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National

The crew of the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, attempted to stop it after receiving a "critical" alert about an overheating wheel bearing just before the crash, an investigation found.

Why it matters: The preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigation released Thursday came as residents push for answers from officials over the potential health dangers of exposure to the toxic chemicals released in the wake of the crash.

The report was released Thursday as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was visiting the site of the crash.

The latest: NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said during a press conference after the report's release that the board will hold a rare investigative field hearing in East Palestine this spring.

The goal of the hearing will be to inform the public, collect factual information from witnesses, discuss possible solutions and "build consensus for change," Homendy said.

 As the crew slowed the train to inspect cars for a hot axle, an automatic emergency brake application initiated, which may indicate the train experienced a separation during deceleration.

Before starting to slow down, the crew received a critical audible alarm message indicating the temperature of a railcar wheel bearing was greater than 200°F above the ambient temperature at the time.

"After the train stopped, the crew observed fire and smoke and notified the Cleveland East dispatcher of a possible derailment," the report reads.

Thirty-eight railcars were involved in the derailment, including 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that ignited after the wreck and damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars.

First responders mitigated the fire from the initial wreck on Feb. 5, but five tank cars carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride concerned authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was rising, suggesting the chemical was undergoing a polymerization reaction and could explode.

Because of the explosion risk, first responders vented and burned vinyl chloride — a colorless but hazardous and carcinogenic gas — in the five cars after expanding an evacuation zone around the crash site, according to the NTSB.

The train was travelling around 47 miles per hour at the time of the derailment, roughly 3 mph below the maximum authorized speed of 50 mph.

"This was 100 percent preventable," Homendy said during the press conference. "We call things accidents, there is no accident. Every single event that we investigate is preventable."

Homendy said the NTSB had no role in the decision to vent and burn the chemicals. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine previously said he authorized the operation, which occurred after residents of the town were evacuated.

The NTSB said surveillance video from a local residence showed a wheel bearing on the first railcar that derailed "in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment."

That wheel bearing and other equipment have been collected as evidence by the NTSB for its ongoing investigation, it said.

Homendy said the NTSB will investigate how Norfolk Southern uses wayside defect detectors (that caused the alert) on its railways, how its crews are alarmed and respond to defect alerts and its maintenance and inspection procedures for railcars.

The big picture: Norfolk Southern executives in an earnings call presentation on Jan. 23 — just weeks before the East Palestine derailment — said the rate of accidents on its railways had increased in each of the last four years.

The Environmental Protection Agency ordered the company on Tuesday to clean up contamination from the crash under a plan approved by the agency.

The Department of Transportation on Tuesday also called for multiple measures to increase rail safety and hold rail operators responsible for violating safety regulations.

Go deeper: Ohio derailment prompts calls to investigate federal oversight of trains

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details and background.

Ohio train derailment tied to overheated wheel bearing, report finds

The Feb. 3 derailment included 11 tank cars carrying at least five different types of chemicals.

The site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 15.

The site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 15. Photo: NTSB/Handout via Xinhua

Ohio

Transportation

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Macro

Axios Macro

Yield on 1-month Treasury bill around debt ceiling fights

Data: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Every day that passes puts the United States closer to the "X Date" — the moment (estimated to be this summer) when the Treasury runs out of extraordinary measures it is using to avoid breaching the $34.1 trillion legal debt limit.

Why it matters: There are more and more signs that the possibility of protracted negotiations is causing some worry in the halls of the Fed.

Driving the news: At the Fed's Feb. 1 policy meeting, "a number of participants stressed that a drawn-out period of negotiations to raise the federal debt limit could pose significant risks to the financial system and the broader economy," minutes released Wednesday noted.

The big picture: In recent years, even when the country has come close to the brink as negotiations dragged on, critical markets underpinning the economy were jolted, according to new research from the Kansas City Fed. 

Details: Researchers examined how financial conditions responded during the last three episodes of brinkmanship — in 2011, 2013 and 2021 — when the nation approached the drop-dead point at which it would no longer be able to pay its bills. 

Short-term funding costs spiked sharply as each "X Date" drew nearer. In 2021, rates were volatile as a temporary deal reached by lawmakers was set to expire.

