(The Center Square) – An ominous report identifies 20 bridges nationwide at serious risk of ship collisions, potentially resulting in a collapse like the one that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
A group of engineers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore analyzed the likelihood of ship/bridge collisions across the country, including the frequency of potential collisions.
Experts note that “ship strikes should be extremely rare” due to bridge design standards. The group says the annual chances of a bridge collapse stemming from a ship collision “should be less than 1 in 10,000.” However, the unsettling report finds that “some of the busiest bridges” in the country are “likely” to be hit by ships “within our lifetime.”
“With this investigation we wanted to know if what happened to the Key Bridge was a rare occurrence. Was it an aberration? We found it’s really not,” said Michael Shields, a Johns Hopkins engineer specializing in risk assessment and lead investigator of the National Science Foundation. “In fact, it’s something we should expect to happen every few years.”
Most of the bridges identified through the study are located in major metropolitan areas, including New Orleans, Houston, New York City and San Francisco, including one of the world’s most iconic bridges, the Golden Gate Bridge.
Among the bridges identified was the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects Delaware and New Jersey as part of Interstate 95. A potential collision with that bridge could have a devastating impact on the I-95 corridor from Maine to Florida, one the busiest in the country.
Before the Key Bridge collision, it was 15 years since the nation experienced a significant ship/bridge collision. However, engineers at Johns Hopkins believe chances could be high for a similar incident to the Key Bridge, leading to the group analyzing several factors surrounding shipping traffic and movements – specifically under bridges.
The report said, “The results revealed stark vulnerabilities for many bridges. Several bridges could expect a major ship collision – a collision strong enough to cause catastrophic damage or collapse – at least once every 20 to 50 years. Many others are likely to sustain a ship strike within 100 years.”
Shields highlighted the need to dramatically reduce the chances of repeating a disaster like Key Bridge collapse.
“To keep our bridges safe and operational, we want the chances of a collision strong enough to take down the bridge to be less than one in 10,000 in a given year, not one in a 100. One in 100 is extremely high,” Shields said. “If I look at the San Francisco Bay Bridge, we’re likely to see a major collision once every 22 years. That is huge. We want that number to be thousands of years. That’s tens of years.”
The most vulnerable bridges identified by the report include:
• Huey P. Long Bridge, Louisiana. Collision is expected once every 17 years.
• San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. Collision is expected once every 22 years.
• Crescent City Connection, New Orleans. Collision is expected once every 34 years.
• Beltway 8 Bridge, Texas. Collision is expected once every 35 years.
• Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge, Louisiana. Collision is expected once every 37 years.
• Bayonne Bridge, New York/New Jersey. Collision is expected once every 43 years.
• Fred Hartman Bridge, Texas. Collision is expected once every 47 years.
• Martin Luther King Bridge, Texas. Collision expected once every 64 years.
• Sunshine Bridge, Louisiana. Collision expected once every 71 years.
• Rainbow Bridge, Texas. Collision is expected once every 71 years.
• Veterans Memorial Bridge, Louisiana. Collision expected once every 74 years.
• Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Maryland. Collision expected once every 86 years.
• Talmadge Memorial Bridge, Georgia. Collision is expected once every 88 years.
• Veterans Memorial Bridge, Texas. Collision expected once every 94 years.
• Delaware Memorial Bridge, Delaware/New Jersey. Collision is expected once every 129 years.
• Dames Point Bridge, Florida. Collision expected once every 152 years.
• Horace Wilkinson Bridge, Louisiana. Collision expected once every 198 years.
• Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, New York. Collision expected once every 362 years.
• Golden Gate Bridge, California. Collision expected once every 481 years.
• John A. Blatnik Bridge, Minnesota/Wisconsin. Collision expected once every 634 years.
The engineers noted that according to their calculations, the Key Bridge “would have been among the 10 most vulnerable bridges.” Adding it would likely have been hit by a ship “within 48 years.” During the bridge’s 46 years, it had only sustained one other minor ship collision before the devastating collapse.
Despite the dire warning, Shields noted that “no two bridges are the same,” underscoring that a large ship collision doesn’t always equate to a bridge collapse.
The engineers suggested that to lower the risk of collisions, it is essential to “keep ship traffic away from piers,” adding that they should be outfitted with “robust protections,” including structural “dolphins.”
Following the 1980 deadly ship collision and collapse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, engineers incorporated several concrete dolphins to act as a barrier between ships and the bridge’s main supports.
