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(AP) — Rebuilding Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge could take anywhere from 18 months to several years, experts say, while the cost could be at least $400 million — or more than twice that. Realistically, the project could take five to seven years, according to Ben Schafer, an engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University. “The lead time on air conditioning equipment right now for a home renovation is like 16 months, right?" But experts say it's better to look to more recent bridge disasters for a sense of how quickly reconstruction may happen. Hota GangaRao, a West Virginia University engineering professor, said the project could cost as little as $400 million.

Persons: Baltimore’s, Francis Scott Key, Ben Schafer, “, Schafer, they’re, Dali, Jim Tymon, ” Tymon, Tymon, Joe Biden, Minnesota Sen, Amy Klobuchar, ” Klobuchar, ” Badie, Badie, Hota, That’s, ” GangaRao, ” Norma Jean Mattei, ” Organizations: Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, Sunshine, American Association of State, Transportation, West Virginia University, The University of New Locations: ANNAPOLIS, Md, Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Mississippi, Maryland, The University of New Orleans

☆ Burnsville, Minnesota shooting: 2 police officers and 1 firefighter killed, governor says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Chris Boyette | Joe Sutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Two police officers and a firefighter were fatally shot and another officer was injured after responding to a domestic incident early Sunday morning in Burnsville, Minnesota, according to local authorities. Burnsville city officials identified the three victims Sunday afternoon as officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27, and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth, 40. “Minnesota mourns with you,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said during the news conference. My heart is with their families today and the entire State of Minnesota stands with Burnsville,” Walz said. He was part of the department’s crisis negotiations team and was also a physical evidence officer, officials said.

Persons: “, Adam Medlicott, Paul Elmstrand, Matthew Ruge, Adam Finseth, Drew Evans, ” Evans, Evans, “ Minnesota, Tim Walz, Walz, ” Walz, ” Jim Mortenson, Minnesota Sen, Amy Klobuchar, ” Klobuchar, Elmstrand, Ruge, Finseth, CNN’s Josh Campbell, Cindy Von Quednow Organizations: CNN, of Public, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Law Enforcement Labor Services, Minnesota, Burnsville, Guard Locations: Burnsville , Minnesota, Burnsville, Minnesota, of Minnesota, Minneapolis

☆ Advocates call on Senate to approve amendment giving Afghan evacuees path to legal residency
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

It is based on the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act, which was reintroduced last year. The amendment was introduced Friday with a list of co-sponsors that included Republican Sens. Future conflicts that we go into will look back to how we handled the end of the Afghan war and what we did with our Afghan allies,” VanDiver said. While the amendment has bipartisan backing, at least one Republican is expected to object to it. Cotton supports helping our Afghan allies and partners, but this specific bill did little to address his concerns,” the person said.

Persons: Democratic Sen, Amy Klobuchar, Republican Sen, Jerry Moran, Republican Sens, Roger Wicker, Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis, Democratic Sens, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Coons, Jeanne Shaheen, Klobuchar, “, ” Klobuchar, ” Shawn VanDiver, —, It’s, ” VanDiver, Sen, Tom Cotton, ”, “ Sen, Cotton, VanDiver, ” Moran, Patrick Murray Organizations: CNN, Senate, Democratic, Republican, intel, Army, Senate Armed Services Committee, Afghan, Veterans ’ Affairs, Veterans, Foreign, VFW Locations: Afghanistan, United States

Google was the first big tech company to say it would impose new labels on deceptive AI-generated political advertisements that could fake a candidate's voice or actions. The pressure on the social media companies comes as both lawmakers are helping to lead a charge to regulate AI-generated political ads. Google has already said that starting in mid-November it will require a clear disclaimer on any AI-generated election ads that alter people or events on YouTube and other Google products. This policy applies both in the U.S. and in other countries where the company verifies election ads. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta doesn’t have a rule specific to AI-generated political ads but has a policy restricting “faked, manipulated or transformed” audio and imagery used for misinformation.

