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New rule would make all railroads alert first responders within 10 miles of derailed train cargo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Federal regulators want first responders to a train derailment to know exactly what they are dealing with even before they reach the scene, because the dangerous chemicals trains carry might require a specialized response.So the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration proposed a new rule Wednesday that would require all railroads to immediately send the details of everything aboard their trains to every emergency responder within 10 miles, as soon as the railroad becomes aware of an accident. The new rule comes one day ahead of a National Transportation Safety Board hearing to scrutinize emergency responses to the fiery Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train outside East Palestine, Ohio. The NTSB is still working to determine exactly what caused that wreck, which prompted the evacuation of thousands of people and ignited nationwide concern about railroad safety and calls for reforms. The largest freight railroads already have an app they develop...

While sub disappearance transfixes some, many say their focus is on other calamities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — The search for a submersible that disappeared while taking wealthy tourists to see the wreck of the Titanic has gripped many with its grim cinematic elements — a ticking clock, passengers running out of oxygen, and of course, the iconic ocean liner itself, which still captivates the public imagination more than a century after it sank.In Pakistan, where two of the passengers were from, people flocked to social media with prayers and newspapers covered it heavily. But the outpouring fell far short of the shock and grief over a boat carrying hundreds of migrants that sank recently off the coast of Greece — many of them also from the South Asian country.That story also struck a chord in other countries that the migrants left, many in the Middle East.In other parts of the world, the disappearance of the sub has led newscasts and prompted extensive discussion on social media. In the U.S., it’s at the top of online news sites and discussed on morning shows...

CP NewsAlert: Two dead, two injured in Vancouver Island plane crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

TOFINO, B.C. — Mounties on Vancouver Island say two people have been killed in the crash of a small plane northwest of Tofino on Vancouver Island. The B.C. Ambulance Service says two other people were injured. More coming. The Canadian Press

Idaho man accused of killing neighbors with teen who reportedly exposed himself to man’s kids

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho father killed a neighboring family because he was upset that the neighbor’s 18-year-old son had reportedly exposed himself to the man’s children, a police document alleges. Majorjon Kaylor, 31, of Kellogg, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the Father’s Day shooting. A probable cause affidavit from Idaho State Police Detective Justin Klitch says Kaylor shot Kenneth Guardipee, 65; his daughter Kenna Guardipee, 41; and her youngest son, 16-year-old Aiken Smith, in the temple at close range. Smith’s older brother, 18-year-old Devin Smith, was shot multiple times in the head, according to the document. Kaylor and his wife, Kaylie Kaylor, told investigators that they were upset because several days earlier, Devin Smith had masturbated in front of his bedroom window in full view of the Kaylor’s young daughters. The families shared a duplex, and the girls were playing outside in the yard when the exposure allegedly occurred....

Misinformation can distort national debates on important issues, chief justice warns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s chief justice is warning that the global rise in misinformation threatens national institutions and processes that underpin democracy.The Supreme Court’s Richard Wagner said in a speech today that people around the world have increasingly polarized ideas about what can be considered true.Wagner told a conference organized by the Canadian Bar Association that exposure to misinformation can increase political cynicism, change voting patterns and distort national debates on important issues.He noted that in Canada, researchers say misinformation may threaten the health and safety of the public, as well as the legitimacy of democratic processes.Wagner said a strong democracy relies on Canadians having access to diverse and reliable sources of information so they can form opinions and participate in public debates in a productive way.He pointed out, however, that fewer journalists are covering the courts across Canada as media resources dwindle.This report b...

Jill Biden is taking Indian Prime Minister Modi on side trip before Thursday’s White House visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden is taking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a side trip to Virginia on Wednesday, a day before his formal state visit and fancy dinner at the White House.India’s leader was arriving from New York, where earlier Wednesday he performed backbends and corpse poses during a yoga session with a multinational crowd on the lawn of the United Nations. President Joe Biden, who invited Modi for the state visit, has spent the past two days in California raising money for his reelection campaign and was due back in Washington later Wednesday.Despite deep differences with India over its record on human rights and its approach to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Biden nevertheless extended to Modi the administration’s third invitation for a state visit. With all the pomp and attention being paid to Modi, Biden hopes to firm up his relationship with the leader of a country the U.S. believes will be a pivotal force in Asia for decades to come. In a warmup ...

NASCAR provides an update on Chicago course construction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

CHICAGO — As the event in early July gets closer, many are starting to see the course for the NASCAR in downtown Chicago take shape.So how is the progress going a week-and-a-half out from the inaugural Chicago Street Race on July 1 & 2?NASCAR officials provided an update on that Wednesday afternoon as the built continues around the 2.2-mile course that will be on a number of major roads in the Loop. Already a number of closures are in place for the event with more to come next week as the city prepares for its first downtown stock car race. NASCAR Chicago Street Race president Julie Giese, NASCAR civil engineering director Jeremy Casperson, and Four Leaf Productions CEO Shelley Phillips provided an update on the progress during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.You can see that on WGN News Now coming up around Noon in the video above.

US approves chicken made from cultivated cells, the nation's first 'lab-grown' meat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to the nation's restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn't come from slaughtered animals — what's now being referred to as “cell-cultivated" or “cultured” meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates.The move launches a new era of meat production aimed at eliminating harm to animals and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of grazing, growing feed for animals and animal waste.“Instead of all of that land and all of that water that's used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way," said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat.The companies re...

The Titan submersible: What could have gone wrong?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

A growing number of aircraft and ships from the U.S. and Canada searched Tuesday for a submersible vessel carrying five people that disappeared on its way to the wreckage of the Titanic.The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the search for the small craft, named Titan, in a remote area of the North Atlantic Ocean. OceanGate Expeditions, an undersea exploration company, has been chronicling the Titanic's decay and the underwater ecosystem around it via yearly voyages since 2021.What we know so far about the submersible, what may have gone wrong, and what's being done to find it:What's the latest on the search?A Canadian aircraft has detected underwater noises during the hunt for the submersible. The U.S. Coast Guard said via Twitter early Wednesday that as a result of the noises detected by the Canadian P-3 patrol aircraft, search efforts have been relocated and the data is being used to help guide the ongoing effort. When and where did the Titan go missing?Th...

How a rule violation helped the White Sox to a win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:00 GMT

CHICAGO — At this point in the season, the White Sox will take a win, even if it took a rule violation by their opponent at home plate to get it.Tied at six in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Rangers Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field, Elvis Andrus appeared to have been thrown out at home by right field Travis Jankowski. Replay confirmed that the White Sox shortstop was tagged out by Texas' Jonah Heim before he got to the plate, but a technicality overturned it. It was ruled that the catcher was in the line of Andrus' slide, which is a violation, allowing the White Sox runner to get the base and score the run.Heim's violation was the difference in a 7-6 win by the home team as they win their first game of the series and improve to 32-43 on the season.Naturally, it was celebrated by the White Sox fans at Guaranteed Rate Field, but it was loathed by the Rangers, especially manager Bruce Bochy, who was ejected after arguing the call. After the conclusion of the game, he was s...