DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling nearly all of the vehicles it has sold in the U.S. because some warning lights on the instrument panel are too small.

The recall of nearly 2.2 million vehicles announced Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is a sign of stepped-up scrutiny of the electric vehicle maker. The agency also said it has upgraded a 2023 investigation into Tesla steering problems to an engineering analysis, a step closer to a recall.

Documents posted Friday by the agency say the warning light recall will be done with an online software update. It covers the 2012 through 2023 Model S, the 2016 through 2023 Model X, the 2017 through 2023 Model 3, the 2019 through 2024 Model Y and the 2024 Cybertruck.

The agency says that the brake, park and antilock brake warning lights have a smaller font size than required by federal safety standards. That can make critical safety information hard to read, increasing the risk of a crash.

Tesla has already started releasing the software update, and owners will be notified by letter starting March 30.

NHTSA says it found the problem in a routine safety compliance audit on Jan. 8.

Tesla has identified three warranty claims potentially related to the problem, but has no reports of crashes or injuries.

Shares of Tesla were down 1.3% in trading before Friday’s opening bell.

In December, NHTSA pressured Tesla into recalling more than 2 million vehicles to update software and fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when using Autopilot.

Documents said the update will increase warnings and alerts to drivers.

The recall came after a two-year investigation by NHTSA into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. Some were deadly.

The agency says its investigation found Autopilot’s method of making sure that drivers are paying attention can be inadequate and can lead to “foreseeable misuse of the system.”

The added controls and alerts will “further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,” the documents said.

But safety experts said that, while the recall is a good step, it still makes the driver responsible and doesn’t fix the underlying problem that Autopilot isn’t reacting to stopped vehicles. They say that Tesla’s driver monitoring system that relies on detecting hands on the steering wheel doesn’t stop drivers from checking out.

Tesla says on its website that its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” systems cannot drive the vehicles, and that human drivers must be ready to intervene at all times.

In February of last year, NHTSA also pressed Tesla to recall nearly 363,000 vehicles with its “Full Self-Driving” system because it can misbehave around intersections and doesn’t always follow speed limits.

The recall was part of part of a larger investigation into Tesla’s automated driving systems.

It raised questions about CEO Elon Musk’s claims that he can prove to regulators that cars equipped with “Full Self-Driving” are safer than humans, and that humans almost never have to touch the controls.

Musk at one point had promised that a fleet of autonomous robotaxis would be in use in 2020. The latest action appears to push that development further into the future.

In addition, Tesla is recalling more than 1.6 million Model S, X, 3 and Y electric vehicles exported to China for problems with their automatic assisted steering and door latch controls.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation announced the recall in early January. It said Tesla Motors in Beijing and Shanghai would use remote upgrades to fix the problems.

The recall is due to problems with the automatic steering assist function and applies to 1.6 million imported Tesla Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Ys.

When the automatic steering function is engaged, drivers might misuse the combined driving function, increasing a risk of accidents, the notice said.

The recall to fix the door unlock logic control for imported Model S and Model X EVs affects 7,538 vehicles made between Oct. 26, 2022 and Nov. 16, 2023. It is needed to prevent door latches from coming open during a collision.

Tesla was the top seller of electric vehicles in the world last year, but China’s BYD beat the company in the fourth quarter. BYD is the leader in the booming China market.

The steering investigation upgrade, also announced Friday in documents, covers more than 334,000 Tesla vehicles.

The probe was opened in July of last year after the agency received a dozen complaints about loss of steering control in 2023 Model Y and 3 vehicles. Now the agency says it has 115 complaints, and it received another 2,176 after requesting information from the company.

Agency documents say drivers are reporting loss of steering control, often accompanied by messages showing that power assisted steering has been reduced or disabled. Some complained of an inability to turn the steering wheel, while others said it required more effort.

A message was left Friday seeking comment from Tesla.

In one case a driver told NHTSA that they couldn’t complete a right turn and ran into another vehicle.

The agency said there have been multiple allegations of Teslas blocking intersections or roadways. Over 50 vehicles had to be towed, according to the consumer complaints.

Many of the complaints reported the problem happened between 5 mph and 35 mph. The highest reported speed that alleged an inability to turn was 75 mph, the documents said.

The agency said it is looking into possible steering rack failures.

