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White House does victory lap on its handling of East Palestine disaster despite never declaring emergency

White House does victory lap on its handling of East Palestine disaster despite never declaring emergency

The White House is doing a victory lap on its response to the derailment of a train hauling toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, last year as President Biden prepares to visit the site for the first time. The administration’s media blitz Wednesday comes nearly 12 months after the disaster which occurred in early February 2023, and sparked fears of widespread contamination of the region’s air and water supply. In the aftermath of the event, the federal government led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took action to clear the derailment site, remove waste and implement new rail safety measures. “We have been at work here at the U.S. Department of Transportation throughout this entire process and we’ll continue to do so. Safety is our department’s main reason for being. Whether it’s aviation safety, roadway safety or railway safety, it is always our top priority,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters Wednesday. “All of this was at stake and continues to be at stake in the response to what happened one year ago.” “For many, it’s been a year of fear, a year of uncertainty and a year of change,” added EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “We recognize times have been very challenging. That’s why I’m so thankful for the leadership of President Biden, who mobilized this whole-of-government response to support the people of East Palestine, Ohio, and supported the United States Environmental Protection Agency as we worked hard to hold Norfolk Southern accountable, clean up this mess and restore this tight-knit community.” EAST PALESTINE RESIDENTS GRILL BIDEN FOR NOT YET VISITING SITE OF MAJOR TRAIN DERAILMENT: ‘WE’RE NOT OK’ The White House also announced Wednesday that Biden would visit the site in East Palestine at some point next month to witness the ongoing cleanup effort. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said shortly after the incident that Biden would visit the site, but those plans never came to fruition last year. When pressed in September about why he hadn’t made the visit, Biden said he hasn’t “been able to break.” EAST PALESTINE RESIDENT EXPERIENCING LESIONS, STOMACH PAIN, SHORTNESS OF BREATH SINCE TRAIN DERAILMENT Overall, according to federal data released on Friday, the EPA has shipped an estimated 176,787 tons of solid waste and 44.4 million gallons of wastewater from the site since February. Workers have also completed all planned excavation and continue to backfill as test results indicate contaminated soil has been removed.  In addition, the White House highlighted additional federal work testing air quality, supporting local community members, investigating the cause of the derailment and monitoring potential health impacts to nearby residents. The work involves EPA, the Department of Transportation, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Agriculture. OFFICIALS REVEAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES DECISION TO VENT TOXIC CHEMICALS AFTER EAST PALESTINE TRAIN DERAILMENT “On behalf of FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and the entire Biden-Harris administration, I want to reiterate and express that our agency is committed and we will continue to be with the people of East Palestine as they transition to long-term recovery support,” Anne Bink, the associate administrator for FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, said Wednesday. However, despite his administration’s work clearing the area, Biden failed to ever issue a national disaster declaration which Ohio officials repeatedly requested. In July, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine sent a letter to Biden doubling down on his request and, one month later, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged FEMA to grant DeWine’s request to “unlock additional resources from the federal government.” “It’s our responsibility to do everything possible to help them recover. I will continue to do all in my power to support the families and small businesses of East Palestine,” Brown wrote to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “Now it is your time to step up and provide the support that only FEMA can.” REPUBLICANS PROBE EPA ON WHY EAST PALESTINE WASTE SENT TO INDIANA AFTER DEMS OBJECTED TO MICHIGAN In September, Biden signed an executive order ordering FEMA to appoint a federal disaster recovery coordinator to oversee cleanup efforts. But he declined to grant Ohio’s disaster declaration request, instead choosing to hold the request open pending future developments. “We’re continuing to provide federal coordination through the appointment of the federal disaster recovery coordinator to support the identification of unmet needs in East Palestine,” a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday. “That was one of our major charges through the executive order. We’re continuing to do that right now.” “But that work remains ongoing, and it’s really premature to judge what additional federal resources may be required at this time,” the official added. “As more information is known, we’ll certainly share it.” On Feb. 3, 2023, a train carrying vinyl chloride, a dangerous colorless gas, and operated by the transportation company Norfolk Southern Railroad derailed in East Palestine, which is located along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Shortly after the derailment, Norfolk Southern opted to release the gas from the derailed cars, potentially releasing deadly fumes into the air, to prevent a potentially disastrous explosion. Local residents were told to evacuate the area during the release, but were assured it was safe to return less than a week later. Experts, though, expressed concern that the air and water was not safe. “This really looks like a nuclear winter,” Sil Caggiano, a local hazardous materials specialist, told Fox News at the time. “Pretty much, yeah, we nuked this town with chemicals.”

