President Biden grieves in Baltimore over bridge collapse | The Excerpt

On Saturday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison recaps President Joe Biden's Baltimore visit and looks at plans for the port's reopening. Israel's military has fired officers for their roles in strikes that killed seven aid workers. The U.S. is on alert for possible Iranian attacks on Israeli and American facilities. The Friday earthquake recorded in New Jersey was one of the strongest in state history. USA TODAY Democracy Reporter Erin Mansfield discusses a Georgia bill that would create new rules for removing voters from the rolls. March Madness rolls on with the Final Four.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Saturday, April 6th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.

Today, recapping Biden's visit to Baltimore, plus the latest aftermath from the killings of aid workers in Gaza, and the US is on alert for potential Iranian attacks on Israeli and American facilities.

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President Joe Biden visited Baltimore yesterday where he grieved with family members and urged Congress to act to rebuild the collapsed bridge.

President Joe Biden:

We will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way to help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce that's here now.

Taylor Wilson:

I spoke with USA Today White House correspondent Joey Garrison about The President's visit and what's next for the bridge and ports going forward. Hi there, Joey.

Joey Garrison:

Hey, thanks for having me on.

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for hopping on, Joey. So what did President Joe Biden do during his visit to Baltimore yesterday?

Joey Garrison:

President Biden toured what's left of the bridge by a helicopter on Marine One, met with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, other state local officials, kind of just getting a briefing on what they're doing right now in terms of cleaning up the massive wrecked bridge that remains still in the river, as well as looking ahead to what's really a massive rebuilding project that Biden, The Governor, other local officials, are trying to undertake as soon as possible. President Biden also met with loved ones of the six workers who were all immigrants, grieved with them and gave really emotional remarks towards those families during his trip.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah, Joey, what impact is this collapse and its aftermath having on immigrant communities in that area?

Joey Garrison:

These are often workers that go unnoticed for most Americans. They were working here at 1:30 in the morning when that bridge was hit by the shipping container. And so this has brought kind of an awareness to worker issues that these immigrants who make very little money, some of the issues that they have. And so folks are pushing for better safety and for more awareness for the things that they go through. And so Biden, in his remarks, noted that most were immigrants, all were Marylanders, and said that they were selfless workers. And so he tried to bring attention to their struggle that many of them had.

Taylor Wilson:

Joey, what action is Biden now urging Congress to take here surrounding the next steps for the bridge?

Joey Garrison:

Yeah, so Biden has vowed that the Federal Government's going to pay for the entire reconstruction of the bridge. We don't have a total amount for that, but it's going to be maybe up towards billions of dollars. And right now there has just been $60 million in federal emergency funds that the administration has devoted toward the immediate work but he is urging Congress to quickly, as soon as it can, approve the full allocation of this bridge project. Now, I think that this should be something that gets bipartisan support for, and you would think there would, but the House Freedom Caucus members of the far-right flank of the Republican Party are seeking certain demands in exchange for supporting the bridge. And so that's something that is going to have to be solved in order for there to have full buy-in in the House.

Taylor Wilson:

And going forward, Joey, what's the timeline at this point look like for clearing all of the debris that remains and also for beginning work on a new bridge?

Joey Garrison:

Well, the US Army Corps of Engineers thinks they can open the port within maybe two months or so. That's a very ambitious timeline. But in terms of rebuilding the bridge, it is still a little bit unclear. I mean, it took five years to build the bridge in the '70s. I think they believe they can do that sooner. But again, before the rebuilding even begins, you've got to remove what is there. And that's a complicated process. I mean, there's a massive part of the bridge that remains on top of the ship that's still there. And so that has to be removed before you have any ability to start building there.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, Joey Garrison covers the White House for USA Today. Thank you, Joey.

Joey Garrison:

Hey, thanks so much.

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Taylor Wilson:

The Israeli military has fired two officers for their role in the attack on an aid convoy in Gaza this week that killed seven World Central Kitchen volunteers, including one American. An Israeli investigation said the incident was a mistake, carried out after forces misidentified the vehicles carrying aid workers. In a statement, the World Central Kitchen said it welcomed Israel's decision to dismiss and reprimand the military personnel involved in the strikes, but said it's not enough. The group said that if Israel does not ramp up aid in Gaza and implement systematic changes to ensure the safety of aid workers, "there will be more military failures, more apologies, and more grieving families." The group also said it will extend its suspension of operations in Gaza.

The US is on high alert for a potential attack on Israel or on American facilities in the Middle East in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed Iranian commanders. That's according to two US officials to USA Today. Iran vowed revenge after suspected Israeli warplanes bombed its embassy in Damascus on Monday, killing a top Iranian military commander in a major escalation in Israel's war with its regional adversaries. The Biden administration is concerned about the possibility Iran might attack US bases in Iraq and Syria, according to sources, and American forces are in a heightened state of vigilance. Iran's Revolutionary Guard's announced the deaths of seven military advisers in the Damascus strike.

