Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. Good morning, I'm Amy Morris and I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today.
Karen, we begin looking at the life and legacy of Joe Lieberman. The former senator and vice presidential candidate, has passed away at the age of eighty two. His family says he died from complications after a fall. There has been an outpouring of praise from those he worked with in politics, from both sides of the political aisle, a rarity in politics. Republican Lindsay Graham honored him with a lengthy post on X, calling him his dear friend with
whom he had traveled the world. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Joe Lieberman helped pave the way for Jewish Americans in public service, and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine just yesterday afternoon at a middle school event, was asked who her favorite person was to work with.
I have been fortunate to work with an a lot of people that I really liked, but if I had to pick one person, it would be former Senator Joe Lieberman.
In Lieberman's home state, Connecticut, Senator Richard Blumenthal said Lieberman was a courageous leader who worked to bridge gaps and unite people. Al Gore also issued a lengthy statement calling Liberman a man of deep integrity who dedicated his life to his country Milami.
In two thousand, Liberman made history as the first Jewish American nominated on a major party ticket when al Gore chose him to be his running made.
There are some people who might actually call Al's selection of me an act of Kutzbach.
Umberman saw himself as a centrist Democrat, supporting abortion rights, environmental protections, gun control, and gay rights. But he was also a foreign policy hawk, with full throateded support at the two thousand and three invasion of a Rock, which made him less popular with Democratic voters.
There is no more faithful, important, or difficult responsibility that the Constitution gives members of Congress than to decide when whether and how to authorize the President and his commander in chief to go to war.
Five years later, Lieberman came close to joining the GOP ticket as John McCain's running mate. He eventually left the Democratic Party and finished his career as an independent.
Joe Lieberman was also the founding member of the third party group No Labels, and he was a guest on Bloomberg's Balance of Power one week ago today explaining how Americans are in favor of a third party, this whole.
Movement and No Labels to run a third choice Bipartisian unity. Tickets started because our members saw another Trump Biden race coming and thought the country could do better.
Former Senator Joe Lieberman.
We want to turn now though, to the latest on the deadly Baltimore A bridge collapse. The Coastguard says the salvage firm resolved Marine is heading to Baltimore begin recovery efforts. It's mobilizing to refloat and remove the ship that hit the bridge, and it comes as surch and recovery efforts continue, with officials saying six are presumed dead. Maryland State Plice Superintendent Colonel Roland Butler Junior says divers found two of the victims who lost their lives.
Divers located red pickup truck submerged in approximately twenty five feet of water in the area of the middle span of the bridge. Divers recovered two victims of this tragedy trap within the vehicle.
Maryland State Elie Superintendent Colonel Roland Butler Juniors says operations change to a search and recovery effort, with records becoming too dangerous for divers to operate.
Transportation Secretary Pete boodhage Edge says funding the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is not a political issue. He says the project should not be delayed.
This isn't going to happen overnight.
The original bridge took about five years to put up, and this isn't going to be cheap either. But we do have emergency relief funds to help in these situations. We really cannot yet say what the total price tag will be.
Transportation Secretary Pete budaj Edge made those comments in an interview with Bloomberg's Joe Matthew in Washington.
Melami another major story we're following this morning. New York is on track to become the first US city with congestion tolls on drivers. Members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board have voted to greenlight the congestion pricing plan, expected to go into effect in June. And here's MTA Chairman General liber New.
York has the more traffic than any place in the United States, and now we're doing something about it.
MTA Chairman General liber says the plan will charge most cars fifteen dollars for entering the borough south of sixtieth Street during peak times. It still faces lawsuits from small business owners and the state of New Jersey.
The US government had its credit score affirmed by S and P Global Ratings at double A plus. It is the credit assessor's second highest ranking, even as the country continues to face fiscal challenges.
Well, we turned to the markets now, Amy wall Street enters the final day of the first quarter in record territory. The S and P five hundred closed at an all time high yesterday. The indexes up ten percent so far this year and about twenty five percent since late October.
And Karen that rally has been fueled in large part by artificial intelligence mania and the optimism the Fed will be cutting rates. One prominent FED official this morning is pushing back on that rates narrative. Reserve Governor Christopher Waller says there's no rush to move on monetary policy.
In my view, it is appropriate to reduce the overall number of rate cuts or push them further into the future into response to the recent data.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher used the term no rush four times in his remarks to the Economic Club of New York.