‘Blood and sweat’: Myanmar resistance fights to overturn military coup

‘Blood and sweat’: Myanmar resistance fights to overturn military coup

On February 1, 2021, a military coup in Myanmar sparked widespread nonviolent protests that quickly turned into an armed uprising after the military responded with brutal force. Ethnic armed organisations fighting for autonomy along the country’s borders also joined the anti-coup groups in a war, which has since reached an unprecedented scale in Myanmar’s history. Resistance forces share not only a common enemy but also a desire to overturn Myanmar’s military-dominated political system and establish a federal democracy that grants the right to self-determination for its ethnic minorities. Al Jazeera spoke with four people who are part of the armed resistance. They come from different backgrounds and are serving with different groups, but nonetheless share the same broad political goals, as well as a will to advance a more just and equitable society. They are using their noms de guerre to protect their families from military reprisals. Ma Wai, 32, Bamar People’s Liberation Army The BPLA, established in April 2021 by activist and poet Maung Saungkha, is the country’s only armed resistance group identifying with the ethnic Bamar majority, and which specifically seeks to combat the dominant role of Bamar people in Myanmar society. Since late October, it has taken an active role in Operation 1027, a joint offensive that has brought major gains for anti-coup forces. Ma Wai returned to her village in the Bago region from Dubai during the pandemic, with a plan to go back and resume her job as a chef at a four-star hotel once travel restrictions eased. Then the coup happened, and she joined street demonstrations instead. Ma Wai, previously a chef in Dubai, joined the forces fighting to remove the military in May 2021 [Supplied] Weeks later, soldiers and police were firing live rounds, and Ma Wai was tending to a wounded protester. “I saw the blood flowing with my own eyes,” she said. “The incident was so vivid and devastating that it will haunt me for the rest of my life.” Soon, her peers were taking up arms in the jungle, but Ma Wai initially hesitated to join them. Her job in Dubai had provided the main source of income for her widowed mother and two younger brothers, who are both in their 20s, and she worried about how they would get by if she didn’t go back. Still, her commitment to resisting the military won out, and she confided her decision to her brother the day before her planned departure for the jungle. “He told me, ‘Sister, you’re a girl, so don’t go. As a boy. I can do more, so I’m supposed to go,’” she recalled. Ultimately, however, their mother gave them both her blessing. “[She] decided, ‘You both should go as you made this decision for the people,’” said Ma Wai. In May of 2021, she and her brother enlisted in one of thousands of groups forming across the country at the time, commonly known as people’s defence forces (PDFs). Like many PDFs, theirs was based in the territory of the Karen National Union, Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armed organisation. Although it signed a ceasefire with the military in 2012, it has resumed its fight for self-determination since the coup, while also participating in the country’s wider pro-democracy struggle. Ma Wai joined the resistance intending to fight until the end, but her plans soon began to falter. Her PDF’s leaders seemed not to have a clear plan for its recruits, who began returning to their towns and villages after completing the group’s 10-day military training. “I knew that the training wasn’t enough for me to fight against the military, but when I thought about returning home, I didn’t want to go back either,” said Ma Wai. “I really wanted to connect with a group that could provide weapons and train us well.” The opportunity came that August, through a chance encounter with BPLA leader Maung Saungkha. As he spoke about the group’s philosophy and approach, as well as its equal treatment of women and men, Ma Wai’s direction became clear. “I felt that he wasn’t talking like an election campaign, but expressing his determination, vision and mission,” she said. “I realised that this was the kind of group I wanted to join.” Her brother came to the same decision, and soon after, they were climbing rugged mountains in the heavy rain and linking arms with their new comrades to cross rushing streams. When they reached their new camp, they underwent a training programme far more rigorous than the first – so much so that Ma Wai’s legs became stiff and swollen, and her trainers told her to seek medical attention. Realising her limitations, she said, was even harder than enduring the ache in her legs. “The trainers didn’t allow me to continue even though I straightened up and tried to force myself,” she said. “It was the most painful moment for me.” A fighter from the anti-coup People’s Liberation Army forces engaged in a battle with the military government in the Sagaing region in November [Reuters] She later completed the training after receiving treatment for vitamin B12 deficiency and began serving in a logistical role to manage the distribution of rations to BPLA soldiers. A year later, she was transferred to the finance and support department, and now supervises the BPLA’s administration office. Ma Wai estimates that while one-tenth of the BPLA’s members are female, women make up about a third of people serving in leadership roles. While Ma Wai said she hasn’t faced any discrimination as a woman, she acknowledged that she initially had to work extra hard to demonstrate her capabilities, especially to some of her male comrades. “Sometimes … they looked at me as if I didn’t know anything, but that was in the early days,” she said. “When we worked together, they came to understand me more and appreciate my talent.” She has also undergone a personal transformation, as she learns about the Myanmar military’s brutal history against the country’s ethnic minorities and reflects on

