Missing workers in Baltimore's Key Bridge collapse presumed dead | The Excerpt

On Wednesday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Six people are presumed dead in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes breaks down what happened when a container ship collided with the structure. Plus, check out this story mapping how the collapse unfolded. How will the Baltimore bridge collapse affect shipping and deliveries? USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe recaps oral arguments in a case to restrict the abortion pill mifepristone. RFK Jr. picks lawyer and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan as running mate.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Wednesday, March 27th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.

Today, a closer look at what happened to the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Plus, the Supreme Court appears skeptical of a case to restrict an abortion pill. And, RFK Jr. has announced his running mate.

♦

The US Coast Guard said yesterday evening that it was calling off the search and rescue mission for six construction workers who went missing when a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, leading to its collapse. Officials said water temperature's around 46 to 48 degrees, poor visibility, and changing currents played a role in the decision after an attempt to find the workers. The focus of the operation will switch to recovery and was set to restart at 6 o'clock this morning. For more on what happened when the Singapore-flagged vessel named Dali struck the bridge and a look at what happens next, I spoke with USA Today national correspondent Trevor Hughes. Trevor, thanks for having on today.

Trevor Hughes:

Good to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

So let's just set the stage here, Trevor. What exactly happened to the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore? What are we learning?

Trevor Hughes:

Well, this is just a tragedy and a disaster and an emergency and a transportation challenge all rolled into one. Basically what happened was you had this huge cargo ship, this container ship, the Dali, pulling away from the dock, heading out to sea. It was actually heading to Sri Lanka on a month-long voyage. And somehow or another, they lost power just as they were crossing under the bridge. They veered to the right or to starboard and collided with the piling of the bridge and the whole thing just came right down on top of it.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah. I want to hear a little bit more about this ship, Trevor, and then we'll get to the bridge. What else do we know about this ship right now?

Trevor Hughes:

Well, this is a ship that has traveled the world. I mean, last year it essentially circumnavigated the earth in terms of distance, more or less. And when you look at the video, when you talk to experts, what we think happened is that the ship somehow lost power as it was approaching the bridge. It began veering off the main channel, then it collided with the support pillar of the bridge. And because this steel truss bridge is one continuous segment, it just all fell into the water all at once like a pile of spaghetti as one expert told me. The officials are saying that there's no evidence there's any terrorism or any intent, and that this was just a tragic accident.

Taylor Wilson:

As far as the bridge, Trevor, why did it collapse so severely in this way? Do experts point to any structural flaws, or was this really just a result of, as you say, a tragic accident in this cargo ship's collision?

Trevor Hughes:

Well, on a smaller scale, bridges like this actually have an unfortunate habit of collapsing. They're built in such a way that they tend to be susceptible to losing all of their structural integrity all at once. It's called propagation. In this case, the experts I talked to said there is no way any bridge was ever going to withstand a collision like this. This ship was almost 1,000-ft. long, fully loaded. I can't even imagine how much weight it would have and the inertia would just roll over pretty much anything.

Taylor Wilson:

What impact will this collapse have on shipping and vehicle traffic along the East Coast?

Trevor Hughes:

The port of Baltimore is one of the most important ports in the United States. It's actually the biggest port for importing and exporting of automobiles. So you're going to have a whole heck of a lot of ship traffic stuck on either side because remember, this bridge is in the middle of the channel. It's sitting on top of this cargo ship. And so it's going to be a long time before people can get in and out easily with these very large cargo ships. At the same time, 31,000 vehicles a day used that bridge to get around Baltimore. And of course, that includes gasoline tankers and propane tankers that can't go through the harbor tunnels.

Taylor Wilson:

So going forward, Trevor, what's the plan look like in terms of ongoing rescue or cleanup efforts? And is rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge realistic?

Trevor Hughes:

Oh, I think rebuilding is not only realistic 100% on the table, and the president has already declared that the federal government will pay for this. This is a hugely important bridge. This is a huge part of our transportation infrastructure in this country, and the president is asking Congress to act quickly to get things moving.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Trevor Hughes is a national correspondent with USA Today. Thank you, Trevor.

Trevor Hughes:

You bet.

Taylor Wilson:

Here's a listen to those comments Trevor referenced from President Joe Biden.

Joe Biden:

We're going to send all the federal resources they need as we respond to this emergency. I mean all the federal resources, and we're going to rebuild that port together

Taylor Wilson:

For more on this developing story, stay with usatoday.com. And we have a number of links in today's show notes, including a graphics based story showing how the collapse unfolded.