Well Amy, the Fed and investors will get a slew of data today ahead of the holiday shortened training week, and we get a preview from Bloomberg's Michael McKee.
Initial jobless claims have been running around two hundred and ten thousand or so per week, suggesting companies are not getting rid of workers, a good sign for employment. The University of Michigan Sentiment Index, meanwhile, has seen a bit of a decline in consumer attitudes. It doesn't necessarily mean we stop spending, but another decline would be something to watch. More important is the survey's view of inflation, both in the next year and over the next five years. Consumers
haven't seen inflation rising in recent months. That's a good sign for the Fed and the economic outlook. Michael McKee, Bloomberg.
Radio Ry Mike, Thanks, and the most important data of the week comes tomorrow when the market's closed. It's the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, the PCE deflator. Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. For that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr Michael, good Morning, Good Morning Karen.
President Biden will be joined by two former presidents in New York today for a big campaign fundraiser. The President will share a stage with former President Obama and former President Clinton. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre says, this is a one of a kind gathering.
These are presidents to former president the current president that believe in what we're trying to do in the Bien Harris administration, trying to move this country forward.
The event will be at Radio City Music Hall. Awake will be held today for fall in New York City police officer Jonathan Diller. Last night, vigils were held in Queen's and on Long Island for Diller, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Queen's on Monday. Family and friends of Diller, who was thirty one years old, gathered at Brady Park in Massapequa Park, where he lived. Diller's brother in law, Joseph.
Leinout family was number one in his life.
His sister, his brother, his mother, his wife, and his son Ryan.
He taught me how to be a better person.
Courtesy of ABC seven. Funeral services for Dillar are on Saturday. Meanwhile, the first of two suspects in Dillar's death has been charged and held without bail. Police say Lindy Jones, who is forty one, was behind the wheel at the time at the deadly shooting. Authority saved the suspected shooter. Thirty four year old Guy Rivera remains in the hospital after he was shot by Diller's partner. Both Rivera and Jones
have lengthy criminal records. A California judge says John Eastman should be disbarred for knowingly making bogus, unfounded arguments that alleged election irregularities cost Donald Trump the White House, undermining
the constitution and faith in the electoral process. California State Bar Court Judge Evett Roland rejected Eastman's contentions that he was acting in good faith in advising a client and was exercising his First Amendment rights in the comments he made at the January sixth, twenty twenty one rally at the National Mall just before the sold upon the US Capitol this morning in Manhattan. Sam Bankman Freed will be sentenced for what's been called one of the biggest financial
frauds in US history. Global news twenty four hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. Michael barrb this is Bloomberg Hern.
All right, Michael Barr, thank you. It's time now for the Bloomberg Sports Update, brought to you by Tri State Audie, and here's John Stenshower.
John, Thanks Karin.
It's Opening day. All thirty teams were scheduled to play. The Mets game at City Field with Milwaukee was to be the first game of the day, but the decision made yesterday to rein it out. It's why they make Friday an off days. So the met opener first game for new manager Carlos Mendozo will be tomorrow. Yankees will play four o'clock in Houston. With the Garrett Cole injury,
it's Nestor Cortes on the map. DJ LeMay, who also starting the season on the injured list of the Yanks just acquired and infielder johns Bertie from Miami Shoeotani's first Dodger home game. His deal is for seven hundred million dollars. The Dodgers made deals with four others, the total seven hundred million more. They just extended catcher Will Smith for ten more seasons. NCAA tournament back tonight with double headers in Boston and La. Yukon takes on San Diego State.
That's the team they beat in last year's championship game. Iowa State meets Illinois. That's a game between the winners of the recent Big Twelve and Big Ten tourneys. Arizona takes on Clemson. North Carolina meets Alabama. Seaton Hall got snubbed by the NCUBA, settle for the NIT and now headed to Indianapolis for next week's Final four. The Pirates blew out UNLV by twenty three, also a blowout in Toronto. Knicks put up forty five points in the first quarter
eighty in the first half. They beat the Raptors, who've lost twelve in a row, one forty five to one oh one. Nick shot fifty nine percent. They made half their three pointers next one in overtime. In Washington. John Stshower Bloomberg.
Sports Coast to Coast on Bloomberg Radio, nationwide on Sirius XM, and around the world on Bloomberg dot Com and the Bloomberg Business. This is Bloomberg Daybreak.
