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Rail CEO repeats derailment apologies before Ohio Senate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Norfolk Southern’s CEO reiterated apologies Tuesday for the East Palestine train derailment and vows to make things right during his first testimony to Ohio lawmakers since the fiery accident, expressing support for some additional safety proposals but resistance to others. An Ohio Senate panel on rail safety questioned Alan Shaw over a wide range of topics related to the derailment and subsequent controlled chemical release that rocked the small village on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, including long-term support systems for the community, two-person crew mandates and tanker car safety standards. Shaw has promised millions of dollars to help the community recover but also faces a lawsuit from Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost over costs for the toxic chemical spill cleanup and environmental damage, even as they work together to establish funds for resident health care, property value issues and water protections.The federal government has also sued...

Alabama officials keep quiet on progress in birthday melee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

DADEVILLE, Ala (AP) — Two days after gunfire erupted at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama — killing four people, including two high school seniors — state police are asking people to come forward if they have video or photographs from the party. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said it has worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to establish a digital tip line for videos and photos. As of Tuesday morning, officials had released little information about the investigation. “Special Agents are still in the process of gathering and examining information,” the law enforcement agency said in its last public statement, which was issued Monday. “Investigators are still processing all of the evidence, in conjunction with completing interviews, in an effort to solidify a motive and potential suspects.”In addition to the four young people killed in the shooting, another 32 were injured. The dead range in age from 17 to 23. The melee rocked the sleepy town of about 3,200 people. Fa...

With 26 days left in session, Nebraska lawmakers pass 1 bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

With only 26 days left in the 90-day legislative session, Nebraska lawmakers have finally passed a single bill. Now they have only about 200 left to go.In any other year, the Nebraska Legislature would have passed dozens of bills by now. But it has been hamstrung by progressive lawmakers filibustering every bill before the body this session — even ones they support — to protest conservatives’ push to pass a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. During the last 90-day session, in 2021, legislators had passed 74 bills by Day 64 — the point they reached Monday night when they passed this year’s first bill — and 48 of them had already been signed into law by the governor, Clerk of the Legislature Brandon Metzler said.This year’s late date for passage of the first bill is not unprecedented, he said. The body once took up to 70 days to pass its first bill. But it is unusual, and the bottleneck of bills that have not advanced is unprecedented. As of Tuesday, only 10 bills ha...

Residents, aid workers surprised by closure of Iraqi camp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraq on Tuesday shut down a camp housing internally displaced Iraqis with alleged ties to the Islamic State group, the migration and displacement ministry announced.The statement said the camp’s closure came as part of a government program aiming to “end the displacement file” in the country, where 1.2 million Iraqis remain internally displaced after years of conflict. Aid workers criticized the closure as hasty and chaotic.On Monday, residents and aid workers at the Jadah 5 camp in northern Iraq’s Qayyarah — which housed some 300 families — were informed by government and security officials that they had to leave the camp by Wednesday, a day before the beginning of the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr.Iraq has long sought to close down the displacement camp, one of the last remaining in federally controlled areas, but faced pushback from aid groups concerned over the integration of vulnerable families, including many women and children, stigmatized for their per...

NRA shows gun rights power but pushback grows from shootings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The roster of Republican presidential hopefuls who flocked to the National Rifle Association’s annual convention reflects the political potency of gun rights, despite the group’s eroding revenues and an opposition movement that’s growing increasingly vocal as the drumbeat of mass shootings marches on.Even amid internal turmoil and legal woes, the gun ownership culture and movement that the NRA helped build remains formidable. And the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment last summer has given new strength to gun-rights activists seeking to invalidate firearm restrictions across the country.“On the one hand, the gun-rights movement has never been stronger,” said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who wrote “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America.” But “one of the interesting things about this moment is the NRA, in some ways, has never faced more organizational incohe...

Maryland company settles with DC for $835K in suit over construction worker benefits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

A Maryland construction company has agreed to pay $835,000 to settle a suit brought by D.C. alleging the company denied workers sick leave and other benefits by intentionally misclassifying them as independent contractors.Maryland Applicators, which provides drywall installation services, was accused by the D.C. Office of the Attorney General of misclassifying dozens of workers it directly hired, as well as procuring the services of hundreds of other workers also improperly classified as independent contractors through subcontracts.Misclassifying the workers as independent contractors allowed the company to deny them basic rights they would be entitled to as employees, such as the minimum wage, overtime pay and paid sick leave, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.It can also leave workers on the hook for a big tax bill, and deprives the District of tax revenue.“This not only cheated the workers but gave Maryland Applicators an unfair advantage ...

Twitter removes policy against deadnaming transgender people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter has quietly removed a policy against the “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals,” raising concerns that the Elon Musk-owned platform is becoming less safe for marginalized groups.Twitter enacted the policy against deadnaming, or using a transgender person’s name before they transitioned, as well as purposefully using the wrong gender for someone as a form of harassment, in 2018. On Monday, Twitter also said it will only put warning labels on some tweets that are “potentially” in violation of its rules against hateful conduct. Previously, the tweets were removed.It was in this policy update that Twitter appears to have deleted the line against deadnaming from its rules. “Twitter’s decision to covertly roll back its longtime policy is the latest example of just how unsafe the company is for users and advertisers alike,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of the advocacy group GLAAD. “This decision to roll back LGBTQ...

Fox News and Dominion reach last-minute $787 million settlement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems have agreed to a blockbuster settlement over the network’s coverage of former President Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. The settlement comes after months of courtroom fighting between the two parties, in what had been widely seen as a precedent-setting moment for defamation law that could severely alter the financial and reputational health of the country’s largest cable news company.   The settlement, which came just hours before opening arguments in the defamation trial were slated to begin in a Delaware courtroom, shields Fox from what was likely to have been a grueling and potentially embarrassing span of several weeks focusing on its internal strife around the time of the 2020 election. Details of the deal were not immediately disclosed but Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson said the settlement was reached at around $787.5 million.In a statement, Fox News Media said the network was “pleased” to reach ...

Aircraft slides off runway at Miami Executive Airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

There were plane problems Tuesday morning after a small aircraft slid off the runway while coming in for a landing at Miami Executive Airport. According to officials, the landing gear collapsed, which caused the accident. First responders rushed to the rescue, but thankfully no injuries were reported.

Fox News settles with Dominion at the last second, averting defamation trial over its 2020 election lies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

(CNN) — A last-second settlement has been reached in the historic defamation case between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, the parties announced Tuesday in court.“The parties have resolved their case,” Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said.“Your presence here… was extremely important. And without you, the parties would not have been able to resolve their situation,” the judge told the jurors, before dismissing them.The settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems totals $787,500,000, according to Dominion attorney Justin Nelson.The settlement represents “vindication and accountability,” Nelson said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.“We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems,” Fox News said in a statement. “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued...