Condo tragedy remembered

A year ago in the middle of the night, a 12-story oceanfront condo building in Surfside, Fla., came down with a thunderous roar, leaving a giant pile of rubble and claiming 98 lives — one of the deadliest structure collapses in U.S. history.

The names of the victims were read aloud during a ceremony Friday to mark the somber anniversary, attended by political figures, first responders and family members of those who died at Champlain Towers South.

The ceremony came a day after a state judge approved one of the largest class action settlements of its kind: more than $1 billion to compensate victims’ families and survivors.

The disaster, the largest non-hurricane emergency response in state history, drew rescue crews from across the U.S. and as far away as Israel to help local teams search for victims. They were honored Friday for their difficult work.

FBI raids Orlando museum art show

The FBI raided the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida on Friday, taking all 25 works that had been part of an exhibition on the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

An affidavit filed to secure the search warrant called the collection’s origin story, as it had been described by its owners and the museum, into question and noted that there was reason to doubt the authenticity of the artworks.

The New York Times had previously reported that the FBI’s Art Crime Team had been investigating the authenticity of 25 paintings that the museum had said were created by Basquiat and were on exhibit there for months.

A spokesperson for the museum said Friday that it had complied with a request from the FBI for access to its “Heroes & Monsters” exhibit and that the exhibit was now in the FBI’s possession.

The Basquiat exhibit had been set to close Thursday, and the works were to be exhibited next in Italy. Museum officials said they would continue to cooperate with authorities.

The unsealed search warrant, which the Times reviewed, was signed by a judge Thursday. The 41page affidavit was issued on the basis that two possible crimes may have occurred: conspiracy and wire fraud.

60,000 unvaccinated as deadline nears

Roughly 60,000 Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers remain unvaccinated against the coronavirus a week before the service’s deadline, according to Army data, highlighting the persistent struggle for commanders to bring soldiers under compliance.

Soldiers in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard were given until this coming Thursday to receive the vaccine, seek an exemption or face punishment, including removal from the service. The deadline, set last year, is about seven months longer than any other service member in the U.S. military, allowing commanders extra time to ensure their soldiers followed an order from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Army leaders fell short, even with the cushion. Nearly 12% of Army Guard and 10% of Army Reserve soldiers have not received any vaccine, according to National Guard Bureau and Army data. About twothirds of the unvaccinated soldiers are in the Army National Guard, according to force size numbers provided in October.

By contrast, Navy and Marine Corps reservists remain unvaccinated at rates of about 9% and 7%, respectively, following a deadline in late December.

Defense officials have cautioned that vaccinating reservists would be more challenging than active duty troops.

Reservists serve one weekend a month and have at least two more weeks of annual training, giving them fewer opportunities to get vaccinated at military health facilities and fewer encounters with leaders to press them on the regulation.