Presidential Money Race, Clearing The Key Bridge, Moscow Investigation's Torture

The Dali is almost as long as the Eiffel Tower and has a key bridge on top of it.

Three presidents, a whole lot of celebrities and a $25 million campaign fundraiser can

Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and all that money help Joe Biden catch Donald Trump.

week's terrorist attack.

We are paying them back.

We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

On the TED Radio Hour, MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle.

Her latest research into the intimate relationships people are having with chatbots.

Technologies that say, I care about you, I love you, I'm here for you, take care of me.

The pros and cons of artificial intimacy.

That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR.

How do you clear six million pounds of steel out of a river?

Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this week.

Until they do, the city's port is at a standstill and thousands of people are unsure if they'll

have jobs.

Officials are warning that this effort won't be easy, inexpensive or quick.

Good morning, Joel.

What's the site look like right now?

The wreckage of the bridge is still in the river.

Some of it is resting on top of the ship's bow.

Containers on the ship are dislodged.

Some are dangling off the edge of the ship, known as the dolly.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore says this is a very daunting task.

port of Baltimore.

You know, and only then can they start working on a long-term replacement for the bridge.

There are many different federal and state agencies involved, including the Coast Guard,

Army Corps of Engineers, the Navy.

And they're bringing in major resources, including a thousand-ton crane said to be the largest

on the eastern seaboard, another 400-ton crane coming in this weekend.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath says they're still trying to figure out the

best way to use those cranes.

how to cut the bridge into the right size pieces so that we can actually lift them with

Divers have to work carefully and methodically because the water is so dark and the debris

is so dense that they can only see a few feet in front of them.

No one at this point is willing to say how long it's going to take to get the port open

again or how much it's going to cost.

Is that anywhere near the need to clean up and rebuild?

The Biden administration can do some of this work with emergency funds.

Sooner or later, though, Congress will have to sign off on at least part of the money.

And all of the elected officials in Maryland seem to know this, from the mayor to the congressman

to the senators.

They're all framing this as an issue of national impact on the economy because they know it's

going to be a tough sell to many Republicans in Congress, particularly in an election year.

A lot of hazardous material is on that ship and concerns about contamination.

What can you tell us about that?

Out of 4,000 containers on the ship, 56 contain hazardous materials.

The Coast Guard says 14 of those were impacted in some way by the bridge strike.

Containers carrying things like soap and perfume and some kind of resin.

The Coast Guard was also asked about a sheen on the surface of the water.

They believe that's from some damaged equipment on the front of the boat that's released about

20 gallons of oil into the river.

The Coast Guard says there is no threat to the public so far, but they are watching closely.

Thanks, Joel.

all at once.

of celebrities at a $25 million Democratic fundraiser in New York City.

Republican Donald Trump was in town, too, at a wake for a New York City police officer

killed in the line of duty.

and the money race.

Good morning, Franco.

It was a sold-out event with more than 5,000 people there.

It was kind of considered kind of a private event, but we do know from the pool of reporters

who are always following the president that there was a lot of energy in the room.

As you guys mentioned, big stars comedian Mindy Kaling hosted, Lizzo performed, Stephen

Colbert, the late-night host, moderated a talk with the three presidents.

You know, Obama, he touted Biden's policies and said, unlike Trump, he had a positive

message to share, that Biden had a positive message.

Clinton talked up Biden's economic moves as well, talked about trying to work across

the aisle on tough issues like the border.

You know, the three presidents were very chummy with each other.

You know, it was really just a lot of star power, a lot of money.

And when you put all that together, you know, it was kind of an opportunity for Biden to

counter concerns about his re-election, about his age and polls that kind of show a lack

of enthusiasm.

And, you know, just to be clear, I mean, we saw some of those concerns or at least frustrations

play out last night as well, as the event was interrupted multiple times by protesters

calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

for the war.

So Biden really needs this money since he appears to be trailing Donald Trump at this

point, right?

He does.

You know, Biden is behind Trump in some of those polls, but he is way ahead when it comes

to the fundraising.

And last night's event was a big demonstration of that.

You know, Trump's got his challenges, of course.

He's got a lot of legal bills that his political action committee is helping spend money on,

money that could be used for the campaign.

The Republican National Committee, which will fundraise with Trump, is busy overhauling

the staff.

You know, they really just all got a lot of work to do.

Are Trump and Biden getting out much in public on the campaign trail?

for Biden following his State of the Union address.

You know, he visited battleground states like North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania.

Trump, you know, he's actually been kind of keeping a low profile.

But as Debbie mentioned, he did appear yesterday also in New York at the wake of a police officer

who was killed during a traffic stop.

You know, I did touch base with the Trump campaign.

And they say, of course, Trump is not going to have the same kind of money as Biden.

They had to spend millions in a primary race that Biden did not have to worry about.

But they do argue that their digital fundraising is skyrocketing and donor investments are

also up.

And they say, just wait, promising their own historic night next week when Trump and the

Republican Party team up for a fundraiser on April 6th in Palm Beach, and they expect

to raise $33 million.

You know, it really just all goes to show how big of a money race this election is going

to be.

Thanks, Franco.

last week's Moscow terrorist attack have been tortured.

The attack killed more than 140 people.

ISIS has claimed responsibility and the U.S. has deemed that assessment credible.

But Russian officials have suggested Ukraine carried out the assault despite vehement denials

from Kyiv.

Good morning, Charles.

of the attack.

Eight others are already in custody, including four of the alleged shooters.

Most of these men, and they're all men, are from the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan.

Yet earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin said he was primarily interested in

who ultimately hired these people and again blamed Ukraine.

And we've since seen his top officials, including the head of the Federal Security Services,

the FSB, this is Alexander Bortnikov, double down on this theory.

Let's listen.

So here, Bortnikov says, of course, the gunmen didn't do this on their own and that he sees

a Ukrainian trace, one that he says was confirmed by initial information received from the detained

But as you reported to us earlier this week, these men showed clear signs of torture when

they appeared in court.

And I say that based not only on how they looked in court, where they were battered

and bruised, one wearing a bandage over a mutilated ear, another semi-conscious in a

wheelchair with a gouged eye.

And so I say that not because of that, but also because, and this is what's really news

here, what these men went through was leaked in graphic videos on social media that could

have only come from the security services.

Now, Olga Sadolskaya, Russia's crew against torture, a group that's lobbied against abuse

in Russia's justice system for decades, says this, of course, was intentional.

something else, that look what will happen to you.

And another is a message to the general public, like, see, on your behalf, the state brings

a revenge to the perpetrators.

We are paying them back.

that torture doesn't work the way you want it to, she says.

It's not an instrument for getting the truth from a suspect.

And needless to say, this approach also won't do much to instill confidence in Russia's

version of events, particularly in the West, where there are already suspicions the Kremlin

is more interested in manufacturing a Ukrainian connection than pursuing the facts of the

case.

Most are from Tajikistan.

Is it creating tension for immigrant and minority populations?

But in the wake of these attacks, we've seen nativist instincts kick in.

A journalist friend just happened to cross into Russia yesterday and saw long lines of

Central Asian migrants stopped at the border for extra security checks.

Meanwhile, there are growing calls for a change in Russia's open-door migrant work policies

with its Eurasia-zone neighbors.

But the truth is, Russia is dependent on Central Asian labor now more than ever, given the

traditional labor shortages here have only been exacerbated by Russians going off to

fight in Ukraine.

Thank you, Charles.

I'm Leila Falden.

Your next listen is Consider This from NPR.

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