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Six people are presumed dead and two have been rescued from the Patapsco River, according to The New York Times. What Happened to Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge? Around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship called Dali struck a column of the bridge, according to reporting by The Baltimore Banner. Where Is the Francis Scott Key Bridge and How Long Is It? The Francis Scott Key Bridge was assessed as being in “fair” condition in 2023, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory.

Persons: Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key, Wes Moore, Dali, Maryland Sen, Chris Van Hollen, Francis Scott Key, Helen Delich Bentley, Banner ”, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Moore, ”, Joe Biden, We're, “, Pete Buttigieg, Scott, Buttigieg, Joseph Schofer Organizations: The New York Times, Maryland Gov, Biden Administration, White, Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Banner, ABC News, Maryland, New York Times, Times, ” Synergy Marine Group, Baltimore Mayor, Transportation, Department of, World Association, Transport Infrastructure, U.S . News, Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, ” Engineers Locations: Patapsco, Maryland’s, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Maryland, Baltimore, Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, Fort McHenry, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, U.S

Here’s everything you need to know about the one caucus and five primaries on deck. The state has the largest delegates prize among Tuesday’s contests, with 108 pledged Democratic delegates at stake and 59 for Republicans. 21 in the most recent U.S. News Best States rankings, which assesses the performance of states for their residents. On the Democratic side, there are 35 pledged Democratic delegates up for grabs. ET and there are six Democratic delegates at stake, according to the AP.

Persons: It’s, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, –, Biden, Marianne Williamson, “, ” Trump, Nikki Haley, Williamson, Dean Phillips, Minnesota, David Stuckenberg, GOP Caucus Trump, Haley, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Phillips, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Jason Palmer Organizations: GOP, Trump, Aloha State’s Democratic, U.S, United, Democratic, Republican, Associated Press, Republicans, Minnesota –, U.S . Census, Best, Georgia, News, GOP Caucus, GOP Caucus Trump –, AP, Hawaiian Republican Party, Republican National Convention, Aloha State, Florida Gov, Magnolia State, Washington, New, New Jersey Gov, Evergreen State, U.S . News, Northern, Democrats, Super Locations: Georgia, Hawaii , Mississippi, Washington, Northern Mariana, Hawaii, Stake, Trump , Florida, U.S, Mississippi, Florida, New Jersey, America, Northern Mariana Islands, United States, Marianas, Baltimore, American Samoa

The reported death in prison of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent political rival, sent shockwaves throughout Russia and the world on Friday – even if some were unsurprised by the outcome. “There is no doubt that the death of Navalny was the consequence of something Putin and his thugs did,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in remarks at the White House on Friday. The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 ImagesHere is what you need to know about Navalny, his death and Russia’s handling of political prisoners. Who Was Alexei Navalny? Navalny later participated in several mass protests and lobbed criticisms more directly at Putin and other Kremlin officials.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Navalny, Joe Biden, “, ” Konstantin Sonin, ” Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, Navalnaya, ”, Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s, Evan Gershkovich, Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Alexei Gorinov, Maria Ponomarenko – Organizations: White, overdevelopment, Associated Press, Reuters, Washington Post, University of Chicago, Ukraine, Munich, Russia’s Federal, Service, Nenets Autonomous, Tass, Wall Street Locations: Russian, Russia, U.S, Moscow, Ukraine, Belarus, Germany, Russia’s, Nenets, Nenets Autonomous District, Kharp, Bucha

Autocracies – governments in which one person possesses unlimited power – are on the rise. Meanwhile, the percentage of electoral democracies – political systems that hold meaningful, free and fair elections with multiple political parties – has gone down. Starting in the 1960s and again in the 1980s, the global share of autocracies decreased dramatically as democracy started to gain more of a foothold around the world, according to V-Dem’s analysis. And despite the relative rise in autocracies in recent years, there were still 58 elected democracies globally compared to 30 closed autocracies in 2022. In 2022 there were also 58 electoral autocracies, which “hold multiparty elections but their quality or conditions around them are not sufficient to be classified as an electoral democracy,” according to V-Dem experts.

Persons: ”, Thomas Carothers, –, “, Barbara Wejnert, Carothers, Viktor Orbán, Recep Tayyip Edrogan, Narendra Modi, Subianto, it’ll, “ It’s, ” Carothers, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Trump’s Organizations: Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, University of Buffalo, Global Democracy, European Union, Brookings Institution, The Washington, New York Times, Reuters Locations: Indonesia, autocracies, China, Russia, Hungary, Turkey, India, Indonesian, U.S

As of last year, a majority of NATO countries did not meet this pledge. But the alliance does not have its own army, and its military operations are staffed and supplied by member countries. Which Countries Meet NATO’s 2% Defense Spending Target? Only 11 of the 31 NATO member countries were expected to meet that target for 2023, according to estimates published last July by the alliance. That means that 20 NATO countries were expected to spend less than 2% of their GDP on defense, based on the 2023 estimates.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, we’re, Russia –, ” Trump, “, ’, ” Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Republican Locations: Russia, Ukraine, South Carolina, U.S, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, Canada

