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(NEW YORK) — Electric carmaker Tesla slashed the prices of its two most expensive cars in the U.S., the automaker’s website showed on Monday.
The price cuts affected the performance version of the Model S and the more expensive Model X.
The move follows a previous cut in January that brought down prices worldwide as much as 20%.
Later that month, CEO Elon Musk said the discounts had significantly boosted car orders following the announcement.
“Price really matters,” Musk said on an earnings call. “I think there’s just a vast number of people that want to buy a Tesla car but can’t afford it.”
The move aims to further bolster demand as Tesla faces slowing sales and heightened competition.
At the outset of this year, Tesla reported disappointing sales for the last three months of 2022, which fell short of Wall Street expectations. Tesla delivered 405,000 vehicles from October through December; analysts anticipated 420,000 deliveries.
The news sent the company’s stock tumbling 12% in a single day.
In all, Tesla stock has fallen nearly 30% over the past year. Shares fell almost 2% in early trading on Monday after the price cut.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull and managing director of equity research at Wedbush, applauded the price cuts on Monday.
“Tesla cutting Model S and X prices another smart strategic move by Musk & Co.,” Ives said on Twitter. “Lower price points have resonated well and spurred considerable demand.”
Musk, who acquired Twitter in late October, has drawn scrutiny over his apparent focus on the social media platform. Musk said in December that he would resign as head of Twitter when the company identifies a successor.
Previously, Musk has attributed Tesla’s falling stock price to rising interest rates, which typically hurt stockholders and benefit savers, who stand to gain from an uptick in the interest yielded by accounts held at banks.
The price cuts mark the third such announcement in recent months. The company said in December that it would offer $7,500 discounts on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles delivered in the U.S. that month.
Tesla remains the top seller of EVs in the U.S. but its lead has slipped in recent months as competitors offer a host of affordable alternatives, a S&P Global Mobility report showed in November.
The company held a 65% market share of newly registered electric vehicles in the U.S. through the third quarter 2022, a drop from 71% in 2021 and 79% in 2020, the report found.
“It’s always been our goal at Tesla to make cars that are affordable to as many people as possible,” Musk said on the earnings call in January. “So I think it’s a good thing, all things considered.”
(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — The rail operator at the center of a hazardous train derailment in Ohio announced Monday its plans to “immediately enhance the safety of its operations.”
Norfolk Southern Railway said in a press release that the changes “are based on” the preliminary findings of the National Transportation Safety Board’s ongoing investigation into the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
“Reading the NTSB report makes it clear that meaningful safety improvements require a comprehensive industry effort that brings together railcar and tank car manufacturers, railcar owners and lessors, and the railroad companies,” Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a statement. “We are eager to help drive that effort and we are not waiting to take action.”
While Norfolk Southern called it a “six-point safety plan,” some of the initiatives had already been announced by the company while others followed last week’s proposal of rail safety legislation.
Shaw is set to testify Thursday on the East Palestine derailment before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
The Atlanta-based company is facing scathing criticism and scrutiny for two major derailments in just over a month. On Saturday, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed near Springfield, Ohio, though the company said no hazardous materials were involved.
In Monday’s press release, Norfolk Southern said it “will immediately begin” to enhance the hot bearing detector network; pilot next-generation hot bearing detectors; work with industry on practices for hot bearing detectors; deploy more acoustic bearing detectors; accelerate our Digital Train Inspection program; and support a strong safety culture.
Hot bearing detectors are put in place along railroads to assess temperature conditions of wheel bearings while en route as well as the overall health of rail equipment and infrastructure. In the case of the East Palestine derailment, investigators said the detectors had flagged the rapidly rising temperature of one of the Norfolk Southern train’s wheel bearings. But by the time the wheel bearing reached the temperature threshold for the train to stop and be inspected, investigators said it appeared the derailment had already occurred, raising questions about whether there was enough warning or if the detectors should have been able to flag the overheating sooner.
