Day: April 1, 2024

ATHENS — Dozens of migrants found in a wooden boat on the Mediterranean Sea between northern Africa and southern Europe have been transported to the Greek island of Crete, Greece’s coast guard said Monday.

The boat with 74 people on board was found 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers, 29 miles) south of the small Greek island of Gavdos on Sunday night, the coast guard said, adding that a patrol boat transported the 73 men and one woman to Crete.

It was not immediately clear where or when the boat launched or what countries the passengers were from.

Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Gavdos, which lies 27 nautical miles south of Crete, and Crete’s southern coastline have seen an increase in migrant arrivals in recent months. In several cases, the coast guard said they had crossed the Mediterranean from the eastern Libyan port of Tobruk, having paid smuggling gangs up to $5,000 each.

The influx has put pressure on authorities on Gavdos, a summer tourism destination about 29 square kilometers (11 square miles) in area that has just a few dozen residents in the off season.

BALTIMORE — The U.S. Coast Guard is preparing a temporary, alternate channel for commercially essential vessels near the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, part of a phased approach to opening the main channel leading to the vital port, officials said. 

Crews have begun the complicated work of removing steel and concrete at the site of the bridge’s deadly collapse into the Patapsco River after a freighter collision last week. On Sunday, dive teams surveyed parts of the bridge and checked the ship, and workers in lifts used torches to cut above-water parts of the twisted steel superstructure. 

The captain of the port is preparing to establish the temporary channel on the northeast side of the main channel. It will have a controlling depth of 11 feet (over 3 meters), a horizontal clearance of 80 meters and a vertical clearance of 96 feet (29 meters), officials said. A video released Sunday showed the Coast Guard dropping buoys in the water. 

“This will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore,” Capt. David O’Connell, the federal on-scene coordinator of the response, said in a statement Sunday night. “By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore.” 

On Monday, the Small Business Administration is opening a center in Dundalk, Maryland, to help small businesses get loans to help them with losses caused by the disruption of the bridge collapse. 

The bridge fell as the crew of the cargo ship Dali lost power and control on March 26. They called in a mayday, which allowed just enough time for police to stop vehicles from getting on the bridge, but not enough time to get a crew of eight workers off the structure. 

Two workers survived, two bodies were found in a submerged pickup, and four more men are presumed dead. Weather conditions and the tangled debris underwater have made it too dangerous for divers to search for their bodies. 

The Dali is managed by Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali, which was on its way out of port when it lost power and hit one of the bridge’s support columns. 

Along with clearing the shipping channel to reopen the port, officials are trying to determine how to rebuild the major bridge, which was completed in 1977 and carried Interstate 695 around southeast Baltimore and was central to the city’s centuries of maritime culture. 

Congress is expected to consider aid packages to help people who lose jobs or businesses because of the prolonged closure of the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and farm equipment than any other U.S. facility.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A nearly $1 billion Powerball jackpot will tempt lottery players Monday night who think they just might hit it rich after three months without a big winner.

No one has won Powerball’s $975 million jackpot since New Year’s Day, a stretch of 38 consecutive drawings without anyone matching the game’s six numbers. If no one wins the jackpot Monday or Wednesday night, the game will match its record number of 41 consecutive drawings on Saturday night.

The reason for the jackpot drought is simple: The odds of winning the top prize are miserable, at 1 in 292.2 million. It’s those odds that create the large jackpots that are designed to attract attention and drive up sales.

The $975 million prize is for a sole winner who makes the rare decision to be paid over 30 years through an annuity. Nearly all winners instead take the cash option, which for Monday night’s drawing would be $471.7 million.

Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.