Super Bowl Sunday in Las Vegas will feature the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers. The two teams from the Midwest and West Coast will face off in the Super Bowl for the second time in five seasons. Sunday’s game is a rematch of Super Bowl LIV in 2020, when the Chiefs beat the 49ers. But football isn’t the first thing that comes to mind for all schools set to be represented in the Super Bowl. When it comes to schools in the two states represented in the Super Bowl, California wins out.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, –, Kansas City –, Stanford – Organizations: Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Midwest, Super Bowl, Bowl LIV, Chiefs, 49ers, San, Kansas City, University of Oklahoma, University of Georgia, Football Playoff, University of Florida, University of Michigan, Wolverines, Super, ., Best National Universities, Stanford, U.S, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Duke, Golden State, – UCLA, USC, University of Missouri, Missouri University of Science, Technology, . News, State, Missouri Locations: Las Vegas, Missouri, California, West, Kansas, San Francisco, U.S

Add in the potential attendance of the world’s most famous pop star, and there’ll be no blank spaces on the proverbial check Las Vegas could cash by the weekend’s end. “It helps the spectacle of the Super Bowl in general and I think that means that it benefits everyone,” he says. At least one analyst, however, quibbles with just how large the economic impact will be in reality. There is, however, concern “about displacing one type of visitor” for another because of how busy Las Vegas is many weekends already, Matheson says. “Do Super Bowl fans gamble at the blackjack table in the same way?” Matheson wonders, referring to the typical Las Vegas gambling visitor.

Persons: Taylor Swift, there’ll, ”, Curtis Dubay, Clark, Wells, Swift, Travis Kelce, Dubay, They’re, ” Victor Matheson, ” There’s, Matheson, “, ” Matheson Organizations: Vegas, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, city’s Convention, Visitors Authority, Chiefs, NFL, Apex Marketing Group, Front Office, College of, Super, Kansas, Allegiant Locations: Sin City, Las Vegas, Vegas, Nevada, Wells Fargo, Tokyo, Glendale , Arizona, Asia, Kansas City

Circuit holds that Trump cannot invoke immunity as a defense against charges connected to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and a violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the panel’s ruling states. “The Indictment charges that former President Trump violated criminal laws of general applicability,” the opinion states. The panel ruling was unanimous and effectively bipartisan, with Democratic- and Republican-appointed judges in agreement. Such an appeal would continue a stay of the panel’s ruling until the high court acted.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, “, ” Trump, Steven Cheung, –, ”, ” “, Tanya Chutkan, Barack Obama, Karen LeCraft Henderson, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, J, Michelle Childs, Joe Biden, Florence Y, Pan, Appeal Trump Organizations: U.S ., Appeals, Circuit, Capitol, Trump, ” Trump Supporters Storm, Democratic, Republican, Appeal, Supreme Locations: United States, George H.W .

Research suggests that higher education correlates with higher earnings. In four states, more than 60% of working age people had some form of post-high school education – exceeding the foundation’s broader goal. Nevada landed at the very bottom of the list, with an educational attainment rate of 42.7%. In the most recent version of the rankings, Massachusetts, Colorado and Vermont were ranked the highest for educational attainment. Post-high school educational attainment percentages for Black, Hispanic, Latino and Native American adults were all far below the national average, according to the report.

Persons: ” Courtney Brown, “ Organizations: Lumina Foundation, Research, U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, Lumina Foundation’s, Census, Survey, Washington . Washington , D.C, Lumina, U.S . News, American Locations: Indiana, United States, U.S, Kentucky, Rhode Island, . Alabama , Colorado , Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Massachusetts, Utah, Minnesota, Vermont, Virginia , New Jersey, Washington . Washington ,, Puerto Rico, Nevada, Alaska, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia

The public backlash persists over the fake, sexually explicit images of Taylor Swift that recently circulated online. The pornographic and digitally altered images of the superstar singer-songwriter and musician spread last week on social media websites such as X, formerly Twitter. The images were deepfakes, a relatively new term for a seemingly realistic but manipulated video or photo produced by a form of AI. But the proliferation of such deepfakes is getting the attention of government officials – both nationally and at the state level. Additionally, at least the 10 states below now have legislation that specifically targets those who create and share explicit deepfake content, as reported by USA Today.

