The EPA temporarily halted the out-of-state shipments and rerouted them to certified facilities in Ohio as fallout from the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment continues as other states raise concerns.
Norfolk Southern, the rail company being held responsible for cleaning up the leak of toxic chemicals at the derailment site, was expecting to ship about two-million gallons of contaminated firefighting water to a facility in Harris County, Texas, and solid waste materials to a facility in Belleville, Michigan.
The operations were apparently being carried out without officials in both the states being notified until the Environmental Protection Agency stepped in last week.
"I know there are folks in other states who have concerns, legitimate concerns, about how this waste is being transported and how it will be disposed of. EPA will continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to use our longstanding experience and expertise in these matters to ensure the health and safety, and support the East Palestine community and to hold Norfolk Southern accountable," Debra Shore, an EPA regional administrator, said at a press conference.
In East Palestine, residents are still concerned about contaminants that have leaked into the soil and air. This week, additional wells will be drilled under the crash site to assess groundwater contamination, according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
The world population grew by 75 million people over the past year and on New Year's Day, it was estimated to stand at more than 8 billion people, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.
UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow. Wisconsin-La Crosse fired Gow on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, after learning Gow and his wife have been producing and appearing in pornographic videos. Gow maintains the firing violated his free speech rights.
The U.S. military is now putting independent lawyers in charge of its investigations of sexual assault and other major crimes, what Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has called the "most important reform" to the military justice system in recent history.
A decades-old law bans Medicare from paying for weight loss drugs. Now, drugmakers and a wide-ranging bipartisan coalition of lawmakers are gearing up to push for that to change next year.
Barring a court order, in March Texas police will start being able to arrest people they suspect have entered the U.S. illegally, but increases in border crossings since a 2021 law authorizing some arrests shows the limits of that approach in the face of desperation that causes people to risk everything and travel thousands of miles to the U.S.
Mexico began clearing tents, both occupied and unoccupied, from the encampment in the border city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, starting Tuesday.
