Operators of vessel that destroyed Baltimore’s Key Bridge to pay nearly $102M: DOJ
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
(BALTIMORE, Md.) — The operators of the vessel that destroyed Baltimore’s Key Bridge in March have agreed to pay nearly $102 million for costs stemming from the federal response, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Under the settlement, the owners and operator of the Dali vessel — Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited — will pay $101,980,000 to resolve civil claims brought against them by the Justice Department in September, the department said.
ABC News has reached out to Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited for comment.
The civil probe is separate from the still-ongoing criminal investigation by the department into the events that led to the vessel’s collision with the bridge.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Two Russian military aircraft were detected Wednesday operating in the international airspace off of Alaska, NORAD said.
The aircraft were operating in airspace known as the Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, that stretches 150 miles from the coastline, an area where aircraft are asked to identify themselves.
“The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” NORAD said. “This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.”
The U.S. does not appear to have launched intercepting aircraft, with NORAD saying in a press release that the Russian aircraft were “detected and tracked.”
United States and Canadian fighter jets in July intercepted four Russian and Chinese bombers flying in international airspace near Alaska, officials said at the time.
NORAD did not identify what type of Russian aircraft were involved in Thursday’s incident.
(LOS ANGELES) — As hundreds of firefighters battled a raging wildfire on Thursday in the steep mountains north of Los Angeles, cooler weather sweeping into Southern California aided their fight, fire officials said.
The so-called Bridge Fire, which is burning in the Sheep Mountain Wilderness in the Angeles National Forest, saw “minimal” growth on Thursday as winds died down and humidity increased, officials said in their most recent update, posted at about 4 p.m. Thursday.
But the fire’s containment was still at zero percent as of that update, fire officials said. The blaze by then had spread to about 51,580 acres that straddled Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
“Firefighters made great progress on the ground, aided by aircraft to attack the fire aggressively 24 hours per day,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
About 480 firefighting personnel were working to contain the fire, which was ignited Sunday and was the largest of several active blazes in Southern California.
The three largest blazes burning on Thursday covered a total of more than 110,000 acres and threatened tens of thousands of structures, according to fire officials.
The Line Fire in San Bernardino County was spread over about 37,207 acres with 21% containment, Cal Fire said. That fire had destroyed or damaged by early Friday at least four structures, with some 65,000 others threatened, officials said.
And the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties covered about 23,453 acres with about 5% containment, Cal Fire said.
Officials with San Bernardino County announced further evacuations for the Bridge Fire late on Thursday, broadening their order near The Baldy Village to including several additional neighborhoods from San Antonio Heights to Wrightwood and east to Cucamonga Peak.
The temperature in Los Angeles was expected to peak on Friday and Saturday at about 78 degrees Fahrenheit, before further cooling next week, according to the National Weather Service.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck, David Brennan and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — After facing two weeks of delays, the ambitious Polaris Dawn space mission, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman and in collaboration with SpaceX, has set a target launch date and time for this week, despite uncertain weather conditions.
The four-person civilian crew aims to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 3:38 a.m. ET in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, according to the latest announcement from the aerospace company.
There are two additional launch opportunities within the four-hour window, at 5:23 a.m. ET and 7:09 a.m. ET. If needed, backup opportunities are available on Wednesday at the same times, according to SpaceX.
The highly anticipated program as faced a series of delays since the originally planned Aug. 26 launch due to unfavorable weather conditions and a ground system issue at the launch site.
Prepping for another possible delay, the weather forecast for Tuesday remains uncertain, according to SpaceX.
“Weather is currently 40% favorable for liftoff, and conditions at the possible splashdown sites for Dragon’s return to Earth remain a watch item,” the company wrote on X Sunday.
Despite the forecast, Issacman remains hopeful about this week’s launch possibility, writing on X, “This is a big improvement over the last two weeks. We are getting closer to getting this mission to orbit.”
The mission was previously delayed due to a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect (QD) umbilical, SpaceX said on Aug. 26. Umbilical systems employ QD fluid connectors to transfer fluids into a vehicle, according to NASA.
If successful, the Polaris Dawn mission is poised to make history by launching four private citizens into ultrahigh orbit, ascending to 870 miles above Earth. This would be the highest altitude of any human spaceflight mission since the Apollo program, more than a half century ago.
The program is set to span five days under normal conditions and will see two of the crew members exit the spacecraft in the first commercial spacewalk, at an altitude of 435 miles above Earth.
Due to the absence of an airlock on the SpaceX Dragon capsule, all four crew members will be exposed to the vacuum of space during the ambitious spacewalk.
The spacewalk will also serve as a critical test for SpaceX’s new extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits, an evolution of the intravehicular activity (IVA) suit.
This new design includes a heads-up display, helmet camera, and enhanced joint mobility. It also features thermal insulation, solar protection, and a suspension system that allows the wearer to pressurize the suit, don a harness and execute operations as if they were weightless.
The Dragon spacecraft also has undergone significant modifications, including upgrades to the life support systems to supply more oxygen during spacewalks, according to the Polaris program. Environmental sensing has been improved, and a new nitrogen re-pressurization system has been installed, according to the program.
The Polaris Dawn mission will be Isaacman’s second journey to space. In 2021, he funded his first mission to orbit Earth. The project was billed as a childhood cancer fundraiser, garnering $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and marked the first all-civilian mission in Earth orbit.
