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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A relevant detail about the Key Bridge collapse: “As questions surround the collapse of a Baltimore bridge after a containership crashed into it Tuesday, engineering experts say that while bridges have some built-in defenses against collisions, this one was most likely too extreme to withstand.”
* Encouraging economic news, Part I: “U.S. consumer sentiment rose unexpectedly in March to the highest in nearly three years thanks in part to growing confidence that inflation will keep softening. The University of Michigan’s benchmark Consumer Sentiment Index rose to a final reading for the month of 79.4, the highest since July 2021, from February’s 76.9.”
* Encouraging economic news, Part II: “The U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.4% annual pace from October through December, the government said Thursday in an upgrade from its previous estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy expanded at a 3.2% rate last quarter.”
* Medicaid access: “President Joe Biden is widening a critical window for low-income Americans to join Obamacare, in a move aimed at reinforcing a central element of his reelection bid: That he presided over a historic expansion of health care coverage. Tens of millions of people eliminated from Medicaid would now have until Nov. 30 to sign up for new coverage under a plan to be announced Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services and first shared with POLITICO — an extension from the July 31 deadline initially set for the special enrollment period.”
* Speaking of health care policymaking: “President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new steps to protect consumers who buy short-term health insurance plans that critics say amount to junk. A new rule finalized by the Democratic president’s administration will limit these plans to just three months. And the plans can only be renewed for a maximum of four months, instead of up to the three years that were allowed under Biden’s predecessor, Republican Donald Trump.”
* Protections for threatened species: “The Biden administration on Thursday restored rules to protect imperiled plants and animals that had been rolled back under former President Donald Trump.”
* The New York Times did a great job presenting this complex story in an understandable way: “How Trump Moved Money to Pay $100 Million in Legal Bills.”
* An unexpected loss: “Former Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman has died, his family announced in a statement Wednesday. He was 82. Lieberman died Wednesday afternoon in New York with his wife, Hadassah, and other loved ones at his side after he suffered complications from a fall, his family said in the statement.”
See you tomorrow.