$102 Million Settlement Reached in Baltimore Bridge Disaster
The U.S. government has reached a $102 million settlement with the companies behind the cargo ship that struck Baltimore’s Key Bridge in March, killing six people, in what prosecutors described as “one of the worst transportation disasters in recent memory.”During the early hours of March 6, the Singaporean cargo ship Motor Vessel DALI was leaving the Port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka, when it lost power striking Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse into the river.
The $102 million settlement with the ship’s owner Grace Ocean Private Limited and the operator Synergy Marine Private Limited is intended to compensate the U.S. government for its clean up efforts to ensure the waterway was back in operation by June.
Number of US Voters Passes 30 Million
With less than two weeks to go before the U.S. election, the number of early voters casting their ballots has surpassed the 30 million mark, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab website.The total number of early votes is 31,402,309 as of early Oct. 25. In person voting has reached 13,687,197 and so far, 64,140,742 mail-in ballots have been requested.
Recent polls suggest a neck-and-neck tie between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, with Trump leading some polls in battleground states and Harris leading in others.
Battleground states, also known as swing states, are states that aren’t historically tied to any political party and can swing either Democrat or Republican with each election.
McDonald’s Under Scrutiny Over E. Coli Outbreak
American fast food giant McDonald’s is being investigated by government regulators over an E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder hamburgers which left at least one person dead and sickened 50 others across 10 states.The chain has temporarily removed its Quarter Pounder and slivered onions from the menu in Colorado, Kansas, Utah, and Wyoming as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
The main area of sickness has been in Colorado with 26 cases, with one Colorado man filling a lawsuit on Oct. 23.
The source of contamination is thought to have come from one of their onion suppliers.
Trump Campaign Accuses Labour Party of ‘Election Interference’
Former President Donald Trump’s election campaign has accused the Labour Party of engaging in foreign election interference following reports of Labour Party members helping to campaign for Trump’s rival Vice President Kamala Harris in her election bid.
With the U.S. elections being a global spectacle, volunteers from other countries helping in campaigning is not new. However, financial contributions are illegal, according to U.S. law.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that members of the Labour Party in the United States were just volunteers.
“They’re doing it in their spare time, they’re doing it as volunteers, they’re staying I think with other volunteers over there,” he said.
