Nearly 2,000 residents of eastern Ohio remained under evacuation orders on Monday as railroad crews drained and burned off a toxic chemical from five tanker cars of a freight train that derailed in a fiery wreck three days earlier, officials said.

The venting of pressurized vinyl chloride, a highly flammable and carcinogenic gas, began with a single explosion, as was anticipated, followed by a steady incineration of the remaining cargo, said Sandy Mackey, a spokesperson for the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

“That controlled release was the one explosion,” she told Reuters by telephone. “It went as planned. It seemed to be a successful incident.”

No injuries were reported, either from Monday’s operation or the accident on Friday night, authorities said.

Live video on Monday showed a towering column of thick, black smoke rising from the accident site in East Palestine, Ohio, a town close to the Pennsylvania border northwest of Pittsburgh.

The train, operated by Norfolk Southern Railroad and consisting of three locomotives and 150 freight cars, was headed from Illinois to Pennsylvania when it derailed shortly before 9 p.m. EST on Friday, setting off a massive fire that forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in the immediate vicinity.

About 50 cars actually left the tracks, 20 of which carried hazardous materials, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Public safety concerns deepened after the railroad said pressure-relief devices on some tankers were found on Sunday to have stopped working, which the company said could “result in a catastrophic failure.”

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said in a statement the chemical contents of the five rail cars in question were “unstable and could potentially explode, causing deadly disbursement of shrapnel and toxic fumes.”

Working with state and local emergency officials, Norfolk Southern said on Monday it devised a plan to manually vent the cars, allowing the contents to “be drained in a controlled fashion” under supervision of “experts and first responders.”

As part of the plan, DeWine and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered evacuations expanded on Monday to encompass all homes within a 1- to 2-mile area around the derailment site on both sides of the state line.

Peggy Clark, a spokesperson for the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency, said the mandatory evacuation covered an estimated 1,900 people on the Ohio side alone.

DeWine’s office warned that fumes released into the air from the venting operation could be deadly if inhaled, while also posing the risk of skin burns and serious lung damage.

Vinyl chloride is a colorless, industrially produced gas that burns easily and is used primarily in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe and other products, according to the National Cancer Institute. It also is a byproduct of cigarette smoke.

The precise means by which crews vented the gas was not explained. But the railroad said workers had prepared drainage pits and embankments, apparently to contain residue from the release. State environmental officials monitored air quality, it said.

Nearly two hours after the operation began, the company said the “controlled breach” had been “completed successfully.”

The cause of the derailment was under investigation by the NTSB, but board member Michael Graham said on Sunday that video footage of the accident pointed to possible “mechanical issues on one of the rail car axles.”

Related Galleries:

There was a peaceful transition of power from the Trump to the Biden administration. There was a peaceful transition of power on January sixth. Everything went smoothly and efficiently. These comments above are lies. And, of coarse, you know that. January sixth was the day American terrorism came to town. And yet Republicans — many of them — still, to this day, will not admit or acknowledge this.

To do that would mean an end to the state of denial they find themselves in. Take Mike Pompeo. He will likely announce a Presidential run soon. In an interview with Sky News, Pompeo explained that there was a “peaceful transition of power” on January sixth.

“Make no mistake,” Pompeo said pompously. “That night, America showed it’s strength. Vice president Mike Pence finished this election. We had a peaceful transition of power.”

Pompeo acknowledged the insurrection, although he called it a “bad day” and a “riot.” But in his opinion, Mike Pence saved the day, and January sixth was all about peace — his words, not mine. In reality, there was no peaceful transition of power on January sixth. There WAS, however, a bloody, savage, terrorizing insurrection that left many wounded, injured, and dead.

There WERE gallows erected for our former VP. There WERE creatures, in the form of humans, on the hunt for folks like Nancy Pelosi. Sound “peaceful” to you? And as for Mike Pence? He did his damn job. Folks, I am tired of this “Saint Mike” talk. He did his damn JOB. He did not singlehandedly save democracy, and the way he speaks of national abortion bans only reiterates that.

It seems some — like Pompeo have decided their election strategy will be acknowledging January sixth but glossing over it as fast as possible while declaring the day a glorious transition of peace and good vibes.

This is a losing strategy that Pompeo will not ever understand because he’s a loser. Do not forget, please, that Pompeo refused to accept the election results foe MONTHS and even said they were transitioning to a second trump administration.

All of these things are, of coarse, why Pompeo has about as much chance of winning the republican nomination as my cat. And it shows how utterly, irreparably, tragically clueless the GOP still is.

The post Mike Pompeo just stepped in it appeared first on Palmer Report.

Asian share markets stabilised somewhat on Tuesday after steep losses in the past 24 hours, while the U.S dollar remained elevated as investors considered the prospects interest rates would remain higher for longer in many developed economies.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) bounced slightly 0.4%, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. The index is up 0.8% so far this month.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 (.AXJO) was up 0.13% and Japan’s Nikkei stock index (.N225) rose 0.26%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) opened up 0.68% and China’s bluechip CSI300 Index (.CSI300) was 0.3% higher in early trade.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to extend its monetary tightening campaign when it meets later in the day.

The central bank is likely to lift the official cash rate by another 25 basis points to 3.35%, according to economists polled by Reuters. The decision will be announced at 0330 GMT.

“Sentiment in markets is dominated by central banks and the repricing of rates yet again,” Kerry Craig, JPMorgan Asset Management’s global market strategist, told Reuters.

“Equities have had a strong run since the start of the year so seeing an air pocket emerge now is no major surprise.

“It’s a quiet week for economic data globally and when that is the case uncertainty over interest rates is the dominant theme among investors.”

In the Asian trading session, the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes hit 3.6268% compared with its U.S. close of 3.632% on Monday.

The two-year yield , which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 4.4368% compared with a U.S. close of 4.456%.

The repricing of higher rates began after strong U.S jobs growth in January, with employment rising 517,000, more than double economists expectations. The unemployment rate hit 3.4%, the lowest in more than 53 years.

Investors will be closely watching a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Economic Club of Washington later on Tuesday.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.61% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 1%.

“The market has repriced to expect that the Fed Funds rate will peak just above 5% and it now only anticipates very limited rate cuts, just one of 25 basis points by the end of this year,” ANZ economists wrote.

“It’s very clear that sentiment is fragile and data dependent, and this new defensive posture may have further to run near term as risk positions are scaled back.”

The dollar eased 0.04% against the yen to 132.6 , after touching a three-week high of 132.9 during the U.S trading session.

The European single currency was up 0.1% on the day at $1.0736, having lost 1.16% in a month.

The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of major trading partner currencies, was down marginally at 103.47 from its U.S. trading levels. However, it remains well above its recent low of 101.55 on Feb 3.

U.S. crude ticked up 0.9% to $74.78 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $81.69 per barrel.

Gold was slightly higher. Spot gold was traded at $1871.65 per ounce.

Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

• The FAA proposed a $1.1 million fine against United Airlines on Monday.
• The regulator alleged that United missed a required safety check for nearly three years.
• The airline said in a statement that the safety of its flights was “never in question.”

The Federal Aviation Administration hit United Airlines with a proposed fine of more than $1.1 million on allegations that the company failed to conduct certain mandatory safety checks on its Boeing 777 aircraft for nearly three years.

In a Monday announcement, the FAA proposed a $1,149,306 civil penalty against the airline for allegedly shirking required inspections of its Boeing 777s’ fire-detection system from June 2018 to April 2021, rendering the aircrafts to be in “not airworthy condition” for more than 100,000 flights.

The FAA said United removed its fire system warning check from the Boeing 777 preflight check-list in 2018, an inspection task deemed mandatory in the aircraft’s maintenance specifications manual.

The removal of the fire system check from United’s pre-flight routine resulted in the airline failing to perform mandatory safety inspections, the air-safety regulator said.

In a statement to Insider, a United spokesperson said safety is the highest priority to the airline.

United acknowledged changing its pre-flight checklist in 2018, saying it did so to account for “redundant, built-in checks” that are automatically performed by the aircraft.

“The safety of our flights was never in question,” the spokesperson said.

A United representative said the FAA reviewed and approved its updated checklist at the time of the change. 

On April 19, 2021, an FAA aviation safety inspector discovered that United’s fire-warning system check wasn’t being performed, the regulator said in a Monday letter to United’s chief executive, which was obtained by media outlets. 

United said it “immediately updated its procedures” after being notified of the problem. But the FAA alleged that the airline knowingly operated six of its planes without performing the mandatory check over a three-and-a-half hour period even after the issue was exposed, according to reports.

The hefty fine is a relatively rare move by the FAA, which has more recently opted to approach possible safety issues with a joint response that often includes collaboration with the airline, according to The Washington Post. 

United has 30 days to respond to the FAA’s announcement, and the airline said Monday that it plans to review the proposed penalty and respond accordingly. 