(Sandy Giordano/Beaver County Radio)

The request for a zoning variance that would have allowed the Deewalk Promise Hands emergency shelter to operate on Main Street in Aliquippa was denied by the Zoning Hearing Board at a special meeting on Thursday night.

Aliquippa resident Rayetta Lee’s request for the variance was denied because it violates a zoning ordinance under the rules for a C2 Highway Commercial Zoning District.

The building that was being applied for is located at 1916 Main Street in Aliquippa

(AP/New York)
Wall Street pointed to strong gains before the opening bell Friday, boosted by the same technology stocks that were hammered early this week after the Federal Reserve hinted that it might keep interest rates elevated further into 2024.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.1%, and futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq shot up 1.1%. All were on track to finish the week with gains, a surprising development considering Wednesday’s swoon.

Thursday on Wall Street, U.S. stocks rebounded widely following their worst day since September.

Expectations are that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in May, after pushing back expectations from March. Whenever rates do fall, it would mark a sharp turnaround after the Fed hiked its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001 in hopes of getting inflation under control.

High interest rates intentionally slow the economy and they undercut investments, particularly tech stocks.

Amazon jumped more than 7% in off hours trading after the online retail behemoth reported better-than-expected revenue and profits for the fourth quarter, driven by what Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called a “record-breaking” holiday shopping season.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, climbed nearly 17% after the bell Thursday when it reported tripling its profit on sharply higher revenue. Meta was boosted by a rebound in digital advertising as well cost cutting and layoffs in what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the “year of efficiency.”

Apple was the most notable laggard, falling 3% even as it latest financial results revealed that the iPhone maker snapped out of a year-long sales slump.

Later Friday, the government issues its first jobs report of 2024. Economists expect that hiring slowed but that the economy still added 177,000 jobs, down slightly from December but still a solid number signaling a strong economy.

Elsewhere, The Shanghai Composite index ended 1.5% lower at 2,730.15, capping its worst week of losses in five years. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.2%, to 15,533.56, as gains for technology companies offset declines in property shares.

Shanghai’s benchmark saw wild swings on worries over the economic outlook and other risks.

At one point, the Shanghai index dropped below 2,700, to 2,666.74, prompting a flood of social media comments in China, including one commentator who exclaimed, “now we’re all sitting ducks.” The benchmark is down nearly 17% in the past year and 9.3% in the past 3 months.

Analysts said the sell-off was at least partly sparked by so-called “snowball derivatives” that yield high returns on gains but likewise cause big losses when share prices fall. Selling of biotech companies was also heavy on concern over a possible U.S. move to impose controls on dealings with Chinese companies like WuXi AppTec, whose shares dropped 21%.

Also undermining confidence was a report by the International Monetary Fund, which forecast that the Chinese economy would grow at a 4.6% pace this year and 4% in 2025, dropping from 5.2% last year.

In early European trading at midday, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.7%, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.8%. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.5%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.4% to finish at 36,158.02. Aozora Bank’s shares plunged nearly 16% after it reported losses on its U.S. property investments. On Thursday, the bank’s shares dived 27.4 percent. The lender attributed its losses to high interest rates and a weaker commercial property market during and after the pandemic, as companies switched to hybrid or remote working arrangements.

The Japanese bank’s woes are similar to those of New York Community Bancorp whose shares have fallen by more than 40% this week after it reported a loss for its latest quarter and cut its dividend to build its financial strength. New York Community Bancorp acquired much of Signature Bank last year after it and other regional banks collapsed and its losses reflect problems for the entire industry.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.5% to 7,699.40. South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.9% to 2,615.31 after the country reported strong export data.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude inched back 5 cents to $73.77 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 3 cents to $78.67 a barrel.

Exxon Mobil and Chevron are mixed in early trading after posting quarterly earns. Big oil continues garner massive profits despite falling crude prices.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was little changed at 146.60 Japanese yen, up from 146.43 yen. The euro cost $1.0880, up from $1.0874.

(AP) Residents of eastern Ohio can now get an up-close view in newly released videos of the twin toxic towers of fire that forced them from their homes last February after officials decided to blow open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride they worried might explode days after a Norfolk Southern train derailed.

The National Transportation Safety Board released more than a half-dozen videos of the explosions, fire and huge plume of black smoke generated along with documents unearthed in their investigation about what went into the decision to release and burn the vinyl chloride.

