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Rail review: Feds to examine safety at major freight lines

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. — The Federal Railroad Administration recently completed a review of Norfolk Southern’s safety culture in the wake of the February’s fiery derailment in Ohio, and officials plan to follow up with similar investigations of all the major freight railroads over the next year.A report will be released soon on what investigators found at Norfolk Southern after the Feb. 3 derailment — which prompted the evacuation of half of East Palestine, Ohio — and several other recent derailments. That crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border sparked intense interest in railroad safety nationwide and prompted proposed reforms in Congress.The head of the FRA, Administrator Amit Bose, said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently that in addition to individual reports on Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the agency will also produce an industrywide report on common issues and trends.Railroad unions have been raising c...

Ex-Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon released after arrest by police in party finance probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

By JILL LAWLESS (Associated Press)LONDON (AP) — Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who dominated politics in Scotland for almost a decade, was arrested and questioned for several hours on Sunday by police investigating the finances of the governing, pro-independence Scottish National Party.Police Scotland said a 52-year-old woman was detained Sunday morning “as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.”She was “released without charge pending further investigation” about six hours later, the force said. British police do not identify suspects until they are charged.A spokesperson for Sturgeon said the former first minister voluntarily attended an interview with police and would cooperate with the force’s investigation.The SNP said the party had been “cooperating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so. However it is not appropriate to pub...

4 children who survived 40 days in Colombian jungle recover as harrowing details emerge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The four Indigenous children who survived 40 days in the Amazon jungle after their plane crashed were recovering Sunday in a military hospital in Colombia, as new details of their harrowing story emerged in a country still mesmerized by their saga.The kids, aged 13, 9 and 4 years and 11 months, are expected to remain for at least two weeks in a hospital receiving treatment after their rescue Friday, but some are already speaking and wanting to do more more than lying on a bed, according to family members.Manuel Ranoque, father of the two youngest children, told reporters outside the hospital Sunday that the oldest of the four surviving children — 13-year-old Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy — told him their mother was alive for about four days after the plane crashed on May 1 in the Colombian jungle. Ranoque said before she died, the mother likely would have told them: “go away,” apparently asking them to leave the wreckage site to survive. He provided no more deta...

AP Sources: Ted Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber,” died of suicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

Ted Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber,” who carried out a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died by suicide, four people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.Kaczynski, who was 81 and suffering from late-stage cancer, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. Emergency responders performed CPR and revived him before he was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead later Saturday morning, the people told the AP. The people were not authorized to publicly discuss Kaczynski’s death and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.Kaczynski’s death comes as the federal Bureau of Prisons has faced increased scrutiny in the last several years following the death of wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who also died by suicide in a federal jail in 2019.Kaczynski had been held in the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, since May 1998, when...

Why passengers are not filing complaints with CTA, taking airlines to small claims court instead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

While passengers continue to sound the alarm that airlines aren’t providing valid reasons when denying compensation for delayed and cancelled flights, the number of complaints filed with the Canadian Transportation Agency continues to rise. A process that commonly begins with an email from an airline referring to a delay or cancellation as an event that “was out of the airline’s control” or “safety-related issue”, ultimately denying the passenger compensation under Canada’s current Air Passenger Protection Regulation, while leaving them feeling frustrated and helpless in determining the validity in the airline’s claim.According to the CTA, in 2022 they received 26,840 complaints related to flight disruptions, ranging from flight and tarmac delays, flight cancellations, and denials of boarding.And with the backlog of air passenger complaints sitting at over 47,000 and the estimated wait time for a case to be reviewed at 18 months, it’s no surprise that a numbe...

Trump allies cite Clinton email probe to attack classified records case. There are big differences

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — As former President Donald Trump prepares for a momentous court appearance Tuesday on charges related to the hoarding of top-secret documents, Republican allies are amplifying, without evidence, claims that he is the target of a political prosecution.To press their case, Trump’s backers are citing the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 not to bring charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in that year’s presidential race, over her handling of classified information. His supporters also are invoking a separate classified documents investigation concerning President Joe Biden to allege a two-tier system of justice that is punishing Trump, the undisputed early front-runner for the GOP’s 2024 White House nomination, for conduct that Democrats have engaged in.“Is there a different standard for a Democratic secretary of state versus a former Republican president?” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a...

USPS investigating after $28 check was altered and cashed for $4,200

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A month after a crook stole a check they mailed from their local post office, changed the amount and cashed it, Michael Musetta and his wife finally have their money back. However, the Florida couple still doesn't have answers on how they were robbed. A carbon copy of the check shows it was made out to Florida Blue Health Insurance on April 22 for $28. But a copy of the cashed check that their bank gave them shows a stranger cashed it for $4,200. The United States Postal Service's Office of Inspector General is investigating how it happened. Their bank, First Horizon, has now deposited the entire $4,200 back into their account. "This is all I wanted in the first place," Musetta said. "It's the right thing to do." Florida man rented out ‘unsanitary’ houseboat to vacationers, took $4K from them, police say Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the USPS Inspector General said it is aware of this incident and it is under review. “This type of alleged behavior within the P...

5 places to travel without a passport this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

(NerdWallet) - International travel is currently booming. The number of U.S. travelers who left for international destinations this April was 10.6% higher than in April 2019, according to data from the Commerce Department.For folks who don’t have a passport, it might be too late to join the international travel palooza. The State Department estimates standard passport processing times at 10 to 13 weeks. And expedited processing can take seven to nine weeks. Even if you have a passport, check the expiration date because some countries require passports to be valid at least six months beyond your trip dates.Whether it’s too late or too costly to consider international travel, there are still plenty of places to travel without a passport.Here are five places to go without a passport this summer.1. Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico. (Getty Images)During the COVID-19 pandemic, Puerto Rico took off in popularity for both leisure travel and remote work. 2022 was its strongest year in touris...

Central Texas bird featured on stamps honoring Endangered Species Act

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler calls Central Texas home, and you can now show your support with every piece of mail you send.In May, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teamed up with the U.S. Postal Service to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, which was passed by Congress in 1973 and has led to the recovery of many species.A photo of a Golden-cheeked warbler. Courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The postage stamp series features 20 animals, including some known to live, or used to live in Texas.In addition to the Warbler, the Attwater's prairie chicken, Desert bighorn sheep and Mexican gray wolf each have stamps of their own.USPS said the goal of the stamps was to inspire more people to care about species conservation.“The Endangered Species Act plays a crucial role in saving our nation's most at-risk wildlife from extinction,” said John Kanter, senior biologist for the National Wildlife Federation. “For the last 50 ye...

Missing, endangered man last seen in downtown Austin found safe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:21:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Sunday, the Austin Police Department said it safely found a missing man it was attempting to locate.On Saturday, APD originally said it was searching for a man last seen Thursday in downtown Austin.The man's relatives were worried for his well-being due to his need for immediate medical assistance related to a serious chronic illness, according to police.