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Norfolk Southern investing in automated inspection systems on its railroad to improve safety

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — To help quickly spot safety defects on moving trains, Norfolk Southern said Thursday it has installed the first of more than a dozen automated inspection portals on its tracks in Ohio — not far from where one of its trains careened off the tracks in February and spilled hazardous chemicals that caught fire.The new portals, equipped with high-speed cameras, will take hundreds of pictures of every passing locomotive and rail car. The pictures are analyzed by artificial intelligence software the railroad developed. The first of these new portals was recently installed on busy tracks in Leetonia, Ohio, less than 15 miles (24 kilometers) from where that train derailed in East Palestine in February.Other major railroads have invested in similar inspection technology as they look for ways to supplement — and sometimes try to replace where regulators allow it — the human inspections that the industry has long relied on to keep its trains safe. Rail unions have argued that...

Senegalese opposition leader Sonko regains consciousness but remains on hunger strike, lawyer says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A lawyer for Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko said Thursday that the detained politician had regained consciousness but remains “in a very precarious condition” on hunger strike.Sonko, a popular figure with young Senegalese who placed third in the last presidential election, first began refusing food after he was placed in detention in late July. He later suspended the protest measure following mediation but resumed a hunger strike on Oct. 17, according to lawyer Juan Branco.Branco told The Associated Press that the opposition leader “is still being treated by a resuscitation team with the risk of a major relapse.” That assessment comes after Sonko’s supporters said earlier this week he had lapsed into a coma.Sonko’s supporters believe the slew of criminal allegations brought against him since 2021 are part of an orchestrated campaign to derail his political aspirations ahead of a presidential election in February. In June, Sonko was acqui...

FDA warns about giving probiotics to preterm babies after infant death, other injuries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning health care providers and the public about injuries and at least one death in premature infants who were given probiotic products in the hospital. The products, which supplement regular feeding and contain live organisms such as bacteria or yeast, can lead to invasive, potentially fatal infections or disease, the FDA said Thursday. One death this year and more than two dozen reports of injuries since 2018 may be tied to the supplements, FDA officials said in a statement. The agency said it is also investigating additional reports of injuries and deaths. No probiotic products have been approved as a drug or treatment for babies, the FDA said.The agency issued warning letters to two companies accused of illegally marketing the probiotics products, including Abbott Laboratories, which was at the center of a recall and nationwide shortage of powdered infant formula last year. After a letter sent Tuesday, the Illinois firm agreed to halt s...

General Motors and Stellantis in talks with United Auto Workers to reach deals that mirror Ford’s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis are meeting with United Auto Workers bargainers Thursday to see if they can reach a contract agreement that mirrors a deal signed with crosstown rival Ford.Nearly 17,000 striking workers at Ford left the picket lines when the agreement was announced Wednesday night and will return to work shortly. About 57,000 Ford workers still have to vote on the tentative pact.GM and Stellantis will have to follow the pattern set by Ford or it’s likely that UAW President Shawn Fain will add factories to its partial strikes that began on Sept. 15, said Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University. “Fain does not strike me as someone who is going to be willing to concede anything to the other two automakers to break the pattern,” Wheaton said.Additional strikes would be painful to the companies, especially at GM, which has profitable pickup truck plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Flint, Michigan, that the union could shu...

Ontario public high school teachers head to arbitration for new contract

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

Ontario’s public high school teachers are now turning to binding arbitration to get a new contract, as bargaining has concluded with the union unable to reach a negotiated deal with the province.The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation agreed to a novel process that eliminates the possibility of strikes during bargaining and for the next three years.The union ratified a deal last month with the government that would see negotiations continue until Oct. 27, after which any outstanding issues would be decided by an arbitrator. The last day of talks before that date wrapped up Wednesday.Both union president Karen Littlewood and Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the parties made good progress recently in negotiations.Monetary issues will be settled by binding arbitration, Littlewood said.“The last two months of bargaining was way more productive than the 14 months before that and we were able to accomplish a lot – still nothing to do with money,...