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 708

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 708

As the war enters its 708th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Thursday, February 1, 2024. Fighting A Russian bomb hit a hospital in northeastern Ukraine, forcing the evacuation of dozens of patients, smashing windows and damaging equipment. Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional branch of the national police, said the bomb made a direct hit on the hospital in the town of Velykyi Burluk, northeast of Kharkiv, and a second bomb landed nearby. Four people were slightly injured. Ukraine’s air defences shot down 14 out of 20 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack that injured one person and damaged commercial buildings. The air force said the Iranian-made Shahed drones and three Iskander missiles targeted five Ukrainian regions in the south and the east. Russia said it destroyed 20 missiles launched by Ukraine over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow invaded in 2014 and then annexed. Ukraine’s air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said its forces struck the Belbek military airfield in Crimea. He did not go into detail. Politics and diplomacy Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war. Russia’s Defence Ministry said 195 of its soldiers were freed, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 207 people, including some civilians, had been returned to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told his country’s parliament that he would rally European partners to deliver support for Ukraine that was “so huge” it would weigh on Russian President Vladimir Putin. His comments came ahead of a key European Union summit on 50 billion euros ($54bn) of funding for Ukraine that is being blocked by Hungary. Victoria Nuland, the United States acting deputy secretary of state, visited Kyiv and said she was encouraged by Ukraine’s strengthening defences and that Moscow should expect some “surprises” on the battlefield. A US military aid package for Ukraine is being held up in Congress by Republicans who want to link it to policy changes at the US border. Nuland said she was confident it would be adopted. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected much of a case filed by Ukraine that accused Russia of bankrolling separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine a decade ago, saying only that Moscow had failed to investigate alleged breaches. Boris Nadezhdin submitted his bid to run for the Russian presidency in March’s election after delivering 105,000 signatures backing his campaign to the Central Election Commission (CEC). The 60-year-old has emerged as a prominent critic of the Kremlin and promised to end the war in Ukraine. Weapons The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell admitted that the EU’s promise to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells by March would fall short, with just over half that number expected to be delivered by that deadline. The remaining 155-mm artillery shells are likely to be delivered by the end of the year, Borrell said. Adblock test (Why?)

‘Squad’ Democrats Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib vote against bill to ban Hamas terrorists from US

‘Squad’ Democrats Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib vote against bill to ban Hamas terrorists from US

