In Other News

State

An audit conducted by the United States Postal Service’s inspector general found that there are major issues at a new processing facility in Richmond, Virginia.

According to ABC News, the March 28 audit found water-damaged mail that was unprocessed for months. The audit was the first of 60 regional processing centers that USPS is launching across the nation, they are meant to create more efficiency and focus their operations.

Worth $23 million, the facility was predicted to save $15 million annually by strengthening the workflow. However, the audit found that it is losing more money than it is saving due to the facility.

Opening last July, the Richmond center has contributed to Virginia’s worst-ranked on-time service in the country. The inspector general found that 66% of first-class mail has been delivered within two days, sitting 21% behind the national average of 87% and no other region fell below 80%.

National

As severe storms swept across the eastern United States throughout last week, it left destruction in its wake.

With three people dead from three different states, the storms brought heavy rain, winds and tornadoes. Starting with fronts merging in the Midwest, states from Oklahoma to New York faced the brunt of these storms.

About 27 million people were at risk of severe storms on Wednesday as weather moved eastward, drilling Kentucky with seven tornadoes and severe weather damage in 20 counties, killing one.

According to NBC News, from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes, storms raged on Tuesday lining up from Ohio down to Alabama. It was estimated that 284,000 people were without power.

As the storm neared the East Coast on Wednesday, 50 million people were facing wind alerts and almost as many under flood warnings. New York City went under a travel advisory Thursday with a coastal flood warning on Thursday morning.

International

Tragedy struck Taiwan early in the morning on Wednesday as the strongest earthquake in a century for the island.

According to AP News, the 7.4 magnitude earthquake killed nine people and stranded many in buildings and parks in the area, injuring over 1,000 people. The earthquake centered off the east coast in the mountains of Hualien County, causing a 6.5 magnitude aftershock.

Taiwan is located on the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” a massive line of faults that circle the Pacific.

The area regularly experiences earthquakes and although expected, the earthquake was much more powerful than anticipated and authorities did not send out alerts.

According to The Guardian, a small tsunami hit the southern Japanese islands though it did not cause any damage. However, the aftershocks caused many landslides.

The damaged infrastructure suspended travel by train and car, leaving nearly 23 million people unable to travel throughout the city for the next few hours.

Bessire is the special assignments reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on X