Those documents reinforce the questions raised last spring at the hearings the NTSB held in East Palestine, Ohio, about whether the tank cars really would have exploded while they were surrounded by the fire from the derailment. The officials who made that decision have defended it, saying they made the best call they could with the information they had available that day.

The company that made the chemical, Oxy Vinyls, told investigators they believed the vinyl chloride remained stable and wouldn’t explode, but it was revealed last year that the opinion of Oxy Vinyls’ experts wasn’t shared with key decision-makers. Instead, they decided to blow open the cars because of the concerns about the cars’ temperature readings and whether pressure relief valves were working.

Residents are still worrying about the potential health consequences of that decision and the derailment itself as the one-year anniversary of the derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border approaches on Saturday. Key health questions remain unanswered although many who live in East Palestine just want to move forward with rebuilding their town.

State and federal Environmental Protection Agency officials have said their tests haven’t shown toxic levels of chemicals since the evacuation order was lifted. The massive cleanup that included removing more than 176,000 tons of contaminated soil from around the derailment continues but could wrap up around the middle of this year.

There are also details in the documents about the trackside detectors that spotted a bearing heating up on one of the rail cars but didn’t trigger an alarm early enough for the crew to stop the train before the derailment. The NTSB blamed that overheating bearing for causing the derailment in the preliminary report, but their full investigation likely won’t be complete until this summer.

In the 30 miles (48 kilometers) before East Palestine, the eastbound train passed three detectors designed to spot hot wheel bearings that showed the temperature of a bearing on one of the cars steadily increasing.

A Norfolk Southern assistant vice president for signals told the NTSB the first two detectors “did not trigger any alarms or alerts” that would have required action by the crew or the sole employee monitoring them across the railroad from Georgia.

But the official later said that as the train passed through Salem, Ohio, which is about 26 miles (42 kilometers) from East Palestine, a sensor sent a non-critical alert to an analyst about the bearing heating up. Video gathered by NTSB investigators showed sparks or fire beneath one of the rail cars starting in Salem.

The analyst was working through other alerts in his queue and “did not get to that alert immediately,” said the Norfolk Southern official, whose name was redacted in these latest documents.

Railroad procedures called for monitoring of the wheel until the next detector. “It would not have been an event that we would have expected immediate action to be taken at that point in time,” the official said.

As the ill-fated train passed a sensor in East Palestine, the bearing surged to 253 degrees above the ambient temperature and sent a “critical alarm” to the crew to stop the train and check the axle.

NTSB has said the crew acted properly and tried to stop the train, but it derailed before coming to a complete stop.

An East Palestine Police Department report said that six days before the derailment, authorities got a call from a woman reporting that a different train was on fire.

An East Palestine police officer reported seeing a six-car train with three of the cars dragging wheels like the brakes were on, causing sparks to fly about 30 feet from the train. Two of the cars had flames under them, the officer wrote.

“As the train continued on through the North Market crossing, the engineer gave me a thumbs up and a smile, like this was everyday stuff,” the officer wrote. “Had dispatch call and advise Norfolk, but the train continued into Pennsylvania.”

In response, Norfolk Southern told authorities the train was out of East Palestine’s area, that they should cancel responding firefighters, and the railroad would call back if they were needed, the report said. It wasn’t clear what happened to that train and whether it was stopped to remove the car that was on fire after the train left town.

(Sandy Giordano/Beaver County Radio)

Route 68 in industry is still restricted to one lane eastbound and westbound following a landslide that occurred Thursday morning.

PennDOT officials have still not set a timetable for when the road will fully reopen, and that traffic signals remain in place to direct motorists.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

A conciliation agreement has been reached between the U.S. Department of Labor and Michael Baker International to resolve allegations of gender-based pay discrimination.

According to the USDL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the company will be paying $122,299 in back wages following an investigation that found that the company was paying female professionals less than their male counterparts in similar positions.

The agreement also includes a full review and possible revision of the compensation system at Michael Baker, including making salary adjustments if there are any discrepancies.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring Friday at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania, the scene of the country’s largest and best known Groundhog Day celebration in the United States.

The annual event is a tongue-in-cheek ritual in which Phil’s handlers, members of a club with roots in the late 19th century, reveal whether the groundhog has seen his shadow.

Just after sunrise Friday, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announced Phil did not see his shadow, which will usher in early springlike weather. The groundhog seeing his shadow presages six more weeks of winter, according to the group.

