Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published February 3, 2024 6:07 P.M.

(East Palestine, OH) A year after a Norfolk Southern train hauling hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, the town and nearby communities are still feeling the effects. On an unseasonably warm Saturday, residents gathered for a commemoration and commitment ceremony hosted by activist group We Refuse To Die.

The event featured music, prayer, and a ritual of remembrance to the derailment and was officiated by Marcia Dinkins of the Black Appalachian Coalition of Ohio and Beka Economopoulos of The Natural History Museum in Washington. Community members from Ohio and Pennsylvania gave testimonies of their experiences, in addition to testimonies from other frontline community members where disasters have occurred including California, Missouri, Louisiana and West Virginia.

Following the ceremony, a monument was installed outside of a local family home. A procession of a masked group carried a carved post of a deer head into the yard of Daren and Stella Grimble, mounting it to face the site of the derailment.

Following the event, Beaver County Radio had the opportunity to speak with a Beaver County resident who says she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to return home.

Hilary Flint of Enon Valley has been living in western New York since shortly after the derailment, and she says she experienced effects to her health. Flint says her home became overtaken by a strong smell after the controlled explosion of tankers. She says because she lived farther out than the one by two-mile radius, no one was willing to help including the EPA. A month after the derailment, she was able to get independent testing done by Wayne State University, who found evidence of vinyl chloride and other chemicals the train was hauling on her property. She noted that her water was fine, but dioxins were found in her soil and ethylhexyl acrylate was detected in an air purifier inside her home.

She said “The EPA has seen the data, I’ve taken it to Senators Fetterman, Casey, Representatives”, “I went to Columbus, Harrisburg to DC, everyone’s seen it.” She says they all tell her the levels aren’t considered high enough to be a harm to health.

Flint had to take a new job and she is currently renting her home in New York. She states that anytime she returns to her home in Enon Valley, she experiences nose bleeds within a day or two. She says Norfolk Southern reimbursed her for some time in a hotel but otherwise isn’t a part of their relocation program. She thinks Pennsylvania and Beaver County were behind on being prepared for a situation like this, noting an example that emergency alerts weren’t sent to residents. Flint is a part of and helps lead multiple local organization efforts in response to the derailment.

She would like to see a disaster declaration declared, citing more recourses such as health care could be provided if President Joe Biden would sign a declaration into order. Under the affordable care act, communities that have experienced toxic harm can receive Medicare for life.

Beaver County Radio visited a stream on the outskirts of East Palestine and saw a clearly visible sheen of chemical matter in the water. Clean up and restoration efforts are still underway at the derailment site. The site is heavily guarded by security and Beaver County Radio was stopped when making an attempt to photograph the area, being told by security that no photography of the site is allowed.

Efforts are still ongoing by elected officials for rail safety reform and various issues amongst the cloud of events that took place in East Palestine. President Joe Biden says he is going to visit the town in February but has not yet confirmed when. Norfolk Southern has made promises to “make things right” in the community, and in 2023 they funded things such as a carnival as well as a fireworks display.

During Beaver County Radio’s anniversary visit to East Palestine, one Norfolk Southern train was seen roaring through town.

More Photos & Video:

(Story by BCR Intern Isaiah Wise)
(Photo/Commonwealth Media Services)

Michelle Henry, Pittsburgh Attorney General and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala have collaborated together to launch the Allegheny County Gun Violence Task Force. 

The Task Force  is focusing on bolstering personnel, resources, technology, and community outreach efforts to combat firearms trafficking and gun violence in Allegheny County.  

It was announced by collaborating agencies about the formation of the Task Force at a press event this past week at the Allegheny County Courthouse.

In the press event Zappala expressed how pleased they are to expand and enhance their partnership with the office of the Attorney General to aggressively disrupt the flow of guns. Zappala is thankful for the dedication to make Allegheny County safer for their constituents. 

The Allegheny County Gun Violence Task Force is working consistently to investigate and prosecute offenders of gun crimes and all the issues of gun violence to make residents in Pennsylvania safer.

NEW YORK (AP) — Big Tech stocks are once again carrying Wall Street toward record heights Friday, even as worries about the downside of a hot job market keep the overall market in check.