So far, the NTSB’s findings have indicated that an overheated wheel bearing likely caused the East Palestine derailment. It was unclear what caused the Springfield derailment, which the NTSB is also investigating.
Norfolk Southern said it plans to add approximately 200 hot bearing detectors to its network, “with the first installed on the western approach to East Palestine.” The company already had nearly 1,000 detectors along its system. Norfolk Southern said it is also “evaluating the distance between hot bearing detectors, which currently averages 13.9 miles on its core network.” The company noted that it will “examine every location on its core network where the distance is more than 15 miles and develop a plan to deploy additional detectors where practical due to terrain and operating conditions.”
Norfolk Southern said it is working with manufacturers to “accelerate the testing and deployment” of safety technology on its network that “can scan a greater cross-section of a railcar’s bearings and wheels.” These so-called “multi-scan” hot bearing detectors may offer the potential to catch overheated bearings more effectively, the company said.
With questions about whether these detectors should have been able to trigger temperature alarms earlier and if that could have mitigated circumstances in East Palestine, Norfolk Southern said it plans “to work with peers” in the rail industry “to analyze data for patterns that could provide earlier warnings of potential safety issues” and “to review best practices, including response to high-temperature alarms.” Last week, the Federal Railroad Administration issued a safety advisory urging companies to improve the use of their hot bearing detectors.
Moreover, Norfolk Southern said it “will immediately accelerate the deployment of acoustic bearing detectors, which play a different role in its safety inspection program.” The company noted that “these detectors analyze the acoustic signature of vibration inside the axle and can identify potential problems that a visual inspection could not.” Norfolk Southern said it will add 13 new detectors to the five already in service, stationing these devices on high-traffic routes, which the company said “will strengthen the early-warning system that identifies potential risks before they become issues.”
Norfolk Southern said it is also partnering with the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta to develop more advanced safety inspection technology by using “machine vision and algorithms powered by artificial intelligence to identify defects and needed repairs much more effectively than traditional human inspection.”
The company noted that the new technology will include “ultra-high-resolution cameras stationed in strategic locations around its network,” which “will give Norfolk Southern a 360-degree health check on railcars, improving its ability to detect, diagnose, and repair defects before they become issues.” The company added that it “is accelerating the installation of the next phase of this new technology on its Premier Corridor, which connects the Midwest and Northeast and is the line that runs through East Palestine.”
As part of its six-point plan, Norfolk Southern touted its agreement to join the FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System, or C3RS, which the company did at the urging of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg last week.
On the night of Feb. 3, about 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in a fiery crash on the outskirts of East Palestine, which is nestled near Ohio’s state line with Pennsylvania. Eleven of the derailed cars were transporting hazardous materials, five of which contained vinyl chloride, a highly volatile colorless gas produced for commercial uses. Several cars were also carrying ethyl acrylate and isobutylene, which are considered to be very toxic and possibly carcinogenic. There were no injuries reported from the accident, according to officials.
Efforts to contain a fire at the derailment site stalled the following night, as firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions. About half of East Palestine’s roughly 4,700 residents were warned to leave before officials decided on Feb. 6 to conduct a controlled release and burn of the toxic vinyl chloride from the five tanker cars, which were in danger of exploding.
A large ball of fire and a plume of black smoke filled with contaminants could be seen billowing high into the sky from the smoldering derailment site as the controlled burn took place that afternoon, prompting concerns from residents about the potential effects.
A mandatory evacuation order for homes and businesses within a one-mile radius of the derailment site was lifted on Feb. 8, after air and water samples taken the day before were deemed safe, officials said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed a team to East Palestine on Feb. 18 to help support the ongoing operations there.
On Feb. 23, the NTSB released preliminary findings from its ongoing investigation into the East Palestine derailment. The NTSB report reads, in part: “Surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. The wheel bearing and affected wheelset have been collected as evidence and will be examined by the NTSB.” During a press conference, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy called the derailment “100% preventable” and said it was “no accident.”
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced on Feb. 21 that his agency is ordering Norfolk Southern “to conduct all necessary actions associated with the cleanup from the East Palestine train derailment.” The rail operator will be required to continue cleaning up the contaminated soil and water and transport it safely; reimburse the EPA for cleaning services; and attend public meetings at the EPA’s request and share information. If Norfolk Southern does not comply, the company will be ordered to pay triple the cost, according to Regan.
As of March 6, approximately 1,970 tons of solid waste and 2.7 million gallons of liquid waste have been collected from the derailment site and hauled out of East Palestine, according to a press release from the office of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, which cited the Ohio EPA. The liquid waste total was revised down from 3.2 million gallons the previous day, which was later said to be a typo.
Norfolk Southern has not said which chemicals were found in the material that was removed.
Meanwhile, DeWine’s office said the EPA has not detected contaminants linked to the Feb. 3 derailment while testing air quality within area homes. Similarly, all sampling of East Palestine’s municipal water supply to date have shown no contaminants associated with the Feb. 3 derailment.
While the majority of homes in the area get drinking water from the municipal supply, some get theirs from private wells. So far, 157 private systems have been sampled, of which 57 test results have been verified and none have shown any harmful contaminant levels linked to the Feb. 3 derailment, according to the governor’s office.
DeWine’s office has said that residents whose drinking water is sourced from private wells should continue drinking bottled water until the testing results are returned. Officials have underscored that those who get their drinking water from private wells should get it tested, especially since those wells may be closer to the surface than municipal water wells and thus potentially easier for any contaminants to seep into.
Last week, six wild animals — four raccoons, one muskrat and one snapping turtle — were found dead in or around Sulphur Run, a creek that flows through downtown East Palestine and near the derailment site. Although some of the animals were too decomposed for lab work, preliminary reports showed “no evidence to support chemical toxicity as a cause of death,” according to the governor’s office.
Is Harry Styles deliberately trolling fans? Billboard reports that on Sunday he posted a photo on his Instagram Story of himself at the gym wearing a One Direction T-shirt, then deleted it.
Of course, the photo was captured before Harry could make it disappear — which, according to Billboard, caused #HEDELETEDIT to trend Sunday night. Some started posting links to where fans could buy the same T-shirt, which was from One Direction’s 2012 Up All Night Tour. One enterprising fan started selling stickers on their Etsy store depicting Harry wearing the shirt.
One Direction went on hiatus in 2015, and various members have addressed a possible reunion since then. Louis Tomlinsonrecently told The Times of London, “Getting back together at some point is hard to imagine right now. But I’d be surprised if we lived out our lives and didn’t have a moment where we had a reunion, or whatever you want to call it. I’d be up for that.”
Last month, Harry made sure to thank his 1D bandmates when he received the Artist of the Year Award at the BRIT Awards.
Need summer plan ideas? Sam Hunt has you covered. The “Body Like a Back Road” singer has unveiled his new Summer on the Outskirts Tour, with Brett Young and Lily Rose serving as opening acts.
The tour launches on July 6 in Hartford, Connecticut, and hits cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, New York City, Raleigh and St. Louis, before wrapping up in Raleigh, North Carolina, on September 9.
Fans can get early access to tickets via the Verizon Up presale on March 7 at 10 a.m. local time, before general sales open on March 10 at 10 a.m. local time on Sam’s website. VIP packages, including access to the Sam Hunt VIP Lounge, a VIP-exclusive gift item and more will be available on Live Nation’s VIP Nation.
Sam is currently sailing on country radio with his buoyant single, “Water Under The Bridge,” while Brett’s “You Didn’t” is No. 12 and climbing on the Mediabase country chart. Lily’s latest release is her song “Truth Is.”
Last week, Justin Bieber officially canceled the remaining dates of his JUSTICE World Tour, but he was back onstage this weekend.
Billboard reports that Justin joined rapper Don Toliver onstage at the Rolling Loud festival in LA on Saturday. Toliver posted video of them performing the song “Private Landing” from Toliver’s new album, Love Sick. Justin also appears on the track on the album, along with Future.
