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Ohio train derailment: Controlled release of toxic chemicals has taken place, authorities say

February 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — A controlled release of chemicals on a derailed train in Ohio has taken place, resulting in a large ball of fire and plum of black smoke, authorities said on Monday.

The news comes after officials made urgent calls for evacuations as they planned to burn off the chemicals from the Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, to avoid a major explosion.

Residents in a 1-mile by 2-mile area surrounding East Palestine — which includes parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania — must evacuate immediately, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had said.

“The vinyl chloride contents of five rail cars are currently unstable and could potentially explode, causing deadly disbursement of shrapnel and toxic fumes,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “To alleviate the risk of uncontrollable shrapnel from an explosion, Norfolk Southern Railroad is planning a controlled release of the vinyl chloride at approximately 3:30 p.m. today.”

Officials released a map showing a red zone and a yellow zone, downwind from the burn, with Norfolk Southern saying anyone who remains in the red area will be exposed to deadly toxins and anyone in the yellow area could suffer “skin burns and serious lung damage.”

The train, traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania, derailed around 9 p.m. Friday, ignited and prompted a response from more than 50 fire departments across three states, according to East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway.

Janet Meek, who lives about one block from the railroad tracks, said she heard a “loud boom” around 9 p.m. Friday. Her husband reported seeing a “billowing ball of fire” while walking their dogs.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday that two videos show preliminary indications of mechanical issues on one of the rail car’s axle. The train’s emergency brake was activated after crews said an alarm went off, according to the NTSB. There were no injuries, the agency said.

Fire chief Keith Drabick told reporters Saturday that the train was carrying hazardous substances but could not confirm if the fire impacted the train cars carrying the hazardous goods. Drabick said the odor permeating East Palestine was not harmful at current levels, but representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency were monitoring the situation.

East Palestine is a small village on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio with roughly 4,700 residents.

Efforts to contain the fire stalled Saturday night when firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions.

Conaway said firefighters withdrew from the fire Friday night due to concerns about air quality, with a plan to reengage once they get a “better grasp of what exactly is what chemical is burning.” At Saturday’s press conference, Drabick said there had been multiple explosions overnight, which posed a risk to firefighters.

ABC News’ Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.

Major recall on ready-to-eat sandwiches, salads, snacks and more due to listeria concerns

February 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — More than 400 types of ready-to-eat food products sold under multiple brand labels have been recalled over possible listeria contamination.

Fresh Ideation Food Group LLC announced the recall in a press release posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website Friday. The impacted products include ready-to-eat sandwiches, salads, yogurts, wraps and other items sold in nine states and the District of Columbia from Jan. 24 through 30 “in retail locations, vending machines, and during travel with transportation providers,” according to the company.

The Baltimore-based food manufacturer said that no illnesses have been reported, as of time of publication.

Fresh Ideation Food Group initiated the recall after “environmental samples tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes,” the company said in its recall announcement.

The affected products were sold under 13 different brand labels.

Click here for the full listing and product information from the FDA.

“All recalled products have a Fresh Creative Cuisine label and/or identifier on the bottom of the label with the Fresh Creative Cuisine name and a fresh through or sell through date ranging from January 31, 2023 through February 6, 2023,” the company stated in Friday’s announcement.

The company has urged consumers who purchased the products to contact Fresh Ideation Food Group LLC by phone at (855) 969-3338.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, listeria can cause severe illness “when the bacteria spread beyond the gut to other parts of the body” after a person consumes contaminated food. Those at higher risk include pregnant people, those aged 65 or older, or anyone who has a weakened immune system, the CDC says.

“If you are pregnant, it can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in your newborn,” the CDC states on its website. “Other people can be infected with Listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill.”

According to the CDC, anyone infected with listeria may experience “mild food poisoning symptoms” such as diarrhea or fever, and many recover without antibiotic treatment.

Nearly 150 New York City police officers violated department rules during 2020 George Floyd protests: Report

February 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Nearly 150 New York City police officers violated department rules during 2020 protests over the death of George Floyd, according to a new report issued Monday by the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

The Board substantiated misconduct against 146 officers. Most of the violations involved excessive force, including improper use of batons and pepper spray. Other violations involved discourtesy or offensive language.

The report said there were hundreds more allegations the CCRB could not investigate because officers wore bands over their badge numbers or refused to be interviewed remotely.

“The Black Lives Matter protests that occurred in the summer of 2020 were massive in scale, but not unprecedented in nature,” said interim CCRB chairwoman Arva Rice. “Given what is happening across the country regarding reproductive rights, immigration, affordable housing, and police brutality, people will continue to protest for their rights. It is key for New York to know how to best respond to protests, especially protests against police misconduct.”

The NYPD said the substantiated allegations amount to less than 15% of complaints.

The department also objected to the way the CCRB characterized its response to the protests, including a failure to acknowledge that officers were working under sustained, dangerous conditions.

