May 23, 2024 6:08 pm
(AP) – The federal government agreed to a $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Residents were generally underwhelmed by the deal the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department announced Thursday, two days after a federal judge signed off on the railroad’s $600 million class action settlement with residents. In addition to the civil penalty, Norfolk Southern agreed to reimburse the government $235 million in cleanup costs and set up a $25 million health care fund to pay for 20 years of medical exams in the community and follow through on $244 million of planned safety improvements. The railroad won’t face criminal charges. (Photo: AP)
May 23, 2024 11:37 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and driving up prices for fans. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in New York and was brought with 30 state and district attorneys general. The suit seeks to break up the monopoly they say is squeezing out smaller promoters and hurting artists. The Justice Department accuses Live Nation of a slew of practices that allow it to maintain a stronghold over the live music scene. Live Nation has denied that it engages in practices that violate antitrust laws. (Photo: AP)
May 23, 2024 5:09 am
Highways and airports are likely to be jammed in the coming days as Americans head out on and home from Memorial Day weekend getaways. AAA predicts this will be the busiest start-of-summer weekend in nearly 20 years. The Transportation Security Administration says up to 3 million people may pass through airport checkpoints on Friday alone. And that’s just a sample of what’s to come. U.S. airlines expect to carry a record number of passengers this summer. The national expression of wanderlust is happening at a time when Americans tell pollsters they are worried about the economy and the direction of the country.
May 23, 2024 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there’s an 85% chance that the Atlantic hurricane season that starts in June will be above average in storm activity. An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of which become hurricanes and three major hurricanes. About 20 other groups — universities, other governments, private weather companies — also have made seasonal forecasts. All but two foresee a busier, nastier summer and fall for hurricanes.
May 23, 2024 5:06 am
GREENFIELD, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a deadly tornado that wreaked havoc in the small city of Greenfield, Iowa, left four people dead and nearly three dozen injured, while a fifth person was killed elsewhere. The twister that tore through the city on Tuesday was rated at least an EF-3 by the National Weather Service and was so destructive that it took authorities more than a day to account for the area’s residents. Officials believe the number of people injured is likely higher. The deadly twister was spawned during a historic tornado season in the U.S. April had the second-highest number of tornadoes on record in the country.
May 23, 2024 5:05 am
SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCIA, Mexico (AP) — At least nine people are dead and 63 more injured after the collapse of a stage during a campaign rally in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. The state’s governor confirmed the tragedy and said among the dead was a child. A strong gust of wind caused the stage to collapse during an event attended by presidential long-shot candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez. Videos of the dramatic collapse were posted to social media Wednesday night. The clips showed people screaming and running away, and later climbing out from under metal polls. Afterward, soldiers, police and other officials roamed the grounds of the park where the event took place.
May 23, 2024 5:03 am
The Israeli military says it has completed a two-day operation in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinian Health Ministry says killed 12 Palestinians and wounded 25. Rippling tensions from the Israel-Hamas war are also being felt in the Red Sea and in Lebanon. A missile splashed down in the water near the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, but caused no damage. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says an Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded three school students who were passing nearby in a bus. More than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel and Hezbollah began exchanging fire the day after Israel launched its war in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
May 23, 2024 4:57 am
A house fire in Midway has left two people injured. Washington County 9-1-1 says the blaze was reported just before 12:30 a.m along Stevenson St. According to reports, the two people were outside the home when firefighters arrived. They were both flown to West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. Our news partners at Channel-11 report that one of those individuals, a male, has been released. The home was reportedly destroyed. At this time, there is no word on the cause of the fire. Fire officials have reported that they encountered a “severe hoarding situation’ in battling the the fire.
May 22, 2024 5:47 pm
(WPXI) – Charlie Colin, a founding member and bassist of the band Train, died at the age of 58. Colin’s mother reportedly shared the news of his death with TMZ, according to Deadline. She claimed that he was house-sitting in Brussels, Belgium when he slipped in the shower. Colin’s mother said that he had moved to Brussels to teach a music master class at a conservatory, People magazine reported. He was also working on some music for a film. Colin’s body was found by the people who owned the house about five days ago, Rolling Stone reported. Colin’s sister also confirmed his death to Variety, according to Billboard. The exact cause of death and the day he died have not been released, according to Deadline.
May 22, 2024 3:26 pm
(AP) – Millions of people in the U.S. report using marijuana daily or nearly every day, and those people now outnumber those who say they are daily or nearly-daily drinkers of alcohol. The research was published Wednesday in the journal Addiction. It’s based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a highly regarded source of self-reported estimates of tobacco, alcohol and drug use. High-frequency marijuana use overtook high-frequency drinking for the first time in 2022. Other research shows that high-frequency users are more likely to become addicted to marijuana and more likely to develop cannabis-associated psychosis, a severe condition where a person loses touch with reality. (Photo: AP)