“KEEP Going‼️‼️ KEEP Going‼️‼️ Let’s Go Justin!!” Toliver captioned the video.
Justin was originally scheduled to resume his JUSTICE tour March 2, but last week he scrapped all 80 shows left on the itinerary. Last June, Justin took a break from the tour after he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which partially paralyzed his face. He resumed the tour a month later but said he was taking a break again after completing six shows.
Lenny Kravitz is the latest artist added to this year’s Oscars telecast. The rocker, who has also dabbled in acting in movies like The Hunger Games, Precious and more, is set to perform during the ‘In Memoriam’ segment of the show. As of now there’s no word on what song Kravitz will sing.
Kravitz joins previously announced Oscar performers, Rihanna, Diane Warren and Sofia Carson, David Byrne, Son Lux and Stephanie Hsu, and Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, who’ll each perform one of this year’s Best Original Song nominees.
The 95th annual Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
(NEW YORK) — In hard-hit California, the Sierra Nevada mountains are continuing to get pummeled with snow and are just a few inches away from breaking a new record.
This weekend, 38 inches of snow fell in the Sierras in just 24 hours, bringing this winter’s total snowfall to a whopping 47.5 feet. The last record was set in the winter of 2016-2017.
Light snow also fell this weekend in the mountains outside of Los Angeles, where people are still digging out from the more than 100 inches of snow that slammed the area over one week ago.
In San Bernardino County, crews have removed more than 7.2 million cubic yards of snow from highways, which equals nearly 2,270 Olympic-size swimming pools, according to the governor’s office.
On Monday, an avalanche warning is ongoing for the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Another storm is set to bring more snow to Northern California and the Sierras Tuesday into Wednesday, but this system isn’t expected to be strong.
The next major storm for California is expected for the end of the week for Northern California.
The atmospheric river will slam the San Francisco area with heavy rain and bring about 5 more feet of snow to the Sierras.
On Monday, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthriewere back in their anchor chairs at Today, with the former describing a hospital stay for her 3-year-old daughter, Hope, was the reason she had been MIA for weeks.
“My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for more than a week,” Kotb revealed at the show’s open, adding, I’m so grateful she’s home. I was waiting for that day to come…And we are watching her closely. I am just so happy.”
Getting emotional, Kotb also said, “You know what I realized: When your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who helped you out.”
“I’m grateful for the doctors and the nurses,” she explained, adding to Guthrie, “I’m grateful to my family and to friends like you who were there every single day.”
Guthrie also had been absent recently after testing positive for COVID-19.
Last week, it was revealed that a “family health matter” had kept Kotb away from the anchor desk.
Everything Everywhere All at Once dominated at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards, grabbing seven of the eight awards for which it was nominated, including Best Feature; Best Screenplay: John Patton Ford; Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert; Best Lead Performance: Michelle Yeoh; Best Supporting Performance: Ke Huy Quan; and Best Breakthrough Performance: Stephanie Hsu. Todd Field’s Tár also won for Best Cinematography. On the TV side, The Bear won for Best Scripted Series, and Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series honors went to Ayo Edebiri. Abbott Elementary‘s Quinta Brunson won Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series honors. The full list of winners can be found at FilmIndependent.org…
Rachael Ray is ending her daytime talk show after 17 seasons. A former Food Network star and frequent guest on Oprah Winfrey‘s talk show, Ray launched her own syndicated chat show in 2006, earning high ratings for 15 years, while winning the Daytime Emmy for best talk show in 2008, 2009 and 2019. Production on Rachael Ray is expected to end by early May. Episodes will remain on the air through the end of the summer. In May, Ray will be inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame…
Ted Donaldson, who starred as Bud Anderson on the original radio version of Father Knows Best opposite Robert Young and as Neely Nolan in Elia Kazan‘s directorial debut — the beloved family drama A Tree Grows in Brooklyn — died Wednesday of complications from a fall in his Echo Park apartment in January, his friend Thomas Bruno tells The Hollywood Reporter. He was 89. Donaldson was offered the Bud Anderson role on CBS’ TV adaptation of Father Knows Best, but turned it down. Billy Gray played Bud for six seasons on the TV show…
(NEW YORK) — At-home stool tests can be an easier way to screen for colorectal cancer than a dreaded colonoscopy. As the rates of the cancer continue to rise in younger people, home tests might help improve detection and get people treated sooner.