And we continue our coverage off the Baltimore Bridge collapse, our conversation with Transportation Secretary Pete Boodhage Edge. He joined Bloomberg's Joe Matthew to talk about the timetable for rebuilding the bridge, engaging lawmakers on the emergency funding request, and freeing those ships still trapped in the Baltimore Port. Let's go here part of that discussion.
Unfortunately, recovery is not easy. There is poor visibility, there are tides in and out. But I'll tell you, having met some of the divers yesterday as they came out of the water for what was at that time still a search and rescue mission, the best people are working on this. I talked to the fire chief. His only concern was that his people weren't necessarily inclined to pace themselves. They came off a shift or out of the water, and we're already thinking about going back in. People are
moving heaven and earth on that. And in the meantime, what we know is that there are six families that everything was normal for them two days ago, and now their lives are never going to be the same seventh who was very seriously injured and were waiting for word on their condition as well.
You have now received an emergency funding request, Secretary from authorities in Maryland. How much is the state asking for and how quickly will the administration act on that.
We're going to process this request immediately. We've got to make sure that funding is not a source of delay in getting to work. And our Federal Highways Administration team already sitting down with the Maryland dot to talk design, procurement, and what it's going to take to scope and launch that project of getting a new bridge built. This isn't going to happen overnight. The original bridge took about five years to put up, and this isn't going to be
cheap either. But we do have emergency relief funds to help in these kinds of situations. We really cannot yet say what the total price tag will be. One thing I would point to is in two thousand and seven that Minnesota bridge collapse. It was a different situation, but it was another time when the federal government came in to help Minnesota rebuild that costs about two hundred and sixty million dollars. This is a larger span of a bridge, likely in many ways more complex project.
This may not go easily on Capitol Hill. Have you begun engaging lawmakers already on what will be your emergency funding request.
Yes.
We had a conversation yesterday with members of the Maryland delegation, Senators Cardon and Van holland several House members, including the representators who look after the area most directly impacted. I know they're going to leave nothing to chance in terms of making sure the resources are there. Look, I know that politics are divisive right now, but this can't be a political issue.
This can be a part of an issue.
And to anybody who's on the fence on that, when the time comes, I would just say, you know, this is happening in Baltimore today, it could be your district next, and we always do best when we pulled together and support any one part of our country that's hurting.
You said earlier in the White House briefing, the most immediate jobs are channel cleanup and reopening. Part of that, of course, is going to be moving the Dolly itself, which I know is a very delicate matter. Do you have any sense though, of how long it will take to free the forty sum ships we understand are trapped in the port.
I think it will take a while. And those are ships that were obviously concerned about. They even include vessels that are overseen by the Department of Transportation, though those ships are not currently actively tasked. There are vessels that had cargo loads on them. They are being offloaded. And also cruise ships that were planning to head to Baltimore are no longer obviously going to be able to birth
where they had planned to. We just don't know yet how long it's going to take to clear that channel. We do know that there are other ports that are preparing to absorb some of the traffic that's been diverted.
You talk to the about the Freight office that you created during the pandemic and the supply chain crisis that I know the administration has spent a lot of time on that office has been busy working with supply chain stakeholders in this case to reappropriate I presume routes and destinations. Do you have a plan now for cars for coal to land in other ports on the East Coast.
Yeah.
What we're seeing right now is other ports are preparing to absorb some of those shipments. It really depends though, on the type of shipment containers obviously pretty standardized. A lot of places are equipped to handle shipping containers, but this is also a significant port for sugar. There are only so many places that can handle that particular type of shipment. There are other specific types of shipments that we're tracking to. That's exactly why we're so glad that
this freight office is up and running. This was created by the President's by PARS and Infrastructure package. We stood it up in accordance with that legislation, and it is coming in handy. It's already been helpful navigating some of the disruptions on the Red Sea due to HOOKI attacks, and this is just one more case where it's showing the value of that coordination.
You said earlier, this is not going to be simple, quick or easy. Do you have any idea how many years it will be before vehicles are crossing a new bridge in Baltimore.
It's simply too soon to say. But what I will say is.
We are going to work aggressively to support Maryland doing that as quickly as they safely and responsibly can. We should learn more very soon about the condition of the portions of the bridge that did not collapse, and the condition of some of the infrastructure.
That is below the waterline.
That will help to inform an estimate of what it's going to take, but just too soon to put a date on it.
You're listening to Bloomberg Daybreak today, your morning brief on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.
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Listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app, Sirius XM, the iHeartRadio app, and on Bloomberg. I'm Amy Morris and I'm Karen Moscow.
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