WAWAYANDA, N.Y. (AP) — A charter bus carrying high school students to a band camp careened off a New York highway and tumbled down an embankment Thursday, killing two adults and seriously injuring several others, officials said.Gov. Kathy Hochul said a failure of a front tire could have contributed to the early afternoon accident on Interstate 84 in the town of Wawayanda, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of New York City.The two adults who died were Beatrice Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale and Gina Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa. Five of the 44 passengers on board were critically injured. according to state police.Hochul said the bus tumbled down a 50-foot ravine.“Imagine the fear, the screams and the aftermath when these high school students, many of them freshmen, were surrounded by this chaos,” Hochul said at a news conference.Student Anthony Eugenio called his family to say he was a little banged up, but OK. He recalled the bus rolling over several times before it came to a rest.“He said he is really sore. He’s got a big bump on his leg. He’s got blood on his pants from somebody else. The person next to him was covered in blood,” his father, Jonathan Eugenio, told The Associated Press in a phone interview from near the upstate crash site.Anthony had to borrow a friend’s phone because he could not find his, after the bus tumbled off the road.“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” the worried father said. “When you get news like that and your son is two and half hours away — it’s pretty scary.”News footage showed ripped-up grass on the embankment and the bus lying on its left side with its roof warped. A ladder allowed rescuers to reach the windows.The bus was one of six in a caravan carrying students from Farmingdale High School on Long Island to a band camp in Greeley, in northeastern Pennsylvania, according to a message from the school district.A September trip to band camp is an annual tradition at the suburban high school, which has around 1,700 students. Members of the marching band, color guard and the school’s kick line team attend, as well as adult chaperones. During some years, more than 300 students have gone on the trip to rehearse and have fun in rural Pennsylvania.The bus crashed about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away from the Pine Forest Camp, where the students were headed.Students on the other buses were to stop off at a community college for a break before heading back to Long Island's Nassau County.“Students will have the opportunity to stretch and meet with grief counselors,” according to a message from the district. “Once cleared, they will be returning to Farmingdale High School.”Westchester Medical Center received three patients, said hospital spokesperson Andy LaGuardia, who could not provide conditions. Two other hospitals in the region received patients, LaGuardia said, but he did not have details.Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman asked that people please "pray for the injured.”

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Overturned bus in the bushes on the side of the road

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They were headed to band camp.

Please Pray: Bus Carrying High School Students Crashes, Taking Two Lives And Seriously Injuring Others

(Denver, CO) &nbsp;When Woody Faircloth and his then 6-year-old daughter Luna saw the devastation of the Paradise Fire in California, they knew they had to do something. Woody came up with the idea of donating an RV to someone in need.&nbsp;Rather HEAR the story? Click play (below).<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/66380.mp3"></oembed></figure>Woody started a non-profit called <a href="www.emergencyrv.org">Emergency RV</a> and in the past five years, they’ve been able to donate more than 130 recreational vehicles to people in need.<figure class="image text-center"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/66365.jpg" alt="Adult man and his daughter looking up while close to an RV."><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Woody Faircloth] Woody and his daughter Luna in one of the donated RVs that will be turned into shelter for someone who is displaced.</figcaption></figure>“We’ve delivered those now in fires in the Pacific Northwest, we helped with the big tornadoes that happened in Kentucky a couple Christmases ago, a Native America tribe who lost about 60 homes in southern Louisiana after Hurricane Ida so we’ve kind of expanded and have been all over the country now," Woody says.Woody jumped into action after the fires in Hawaii.“The last five that we’ve sent, we put on a ship to Maui to some of the 18 firefighters who lost their homes and there’s just no shelter and it’s a really tight market, so we were able to get free shipping.” &nbsp;<figure class="image text-center"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/66369.jpg" alt="Elderly couple and dog with Luna and Woody in front of an RV"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Woody Faircloth] Woody, Luna and couple with their dog in front of a donated RV</figcaption></figure>How has providing shelter affected Woody?“It’s changed me fundamentally. Things that used to bother me...you know getting a flat tire on my car or just things that happen in life…it doesn’t bother me anymore. I mean, my problems are really not problems.” &nbsp;<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/66380.mp3"></oembed></figure>&nbsp;

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Firefighter, man and daughter next to fire truck in the woods

Woody and his daughter Luna have delivered more than 130 RVs to people without shelter

Meet Woody Faircloth: Bringing Donated RVs To Disaster Survivors, Now In Maui (+podcast)

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A newly published study has found morning exercisers may have healthier habits that help with weight loss.

Morning Exercisers Tend To Have Healthier Habits, Study Finds

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Jasmine and Jessica Turner with their baby sister Juliet. The Turner family has three girls all born on September 3 within four years.

Jeremy and Sauhry Turner had a baby girl on September 3, three times within four years. The Ocala, Florida family said birthdays will be big for them.

Florida Family Welcomes Third Girl Born On The Same Day In Four Years

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Some names are just the wurst.Just four months after announcing that the hot dog-shaped Wienermobile was changing its name to the Frankmobile, the one-of-a-kind wiener on wheels is reverting to the original.Oscar Mayer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxah_DAMQVS/?hl=en">announced Wednesday</a> on Instagram that the Frankmobile is toast. The Wienermobile rides again.The name change announced by The Kraft Heinz Company in May was meant to pay homage to the brand's 100% beef franks and their new recipe.For fans of the original name, the change was, frankly, ridiculous.“It’s been a franktastic summer!” the Instagram post said. “But like you, we missed this BUNderful icon. Help us welcome back the Wienermobile!”Oscar Mayer was headquartered in the Wisconsin capital, Madison, for nearly 100 years before it moved to Chicago in 2015. The first Weinermobile was created in 1936, and it has gone through several iterations since then.Those who drive the Wienermobile around to promotional events are known as Hotdoggers. Perhaps the most famous Hotdogger is former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who drove the Wienermobile one summer while in college.

