List of Pride Month events in Houston area
Biden Tours Collapsed Baltimore Bridge As Clearing Proceeds And Declares 'your Nation Has Your Back'
Biden also greeted police officers who helped block traffic to the bridge in the moments before it was hit by the ship, which helped avert an even larger loss of life.
"I'm here to say your nation has your back and I mean it," Biden said from the shoreline overlooking the collapsed bridge. "Your nation has your back."
Get Today in Politics
A digest of the top political stories from the Globe, sent to your inbox Monday-Friday.
Eight workers — immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — were filling potholes on the bridge when it was hit by a huge cargo ship and collapsed in the middle of the night of March 26. Two men were rescued, but the bodies of only two of the six who died have been recovered. The president met Friday with the families of the victims near the bridge, the White House said.
"The damage is devastating and our hearts are still breaking," Biden said.
Officials have established a temporary, alternate channel for vessels involved in clearing debris. The Army Corps of Engineers hopes to open a limited-access channel for barge container ships and some vessels moving cars and farm equipment by the end of this month and to restore normal capacity to Baltimore's port by May 31, the White House says.
That's important since longer delays in reopening shipping lanes could send shockwaves through the economy. As much as $200 million in cargo normally moves through Baltimore's port per day, and it is the leading hub for importing and exporting vehicles.
More than 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are on site to help cut out sections of the bridge and remove them from the key waterway. Officials told Biden they had all the resources they need to meet the targets for opening the channel into the Baltimore port.
Biden also announced that some of the largest employers affected by the collapse, including Amazon, Home Depot and Domino Sugar, have committed to keeping their employees on payroll until the port is reopened. That news followed days of outreach by state and federal officials to try to mitigate the economic impact of the incident.
"From the air I saw the bridge that has been ripped apart," Biden said, "but here on the ground I see a community that's pulled together."
But it is still unclear how the costs of cleanup and building a new bridge will be covered.
The Federal Highway Administration has provided $60 million in "quick release" emergency relief funds to get started. Exactly how much the collapse will cost is unclear, though some experts estimate recovery will take at least $400 million and 18 months.
Biden said within hours of the collapse that "the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort."
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell likened the bridge collapse to assistance that flows after natural disasters and saying "the federal government will step up and do the lion's share" of funding. But authorization is likely no slam-dunk in Congress.
The White House announced Friday it is asking Congress to authorize the federal government to cover 100% of the collapsed bridge cleanup and reconstruction costs, rather than seeking funding through a separate, emergency supplemental funding request.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young noted similar techniques were used for recovery and rebuilding efforts that received bipartisan congressional support in 2007, when a highway bridge in downtown Minneapolis collapsed during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.
"We are asking the Congress to join us in demonstrating our commitment to aid in recovery efforts," Young wrote, though it is still unclear exactly how much money the administration will need to cover the costs.
But some hard-line congressional Republicans are already lining up to demand politically controversial offsets for the funding. The conservative House Freedom Caucus issued a Friday statement saying, "If it proves necessary to appropriate taxpayer money to get one of America's busiest ports back online, Congress should ensure it is fully offset and that burdensome regulations" are waved. It was referring to potential federal spending cuts elsewhere and to regulations like the Endangered Species Act.
The caucus's letter also suggested that approval for bridge recovery funds be tied to the Biden administration agreeing to lift a pause it has imposed on exportation of liquified natural gas.
The funding questions only serve to heighten the collapse's political implications as Biden squares off with former President Donald Trump in November's election.
It's the second major disaster along the country's busy northeastern hub in as many years. Last summer, an overpass along Interstate 95 in Philadelphia caught fire and collapsed after a tanker truck slammed into it. Federal and state officials moved quickly on temporary repairs and ultimately reopened that section of the highway faster than expected.
But the cleanup and repairs in Baltimore will take far longer and be far more costly, making the chances it is a net political positive for Biden — especially in time for Election Day — far murkier.
That hasn't stopped the Biden administration from championing anew a $1 trillion-plus public works package that cleared Congress in 2021.
The bridge collapse also has thrust into the national spotlight Maryland's Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, 45, a leading voice in Biden's reelection campaign's effort to energize young voters on the 81-year-old president's behalf. He accompanied Biden on the helicopter tour and during his briefings, and introduced the president before his speech.
The president himself has traveled the country showcasing construction projects on highways, bridges and tunnels. In 2022, he arrived for an event in Pittsburgh just hours after a bridge nearby collapsed. Promoting the public works package also has allowed the president to lean into his love of train travel and many years commuting to and from Washington on Amtrak as a Delaware senator.
Biden himself noted he'd been over the bridge "about a thousand times" commuting from Washington to his home in Delaware, prompting the state Department of Transportation chief to quip, "thank you for the tolls, sir."
Meet 5 New Acts Shaping Canadian Pop-punk Right Now
While Canadian bands like Sum 41 and Simple Plan helped bring pop punk into the mainstream in the early 2000s, a new generation of pop-punk acts have emerged in this country, including Chief State and Lølø. (Lindsey Blane, Josiah Van Dien; graphic by CBC Music)
Over the last 20-plus years, Canada has produced more than a few heavy hitters in the pop-punk scene.
From skate-punk quintet Sum 41, to certified pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne, to Simple Plan — the band that spoke to every angsty teenager's parental issues with its anthem "Perfect" — Canadian artists were instrumental in helping pop punk go mainstream in the 2000s.
Last year, Sum 41 announced a breakup and a farewell tour, signalling the end of a generation. But what does the next iteration of Canadian pop-punk look like? Here are five artists who are keeping the scene alive.
Arm's LengthHailing from Quinte West, Ont., Arm's Length found underground success with its 2019 and 2021 EPs — What's Mine Is Yours and Everything Nice, respectively — but it wasn't until the release of its 2022 debut album, Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, that the band really found its footing. Arm's Length manages to accomplish a rare feat in emo and pop punk: capturing the feeling of nostalgia without resorting to clichés.
The band is able to invoke a sense of déjà vu that has you asking, "Have I heard this before?" when you know you haven't. The sincerity of lyrics like, "I'm breaking bones/ and you're signing my cast/ that's exactly how you'll wind up dead," from album opener "Overture," carries throughout the entire 11-song tracklist. They replicate the conflicts of young adulthood and burgeoning romantic relationships without getting too deep into self-deprecation.
Despite the lyrical density of Arm's Length's discography, the band's music is surprisingly easy to listen to (though potentially difficult to remember for live shows). The next time you have some unresolved trauma to work through, pop on some Arm's Length and go for a walk.
Recommended songs: "Object Permanence," "Tough Love," "Garamond."
Chief StateVancouver-based transcontinental pop-punk band Chief State has been tearing up the local scene for more than a few years now.
Signed to Mutant League, the band has put out two albums, and two EPs in the last six years. Heavy on the drums and catchy guitar riffs, it's clear that Chief State was inspired by bands like Sum 41 and Blink-182. But unlike those predecessors, lead singer Fraser Simpson isn't singing about butts, sex and being staunchly anti-establishment.
Chief State's latest album, 2022's Waiting for Your Colours, can be described by one word: longing. Whether that's longing for someone to come back, or longing to leave somewhere, it's a theme that the band has mastered. But don't let the heavy subject matter get you down: Chief State goes hard enough that you'll be ready to mosh and crowd surf by the time the first few bars are done. Given how sonically cohesive their music has always sounded, Chief State is poised to be the next big pop-punk act to break out of Canada.
Recommended songs: "Team Wiped," "Metaphors," "Deciduous."
LøløPop punk continues to be a male-dominated genre, but there are plenty of women who are killing it.
Lølø built an audience on TikTok and YouTube during the pandemic, cleverly reimagining songs from the perspective of a secondary character. She covered "Betty" by Taylor Swift, switching it to Betty's perspective, and Adele's "Someone Like You" from the perspective of the long-lost lover. After releasing her debut EP, Sweater Collection, independently in 2019, Lølø signed to Hopeless Records in 2021 and dropped two more EPs: 2021's Overkill and 2022's Debbie Downer.
Lølø's music is bratty, but in the best way. She writes about breakups, depression and toxic exes in a way that screams, "See if I care!" Present throughout her writing is a nonchalant attitude that calls back to Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing era. Her catalogue is the furthest thing from being pretentious, and the lyrics on "Lonely & Pathetic" prove it: "Maybe I'm a weirdo, train wreck, nightmare/ heartbreak poster child/ pick me up from daycare."
Even though she hasn't released a full-length album yet, Lølø has toured with big names including New Found Glory, Simple Plan, Less Than Jake and Mayday Parade, cementing her status in the industry.
Pop-punk artists left and right are constantly trying to escape the genre's childish reputation, which makes it all the more refreshing to see an artist like Lølø not take herself too seriously.
Recommended songs: "Death Wish," "Debbie Downer" by Lølø and Maggie Lindemann, "Lonely & Pathetic."
Calling All CaptainsComing out of Edmonton, Calling All Captains manages to conjure the same ennui as many of the band's emo peers from the American Midwest, fleshed out with a healthy dose of Warped Tour-style poppy post-hardcore.
While the band's lineup has shifted over the years, its ability to write heavy tunes that get right at the heart of the human condition remains unchanged. Love, loss, joy and betrayal are all captured effortlessly by frontman Luc Gauthier's distinctive growl.
Calling All Captains' 2021 debut album, Slowly Getting Better, perfectly showcases the band's punk roots and penchant for anthemic choruses. Mid-album banger "Loving Cup" encapsulates the record's themes: the pain that drives people to seek comfort in the worst of places, and the sometimes impossible task of mending what has been broken.
The band's talent and ambitions are best exemplified in the 2020 mini-documentary the bandmates created in collaboration with fellow Edmonton locals Guerilla Motion Pictures, about the time Calling All Captains opened for pop-punk legends the Offspring. It's a professional and heartwarming effort that clearly dictates one thing: Calling All Captains has its eyes set on greatness, and won't settle for anything less.
Recommended songs: "Collapse," "Fool's Gold," "Disconnected."
Youth FountainA fixture of the Vancouver pop-punk scene, Tyler Zanon has long been writing heart-wrenching and introspective music for a generation that's chronically online and lonely, first under the name Bedroom Talk, a project that evolved into Youth Fountain after signing to notable pop-punk label Pure Noise Records.
Since 2018, Youth Fountain has released three EPs (including two acoustic) and three full-length albums. His discography combines absurdly catchy riffs and fast-paced rhythms with brutally honest poems about trauma and loss, helping Zanon not only hold his own in a genre that already deals with such heavy topics, but also easily fit into a greater cultural conversation around mental health and self-care.
Despite having been a one-man act for most of his career, Zanon has quickly made an impact in the scene, cultivating a dedicated and loyal fanbase that's only growing stronger. Most recently, he's gone on to tour with legacy acts such as Story of the Year and We the Kings. On his most recent effort, 2023's Together in Lonesome, he continues the streak of well-crafted songs and hard-hitting lyricism. If you're looking for music to sob to during a late night in your car, look no further.
Recommended songs: "Complacent," "Century," "Identical Days."
Warped North
It was a small wonder when, after a mechanical malfunction, the transport ship moving you to an isolated research facility crashed, granting you your long-overdue freedom. But the new frigid land you've arrived in swarms with jabbering, malicious little creatures, and you can't help but sense you may have caught the attention of something sinister.
Comments
Post a Comment