“Squad” Democrats Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. and  Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. were the only two representatives who voted against a bill barring Hamas terrorists from entering the United States. The bill, HR 6679, which was also called the “No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act,” expanded a U.S. ban on Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officers to include all PLO members. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Penn., also barred Hamas members and other participants in the Oct. 7 attack from the U.S. The legislation states that any person who “participated in, planned, financed, afforded material support to, or otherwise facilitated” the October 7 attack on Israel or attacks after that, “shall be ineligible for any relief under the immigration laws.” PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS SHRUG OFF RAPIDLY RISING US ANTISEMITISM WHILE MANY WATCH IN DISBELIEF “Any alien who carried out, participated in, planned, financed, afforded material support to, or otherwise facilitated any of the attacks against Israel initiated by Hamas beginning on October 7, 2023, is inadmissible,” the bill states. While 422 members of the House voted to pass the bill, three far-left members voted either against the bill or voted present. Bush and Tlaib voted against the bill while Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., voted present. In a press release, Tlaib said that the bill was “just another” Republican bill used to “incite” hatred. “H.R. 6679 is unnecessary because it is redundant with already existing federal law,” Tlaib said.  ANTISEMITISM IS GETTING WORSE AS MORE ‘SHOCKING’ AND ‘SCARY’ INCIDENTS ARE EXPOSED, DC RESIDENTS SAY “It’s just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe,” the Democrat representative said. Rep. Ramirez said that she voted present because she is “done with political games.” “I voted present  because I am done with political games,” Ramirez said. “The majority is wasting time bringing a bill that is already current law. There are already no immigration benefits for Hamas terrorists.  “After participating for 15 hours of a sham impeachment, I could not stomach another bill only introduced to score cheap political points, politicize immigration, and divide our communities. Like the Republican’s sham impeachment, this bill does not meaningfully address border security nor further protect our communities. H.R.6679 is unnecessary,” Ramirez said. “It’s a waste of resources and time. And I’m not playing along.” Tlaib and Bush are among a small but vocal minority of Democrats critical of Israel in the ongoing conflict. Tlaib was among the first to condemn Israel for the now-discredited claim that it struck a hospital in Gaza with an airstrike and killed some 500 people.  U.S. intelligence said that the blast originated from a rocket fired by militants in Gaza that fell short. Tlaib, Bush, and Ramirez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

House passes $78 billion tax bill expanding child tax credit and boosting US manufacturing

House passes billion tax bill expanding child tax credit and boosting US manufacturing

The House of Representatives approved a major bipartisan deal to temporarily expand the child tax credit and revive a number of business tax breaks on Wednesday. The $78 billion tax bill passed with wide support from both Democrats and Republicans, despite issues raised earlier this week by key factions on the right and left.  Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gave the bill his blessing hours before the final vote. “The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act is important bipartisan legislation to revive conservative pro-growth tax reform. Crucially, the bill also ends a wasteful COVID-era program, saving taxpayers tens of billions of dollars,” Johnson said in a statement. SPEAKER JOHNSON ENDORSES BIPARTISAN TAX BILL AS ‘CONSERVATIVE,’ ‘PRO-GROWTH’ REFORM It’s now headed to the Senate, where Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, previously called the bill a “starting point” in tax talks.  House GOP leaders opted to put up the bill under suspension of the rules, which bypasses a procedural hurdle known as a rule vote in exchange for raising the threshold for passage to two-thirds of the chamber rather than a simple majority. Rule votes would traditionally fall across party lines; even lawmakers who oppose the legislation itself would vote along with their leadership to pass the rule.  But it’s been weaponized several times during the 118th Congress by GOP factions who have deliberately sunk rule votes in protest of how Republican leaders are handling matters, even those unrelated to the legislation they’re voting on. BLUE-STATE REPUBLICANS SCORE COMMITMENT FROM JOHNSON ON SALT VOTE AFTER HOUSE FLOOR PROTEST: SOURCES The tax deal would temporarily include a phased-in annual increase of the child tax credit’s maximum refundable amount from $1,600 until it hits $2,000 for 2025, its final year. It would also enhance child tax credit benefits for families with multiple children. The child tax credit was expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, but efforts by Democrats to make those changes permanent failed in the last Congress. In a win for GOP negotiators, work requirements remain in place to qualify for the child tax credit, despite calls from the left to do away with them. It would also boost American businesses’ ability to expense research and development costs if it’s conducted inside the U.S. in a bid to incentivize new U.S. manufacturing.  SPEAKER JOHNSON FACES NEW GOP REBELLION, THIS TIME FROM MODERATES Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, a member of the Ways & Means Committee, argued the bill helped families in his rural Iowa district while keeping the U.S. competitive against China.  “This legislation includes provisions to build affordable homes in our rural communities, expand the child tax credit to help supplement the costs of raising a family, and lower taxes for hardworking Iowans,” Feenstra told Fox News Digital. “It also helps our farms, businesses, and manufacturers compete with China by allowing them to purchase needed equipment, invest in cutting-edge research and development, hire new employees, and keep their operations profitable.”