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The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile sits outside the the Oscar Meyer headquarters, Oct. 27, 2014, in Madison, Wis. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, four months after announcing that the hot dog-shaped Wienermobile was changing its name to the Frankmobile, Oscar Meyer said that the one-of-a-kind wiener on wheels is reverting to the original.

Some names are just the wurst.

The Weinermobile Is Back!

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Besides being Mexico's 5th largest 'employer,' it's estimated that cartels recruit about 360 workers each week to replace those lost to violence or incarceration.

How Many Work For Mexican Drug Cartels? Researchers Have An Answer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters resumed talks Thursday that could potentially put an end to the nearly five-month dispute that has brought many film and television productions to a halt.In a rare joint statement issued Wednesday night, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the industry’s studios, streaming services and production companies in union negotiations, and the Writers Guild of America, said that they’d met for bargaining Wednesday and would continue Thursday. Present at the meeting were a group of top entertainment CEOs including Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Universal’s Donna Langley and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos. The four are likely to be present at the talks Thursday as well.On Wednesday, CNBC reporter David Faber wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the writers and AMPTP were “near” an agreement and “hope to finalize the deal,” according to his anonymous sources. He also said his sources warned that should the deal not close, the strike is likely to continue until the end of the year.No other outlet has been able to corroborate Faber’s report. Deadline reported, however, that Wednesday’s negotiations were “very encouraging.” The Associated Press sent emails seeking comment to representatives for the AMPTP, the WGA and other entertainment companies.The two sides have been divided on issues of pay, the size of writing staffs on shows and the use of artificial intelligence in how scripts are created. Actors, who joined the writers on strike in July, have their own issues but there have been no discussions about resuming negotiations with their union yet.A previous attempt to restart talks fell flat. The two sides had a handful of meetings in mid-August, including one that included the heads of Disney, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery.But writers said that after exchanging contract proposals, “they were met with a lecture about how good their single and only counteroffer was,” and the talks trailed off.The WGA strike is nearing record length. Should it continue through Sept. 30, it will be the longest in the union’s history and the longest Hollywood strike since 1945.

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Fran Drescher, left, president of SAG-AFTRA, and Meredith Stiehm, president of Writers Guild of America West, pose together during a rally by striking writers outside Paramount Pictures studio in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023.

Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters resumed talks Thursday that could potentially put an end to the nearly five-month dispute that has brought many film and television productions to a halt.

Hollywood Studios And Striking Writers Resume Negotiation Talks

MIAMI (AP) — A tropical storm warning was issued Thursday from coastal North Carolina to Delaware ahead of a potential tropical cyclone that's approaching the densely populated East Coast.The National Hurricane Center announced “Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen” on Thursday morning. Its 2 p.m. advisory said the disturbance was located about 355 miles (565 kilometers) southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and moving north at 9 mph (15 kph). Maximum sustained winds were 35 mph (55 kph).The hurricane center defines a potential tropical cyclone as a disturbance that poses a threat of tropical storm or hurricane conditions to land within 48 hours. The current system could reach the North Carolina coast around Friday night or early Saturday.Meteorologist Maria Torres, a public affairs officer with the National Hurricane Center, said people along the Atlantic coast need to keep an eye on the storm’s progress, gather supplies and make preparations over the next 24 to 48 hours for its arrival.“This will bring some tropical storm force winds and storm surge along with the high winds to the East Coast through the weekend, mainly from the Southeast to the Mid-Atlantic states,” she said by phone from the Miami-based center.The tropical storm warning is in effect from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to Fenwick Island, Delaware. It also includes the Chesapeake Bay south of Smith Point, and Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.Virginia emergency management officials warned of heavy rain, high winds and flooding in the next few days.The Virginia Department of Emergency Management said on social media Thursday that officials are coordinating with local weather service offices to watch the system developing off the coast. Officials called on residents to prepare for the storm and impacts on the region throughout the weekend.North Carolina Emergency Management warned that large swells from distant Hurricane Nigel also would reach the state’s coast on Thursday, boosting the rip current risk. The combination of those swells and the low-pressure system could mean additional ocean overwash, beach erosion and coastal flooding.A storm surge watch was also issued from Surf City, North Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia. The hurricane center said storm surge between 2 and 4 feet (.6 to 1.2 meters) was expected.Meanwhile, Hurricane Nigel was still moving quickly over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean as a Category 1 storm. The hurricane center said Nigel's maximum sustained winds were 85 mph (140 kph). The system was centered about 505 miles (815 kilometers) southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and moving northeast at 30 mph (48 kph).Forecasters expected Nigel would weaken over the coming days and could become a post-tropical cyclone on Thursday night or early Friday.<figure class="image text-center"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/66834.png" alt="graphic"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: NOAA/NHC] Likely path for new storm system</figcaption></figure>

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Tropical storm warning issued from coastal North Carolina to Delaware

System Off East Coast Expected To Be Tropical Storm 'