International

The Baltimore Fallen Bridge: 2,632 meters in length immortalized in the series ‘The Wire’

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed on Tuesday after a freighter crashed into it, is the largest in Baltimore, the capital of the state of Maryland: it has a length of 2,632 meters and more than 11 million vehicles travel through it a year.

This bridge was immortalized by “The Wire”, the successful American television series set in Baltimore about judicial telephone interventions against a police group and in which many of its characters are based on real people from the city.

Named in honor of the poet Francis Scott Key, author of the lyrics of the American anthem, the construction of the current bridge began in 1972 and was inaugurated on March 23, 1977.

The structure crosses the lower part of the Patapsco River between Hawkins Point and Sollers Point and runs through it by the I-695 motorway (Baltimore Beltway).

The bridge that collapsed this Tuesday is, according to the organization Historic Sites, heir to the one built between 1833 and 1843 with stone pillars, demolished in 1915, as well as the one that replaced it, a concrete arch inaugurated in 1923.

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He already had the name of Francis Scott Key because the artist lived in an area near the beginning of the 19th century. Originally the bridge was known as ‘Outer Harbor Crossing’.

Every summer, in addition, the U.S. Coast Guard deploys the commemorative buoy of the poet Francis Scott Key on the Patapsco River, in the vicinity of the bridge.

The star-covered buoy marks the approximate location where Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, while trying to facilitate the release of a prisoner held on a British ship during the bombing of Fort McHenry in 1814.

The piles of the bridge and other components form an underwater reef that attracts fish, such as striped sea bass or perch, so the place is appreciated by sports fishing enthusiasts.

The area also attracts recreational boats, and tourist boats and local cruises offer travel routes near the bridge.

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Near the western end of the bridge, in Fort Armistead Park, there are ramps for launching boats, a fishing dock and views of the bridge.

Baltimore, an important seaport even before the American Revolution settled in Chesapeake Bay, is the most populous city in the state of Maryland.

It has just over 600,000 inhabitants in the urban center and 2,700,000 in its metropolitan area.

International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.