LOGAN CYRUS/AFP via Getty Images

• The Manhattan DA’s office was weeks away from filing criminal charges against Trump at the end of 2020. 
• This is according to former special assistant district attorney Mark Pomerantz’s new book. 
• Pomerantz resigned from the office when new DA Alvin Bragg decided against pursuing a Trump indictment.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was just weeks away from filing criminal charges against then-President Donald Trump at the end of the 2020, but backed off when city lawyers downplayed Trump’s alleged undervaluing of a historic building in the Financial District, Mark Pomerantz, former special assistant district attorney, says in his new book, “People vs. Donald Trump,” out Tuesday.

Pomerantz was initially brought onto the Trump investigation as a consultant at the end of 2020 by the inquiry’s leading prosecutor, Carey Dunne.

During a call with other “legal eagles” recruited to advise then-Manhattan DA Cy Vance’s office on the investigation into Trump, Pomerantz said he was told that the district was “considering bringing criminal charges against Trump in a matter of weeks, not months.”

Investigators wanted to charge Trump for allegedly undervaluing his stake in 40 Wall Street, a building in lower Manhattan. While Trump valued his interest in the building as high as $527 million in a 2012 financial document, he told tax authorities his interest was only worth between $16-$19 million. 

“This figure was so low as to be absurd,” Pomerantz said, given that the The New York Times reported just months prior that yearly rental income for the building had risen to over $40 million by 2018. 

“This meant that he told the tax authorities that the overall value of his interest in 40 Wall Street was less than what he was earning in a single year!” Pomerantz explained. 

Prosecutors explained to Pomerantz and other legal experts on a call at the end of 2020 that Trump “had personally signed forms attesting to the accuracy of the absurdly low valuation” and that Trump’s tax filings looked fraudulent. 

The role of Pomerantz and the other legal experts brought to consult on the case was to “provide a reality check” on whether it was a good idea to charge Trump, given that accusing a sitting president of financial crimes “would be a dramatic step of cosmic significance.”

The investigation team was facing setbacks at the time, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which had brought the formation of grand juries to a standstill. In New York, in order to file felony charges, prosecutors must present their evidence to a grand jury, which then decides if there is enough evidence to back up the charges. 

Pomerantz said the DA’s office had found a loophole though: filing a felony complaint. Instead of going straight to a grand jury, prosecutors planned to present their case to a judge to get permission to file a criminal complaint. This rarely used method allowed them to potentially file charges before later presenting the evidence to a grand jury, when they were back to hearing cases. 

But Pomerantz said this plan “never got off the ground” because the city’s Law Department told the DA’s office that it’s a common practice for property owners to purposefully undervalue their holdings. 

“The lowball valuations are submitted ‘under penalty of perjury,’ but according to the Law Department, the owner’s initial valuation figures are not taken seriously, and are regarded as simply the first step in a series of negotiations,” Pomerantz writes. 

While Pomerantz said he didn’t particularly agree with the idea that Trump shouldn’t be charged just because “everybody does it,” he said the Law Department’s explanation of how the system works showed that it would be difficult to prove that Trump “had intended to mislead anyone.” 

“Although this seemed like a poor way for the city to conduct its business, bringing a criminal case based on a filing that nobody cared about or acted upon, and doing so as the opening gambit in a prosecution against a president, did not strike me, Carey, Cy, or anyone on the investigation as a good idea,” Pomerantz said. 

The Manhattan DA’s investigation into Trump never resulted in charges, after Alvin Bragg took over as the new DA in January 2022. 

Pomerantz resigned as special assistant district attorney a month later, explaining in a letter that he was frustrated by Bragg’s decision not to pursue an indictment against Trump. 

His new book details his involvement in the investigation. 

Bragg told Insider in a statement that after closely looking at the evidence of the investigation, he came to the conclusion that “more work was needed.”

“Our skilled and professional legal team continues to follow the facts of this case wherever they may lead, without fear or favor. Mr. Pomerantz decided to quit a year ago and sign a book deal,” Bragg said.

“I haven’t read the book, and won’t comment on any ongoing investigation because of the harm it could cause to the case. But I do hope there is at least one section where Mr. Pomerantz recognizes his former colleagues for how much they have achieved on the Trump matter over the last year since his departure,” Bragg added.

A representative for Trump did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment late Monday. 

While Bragg’s office hasn’t filed criminal charges against Trump personally, he did move forward with criminal fraud charges against Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organizaton, securing a guilty plea. 

In November, the former executive testified at trial against the Trump Organization, which was found guilty. 

Bondee/Metadream Tech

• Bondee is a new social networking app created by a Singapore-based tech company.
• The app has topped multiple app store charts across Asia since its launch on January 17.
• Bondee’s popularity remained strong against rumors of credit card info leaks.