Wednesday marks one year since the Key Bridge collapse, where the container ship Dali collided with the bridge in the early morning hours, killing six construction workers.

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump is endorsing conservative Judge Brad Schimel in his race against liberal Judge Susan Crawford for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Calling Crawford a “radical left liberal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social she “has repeatedly given child molesters, rapists, women beaters and domestic abusers ‘light’ sentences.
“She is the handpicked voice of the Leftists who are out to destroy your State, and our Country – And if she wins, the Movement to restore our Nation will bypass Wisconsin. All Voters who believe in Common Sense should GET OUT TO VOTE EARLY for Brad Schimel.”
As the Center Square previously reported, Crawford’s record on the bench in Madison as a district court judge has come under fire from conservatives and tough-on-crime groups.
In 2019, prosecutors sought 50 years in prison for Antonio Gentry, who was accused of shooting a man in the head. Crawford sentenced Gentry to 30 years in prison with an opportunity to get out on parole early.
Critics also point to the cases of Kevin Welton, who was charged in 2018 with the felony sexual assault of a child. Welton could have been sentenced to up to 100 years in prison for the sexual assault of a two children under the age of 8. Crawford sentenced him to four years in prison. Welton is now out of prison.
And in 2022, prosecutors charged Curtis O’Brien with the repeated sexual assault of a 5-year-old child. Crawford allowed O’Brien out on a $500 signature bond. He was eventually sentenced to four years in prison, but was released in two.
During a recent debate, Crawford defended her sentencing decision in the child sexual assault case.
“I don’t regret that sentence because I followed the law in that case,” she said.
Crawford responded to Trump’s endorsement of her opponent, according to Channel 3000 News, saying “Brad Schimel is a corrupt politician who let 6,000 rape kits sit untested and gave a plea deal to a child predator whose attorney gave him $5,000. Schimel has spent his entire career on bent knee to right-wing special interests, we assumed he had this endorsement locked up months ago.”
Schimel served as Wisconsin attorney general from 2015 to 2019. He said he inherited the rape kit backlog when he was elected, and cleared every single kit that needed to be tested by the time his term was up.
Schimel and Crawford are running in one of the most expensive judicial races ever. The winner in the April 1 election will replace retiring liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. With Bradley leaving the bench, the outcome of this election will determine whether the Supreme Court has a conservative or liberal 5-4 majority. A number of significant cases could be determined by the outcome.
• Benjamin Yount contributed to this report.

(The Center Square) – The University of Wisconsin–Madison is assessing federal activity along with other schools across the nation that are responding to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison continues “to assess the implications” of recent activity on the federal level and “respond across multiple levels,” according to a school message.
“As these federal orders, actions, and directives continue to roll out, some of them create deep concern for and potential conflict” with the the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s “long-held values” such as “diversity of identity and viewpoint,” the message stated, while also affirming its continued dedication to such values.
In its message, the University of Wisconsin–Madison also told of its response to the Department of Education’s Dear Colleague letter. The department’s letter stated that race-based decisions in education are unlawful and schools that don’t comply with the directives may face loss of federal funding.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s message said: “We have charged a workgroup to assess our existing operations and make recommendations about what potential adjustments, modifications and changes may be needed in response to the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter.”
When reached for comment, the University of Wisconsin–Madison directed The Center Square to its message.
Schools across the nation have been responding both to the Dear Colleague letter and Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order entitled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” along with other orders.
Trump’s order calls for the “termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”
University of Kentucky spokeswoman Whitney Siddiqi told The Center Square that the school continues “to carefully review all executive actions and guidance issued.”
“Given the changes that President Capilouto made in response to Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard – and his subsequent decisions last August on policies and practices that have reinforced and strengthened our focus on being a place that supports many people, one community – the university’s initial assessment is that it already complies,” Siddiqi said.
In August 2024, UK’s President Eli Capilouto announced that the school’s Office for Institutional Diversity would be disbanded.
Additionally, Capilouto said that diversity training would not be mandated, diversity statements would not be required in hiring or application processes, and that “websites will be free of political positions.”
The University of Kentucky still offers a Diversity and Inclusion Graduate Certificate, however.
More recently, Ohio State University and the University of Virginia announced the closing of their respective diversity and inclusion offices, The Center Square reported.