Persons: Tom Hanks hawking, Pope Francis, Rand Paul, Mark Zuckerberg, Linda Yaccarino, ”, Sen, Amy Klobuchar, Yvette Clarke, didn't, Clarke, Klobuchar, “, ” Klobuchar, Republican Sen, Josh Hawley of, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Ron DeSantis, Democratic Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Ari Cohn, haven't, ” Cohn, Ali Swenson Organizations: Sen, Capitol, Google, Facebook, Democratic, Associated Press, Klobuchar, U.S ., Twitter, Meta, Senate, YouTube, Republican, Republican National Committee, GOP, Florida Gov, Administration, Commission, Public Citizen Locations: Minnesota, York, U.S, Josh Hawley of Missouri, United States

☆ Senate Judiciary advances journalism bargaining bill targeting Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced legislation on Thursday that would give news organizations the power to jointly bargain against Meta, Google and other online platforms for a greater share of online advertising revenue. One member of the committee, California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, voted against the bill Thursday and vowed to block any future floor vote on the legislation until lawmakers make several changes. Padilla said the legislation doesn’t do enough to ensure that actual journalists in local newsrooms will benefit from the bargaining, as opposed to hedge funds and publication owners. “This bill is not about whether or not you like social media,” Kennedy said. “This bill is not about whether or not you like what is happening in American news media today.

Persons: Minnesota Democratic Sen, Amy Klobuchar, Louisiana Republican Sen, John Kennedy, Google didn’t, California Democratic Sen, Alex Padilla, Padilla, ” Padilla, Padilla’s, Democratic Sens, Jon Ossoff, Peter Welch, Cory Booker, Kennedy, Klobuchar, —, ” Klobuchar, ” Kennedy, ” Organizations: Washington CNN, Committee, Meta, Google, Minnesota Democratic, Louisiana Republican, California Democratic, Democratic Locations: Louisiana, Australia, California

☆ Live Nation exec will face lawmakers about Taylor Swift concert tickets fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“It goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans,” Swift wrote on Instagram in November. The mergerCriticism of Ticketmaster’s dominance dates back decades, but the Swift ticketing incident has once again turned that issue into a dinner table discussion at many households. Concert promoter Live Nation and ticketing company Ticketmaster, two of the largest companies in the concert business, announced their merger in 2009. ‘Customers are the ones that pay the price’While irate fans were left scrambling to wade through the Swift ticket confusion, their collective anger caught lawmakers’ attention. To me, what happened with the Swift concert tickets was not necessarily the result of Ticketmaster being the dominant player in the industry,” he said.

The fate of the bill is also linked to an election overhaul measure to avoid another Jan. 6, which Senate leaders hope to attach to it. The two parties are about $26 billion apart on domestic spending, Shelby said, which isn’t much considering the omnibus package would likely be more than $1.5 trillion. Although they control both chambers, they still need at least 10 Senate GOP votes to defeat a filibuster on a funding bill. The government funding bill is likely the last train leaving the station in the current session of Congress, and a number of other provisions could ride along. Senators have struck a deal on a bill that cleared committee on a bipartisan vote of 14-1 in September.

☆ Taylor Swift meltdown caused by Ticketmaster abusing its market power, Senate antitrust chair says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Senator Amy Klobuchar criticized Ticketmaster in an open letter to its CEO, saying she has “serious concerns” about the company’s operations following a service meltdown Tuesday that left Taylor Swift fans irate. Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the country’s largest concert promoter, merged about a decade ago. Klobuchar noted that the company at the time pledged to “develop an easy-access, one-stop platform” for ticket delivery. It’s no secret that Live Nation-Ticketmaster is an unchecked monopoly,” Rep. David Cicilline, currently the chairman of the Antitrust Subcommittee, tweeted on Tuesday. The Justice Department and states allowed the Live Nation Ticketmaster merger to go through despite a 2010 court filing in the case raising objections to the merger.

WASHINGTON — Which party controls Congress next year could have big implications for Twitter — and its new “Chief Twit,” Elon Musk. A Jordan spokesman had no comment about Musk and Twitter, but Republicans expect the company will be more cooperative with any future GOP investigations with Musk at the helm. But upon taking control of Twitter, Musk said he would first form a “content moderation council,” and Yoel Roth, head of Safety and Integrity at Twitter, insisted that the company’s policies on hate speech have not changed. “If Elon Musk has said now that he’s going to start a content moderation board, that was one good sign, but I continue to be concerned about that,” Klobuchar said. Other Democrats are raising national security concerns about how Musk financed the $44 billion Twitter deal.

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