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A 4.8 magnitude earthquake recorded in New Jersey and felt in New York City yesterday morning was one of the strongest in state history. The quake was reported about five miles north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, at about 10:23 AM yesterday, according to the US Geological Survey. The epicenter was about 45 miles from New York City, where residents reported shaking furniture and floors. People reported feeling the shaking as far north as Maine and as far south as Norfolk, Virginia, following the quake, according to the USGS. No major disruptions or damage have been reported in New Jersey or New York.

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A bill in Georgia would create new rules for removing voters from the rolls and civil rights groups are warning it could cause chaos in a crucial swing state. I spoke with USA Today democracy reporter Erin Mansfield to learn more. Erin, thanks for making the time today.

Erin Mansfield:

Thank you for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So Erin, what would this new Georgia bill do related to voter rolls?

Erin Mansfield:

One of the biggest parts of this bill, they're calling a Frankenbill, if you've ever followed legislation, toward the end of a session, you add a whole bunch of stuff in that wasn't specifically in there. And what's happening with voter rolls in this proposed law is that they want to create definitions for how to remove people from voter rolls and some processes. The Secretary of State's office in Georgia says that this is meant to clarify a process, while civil rights advocates say it's not clear at all. What this means really, is about three years ago, shortly after the height really of the pushback to the 2020 election results, Georgia passed a law that let voters submit unlimited numbers of challenges to voter registration. So this is something that people were basically going to Google Maps and taking a spreadsheet from the voter registrar's office and saying, "Hey, why is this person registered at a UPS store? Hey, why is this address not a residential address?" And they were bringing those into their county registrars.

There are tens of thousands of these challenges that have been filed over the past several years, and what this does is it says, well, this is stuff that you can use to take them off the rolls and this stuff specifically, you can't. And by nature of that clarity, some people like it and some people do not. It says you can be taken off the rolls if say, you're registered at a non-residential address, like if you have a PO box number or UPS store, something like that. It says you can be taken off a voter roll if you're dead, if you are voted or registered to vote in another jurisdiction, if you're getting some kind of housing tax credit in another jurisdiction, which means you're telling another government that you live somewhere else.

A lot of these things to a lot of people sound completely reasonable, and that seems to be what the intent was behind these provisions. But the ACLU is pointing to a lack of clarity. For example, it doesn't say if you subsequently vote in another jurisdiction, it says if you voted in another jurisdiction, it doesn't say specifically in the law if you move to another state afterwards. So some of these things just aren't super clear. There's another provision that would go into effect next year that would require folks who are homeless ... For the record, homeless people can vote just like anybody else, sometimes in Georgia. They can even just describe where they live on a map. This bill starting next year would require homeless folks to register at the county registrar's office, which from an administrative standpoint you can kind of see, but from the fact that you can also be taken off for being registered at a non-residential address, that's where the ACLU is saying there's a problem.

Taylor Wilson:

And as you said, this massive Frankenbill really has a ton of provisions in it. What else would this bill do as it pertains to upcoming elections?

Erin Mansfield:

Yeah, so the other thing that would happen that really is relevant to November, is make it easier for third party candidates to get on the ballot. Polling is showing that Donald Trump has a better chance in Georgia if third parties kind of, what a Biden advocate might call, spoil the vote. And right now we have two pretty prominent third party candidates, Cornel West, the scholar and civil rights activist, and then Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the Kennedy family, very prominent in vaccine politics. Going down the road, they want to let very small counties use paper ballots, they want to change how things are counted, and they want you to stop using QR codes to scan them. Those are some things that are a little less controversial also, because they wouldn't affect an election that's coming up in a matter of months.

Taylor Wilson:

So this now moves into Republican Governor Brian Kemp's hands. What's the expectation here? Is he expected to sign this into law?

Erin Mansfield:

His office told me they are doing a legal review, as they do. He has about another month to sign it. It's technically 40 days. That'll be about May 8th when we'll be looking out for a final decision on that. But he has to do a legal review and with the ACLU promising to sue, that should be an interesting situation. So Governor Kemp signed the sweeping voter law in 2021, about three years ago, during the height of all the pushback in Georgia. This would be the second big election bill that he would sign if he decides to. That was the bill that did a lot of things, but also made it possible to submit thousands upon thousands of challenges as we're seeing people do with these massive data sets.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, Erin Mansfield covers democracy for USA today. Thank you, Erin.

Erin Mansfield:

Thank you for having me Taylor.

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Taylor Wilson:

Final four weekend in March Madness got off to a wild start last night with the women's semifinals. South Carolina drubbed NC State in the first game before a dramatic finish between Iowa and UConn saw Iowa move on. They'll have a chance at their first national championship in program history tomorrow. South Carolina has won two championships since 2017. It'll be the men's turn in the final four later today. First up, NC State will take on Purdue, followed by Alabama and Uconn. Games begin just after 6:00 PM Eastern Time.

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Be sure to tune into The Excerpt tomorrow for a special episode as USA Today World Affairs correspondent, Kim Hjelmgaard shares stories from both Israelis and Gazans that have been deeply affected by the war being waged in the region after six months of intense suffering. You can find the episode right here beginning at 5:00 AM Eastern Time.

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Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. I'm Taylor Wilson and I'll be back Monday with more of The Excerpt from USA today.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden grieves in Baltimore over bridge collapse | The Excerpt