The University of Cincinnati, the University of Arizona, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Michigan, the University of Washington, the University of California, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, Brown University, and Cornell are all evaluating, reviewing, or monitoring the executive order, The Center Square previously reported.
The University of Washington Medicine spokeswoman Susan Gregg told The Center Square that the school’s previous comment stating it is continuing with its normal operations –w hich would presumably involve DEI – remains the same.
Michigan State University also told The Center Square there is “nothing new to share” concerning its previous comment that it “feels confident [it is] continuing to operate within federal and state laws” as it regards its manner of educating and hiring.
Columbia previously referred The Center Square to a “University statements page for latest updates and public statements on ongoing issues,” when reached for comment.
The page does not mention Trump’s January 20 DEI executive order, however Columbia recently removed DEI language from parts of its website and took down some DEI-related web pages, The Center Square reported
Case Western Reserve, UC Irvine School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, and NYU each previously told The Center Square they had no comment regarding their respective responses to the order, with UC Irvine SOM saying it may have more information “as we learn more.” None of the schools provided updates to their responses when requested.
The following schools have not yet provided comment after repeated requests concerning each of their responses to the executive order:
HarvardStanfordDukeYalePennNorthwestern UniversityThe University of ChicagoBoston UniversityEmory UniversityMayo Clinic School of MedicineUC San DiegoIndiana UniversityThe University of PittsburghCommunity College of Allegheny CountyUniversity of FloridaFlorida State UniversityEast Carolina UniversityUniversity of CincinnatiLouisiana State UniversityUniversity of MississippiUniversity of Minnesota

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Assembly passed a series of bills aimed at protecting girls sports and blocking sex-change surgery and puberty blockers for minors.
Assembly Bill 100 requires that athletic teams at public and private choice schools are designated male and female and prohibits those designated as male at birth from using the girls locker room or changing areas.
“Common sense and sanity prevailed today in the Legislature,” said Rep. Scott Krug, R-Rome. “It’s a little bit shocking that we need to pass legislation protecting girls’ sports and girls’ locker rooms. Those who demand that girls and women simply accept men into their athletic competitions and their private spaces are wrong.”
The assembly also passed bills to prohibit K-12 school staff from using names or pronouns that are different from the student’s biological sex without parental approval and a bill that prohibits gender-transition surgeries or puberty blocking drugs from being provided to minors.
“The vast majority of the public rightly believes that children should not be provided puberty-blocking drugs or mutilated with gender reassignment surgery,” Krug said. “Protecting kids from these dangerous and life-altering procedures is not just the right thing to do. It is common sense.”
Democrats in the Assembly voted against the measures with Rep. Renuka Mayadev, D-Madison, saying the bills jeopardize safety and security.
“I stand with Wisconsin’s families and will fight to ensure that every child, every family, and every person in our state is safe to make their medical decisions in consultation with their health professionals,” Mayadev said. “The attempt to criminalize medical professionals caring for their patients has no place in Wisconsin.”
The bills come after the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association voted in February to adjust its rules to only allow students designated as female at birth to compete in girls competitions.
The association’s Board of Control took the vote after the NCAA took a similar vote to align itself with an executive order from President Donald Trump.
“Times change, but biology still remains,” said Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield. “Protecting our girls who play sports and ensuring they are treated fairly should not be controversial. They deserve to compete fairly. They deserve to win.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Assembly speaker says Republicans do not want to go months past the deadline for a new state budget, but he says they may have no choice.
Speaker Robin Vos on Thursday told reporters that Republicans are waiting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court before crafting a new spending plan.
“We have a governor who wants to be an emperor, right?” Vos said. “We had a situation where every two years we have an argument about how much we should fund Medicaid, how much we should fund schools, should we give raises to employees? And now the governor is saying we should just make permanent appropriation so he can make all the decisions himself.”
Vos said Republican lawmakers first need to know whether the liberal-majority court will allow Gov. Tony Evers’ 400-year school funding veto to stand. And, secondly, need to know if Evers’ “string veto” will stand.
“This idea of a string veto, where you pass a bill that has no appropriation in it and because it could touch the finances someday, all of a sudden it’s line-item vetoable,” Vos said. “That means we have a very hard time passing legislation that has any potential to touch the budget until we know if he has the ability to change it with his creative veto. So we’re kind of stuck in many ways.”
Vos said it is not the Republicans’ preference to delay a new state budget until after the end-of-June deadline.