March marks the beginning of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed and third most common cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. Diagnosis of the disease is on the rise among younger people under age 55, according to a new study from the ACS, and it’s being diagnosed at more advanced stages.
That’s why the American Cancer Society is reminding people that any screening for colorectal cancer can save lives. Adults with average risk should get screened starting at age 45, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
“Identifying cancers earlier make it a lot easier to treat”, Dr. Jeffrey Farma, a surgical oncologist and interim chairman of surgery at Fox Chase Cancer Center, told ABC News.
At-home stool tests, where people collect stool samples and send them to a lab, can help make the process easier for some people. Here’s how to know if this is a good option for you.
Who is a good candidate for at-home stool tests?
The first step is to have a discussion with your doctor about whether you qualify for at-home stool tests given your family history and medical history.
Only people with “average” colorectal cancer risk – who don’t have any family or medical history that makes them high-risk — can use the tests. High-risk individuals aren’t eligible, experts say.
High-risk individuals are those with colon cancer in a first-degree relative (like parents or siblings), or personal or family history of a higher risk polyp in the colon or rectum. Those people should “only get screened with a colonoscopy”, Dr. Fola May, a gastroenterologist, quality director and health equity researcher at UCLA Health, told ABC News.
Other high-risk individuals for colorectal cancer are those with inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, and people with genetic conditions that put them at risk for cancers.
People at increased risk may need to start screening for colorectal cancer earlier and get tested more often.
What are the available at-home stool tests?
Several at-home stool-based tests exist.
These tests check the stool for signs of cancer such as blood, unusual changes in DNA, or both. There are a few types of tests. Some, like the fecal immunochemical test, are done every year. Others, like stool DNA tests, only need to be done every three years.
Companies offering these tests include Cologuard, Labcorp, or QuestDirect. Talk to your doctor about which one is best for you.
What are the pros and cons of at-home tests?
The biggest advantage to at-home stool tests is that they can be done in the comfort of your own home.
That convenience is one reason why the rate of colorectal cancer screening was stable in the second year of the pandemic, a recent study found, even when rates of other types of cancer screening went down. “The pandemic pushed everyone to think about more convenient or more person-centric ways to get cancer screening completed”, Dr. Arif Kamal, Chief Patient Officer for the ACS, told ABC News.
Additionally, unlike a colonoscopy, at-home stool tests do not require patients to take the unpleasant step of clearing out their bowel with fluids, pills, enemas, or a combination. Patients also will not need sedation or need to miss a day of work to do the stool test.
While not leaving your house adds a large appeal to at-home stool tests, they’re not always as accurate as a colonoscopy. They can miss many polyps and some cancers. Some stool-based tests may also be affected by your diet or drugs you take.
Is a colonoscopy still needed?
Doctors stress that while these at-home stool tests may be more convenient and done in the comfort of home, if any of these test are abnormal, you’ll still need a colonoscopy.
“If you don’t get that second step, colonoscopy, you have not completed the screening process and are more likely to get and die from colorectal cancer,” May says.
You should also talk to your doctor about timely colorectal cancer screening if you have changes in bowel habits, blood in your stool, diarrhea, constipation, feeling your bowel does not empty all the way, abdominal pain, aches, cramps that do not go away, or unexplained weight loss, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Get screened, in any way
The ACS estimates that in 2023, approximately 153,020 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the U.S., and 52,550 people will die from the disease, including 19,550 cases and 3,750 deaths in individuals younger than 50.
Colonoscopies are the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening, but experts say any test is better than no test — which is where at-home stool testing comes in.
“The best cancer screening is the one that gets done,” Kamal said.
Kimberly Loo, MD is an internal medicine resident at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