'He cared so much': Family, The Vic mourn loss of longtime production manager

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

CHICAGO — If you've ever rocked out to one of your favorite bands at The Vic, Jason Plahutnik was one of the reasons why it sounded so good.Plahutnik was unfortunately found dead inside the venue Sunday, Oct. 15 at just 44 years old."He was found unresponsive and the paramedics worked really hard," sister Kristin Hebda told WGN News. "But we still don't have answers."Starting out at Park West, The Vic ended up being Plahutnik's "home away from home" — where he rose from a sound assistant to production manager over 25 years."He is one of those guys who is irreplaceable, he was infectious," JAM Productions owner Jerry Mickelson said. "Jason lived and breathed The Vic."Jason PlahutnikIt was in his blood — Jason's father has an audio background and also used to run sound at The Vic. Long before getting used to being around rock stars regularly, his father played a joke on him involving the one, the only — Iggy Pop."My dad goes - 'Iggy Pop wants to talk to you,'" Hebda recalled. "'Dad, s...

'Ambushed': Delphi defense attorney says judge coerced him to leave double murder case, asks for her removal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. — The remaining attorney left defending Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen is asking that the judge overseeing the case be thrown out, claiming she "ambushed" and "coerced" the defense team to drop out.Attorney Bradley A. Rozzi, the sole defense counsel still representing Richard Allen in the highly-publicized double murder trial, filed several motions Thursday in Carroll County Court arguing why he believes he should continue to represent his client and that the judge should be recused.Allen, who is charged with two counts of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi, has been represented by Rozzi as co-counsel in the case since Nov. 14, 2022. For the past 11 months, Rozzi and court-appointed attorney Andrew J. Baldwin had been preparing a defense case for Allen. PREVIOUSLY: Attorneys for Delphi murder suspect withdraw from case The suspect and defense team were scheduled to make an appearance ...

Bipartisan bill would crack down on organized retail theft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — A bipartisan plan in Congress aims to help law enforcement crack down on organized retail theft, which has surged nationwide in recent years."This is a problem that we have to deal with," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said at a news conference Thursday."It's happening in every community," Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., added. "It's not a one-off, it's not one person." Retail theft is the worst in these 10 US cities, study finds They are part of a bipartisan group that has introduced a bill that would create a centralized agency to help law enforcement investigate and prosecute retail thieves, even across state lines, with "the same penalties applied whether it happens in California or in Iowa," Grassley said.The National Retail Federation says store theft surged 20% from 2021 to 2022, costing retailers more than $112 billion. Lawmakers acknowledged the increase started during the pandemic, but said they don't believe it's linked to rising prices."Retail...

Most Americans say they’re falling behind on emergency savings: survey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

(The Hill) -- A majority of Americans say they are behind on their emergency savings, according to a new poll.Thirty-eight percent say they are significantly behind on saving for emergencies and 22 percent say they are slightly behind, while only 18 percent say they are ahead on their savings, the survey from Bankrate found.Thirty percent of respondents said they have about the same amount of emergency savings now compared to the beginning of the year. One in five households, 19 percent, say they have increased their emergency savings in 2023, and 32 percent say they have less than they started the year with. Twenty percent said they had no emergency savings at the beginning of the year and still have none, the survey found.“Despite 60 percent of all Americans feeling behind on their emergency savings, just 19 percent have increased their emergency savings balances since the beginning of the year,” Bankrate chief financial analyst Greg McBride said in a statement. “Rising prices and...

Austin's MetroBike program awarded $11.3M federal grant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Enhancements are en route to Austin's MetroBike program, following news it was named the recipient of an $11.3 million federal grant.The funding will help expand the MetroBike bike share program and transit it to a completely electric bicycle fleet, per a Thursday city release. Right now, only 43% of the 800-bicycle fleet are electric bicycles, with the remainder classified as traditional bikes.The dollars were awarded by the Texas Department of Transportation's Transportation Alternative Set-Aside program, funded by the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, the release added.While the city owns the MetroBike bikes and stations, it has entered into an agreement with CapMetro. The transit authority operates and oversees the bike share system as part of that agreement, per the release.Through the new funds, Austin is working to expand the 81-station, 800-bicycle network, enhancing its reach throughout downtown as well as north and east...