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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been granted $60 million in immediate federal aid but warns of a “very long road ahead” after the Baltimore bridge collapse. Moore says “the best minds in the world” are working on plans to clear the debris and move the cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Massive barges carrying cranes are heading to Baltimore to begin the challenging work of removing twisted metal and concrete from the blocked shipping channel. Officials say they’ll need to clear the wreckage before resuming the search for four workers who are still missing.

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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s second-term Cabinet secretary for military and veterans affairs is retiring, and a former state legislator who has been working at the Pentagon is taking his place. Cooper’s office announced on Thursday that retired Marine Corps general Walter Gaskin is retiring from state government. He was named secretary in 2021. Former state Rep. Grier Martin succeeds Gaskin on Monday. He has been an assistant secretary of defense. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs manages state veterans’ nursing homes and cemeteries, and it promotes activities to support military installations and quality of life for current and retired service members.

Authorities are gathering evidence about what led to this week's bridge collapse in Baltimore. So far, we know that a massive cargo ship lost power and issued a mayday call moments before it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, causing the span to crumble into the Patapsco River. Eight construction workers were filling potholes on the bridge when the crash happened. Two were rescued soon after the collapse. Divers recovered the bodies of two others, and the other four are presumed dead. Ship traffic has been halted at the Port of Baltimore, which handles tens of billions of dollars in cargo each year.

In a legally binding order, the top United Nations court says Israel must open more land crossings into Gaza for food, water, fuel and other supplies. The International Court of Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures Thursday in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of acts of genocide in its war in Gaza — charges Israel strongly denies. The U.N. has reported that 100% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are at severe levels of food insecurity. Aid groups say complicated inspection procedures at the border, continued fighting, and a breakdown in public order have caused massive slowdowns in convoys. Israel accuses the U.N. of disorganization.

U.S. federal agencies must show that their artificial intelligence tools aren’t harming the public, or stop using them, under new rules unveiled by the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris says government agencies that use AI tools will be required to verify that those tools do not endanger the rights and safety of the American people. After Thursday's announcement, each agency by December must have a set of concrete safeguards that guide everything from facial recognition screenings at airports to AI tools that help control the electric grid or determine mortgages and home insurance.