“At the peak of the protests, there were more than 22,000 NYPD officers deployed in a single day, attempting to facilitate people’s rights to peaceful expression all while addressing acts of lawlessness including wide-scale rioting, mass chaos, violence, and destruction,” the NYPD said.

The department continued, adding, “Officers were faced with perpetrators who were looting, setting fires, and destroying property. During this period, more than 400 uniformed members of the NYPD were injured, with over 250 of them hospitalized, and nearly 300 NYPD vehicles were vandalized, including several that were destroyed by arson from the throwing of Molotov cocktails.”

Ohio train derailment: Urgent evacuation call as officials scramble to avoid rail car explosion

February 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — Officials are making an urgent call for evacuations as they plan to burn off the chemicals from a derailed Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, in order to avoid a major explosion.

Residents in a 1-mile by 2-mile area surrounding East Palestine — which includes parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania — must evacuate immediately, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.

East Palestine is a small village on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio with roughly 4,700 residents.

Efforts to contain the fire stalled Saturday night when firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions.

ABC News’ Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.

Suspects arrested in plot to attack power stations, destroy Baltimore: Prosecutors

February 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A Florida man and a Maryland woman have been arrested on federal charges of plotting to attack multiple energy substations with the goal of destroying Baltimore, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

The suspects, Sarah Clendaniel of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Russell of Orlando, Florida, were allegedly fueled by a racist extremist ideology as they “conspired to inflict maximum harm” on the power grid with the aim to “completely destroy” Baltimore, U.S. Attorney Erek Barron and a top FBI official said at a Monday morning press conference.

Russell is quoted in court documents saying that attacking power transformers is “the greatest thing somebody can do.” He is accused of providing instructions and location information for the substations he and Clendaniel allegedly sought to target as part of their plot, federal prosecutors said.

Clendaniel allegedly told an FBI confidential source she was “determined” to carry out the attacks aimed at Baltimore’s infrastructure, saying, “It would lay this city to waste.”

“Their actions threatened the electricity and heat of our homes, hospitals and businesses,” said Thomas Sobocinski, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office. “The FBI believes this was a real threat.”

Sobocinski said the two suspects “had extremist views” and believed that by conducting the attack, they would bring further light to their views. Sobocinski declined to go into specifics when pressed by reporters.

The arrests come after a series of attacks on energy substations nationwide, including one in December in North Carolina that left 45,000 utility customers without electricity for days and prompted local officials to declare a state of emergency.

Kidnapped children from Missouri found at Florida supermarket one year later: Police

February 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(HIGH SPRINGS, Fla.) — Two Missouri children were found inside a supermarket in Florida nearly a year after they were abducted, according to law enforcement officials.

Brooke Gilley and Adrian Gilley were found on Wednesday at a Florida Winn-Dixie with their non-custodial mother, Kristi Nicole Gilley, the High Springs Police Department said on Thursday.

Gilley, 36, was arrested for kidnapping on a warrant out of Clay County, Missouri, according to police. She was discovered with the children after police checked the tags on her vehicle and found she was a fugitive.

High Springs Police Department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

According to High Springs PD, Adrian and Brooke, who had been missing since March 5, 2022, were turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families Services and will be reunited with their family.

New winter storm brings heavy snow and rain to West Coast, East Coast warms up

February 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A new winter storm is brought heavy rain and snow along the West Coast over the weekend.

A foot of snow fell in the mountains around Lake Tahoe, with nine inches reported further south at Mammoth Mountain in California, with snow steadily falling on Sunday afternoon, according to meteorologists.

As for rain, about half an inch fell in San Francisco.

Heavy snow will continue over mountain ranges in the West.

The Cascades Mountain range will see two to four feet of heavy snow early in the week. The Rocky Mountains are expected to get between six and 12 inches of snow between Sunday and Wednesday morning as the storm makes its way east.

The storm system will redevelop over the Plains bringing rain from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes by Tuesday evening.

Overnight and into Tuesday, intense storms may form in Texas between Austin to Houston, potentially bringing damaging winds and possible tornados.

From Dallas to Nashville, there may be a minor threat of floods by Wednesday, where moderate to heavy rain may occur and lead to either areal or flash flooding.

As the rain moves into the Northeast Thursday morning and afternoon, it will mainly be rain because temperatures will be well above average this week, following a weekend of blistering cold weather that invaded the region, leaving 25 million Americans under wind chill alerts.

The coldest wind chill in U.S. history was recorded Saturday morning in Mount Washington, New Hampshire, at minus 108 degrees.

Temperatures in the Northeast will be between five to 15 degrees above average throughout the week with highs in the 40s and 50s.

On Monday, temperatures in Boston, Massachusetts, will reach 48 degrees. The city recorded its lowest temperature on Saturday, reaching minus 9 degrees, dropping below its previous record of minus 5 degrees in 1881. Wind chills made it feel like minus 35 degrees in Boston.