Big gains for Meta Platforms and Amazon, which are two of the market’s most influential stocks, had the S&P 500 index 0.8% higher in midday trading and on track for another all-time high. They also pushed the Nasdaq composite up 1.4%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time.

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, was up by just 14 points, or less than 0.1% And more stocks were falling overall on Wall Street than rising. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks slumped 0.8%.

Stocks were feeling pressure from higher yields in the bond market after a report showed U.S. employers hired many more workers last month than economists expected.

While the strength is a boon for workers and keeps the risk of a recession at bay, the worry is that it could keep upward pressure on inflation. That in turn would mean a longer wait for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates.

Hopes for such cuts, which can relax the pressure on the economy and goose investment prices, have been a major reason the U.S. stock market has surged to record heights. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this week that it’s unlikely cuts will begin as soon as traders had been hoping.

“The Fed threw some cold water on the idea of a March rate cut less than 48 hours ago, and today’s surprisingly strong jobs report won’t dry things off,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.” It’s definitely not the type of data the Fed had in mind when they said they wanted to see more evidence that inflationary pressures were under control.”

The yield for the 10-year Treasury leaped immediately after the release of the jobs report and was up to 4.04% from 3.88% late Thursday.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, also rose sharply. It jumped to 4.37% from 4.21%.

Traders had already pushed out bets for the timing of the first Fed rate cut to May from March following Powell’s warning earlier this week. After the jobs report, some traders shifted even further out the calendar to June, according to data from CME Group.

Besides the overall hiring number, the jobs report included many signals showing much more strength than expected. Average hourly earnings for workers rose more in January than forecast. The unemployment rate unexpectedly did not get worse. And the government said hiring was actually much stronger in December than it had earlier reported.

The question for the stock market will be whether the upside of such strength outweighs the downside. That is, will a stronger economy with plenty of people working make up for delayed or dashed hopes for quick and significant cuts to interest rates?

“The big payroll gains and wage gains aren’t something to be feared,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “The Fed has stepped back from its insistence that the labor market needs to weaken before inflation sustainably falls.”

He pointed to a report earlier this week that showed an increase in productivity for U.S. workers, which could help offset the effect of higher wages.

The jobs report landed on Wall Street amid a maelstrom of profit reports that could have helped move the market on their own.

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, soared 20.8% after it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected and said it would start paying a dividend to its investors.

Amazon rallied 7.3% after it likewise reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected.

They’re both members of a small group of Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” that have been disproportionately responsible for Wall Street’s run to a record. Their huge gains have set expectations very high for their growth, which they need to meet to justify the big runs for their stock prices.

Apple, another member of the Magnificent Seven, was inching up by 0.1% after erasing an earlier loss. It also reported better profit than expected.

Cigna and Chevron both climbed after reporting stronger profit for the last three months of 2023 than expected. Cigna jumped 6.6% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500, while Chevron rose 3.1%.

Keeping Chevron’s gain in check was a drop in oil prices. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude sank 2.1% to $72.27. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2% to $77.13 per barrel.

In markets abroad, stocks tumbled 1.5% in Shanghai to cap their worst week in five years. Worries about a faltering economic recovery and troubles for the real estate industry have made the market one of the world’s worst recently.

The International Monetary Fund forecast the Chinese economy would grow at a 4.6% pace this year and 4% in 2025, dropping from 5.2% last year.

Stocks were mixed elsewhere in Asia and Europe.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
(Photo/CCBC)

The Community College of Beaver County Announced on Friday that Kara Eltschlager of Peters Township was selected to serve as site manager for the Washington County College Center, where CCBC classes will be available for students in Washington, Fayette, and Greene counties.

Eltschlager has ten-plus years of experience in media and event planning, and will be overseeing the daily operations and overall growth of the new facility.

“I am excited to be back home and contribute to the expansion of CCBC in Washington County,” said Eltschlager. “I look forward to crafting meaningful relationships within the community and providing opportunities for students of diverse ages. Our mission and enthusiasm are keenly directed toward the strategic implementation of a recruitment plan aimed to elevate awareness and establish a robust community college presence in Washington County for years to come.”

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.