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Officials: Safety device, human error derailed Wash. train

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) — A safety device meant to keep trains from tipping into Puget Sound knocked a train off the tracks last week, spilling 3,100 gallons (11,734 liters) of diesel fuel in Washington state, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.The seven-car BNSF Railway train was approaching a swinging bridge over the Swinomish Channel on Thursday after leaving an oil refinery in Anacortes when it derailed. Devices called “derailers” sit on both sides of the bridge, embedded in the railroad tracks, to force trains off the tracks when the bridge is open, KUOW reported. The bridge was ready for the train to cross that morning, but at least one derailer was still in operation. The train’s wheels hit the steel-wedge device and two engine cars ran into the dirt next to an RV park and casino. Federal Railroad Administration spokesperson Warren Flatau told KUOW there was a miscommunication between the train crew and the bridge tender. He said it appeared neither the BNSF bridg...

Banchero, Magic turn back Knicks 111-106

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero’s 21 points included a 3 with 1:26 remaining and two free throws in the final seconds to help the Orlando Magic turn back the New York Knicks 111-106 on Thursday night.“It was the right play. They kicked it to me in the corner and I have to take that shot,” said Banchero, a 28% 3-point shooter. “Otherwise everybody’s mad at me.”Cole Anthony added 18 points for Orlando and Wendell Carter Jr. had 16 points and eight rebounds. Franz Wagner scored 16 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley scored 25 points each for the Knicks, who lost their third straight. Julius Randle finished with 23 points and nine rebounds.With Jalen Brunson out with an injury and Randle on the bench, the Knicks went almost 5 1/2 minutes without scoring in the second quarter and fell behind 46-27.The first half ended with Randle drawing a technical foul from referee Leon Wood and jawing with Quickley, who was tr...

Bruins win 5th straight, top Canadiens 4-2

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak scored his 49th goal, Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist and the Boston Bruins overcame a sluggish performance to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.Jake DeBrusk scored on a breakaway, David Krejci put home on a rebound midway through the third period and Jeremy Swayman stopped 29 shots for the Bruins, who managed 21 shots and went 0 for 5 on the power play.While they were denied a chance to clinch the Atlantic Division when Toronto beat Florida, the Bruins improved to 55-11-5 and remained on pace to break the league record of 62 wins in a season.Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach each scored power-play goals against Boston’s No. 1 penalty kill, Suzuki added an assist and Jake Allen made 17 saves in Montreal’s 10th loss in 12 games.The 932nd meeting between the Original Six rivals and their only matchup in Boston this season was chippy. There were 31 penalty minutes in the first period, including a game miscon...

Saros helps Predators beat Kraken 2-1 in shootout

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Matt Duchene and Philip Tomasino scored in the shootout to lead the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.Kiefer Sherwood scored for Nashville in regulation, and Juuse Saros made 27 saves in regulation and overtime. Saros also denied both Kraken attempts in the shootout.Nashville earned its second straight since a three-game slide. It hosts Seattle again on Saturday.Daniel Sprong scored for Seattle, and Joey Daccord made 23 stops in regulation and overtime.The Kraken had won six straight road games. They have gone to overtime in four of the last six games overall.Seattle (39-24-8) holds the top spot in the wild-card standings in the Western Conference. Nashville (36-26-8) is trying to track down Winnipeg for the second spot.Sprong put Nashville in front 2:28 into the first period. Driving down the right side, Sprong dropped below the goal line and banked the puck into the net off of Saros’ right skate.It was Sprong’s 1...

CNBC: Walmart despide a cientos de empleados en instalaciones de comercio electrónico

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

Walmart está despidiendo a cientos de empleados en las instalaciones de comercio electrónico en todo el país, ya que el gigante de las grandes cajas y otros minoristas se preparan para un año más difícil por delante.Walmart, el empleador privado más grande del país, está reduciendo su fuerza laboral ya que muchos minoristas planean ventas prácticamente planas o decrecientes. La inflación y el regreso a los servicios están afectando las ventas de bienes, particularmente después de un auge del gasto impulsado por la pandemia de COVID-19.El rival de comercio electrónico de Walmart, Amazon, anunció 9,000 recortes de empleos el lunes, luego de 18,000 despidos en enero. Amazon también cerró, canceló y retrasó la apertura de nuevos almacenes, ya que algunas ventas en línea regresaron a las tiendas.Otro competidor, Target, planea reducir hasta $ 3 mil millones en costos totales durante los próximos tres años, pero el director financiero Michael Fiddelke dijo en un día de inversionistas en f...

