Month: March 2022

A construction worker was killed when a parking garage in downtown Boston partially collapsed as it was being demolished.  Reports state that the Government Center parking garage, located on Congress Street, suffered a partial collapse when part of the concrete slab on the ninth floor collapsed onto the floor beneath it around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The construction worker who was killed was on the ninth floor in a bobcat-style construction vehicle, which fell over the side of the structure during the partial collapse.

Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey said firefighters found the man dead at the bottom of the building beneath a pile of debris.  Local police said that one other person who was passing by the building as it collapsed and was taken to a local hospital, though reportedly did not suffer any injuries. The construction site has been temporarily closed and workers were evacuated.

The demolition is part of a $1.5 billion project to turn the parking garage into a six-building mixed-use complex called Bullfinch Crossing, including an office skyscraper and two mid-rise residential towers. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu shared that the city would aid in helping to find out how the collapse happened, saying that “construction workers’ families should never have to worry about whether they’re going home at night and returning.”

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Officials confirm that four people died after a driver crashed into a homeless camp in Oregon early Sunday morning. The city’s police department said in a statement that police responded to the crash in the downtown area of Salem, Ore., around 2 a.m. Two people in the camp died at the scene, they said, and four others were taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, two of whom have since died. The conditions of the other two victims were not immediately known. The identities of the driver and victims have not been released and the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Salem Mayor Chuck Bennett said in a statement: “On behalf of the city and myself, my condolences go out to the friends and family of those affected by this terrible tragedy. We continue to offer alternatives to unmanaged camping and encourage people to access those resources.”

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On Thursday, Former President Donald Trump filed a civil lawsuit against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and others, alleging a conspiracy against him in 2016. The lawsuit names 28 individuals and organizations as defendants, alleging they worked together in a large interlocking conspiracy to cripple his presidential campaign by alleging collusion with Russia. The suit alleges “the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty.” 

The federal civil suit filed in Florida claims damages in excess of $24 million, accusing the defendants of “a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information about Donald J. Trump and his campaign, all in the hopes of destroying his life, his political career and rigging the 2016 Presidential Election in favor of Hillary Clinton.”  The suit added that named defendants “have consistently and regularly committed acts of racketeering activity spanning from at least April 2015.  The RICO Defendants, through and using the Enterprise, engaged in, and continues to engage in, a coordinated effort to destroy the Plaintiff’s political career and impede his ability to effectively govern as President of the United States.”

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded after a two-year investigation that Russia did interfere in the 2016 election, but said he was unable to conclude whether Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government or whether Trump obstructed the investigation.

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President Joe Biden announced after the NATO and Group of Seven meetings in Brussels on Thursday that the United States will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian war refugees.  Additionally, more than $1 billion in new funding will also be provided for humanitarian assistance for victims of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Biden said: “Many Ukrainian refugees will wish to stay in Europe, closer to their homes, but we’ll also welcome 100,000 Ukrainians to the United States with a focus on reuniting families.  The United States is one of the leaders in the international community and has an obligation to be engaged.” 

The White House said in a statement that Ukraine war refugees will be welcomed through “the full range of legal pathways, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.  In particular, we are working to expand and develop new programs with a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the United States.”

The U.S. has deployed a 25-person humanitarian response team to assess the needs, provide assistance and coordinate humanitarian efforts closely with the United Nations, NGO’s and the government of Ukraine, and is working to reach 3.1 million people in Ukraine with ready-to-eat rations, canned goods, bread, wheat, flour and oil. Mobile medical teams are also working to provide emergency health supplies and medicine, as well as providing psychological and mental health support.

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