In the two weeks leading up to 2013's "X Date," investors yanked "unusually large" amounts from money market funds, particularly those holding government debt.

Like now, the Treasury Department used creative maneuvers to manage its cash flow after breaching the debt limit in previous years. In each episode, the total supply of government bills fell after the Treasury implemented these measures.

What they're saying: "Although financial market risks rise when debt ceiling resolutions occur closer to x-dates, resolutions that occur after x-dates likely have the steepest consequences," Kansas City Fed economists Stefan Jacewitz, W. Blake Marsh and Nicholas Sly wrote.

That's because, in an extreme scenario, it could risk a repeat of what happened at the pandemic's onset. There was so little demand to trade government debt that the Fed had to step in to backstop the market.

The bottom line: There's no guarantee markets will respond similarly to any drawn-out debt limit standoff as it has in years past. But there are some developments that might make this time less or more risky for investors.

This time around, the Fed — unlike in past episodes — is in an aggressive tightening cycle and yanking liquidity from financial markets.

What history says about debt standoffs

There are signs that possible protracted negotiations is causing worry in the halls of the Fed.

Macroeconomics

Communicators

Axios Communicators

Data: Memo, Twitter, Axios research; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Rail operator Norfolk Southern is getting slammed for its response following the derailment of one of its trains carrying hazardous materials near East Palestine, Ohio, this month.

Why it matters: Derailments typically require a hyper-local response, but Norfolk Southern was caught flat-footed when this incident garnered large-scale attention. 

Catch up quick: The train — which was carrying hazardous materials, including at least five tanker cars of vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic gas used to produce PVC plastic and vinyl products — derailed on Feb. 3, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports.

The derailment forced hundreds of people to evacuate, led to a controlled release of potentially hazardous chemicals into the air, and caused alarm about toxic fumes and water contamination from spilled materials.

State of play: While the derailment and subsequent chemical fire did make national headlines, the news cycle was starting to cool by Sunday, Feb. 12,  according to Memo readership data shared with Axios. 

A Norfolk Southern spokesperson claimed the story was pushed back into the news by the tweets of political activists that were then amplified by foreign-owned bots.

Yes, but: As the spotlight on Norfolk Southern intensified, the company failed to adequately address the tough questions required to regain control of the narrative and reestablish trust.

Norfolk representatives pulled out of a local town hall due to concerns over "growing physical threats," Axios' Sam Allard reports.

And the company continues to avoid health-related questions, maintaining the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Public Health and others are responsible for such communications. 

“If folks are experiencing symptoms with which they’re not accustomed, I would strongly encourage them to go see a trusted medical professional,” CEO Alan Shaw told CNBC.

Between the lines: According to Norfolk Southern, their initial communication challenge was determining who owned what message. 

Traditionally, incident communications are run by local first responders and the rail operator serves in more of an advisory role, a company rep told Axios.

Yes, but: With more than 1,000 train derailments each year, it's something all rail companies have navigated before. 

Flash forward: Norfolk Southern is now going on a media blitz to push back against "misinformation" it believes is being peddled by political agitators. 

In recent interviews with CNBC, PBS, The Wall Street Journal and in a town hall hosted by CNN, Shaw's message was consistent: misinformation is rampant, the air and the water are clean and Norfolk Southern is sorry and committed to supporting the community for the long term.

What they're saying: Experts we spoke with said the spread of misinformation is no excuse. 

"Active, round-the-clock, cooperation with community leaders and regulators is absolutely essential to avoid an information vacuum that breeds fear and misinformation," Molly Levinson, founder and CEO of The Levinson Group, told Axios.  

"The communication with the public has been off base from the start and has really opened the door for a lot of misinformation, confusion and even conspiracy theories," emergency management professor Samantha Montano told ABC News.

“Norfolk Southern [officials] initially used first responders as the sole responders to deal with the cleanup, and they lost trust in the community by not being accessible, responsive and honest," says Penta Group senior partner Mike Berland. "Only recently does it appear that they realized their responsibility to the communities and are now taking accountability. Restoring the trust will take much longer.”

The bottom line: You can't blame everything on the bots. 

The company was on the defensive from the start and never truly owned the message, which led to more confusion and paved the way for misinterpretations. 

How to best squash misinformation campaigns should be a routine step in every crisis playbook moving forward. 