♦

As Trevor touched on, the bridge's collapse could have a significant economic impact. It's essentially shut down the nation's busiest port for cars and light trucks and the ninth-busiest port overall for an indefinite period. The bridge provides access to the port of Baltimore and its sudden inability to handle imports and exports likely could mean shifting traffic to other ports on the east and west coast, experts say. And the reshuffling could cause product delivery delays. Most shipments to the port come from Mexico, Germany, and Japan. That's according to Tinglong Dai, a professor of operations management and business analytics at Johns Hopkins University. Rerouting deliveries from Mexico and Germany to other east coast ports likely would not cause significant delays, he said, but transferring Japanese imports to West Coast facilities could be more disruptive. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

♦

Supreme Court justices yesterday appeared skeptical over the arguments of a small group of anti-abortion doctors looking to roll back access to the abortion drug, mifepristone. I spoke with USA Today Supreme Court correspondent Maureen Groppe to learn more.

Maureen, thanks for op-ed on The Excerpt today.

Maureen Groppe:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So let's start here. What's that issue around access to the abortion drug mifepristone?

Maureen Groppe:

Well, the Supreme Court was considering a challenge to changes the FDA made in 2016 and 2021 about who can prescribe the drug and how it can be dispensed. The anti-abortion doctors and groups that are challenging the FDA's decisions also wanted to question the agency's initial approval of the drug in 2000. And the first judge who considered this suit, a federal judge in Texas who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, he sided with the challengers, but then appeals court overrode that decision. So the issue that remained before the Supreme Court was these later FDA actions that made the drug more accessible, particularly that it can be prescribed through a telehealth consultation and sent through the mail.

Taylor Wilson:

And so what stood out from oral arguments yesterday?

Maureen Groppe:

Well, instead of discussing whether the FDA's decisions were sound, most of the debate centered on whether these anti-abortion doctors in groups who sued the FDA had the ability to do so. In other words, did they show they were sufficiently harmed by the FDA's decisions? So the doctors argued that these changes created a real risk that they would have to treat women who have emergency complications from taking mifepristone, something that is morally and ethically objectionable to them. The federal government's lawyer argued that the challengers didn't identify a single instance when that's happened. And several of the court's conservative justices, along with the three liberals, they seem skeptical of the challenger's ability to sue. They asked why the doctors can't rely on federal protections that already exist for conscious objections.

Neil Gorsuch, for example, said the challengers are asking the court to impose restrictions with national consequences to benefit a handful of doctors who have conscious objections.

Taylor Wilson:

And has the high court considered mifepristone before?

Maureen Groppe:

Yes, this case has been kicking around for a while. Last April, the court allowed full access to the drug while the underlying lawsuit continues, and that happened over the objections of Justice Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. This issue also came up during the pandemic. Doctors who support mifepristone, they wanted the FDA to lift the requirement that women visit in person, a doctor's office, hospital or clinic to get the drug. Because of the risk of going to medical facilities during the pandemic, the Trump administration had suspended similar requirements for other drugs, but they hadn't done it for mifepristone. In January of 2021, the court split along ideological lines in voting 6-3 to keep that in-person requirement in place.

Taylor Wilson:

So going forward, when can we expect a decision on this? And Maureen, what impact will that decision have on reproductive rights around the country?

Maureen Groppe:

The court should make a decision by the end of June. If they decide that the FDA incorrectly loosened restrictions on mifepristone, which seems unlikely, then access to the drug could be limited even in states where abortion is still legal. If they dismiss the case because they think the challengers haven't shown a sufficient ability to sue, which is what it sounded like a majority want to do, then we have the status quo. And since the FDA made these changes, medication abortions have increased from representing more than half of abortions in the US to nearly 2/3. So if this case does fail, I think we will see anti-abortion advocates looking for other ways to try to reduce the use of mifepristone.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Maureen Groppe covers the Supreme Court for USA Today. Thank you, Maureen.

Maureen Groppe:

Thank you.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced lawyer and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan as a running mate in his bid for the White House. He made the announcement at a campaign event in Oakland, her hometown. A registered Democrat, Shanahan has no political or executive experience, and most of her philanthropic support has gone to mainstream science. That's while Kennedy, who quit the Democratic Party last fall, has made a national reputation dismissing the scientific findings of vaccine developers and public health experts. That might make Shanahan seem an odd fit, but she's already donated more than $4 million to his campaign. That includes much of the funding for a 30-second ad during this year's Super Bowl. The ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and a longtime Silicon Valley resident, the thirty-eight-year-old also has connections throughout the tech world. Still, several political scientists said that Kennedy's choice of a running mate isn't all that significant. No third-party candidate has won the US presidency in over a century, though the Kennedy campaign is hoping to take advantage of potential voter dissatisfaction with both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

♦

And be sure to stay tuned to The Excerpt later today when my co-host Dana Taylor speaks with USA Today health reporter Adrianna Rodriguez. Adrianna spent some time this past year in Bristol, a town which straddles not only two states, but two sides in the abortion debate. How are residents coping with being thrust into the national spotlight? You can find the episode right here on this feed beginning at 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time.

♦

And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.