Evers used his line item veto powers in the current state budget to erase a few numbers, and a dash. That turned a two-year school funding increase into a 400-year school funding increase.
The state Supreme Court said during its October hearing on the case that the governor’s 400-year veto seemed “extreme” and “crazy,” but the justices didn’t hint as to how they may reign that power in.
The high court has accepted the “string veto” case, but has not yet heard arguments.

(The Center Square) – California and Arizona attorneys general have joined a lawsuit fighting President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
The Democratic attorneys general are part of a coalition of 20 states that filed the suit. Plaintiffs also include the District of Columbia.
In a statement Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the Trump administration knows the president needs congressional approval to close the department. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes agrees.
The attorneys general argue the administration “continues to do everything it can” to destroy the department.
“My office will be looking at what this executive order actually does – not what the president says it will do,” said Bonta in a news release. “We will be monitoring closely to see how the president’s instructions to Education Secretary McMahon translate into concrete actions.”
The Department of Education is relatively new to the federal government. It began in 1979, whereas the departments of State, Treasury and Defense date back to the late 1700s. The departments of Interior (1849), Agriculture (1862) and Commerce (1903) have also been around longer than the Education Department.
Still, Mayes said the Department of Education is “critical” to providing millions of students with a quality education.
“Let’s not pretend this is about making government more efficient. It is not. It is destruction,” Mayes said in a press release. “It isn’t about better education policy. It is about tearing down public education by those who want to privatize it for profit.”
A White House fact sheet claims that federal control of education policy has failed students, parents and teachers.
The White House adds that trillions of dollars have been spent without improving student achievement.
Pointing to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as The Nation’s Report Card, the White House states that reading and math scores are the lowest they have been in decades, and schools are struggling with regulations and paperwork.
As a result, Trump said it is time to give education back to the states.
“Everybody knows it’s right,” the president said at a signing ceremony that included children in school desks. “We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t in a long time.”
The other attorneys general involved in the lawsuit are from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont and the District of Columbia. All of the attorney generals filing the lawsuit are Democrats.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s attorney general continues to vow to fight against President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education while the Department of Public Instruction superintendent calls it a reckless move that threatens more than $1 billion in federal funding to Wisconsin schools.
The Wisconsin Democratic leaders, including Gov. Tony Evers, have said that the effort will hurt Wisconsin students.
Trump’s office, meanwhile, said that the order preserves the department’s responsibilities by distributing them to other federal agencies and departments.
Supporters of the plan have applauded Trump returning the power to determine educational plans to the states while opponents say that it will threaten critical programs for students.
Attorney General Josh Kaul was part of a multistate lawsuit aiming to block Trump’s action.
“We filed suit last week to block the Trump administration’s shameful attempt to dismantle the Department of Education, and we won’t back down from protecting its vital role in supporting access to quality education,” Kaul said. “As Donald Trump continues trying to sabotage critical institutions, we’re going to keep stepping up to stop his actions that would weaken America.”
The department ensures compliance with Title IX and federal civil rights laws, collects school data, and oversees the massive federal student loan and grant programs for higher education, including Pell Grants and $1 trillion in outstanding FAFSA loans.
Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly’s campaign said that she believes federal cuts to school meal programs and local farm-to-school partnerships are already hurting Wisconsin students and that the department that oversees federal testing has been gutted as well.
Underly is facing Brittany Kinser in the April 1 election for superintendent.
“Trump is slashing federal education funding across the board – but Kinser wants us to believe Wisconsin’s schools won’t be affected?” Underly said. “That’s either dangerously naive or an outright lie.”
Meanwhile, Wisconsin congressmen such as Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany believe the move will save money and give Wisconsin more say on how its children are educated.
“Washington bureaucrats have spent trillions since creating the Department of Ed, yet student achievement has declined,” Tiffany wrote on social media. “It’s time to give our children the education they need to succeed.”

(The Center Square) – All 13 of Wisconsin’s metropolitan areas saw unemployment rates rise in January with 34 of the state’s largest 35 cities seeing the same.
Mequon was the only city that remained the same from December to January.
The state’s overall unemployment rate rose to 3.2%, below the national rate of 4.0%.
County data was similar with Menominee County’s unemployment rate remaining the same over the month while the state’s other 71 counties saw a rate increase.
The state’s lowest county unemployment rates are in Calumet (2.5%), Dane (2.5%), Ozaukee (2.7%), Sheboygan (2.8%), Brown (2.9%), Green (2.9%), Marathon (2.9%) and Washington (2.9%) counties.