Go deeper: What we know about the Ohio train derailment.

Go Deeper: What we know about the Ohio train derailment.

Norfolk Southern blames misinformation for its derailed response

As the spotlight on Norfolk Southern intensified, the company failed to adequately address the tough questions required to regain control of the narrative and reestablish trust.

Communications

Right-wing extremists committed every ideologically driven mass killing identified in the U.S. in 2022, with an "unusually high" proportion perpetrated by white supremacists, according to a new report published Thursday.

Driving the news: The high number of killings linked to white supremacists was "primarily due to mass shootings," the report released by the Anti-Defamation League found.

Although there was a decrease in extremist killings in 2022 from 2021, the number was comparable to the number of extremist killings in 2020.

The report noted that 60% of the deaths stemming from extremist mass killings in 2022 came from two incidents: the racist mass shooting in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York and a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs.

Zoom out: The number of mass killings linked to extremism in the U.S. in the past decade was at least three times higher than any decade since the 1970s, per the report.

Between 2011 and 2020, there were 21 mass killing incidents in the U.S., compared to only five from 2001 to 2010.

From 1991 to 2000, there were seven mass killing incidents in the U.S., and only two from 1981 to 1990, and six between 1971 to 1980.

"The 26 mass killing incidents over the past 12 years actually exceed those from the previous 40 years (20)," the report stated. 

State of play: The number of deaths associated with mass killing incidents has also risen.

Between 2010 and 2020, 164 people died in ideological extremist-related mass killing incidents, more than in any other decade other than the 1990s — in which nearly all the deaths were associated with one event, the Oklahoma City bombing.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that we live in an age of extremist mass killings," the report said.

All U.S. extremist mass killings in 2022 linked to far right, report says

"It is not an exaggeration to say that we live in an age of extremist mass killings," the report notes.

Memorial for the victims of the shooting at the club in Colorado Springs

A memorial for the victims of the shooting at the club in Colorado Springs, Colorado in Nov. 2022. Photo: Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post

Mass shootings

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

What Americans say is the current greatest threat to U.S. public health

Data: Axios-Ipsos poll; Table: Simran Parwani/Axios

Republicans see fentanyl and other opioids as the biggest threat to Americans’ public health, while Democrats say it's guns, according to a new Axios-Ipsos survey.

Why it matters: The Axios-Ipsos American Health Index sheds light on how our partisan divisions — and our education levels — play into the wrangling over public health policies, and how they guide the parties' political messaging.

The survey also found that Americans overwhelmingly want private health insurance companies to cover weight-loss drugs and that they support capping out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month.

Nearly half of Americans — 47% — say insurers should cover transgender-related medical care. That's a deeply partisan issue: 77% of Democrats favor it; just 16% of Republicans do.

"Like everything else, public health is a tale of two Americas — one red, one blue," said Cliff Young, president of Ipsos U.S. Public Affairs. "Governments must be nimble to talk about multiple public health issues at once."

The big picture: The national survey of 1,213 U.S. adults found that Americans' concerns over opioids — including fentanyl, a synthetic — vary by education level, not just by party.

Opioids were the top health concern of 32% of people with a high school diploma or less, compared to 25% of people with some college and 20% of those with a bachelor's degree or higher.

Concerns about obesity appear to correlate to education: Just 12% of Americans with no college — but 30% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher — say it's the nation's biggest public health threat.

Axios-Ipsos poll: Republicans call opioids No. 1 health threat

Democrats see guns as the biggest threat to Americans’ public health, while Republicans say it’s fentanyl and opioid addiction.

Axios

Thursday's top stories

Ohio train derailment tied to overheated wheel bearing, report finds

What history says about debt standoffs

Norfolk Southern blames misinformation for its derailed response

All U.S. extremist mass killings in 2022 linked to far right, report says

Axios-Ipsos poll: Republicans call opioids No. 1 health threat

Record warmth envelops Mid-Atlantic during uneasy, snowless winter

Corporate America’s profit rocket hits headwinds

Axios interview: Sen. J.D. Vance sees "our people" hurt by derailment

Game makers put generative AI to imaginative work

Florida reporter and girl, 9, killed near scene of earlier fatal shooting

Jan. 6 rioter who assaulted officer and threatened AOC sentenced