A three-story apartment building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn, collapsed around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, falling into an open excavation at the adjacent construction site at 2625 Bedford Avenue. As of Thursday, eight people were confirmed dead and at least 17–19 injured; at least seven of the injured are children. More than 250 firefighters and EMS personnel responded, and search-and-recovery operations were still underway.
The building collapsed next to a construction site where excavation and foundation work was taking place. City Department of Buildings records show a stop-work order was issued in March after developers demolished the neighboring structure without adequate protection, then work continued in violation of that order and the contractor was fined $10,000. The order was later lifted after compliance. The cause remains under investigation.
Eight people were confirmed dead and at least 17–19 injured after a three-story building collapsed into an adjacent construction site in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The post's claim that two children are among the dead is not confirmed; the FDNY commissioner said at least seven children were injured but declined to say whether any of the dead were children.
Democratic nominee Scott Colom defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, becoming the state's first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction.
Reuters reported that Nordic countries are working toward a common defense deal. This is an opinion-piece promotion asking what is left for the Trump administration; no factual claim worth checking.
The listed 2023 manufacturing output figures match widely cited World Bank data: China led at about $4.66 trillion, followed by the U.S. at $2.50 trillion, Germany at $838.89 billion, India at $461.38 billion, South Korea at $416.39 billion, Mexico at $358.92 billion, Italy at $353.62 billion, and France at $297 billion. Rant about flags and world leaders; no specific factual claim worth f
BBreaking out of Brooklyn. A three-story building in Flatbush collapsed yesterday afternoon, and eight people are now confirmed dead.
BMayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed the toll. He said he was "heartbroken" that eight New Yorkers lost their lives.
BAt least seventeen people were hurt. More than two hundred fifty firefighters and EMS workers responded.
BOne correction on what's circulating. A Fox News post says two children are among the dead.
BOfficials haven't confirmed that. The FDNY commissioner said seven children were among the injured, and she declined to say whether any of the dead were children.
BGood catch. That's a detail you don't get wrong.
BThe building fell into an open excavation at the construction site next door, around four in the afternoon.
BSearch and recovery is still going. The fire chief said it could take several days to clear the whole site.
BThe cause is under investigation. Nobody has said what brought it down.
BBut here's what's in the public record. City Buildings Department records show a stop-work order at that neighboring site back in March.
BThe reason was demolishing the adjacent structure without adequate protection.
BThe records also show work continued in violation of the order, and the contractor was fined ten thousand dollars. Then the order was lifted after compliance.
BAnd to be clear, nothing so far ties that history to yesterday's collapse. That's still open.
BAgreed. But if that record holds up, the question writes itself.
BTen thousand dollars for working under a stop-work order? That's a rounding error for a developer.
BI'd flip it. The city had the rules, issued the order, levied the fine. The system caught it.
BAnd then lifted the order.
BAfter compliance! My worry is everyone sprinting to pile on more rules when enforcement is the question.
BNobody said more rules! I said penalties that actually deter.
BBigger fines are a policy choice too. My take: did anyone inspect the work after that order came off?
BIf you can ignore a stop-work order and walk away with a ten-thousand-dollar fine, who is the rule for?
BOkay. If the facts show that, it's a joke of a penalty, and I'll say so.
BAnd if the investigation points somewhere else, we'll say that too.
BFair. Eight families don't need our speculation, they need answers.
BTurning to politics. Reuters reports Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's Senate race.
BHe becomes the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction.
BThat's a real historical marker, whatever your politics. Reconstruction, the years right after the Civil War.
BAnd an incumbent lost. Republicans can't wave that away as noise.
BI'd be careful. One race, one candidate, one night. Local factors matter.
BSure, but incumbents don't usually lose by accident. Something moved.
BMaybe. I want to see the breakdown before I call it a national signal.
BFair. History is made either way.
BOver to Europe. Reuters reports that the Nordic countries will work towards a common defence deal.
BThe details are thin so far. It's a headline, not a treaty text.
BRight, so here's my read. Finland and Sweden are in NATO now, so this sits alongside the alliance, not instead of it.
BIs that a safe assumption? Until we see the text, I'd call it a guess.
BFine, it's my reading. But Washington has pushed Europeans to carry more of their own defence for years, and this is what that looks like.
BPushing for more spending isn't the same as wanting a split. Nordic officials will say that loudly.
BAgreed. Small countries, tight geography, and they'd rather coordinate than improvise.
BDifferent world entirely. A data account posted 2023 manufacturing output, and the figures match World Bank numbers.
BChina first at about four point six six trillion dollars. The U.S. second at two point five trillion.
BChina makes nearly double what we do. People should sit with that.
BIt's real, but it's a raw output number. It doesn't tell you who's making the high-value stuff.
BConvenient, but the gap is still the gap. Germany is third at under nine hundred billion dollars.
BWhich tells you how far ahead the top two are.
BMy take: a country that can't build things can't defend itself, and that ties straight back to those Nordic talks.
BI'll give you that link. Industry and security travel together.