It’s surely no exaggeration to point out that the stakes are high in the dispute between the International Longshoremen’s Association and shippers and port operators that resulted in an ILA strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, including Baltimore, that began at midnight Monday. Dockworkers want higher pay. That’s understandable. The U.S. Maritime Alliance wants to keep down the cost of loading load and unloading ships.

Gaithersburg, Maryland-based MedImmune has received the Food and Drug Administration’s approval for self- or caregiver-administration of its FluMist nasal spray flu vaccine, meaning no physician needed. It is expected to be available through online pharmacies beginning next year. FluMist still needs a prescription and is approved for home administration for individuals 2 to 49 years old.

Nearly one-fifth of garbage workers in Baltimore’s Department of Public Works don’t have city health insurance, a fact some of them didn’t realize until the inspector general started looking into the question last month. That finding, detailed in a report released Tuesday by the Office of the Inspector General, comes eight weeks after a trash collector for the Department of Public Works overheated on the job, collapsed and died.

Gov. Wes Moore Tuesday set a target of eliminating 5,000 vacant Baltimore homes in five years, committing state support and making the issue an administration priority. Moore signed an executive order enabling a series of state actions which could reduce the city’s count of vacant homes, estimated at 13,000 homes and some 20,000 empty lots.

Like most Americans, I’ve questioned how issues at the southern border affect crime and the quality of life for the citizens in my county and in other states far from the border. How can what’s happening in McAllen, Texas, affect the lives of Americans in Westminster, Maryland, more than 1,700 miles away? But after almost 36 years in law enforcement, I’ve gained a different perspective than most when it comes to border security and how it affects crime, including the public health crisis of heroin and fentanyl addiction.

Last year, the United States marked a half-century since the advent of an all-volunteer military in 1973 — but unhappily, in one crucial respect. Of the five services, only one, the Marine Corps, met its 2023 recruiting goal. For the largest branch, the Army, it was the second such shortfall in as many years. For reasons such as the obesity epidemic and the post-pandemic mental health crisis, only about 23 percent of all Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 meet the Army’s physical, moral and educational standards.

Dockworkers in Baltimore and along the East Coast began walking picket lines Tuesday in a strike over wages and job automation that has nervous businesses and consumers hoping for a quick resolution. For the Port of Baltimore, the anxiety is particularly acute. The strike comes as the port was working to recapture shipping business it had lost during the 11 weeks the facility was mostly closed because of a catastrophic bridge collapse.

The Baltimore Business Journal has unveiled its 2024 class of 40 Under 40 honorees, spotlighting the very best of the next generation of local business leaders. This year’s honorees were chosen from nearly 300 nominations by the BBJ’s editorial staff and come from a variety of industries, from real estate and law to hospitality and cannabis.

Lonza, a healthcare manufacturing company headquartered in Switzerland, said it plans to expand its endotoxin assay production operation in Walkersville. An endotoxin assay is a laboratory test that can be used to detect the presence of contaminants like E. coli and salmonella in injectable vaccines, medical devices and other pharmaceutical products.

Iran unleashed a major airstrike targeting sites across Israel on Tuesday night, while Israel’s air defenses shot down most of the 180 incoming missiles, according to Israeli officials. The Iranian attack marked the latest escalation in fighting that now stretches into several countries in the region, with warnings that more fighting is likely.