Creating a cocoa ecosystem where farmers thrive

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

As a global food company, at Mars we take great pride in the quality of our products. Our commitment to quality means working hard to understand the needs of our consumers, and ensuring our products, including cocoa, are made under sustainable and socially responsible conditions. For us this means being a trusted partner for the benefit of the families and individuals in cocoa farming communities, investing in their success and wellbeing, and striving to positively impact the environment in which we operate.Unfortunately, ‘sustainable cocoa’ is easier said than done. From planting the first seedlings, to growing healthy plants, harvesting, and selling the produce on the market, cocoa growing is riddled with structural barriers, which make it extremely difficult for farmers to earn a consistent living income for themselves and their families.Poverty is a complex, unjust phenomenon. To date, many efforts to lift smallholder farmers out of poverty in cocoa supply chains have failed. A ...

Asian shares fall on banking turmoil, recession worries

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

By ELAINE KURTENBACH (AP Business Writer)BANGKOK (AP) — Shares fell Friday in Asia as worries over turmoil in the banking sector and recession risks overshadowed gains on Wall Street. Benchmarks declined in most major markets, while U.S. futures were higher. Oil prices fell.Investors are worried that more banks might suffer a debilitating exodus of customers following the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history. That turmoil is clouding the outlook for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates after hiking them to market-rattling heights over the last year. The fear is that all the turmoil in the banking industry could cause a sharp pullback in lending to small and midsized businesses around the country. That could put more pressure on the economy, raising the risk for a recession that many economists already saw as likely. Regional banks shares in Asia were modestly lower Friday, with HSBC Holdings plc losing 3.4% in Hong Kong while mid-sized Japane...

Editorial: Law students shout down First Amendment

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

The disdain law students and their administrators show the First Amendment and differing viewpoints should be a major societal concern.Earlier this month, federal circuit court Judge Kyle Duncan appeared at Stanford Law School to give a speech. He came at the invitation of the Federalist Society. His talk was titled, “The Fifth Circuit in Conversation with the Supreme Court: Covid, Guns, and Twitter.” Such gatherings are one of the benefits of attending an elite law school.Instead, what took place would have gotten a preschooler sent home for the day. Many Stanford law students were angry that Judge Duncan was coming, because he is — gasp! — a traditional conservative. Some held up profane signs in the room where he was speaking. As he began his lecture, many students shouted and heckled him with taunts such as “scumbag” and “you’re a liar.”This is wildly inappropriate, but it has become the norm from the “tolerant” left.Ironically, Stanford claims to have a strong free speech polic...

‘The Lost King’ rules as history/mystery tour

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“The Lost King”Rated PG-13. At AMC Boston Common.Grade: B+Based on the remarkable true story of the search for the remains of the last Plantagenet King Richard III in a car park, “The Lost King” has a fascinating pedigree. Two-time Academy Award nominee Steve Coogan co-wrote the screenplay with his “Philomena” co-writer Jeff Pope based on the book by Philippa Langley, the person who led to the amazing 2012 discovery. Langley then produced the 2013 television film “Richard III: The King in the Car Park” and is an executive producer of this lovely, educational and mostly entertaining offshoot. The film’s director is the masterful Stephen Frears, whose career received a shot in the arm in 1985 when “My Beautiful Laundrette” received rave reviews, and he continued earning rave reviews through to the aforementioned “Philomena” with Coogan and Judi Dench and the Emmy Award-winning TV series “A Very English Scandal.”“The Lost King” co-stars an appealing, deeply sympatheti...

Caruso: New climate change regs a burden for business

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:16:51 GMT

It’s no secret that the Biden administration is committed to pushing an ambitious climate change agenda. From supporting aggressive efforts to increase the adoption of electric vehicles to support 100% renewable sources for the electric grid by 2030, the administration has made it clear that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a priority. In his recent State of the Union address, the president stated, “We’re rebuilding for the long term.”But overlooked in the climate change discussion is the top-down regulatory push from federal agencies to create strict, complex — and frankly duplicative — mandates on how public companies disclose their greenhouse emissions and those of others in their supply chain. In fact, in January, the Securities and Exchange Commission published a regulatory agenda that included the commission’s new climate disclosure proposal that’s been described as one of the biggest changes to corporate disclosures in decades.Another similar proposed rule from the Federa...