Articles by Josh Funk

Railway Worker’s Death in Ohio Prompts Concerns Over Remote Control Trains

The CSX worker who discovered his friend run over by a pair of remote-control locomotives in a railyard last year sees a simple solution to preventing similar deaths in the future: two-person crews. But that idea won’t be popular with …

East Palestine Residents Seek More Time, Information Before $600M Settlement Deadline

Some East Palestine, Ohio, residents want more time and more information before they have to decide by a deadline this week whether to accept their share of a $600 million class-action settlement with Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous train …

Hidden Report Reveals Worker Illnesses From Ohio Derailment Cleanup

The creeks around East Palestine, Ohio, were so badly contaminated by last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment that some workers became sick during the cleanup. Workers who reported headaches and nausea — while shooting compressed air into the creek bed, …

Some Ohio Residents Can Now Get $25,000 for Injuries in 2023 Train Derailment

People who live near East Palestine, Ohio, can now get $25,000 apiece for any injuries they sustained after last year’s Norfolk Southern freight train derailment on top of whatever money they get for property damage as part of the $600 …

Norfolk Southern Reports $156M in Insurance Payments Following Ohio Derailment

Norfolk Southern got a boost during the second quarter from insurance payments related to last year’s disastrous East Palestine derailment, but it also made progress in reducing its expenses and getting more efficient. The Atlanta-based railroad said it earned $737 …

Rushed Railcar Inspections and ‘Stagnated’ Safety Record Reinforce Concerns

Major freight railroads are rushing railcar inspections, reinforcing known safety concerns raised by unions for years, but at a House hearing Tuesday they’ll present new evidence from federal inspectors that railcar checks are routinely less than two minutes per car. …

EPA Watchdog Investigates Delay in Using Specialized Plane After Ohio Derailment

The EPA’s Inspector General is investigating why the agency didn’t get its specialized plane loaded with advanced sensors into the air over East Palestine until four days after the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment last year. The Associated Press reported on …

Few Residents Opt Out of Proposed $600 Million Settlement in Ohio Train Derailment

Few people ultimately opted out of the $600 million class action settlement Norfolk Southern offered to people affected by last year’s disastrous East Palestine train derailment despite the questions residents raised about the deal, lawyers said. The plaintiffs’ attorneys said …

Norfolk Southern Says it Will Examine Vent and Burn Decisions

Days before the National Transportation Safety Board is set to explain why first responders were wrong to blow open five tank cars and burn the toxic chemical inside after the East Palestine derailment, Norfolk Southern said Friday it plans to …

Nebraska Funeral Home Discovers Hospice Patient Declared Dead Was Actually Alive

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska funeral home discovered that a 74-year-old hospice patient who was declared dead by her nursing home two hours earlier was actually still alive, so workers started CPR and she was rushed to a hospital, …