Bondee — an app you’ve probably never heard of before — is currently taking Asia by storm.

The virtual avatar social networking app was launched on January 17, and in less than a month, Bondee has topped app store charts in multiple countries and racked up more than 5 million downloads on Google Play. 

That’s a record-breaking seven months faster than Instagram, which only garnered 1 million downloads after two months, according to Techcrunch. 

Bondee was developed by Metadream, a Singapore-based tech startup with additional teams working in Japan, South Korea, and the US. The company plans to set up offices in Thailand and the Philippines as well, according to Bondee’s website. 

Bondee is currently available in various countries across Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia. 

So, what exactly is Bondee? 

Bondee is a social networking app that allows users to connect with up to 50 of their closest friends in a virtual plaza. The app includes the typical chat functions available on most social platforms. 

But unlike most social apps, users get to create their own avatars from a wide selection of trendy outfits and hairstyles, as well as decorate their own space for friends to visit. 

Bondee is sort of like The Sims, the life-simulation video game first released in 2000. But the virtual characters and interior design options on the new platform appear younger and more playful. 

Since its launch, Bondee fashion guides and room decor tips have been shared across various social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and even Pinterest. 

—ᴅᴍɪɴᴇ ⁰⁰⁷ (@iiisasom) January 25, 2023

Many users have also posted their Bondee usernames and QR codes on their socials, encouraging other users to add them as friends in the app. 

—Dani 🖕🏻 (@wifeofjea) January 28, 2023

But it hasn’t been all roses and butterflies for Bondee. In the early days of its release, the app’s creators were battling rumors of credit card info leaks.

Although credit card or financial details are not requested upon signing up in Bondee, its past privacy policy showed the option of in-app purchases to buy NFT products on the platform, according to CNA. 

In an update on January 29, Metadream removed any mention of NFTs from its privacy policy.  

The company has also rejected all claims accusing the company of leaking credit card information, as reported on CNA.

Bondee did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Today’s Republican Party is plagued with compulsive, professional liars. So, it’s no surprise that leaders and leading voices are not demanding George Santos’ ouster from Congress. However, rather than stay mum about the issue, some are speaking out to rationalize keeping Santos in government, despite his climb to power under shockingly false pretenses.

On Fox News this week, Tucker “I lie if I’m really cornered or something” Carlson defended keeping Santos around by pretending that his lying is nothing egregious and those that who take issue with it are being ridiculous. Conveniently ignoring the very serious and substantial topics about which Santos has lied, Carlson reframed the controversy, leading his loyal viewers to believe this is all about saying “he had played collegiate volleyball on a scholarship, and he hadn’t.”

With heavy sarcasm, Carlson labeled Santos a “threat,” “9/11 in human form,” and “a fraud, a ghoul” for the volleyball misrepresentation, which he called “a tissue of lies constructed to deceive the American people.” By using this lame tactic, Carlson was trying to dismiss Santos as being guilty, at most, of a singular political misdemeanor.

Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy have employed a different yet equally lame approach to this issue. Rather than try to minimize and devalue Santos’ unprecedented and mounting web of lies, this depraved duo is basically arguing, “Well, at least he’s not the horrible Joe Biden, right?”

Talking to reporters recently, Trump admitted, “I think it’s a terrible situation. It’s very unfortunate.” However, Trump, the former Liar-in Chief, quickly announced that Santos reminds him of Biden, of all people. Why? Because Santos has “told some whoppers” and, according to Trump, that’s exactly what Biden has done. So, if you were to buy Trump’s argument, it means you should support Santos staying in Congress because he hasn’t done anything the Democratic President of the United States doesn’t do, plus he’s a Republican.

McCarthy also drew a Santos-Biden comparison to imply, in a uniquely off-the-rails way, that Santos should remain in Congress because he’s just better than Biden. When Fox News host Mark Levin asked McCarthy recently which politician has more power, Biden or Santos, McCarthy managed to give the right answer. However, he tacked on the word “unfortunately,” implying that if someone like Biden can be President, then surely Santos can remain in the House.

From minimizing the Santos situation to using Biden as a foil, these loud voices are trying to gaslight America, employing crazy arguments that are themselves based on a multitude of lies. While it may sway certain people, a recent poll shows that 78% of Santos’ constituents want him gone. We’re not done learning about Santos and his fraud, and he will stay strapped to the hot seat until his final day in office.

The post Republicans panic as they can’t figure out what to do about George Santos appeared first on Palmer Report.