The highest county unemployment rates are in Bayfield (6.4%), Polk (6.7%), Iron (6.9%), Adams (7.2%) and Burnett (7.3%) counties.
The lowest city unemployment rates of the top 35 largest cities is Fitchburg (2.1%), Madison (2.3%), Brookfield (2.7%), Mequon (2.7%), Neenah (2.7%) and De Pere (2.7%).
The highest city rates are in Racine (5.2%), Milwaukee (4.6%), Beloit (4.4%), West Allis (4.4%), Superior (4.3%) and Mount Pleasant (4.0%).

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Realtors Association on Thursday released its report for home sales in February and it reads like the last several.
“There continues to be significant unmet millennial demand for housing, and unfortunately these buyers face significant headwinds with rising prices and high mortgage rates taking a toll on affordability. Given the weakness in inventories, we can expect strong price pressure for the foreseeable future. Hopefully mortgage rates moderate this spring to improve affordability,” Realtors President Tom Larson said.
Sales for February jumped 7% compared to last year. Prices also jumped. The median home price in Wisconsin hit $304.900, which is nearly 11% higher than in February of 2023.
The report said those sales figures are “remarkable” given the prices and mortgage interest rates.
But it’s not just year-over-year numbers that are up.
The report says year-to-date sales increased 4.4%, and the median price rose 11.1% to $300,000 over that same period.
Median prices, however, continue to vary widely from region to region.
The Realtors report shows Madison and south central Wisconsin continue to lead the state for home prices, with the median price at $365,000. The most affordable area continues to be northern Wisconsin, where the median price is just $235,000. Southeast Wisconsin, including Milwaukee and the WOW counties have a median home price of $318,950.
Beyond the prices, the Realtors say Wisconsin’s biggest issue is a lack of homes for sale.
The report notes there’s less than three months of inventory available for buyers.
“The shortfall in inventory continues to make it a strong seller’s market. In February, there were just over 16,000 total listings, meaning listings would need to increase by 113% to signal a balanced market,” the report added.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin collected more than $1 billion in general purpose taxes in February, up 8% from the $942 million collected in 2024.
That made overall collections for the fiscal year $12.9 billion, up 5.7% from last fiscal year.
Wisconsin saw a 3.8% in sales and use taxes in February, collecting $560 million compared to $540 million a year before. Sales tax collections are $4.6 billion for the fiscal year compared to nearly $4.5 billion last fiscal year.
A large portion of the jump was an increase in individual income tax collections with $403 million in February compared to nearly $327 million a year before, amounting to a 23% increase.
“Individual Income includes 53.9% of pass-thru withholding,” The Wisconsin Department of Revenue noted. “Corporate Income includes the remaining 46.1%.”
Corporate tax collections were down nearly 75% in February but remain up 2.5% over the fiscal year.
Excise tax collections were down more than 6% in February from the year before and are down 4.4% for the fiscal year.

(The Center Square) – A bill that would change the academic standards used on Wisconsin’s state report cards back to prior levels passed the Senate and now will head to Gov. Tony Evers.
The Senate voted 18-14 to approve the bill, which would reset the K-12 school report card standards of 2019-20, makes grades 3-8 standards the same as those set by the National Assessment of Education Progress and would make the high school testing standards the same as those from 2021-22.
State Sen. John Jagler, R-Watertown, is a sponsor of the bill and noted the standards were changed behind closed doors and Evers has even called the decision a mistake.
“We’ve also lost, because of these changes, the ability to track from year after year and the ability to track where we are from a national standpoint,” Jagler said. “And that’s incredibly important right now when we talk about the COVID kids, the kids that lost a school year because of the pandemic, particularly impacting kids that are now in second grade and kids who are juniors.”
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is urging Evers to sign Assembly Bill 1, pointing out where the state lowered school report card cut points in 2020-21, changed the labels on those in 2023-24 and lowered the cut points again that year as well.
“Ensuring high standards for our schools should not be a partisan issue and we praised the Governor for his criticism of the Department of Public Instruction’s actions earlier this year,” WILL Policy Director Kyle Koenen said. “A veto would be a major setback for Wisconsin students, who deserve rigorous academic standards that set them up for success in the future.”
Jagler said that Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly did not appear before the committee to explain the changes and the reason the changes occurred, something he wishes had happened to allow lawmakers and the public to understand.