Temperatures in Portland, Maine, reached minus 45 degrees Friday night, with the city hitting a record-breaking windchill of minus 41 degrees. On Monday, temperatures will reach 41 degrees.

New York City and Philadelphia will reach temperatures of 53 degrees and 55 degrees, respectively, on Wednesday, after a weekend of extreme cold.

Heading into the Valentine’s Day holiday, temperatures will remain above average for the East Coast and below average for the West Coast.

ABC News’ Emily Shapiro, Max Golembo, Melissa Griffin, and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.

3.8 magnitude earthquake rattles Buffalo, New York, suburbs

February 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — A 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck the suburbs of Buffalo, New York, early Monday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The center of the quake was in West Seneca, officials said. Shaking was felt as far north as Niagara Falls and as far sound as south to Orchard Park, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said on Twitter.

“It felt like a car hit my house in Buffalo. I jumped out of bed,” he said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Michael Kreisel and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

Houston airport fire grounds United Airlines flights

February 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(HOUSTON) — A fire Sunday morning in a laundry room at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a 90-minute ground stop on all United Airlines flights to Houston, officials said.

The FAA issued the ground stop shortly before 5:30 a.m. local time and lifted it about 7 a.m., officials told ABC Houston station KTRK.

The fire broke out around 4 a.m. in the airport’s Terminal C in an employee laundry room, airport officials said on Twitter. The FAA issued the ground at the request of United Airlines, the agency said in a statement.

All United Airlines flights to Houston, a major hub for the airline were held at their departure cities due to the fire, authorities said.

Houston Fire Department firefighters quickly responded to the laundry room blaze, evacuated all employees and put out the fire.

“There’s a whole lot of damage from the smoke and the heat. There’s not a whole lot of fire damage because it seemed like a small fire that spread over time,” Brian Cresswell, a spokesman for the Houston Fire Department.

No one was injured in the fire and no damage was reported to Terminal C, officials said.

“There still might be a lingering smell of smoke. United Airlines passengers might be delayed as ops return to normal this morning,” airport officials said in a statement posted on Twitter at 8:23 a.m. local time.

Timeline: Where the Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted before being shot down

February 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Government officials closely tracked a massive surveillance balloon believed to be from China as it traveled across the U.S. for several days.

The white balloon, which China’s foreign ministry has claimed to be used for meteorological purposes, traveled at an altitude of around 60,000 feet with a vessel described as the size of three buses, officials said. It was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean Saturday afternoon.

Here is a timeline of where the balloon was spotted in the U.S.:

Jan. 28
The balloon entered U.S. airspace on Jan. 28 north of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, according to a senior military official.

Jan. 30
It then entered Canadian airspace over the Northwest Territories on Jan. 30, the senior military official said.

Jan. 31
The balloon then traveled south and reentered U.S. airspace over northern Idaho on Jan. 31, according to a senior military official.

Feb. 1
4:21 p.m. ET: One of the earliest sightings confirmed by ABC News was Wednesday in Reed Point, Montana.

6:46 p.m. ET: More than two hours later, it was filmed east of Reed Point, in Billings, Montana. Other footage captured it over Billings over the next hour, as civilians wondered what the object was.

From Montana, the balloon traveled southeast through South Dakota and Nebraska, according to U.S. officials.

Feb. 3
9:41 a.m. ET: Social media sightings popped up as the balloon moved southeastwardly across the continental U.S. ABC News confirmed another sighting of the balloon around 9:41 a.m. ET on Friday, when it was filmed over Sabetha, Kansas.

11 a.m. ET: Over an hour later, it appeared farther east over Saint Joseph, Missouri, where it was filmed.

Between 11:56 a.m. and 12:28 p.m. ET: Video footage captured the balloon farther east, over Cameron, Missouri.

About 30 minutes later: It was seen farther south within the Kansas City metro area, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

The balloon appeared to be heading toward North Carolina, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the situation.

Feb. 4
ABC News confirmed several sightings of the balloon in North Carolina by Saturday morning.

8:40 a.m. ET: The balloon was filmed over Biltmore Park in Asheville, North Carolina.

10:22 a.m. ET: The balloon continued to move southeastwardly, with sightings over the Hendersonville and Saluda areas, before being captured over the Eagle Lake neighborhood in Charlotte.

11:15 a.m. ET: The balloon was captured over South Carolina, in Lancaster, as it continued moving southeastward toward the coast.

1:30 p.m. ET: The balloon was seen over the coastal city of Myrtle, along with U.S. fighter aircraft close by.

2:39 p.m. ET: Its voyage came to an end. Footage captured the balloon being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina.

The balloon was ultimately downed in U.S. airspace over U.S. territorial waters by fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

The balloon was struck by an F-22 firing a missile roughly six nautical miles off the South Carolina coast, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Layla Ferris, Cheryl Gendron, Julia Jacobo, Kerem Inal, Chris Looft, Josh Margolin and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

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