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Baltimore bridge collapse threatens jobs; Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25-year sentence

By Suzanne Nuyen
The Dali container vessel after striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed into the Patapsco River in Baltimore, on Tuesday. The Port of Baltimore, which has the highest volume of auto imports in the U.S., is now temporarily closed.
The Dali container vessel after striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed into the Patapsco River in Baltimore, on Tuesday. The Port of Baltimore, which has the highest volume of auto imports in the U.S., is now temporarily closed.
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Today’s top stories

Millions of pounds of steel from the wreckage of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge must be removedPort of Baltimore can’t reopen
  • The Transportation Department announced $60 million in emergency funding yesterday for the cleanup and rebuilding effort. But NPR’s Joel Rose says that’s “just a tiny fraction” of the money needed, and Congress will have to sign off on more aid “sooner or later.” Rose reports that elected officials in Maryland are framing the issue as one of national impact on the economy because they know getting aid money will be a tough sell for Republicans, especially during an election year.  
President Biden held a star-studded, $25 million fundraiser Biden may be behind Trump in some of the polls,way ahead when it comes to fundraising
  • Disgraced “crypto king” Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm, FTX. He was convicted last year of seven counts of fraud. Prosecutors had asked for 40 to 50 years in prison, while his lawyers had asked for far less. When delivering his sentence, Judge Lewis Kaplan chastised Bankman-Fried for not showing remorse and said he “will be in a position to do something very bad in the future, and it’s not a trivial risk.”

Today’s listen

A song can literally get stuck in your brain.Listen to howusing music therapyWLRN

Weekend picks

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:Movies:Ghostbusters: Frozen EmpireTV: Game of Thrones3 Body ProblemBooks: WorryMusic: relax and discover some new musicGames: Princess Peach Showtime!Quiz:bonus question

3 things to know before you go

  1. Scientists this week shared a mesmerizing new image of the black hole at the center of our universe. The polarized light image shows the black hole’s magnetic structure as a spiral. 
  2. How often have you been mocked (or mocked someone else) over the green text bubbles that appear when an iPhone user texts a non-iPhone user? The Justice Department has cited so-called “green bubble shaming” in its lawsuit against Apple as an example of how the company abuses its power. 
  3. Today marks one year since Russian security forces detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on spying allegations.
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. Mansee Khurana
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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