, which had $37 million cash on hand. Trump is expected to hold a fundraiser this week that could top the $26 million mark, with his campaign hoping to raise $33 million.
Mayorkas Impeachment: The House of Representatives is expected to send the two impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on April 10. The House passed the articles of impeachment in February on one-vote margins, with only Republicans voting in favor. Three Republicans voted with Democrats to reject the articles in the House. The Senate is expected to hold a trial, presided by Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA), that will likely acquit Mayorkas of the charges. The impeachment articles accuse Mayorkas of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” in regard to enforcing policy at the U.S. southern border and breaching the public trust.
Trump Gag Order: A New York judge placed a gag order on former President Donald Trump last week. Judge Juan Merchan cited Trump’s history of “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” remarks in other legal cases when barring him from commenting publicly on the court staff, jurors, prosecutors, and witnesses at the trial. Trump responded on Truth Social by attacking Judge Merchan and his daughter, who are not believed to be covered under the gag order. Judge Merchan scheduled the trial for Trump’s New York case involving a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to begin on April 15.
Sam Bankman-Fried: The former head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday. Bankman-Fried was found guilty back in November on charges of conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering. The charges relate to the downfall of FTX and the orchestration of one of the largest financial crimes in U.S. history.
Credit Card Fees: Credit card giants Mastercard and Visa reached a $30 million settlement in a lawsuit with merchants last week. Mastercard and Visa have been accused of charging inflated interchange fees, which are taken every time a credit or debit card is swiped for a purchase, and enforcing rules that prevent merchants from directing customers toward cheaper payment options. Under the settlement, those rules would be removed and interchange fees would be reduced by 0.04% in the U.S. for three years.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, April 7, 2024.