Persons: Taylor Swift, ”, Judith Germano, –, Joe Biden, Germano, ” Germano Organizations: Organization for Social Media Safety, NYU School of Law, Management, “, USA

Here is what you need to know about the U.N. agency, the allegations against its workers and the fallout. While UNRWA does not resettle Palestinian refugees, it provides other services such as education and health care to refugees across five separate locations. The remaining approximately 2.5 million refugees are located in the enclaves of the Gaza Strip (nearly 1.6 million) and the West Bank (more than 900,000). As of Monday morning, the following 10 countries have announced they would at least pause UNRWA funding. “The Department of State has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.”What Does the UNRWA Scandal Mean for Gazans?

Persons: Philippe Lazzarini, ”, ” Lazzarini, ’, “, – Jordan, Lazzarini Organizations: United, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Hamas, The New York Times, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, Gaza, West Bank, European Union, U.S . State Department, Department of State, Nations Locations: United Nations, Israel, United States, Gaza, East, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, U.S, Germany

The unrest in France is also likely tied to how some French people feel about the country’s political atmosphere more broadly. The National Rally also garnered the highest percentage support among France’s political parties in a mid-December poll. In 2022, nearly half of France’s immigrant population had been born in Africa, with the top source countries being Algeria and Morocco, according to INSEE. The French president said in December that the immigration law is “what the French wanted.” And at least one recent poll appears to echo this. And nearly three-quarters (73%) thought the law was inspired by the ideas of the National Rally party.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Pen, –, Élisabeth Borne, Le Pen’s, Macron –, “, Macron Organizations: Republicans, National, Constitutional, Ministry, People, AP, Le, National Institute of Statistics, Economic Studies, National Rally Locations: France, Europe, Germany, Western Europe, Africa, Algeria, Morocco, North Africa

More than 1 million people attended protests across Germany over the weekend, showing their opposition to a right-wing political party that most recently discussed the deportation of large numbers of foreign-born residents. The demonstrations against the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party, have now continued into a second week nationwide. What Is the Alternative for Germany Party? The anti-immigrant, far-right party, founded in 2013 and now led by the German politician Alice Weidel, has been gaining polling ground. What Does Recent German Polling Show?

Persons: –, Martin Sellner, Olaf Scholz, Alice Weidel Organizations: People, Bundestag, Reuters, Deutsche Welle, Christian Democratic Union, Germany Party, News Locations: Germany, Munich, Berlin, Europe, France, Potsdam –, Austrian, German, Nazi, Germany's, Thuringia, Saxony, Brandenburg, U.S

On the overall list of the world’s Best Countries, Russia – where the survey was not fielded for the second year in a row – fell one spot to No. Among individuals in specific nations, the percentage of those agreeing this year that Russia is a “threat to the world” eclipsed 90% in several: Denmark, Finland, Japan and Poland. The only other countries with higher majorities agreeing that China is a global threat were Japan (91%) and South Korea (86%). Among respondents who do consider the U.S. a global threat, the highest share of agreement came from China at about 75%, while agreement eclipsed 60% among those from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and New Zealand. Still, the possibility of geoeconomic conflict is troubling, according to Ellissa Cavaciuti-Wishart, head of the Global Risks Initiative at the World Economic Forum.

Persons: ”, Russia ” –, “, Russia that’s, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Joe Biden, Richard Wike, ” Wike, “ They're, Biden, Ellissa Cavaciuti, Wishart Organizations: News, U.S . News, NATO, Wagner, Russia, The New York Times, Wagner Group, U.S, Best, Pew Research Center, Pew, Global, Economic Locations: Russia, Ukraine, U.S, China, United States, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Poland, Russian, Belarus, Moscow, Australia, United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, South Korea, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, New Zealand

From a survey data perspective, the countries’ moves up the Best Countries list come as they gained in some of the project’s 10 subrankings. In the Best Countries rankings, Neelam points to Australia performing well on an assessment of whether a country is perceived as corrupt. While she announced her resignation in January – before the Best Countries survey was fielded – Neelam says he “wouldn’t discount the Ardern factor” in New Zealand’s rankings rise. New Zealand does have other things going for it that mirror Australia in some ways. Murray, of Karamea, says the country – considered the most scenic among respondents to the Best Countries survey, with Australia at No.

Persons: Paul Murray, I’ve, he’s, ., –, Austin Billimack, he’d, “ Oz ”, ” Billimack, Zealand’s, Murray, Ryan Neelam, it’s, “, ”, Allan Behm, “ We're, Anthony Albanese, Scott Morrison, Albanese, Behm, Morrison, Morrison . New, Jacinda Ardern, – Neelam, Barack, Obama, Eric Crampton, Crampton, Ardern’s, Karamea Organizations: ” Global, U.S . News, FIFA, Australia, New Zealand, Lowy Institute, The Australia Institute, Labor Party, Best, New Zealand Initiative, Zealand Locations: Karamea, New, New Zealand, . Murray, Auckland, Wellington, Australia, Melbourne, Wisconsin, Australia’s, Oceania, Sydney, Australian, Canberra, Nauru, Morrison ., Christchurch , New Zealand, –, Canada

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