Before the announcement, Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Tom Dunkel told the crowd that a cane he held gave him the power to speak “Groundhog-ese” and that Phil would tell him which of two scrolls to use. At Dunkel’s direction, the crowd helped fire-up the groundhog with repeated chants of “Phil!” before a club member pulled the groundhog from a door in a stump on the stage and held it aloft.

Dunkel and other club members leaned over the stump where the groundhog sat before announcing that they had a decision.

Vice President Dan McGinley read the decision, written in verse, from the chosen scroll and announced, “Glad tidings on this Groundhog Day, an early spring is on the way!”

About 10,000 people have made their way in recent years to Punxsutawney, where festivities begin in the dead of night and culminate in the midwinter forecast. A bundled-up crowd, some wearing groundhog-themed hats, watched musical performances and fireworks as they waited for sunrise and the appearance of Punxsutawney Phil.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro took the stage before Phil to urge people around the world watching the festivities to come to Punxsutawney next year. Shapiro also announced the famed groundhog is the new official meteorologist for Pennsylvania.

“Punxsutawney is the center of the universe right now and I love that you’re all here,” Shapiro said.

Phil predicts more winter far more often than he sees an early spring, not a bad bet for February and March in western Pennsylvania. A federal agency took a look at his record last year and put his accuracy rate at about 40%.

The tradition of celebrating the midpoint between the shortest day of the year on the winter solstice and the spring equinox goes back many centuries in European farm life.

There are more than a dozen active groundhog clubs in Pennsylvania, some dating back to the 1930s, and weather-predicting groundhogs have appeared in at least 28 U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

The 1993 blockbuster film “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray, fueled interest in Punxsutawney Phil and inspired informal observations far and wide.

When he’s not making his annual prognostication, Phil lives in a customized space beside the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, with a window where library patrons can check out his burrow. Back in 2009, library workers said Phil had somehow managed to escape three times, climbing into the library ceiling and dropping into offices about 50 feet (15 meters) away. He wasn’t injured.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published February 1, 2024 4:05 P.M. REVISED February 2nd: Confirmation that dog didn’t survive.

(Beaver Falls, Pa) A police pursuit of a black truck that started in Ohio led to the Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club shooting range next to the Brady’s Run Walking Trail along Constitution Boulevard Thursday afternoon. Dispatch calls stated that the incident started with a prostitution sting in which the suspect fled nearly running over an officer.

Witnesses allegedly informed police that the suspect was on the shooting range property after he allegedly ran over their dog. The dog did not survive.

Over a dozen Police and law enforcement officials were on scene. The suspect was reportedly driving around at the shooting range frantically. Reports indicate that the suspect was held at gunpoint and taken into custody from his vehicle around 2:40pm.

EMS were called in and reports indicate that the suspect suffered a K9 bite. White powder was also allegedly found near the suspect in his vehicle, and Narcan was administered.

A witness traveling on Route 51 during the chase says that police were traveling so fast that one cruiser almost rear ended her and slid into dirt on the side of the road. Dispatch calls stated the suspect was traveling at 120 mph.

An ambulance left the scene followed by Police around 3:30pm.

UPDATED STORY HERE: https://beavercountyradio.com/news/suspect-kills-dog-during-chase-before-being-taken-down-by-k9/

Photos & Video from the scene:

BERLIN (AP) — German beer sales dropped 4.5% last year, resuming a long-term downward trend, official figures showed Thursday.

German-based breweries and distributors sold about 8.4 billion liters (2.2 billion gallons) of beer last year, the Federal Statistical Office said. That figure doesn’t include non-alcoholic beer and beer imported from outside the European Union.

In 2022, beer sales increased 2.7% thanks to a recovery in demand at home and in the EU following the end of COVID-19 restrictions. But demand in both markets was lower again in 2023.

Sales inside Germany — more than four-fifths of the total — dropped 4.2% to 6.9 billion liters (1.8 billion gallons).

Exports were down 5.9% overall. There was a relatively modest 2.6% drop in sales to other countries in the 27-nation EU, which bought 784 million liters (207 million gallons) of German beer, while sales to other countries were down 9.6% at 646.7 million liters (170.8 million gallons).

German brewers have been struggling with a long-term downward trend fueled by health concerns and other factors. The statistics office said last year’s sales were 11.3% lower than in 2013 and 25.3% lower than in 1993.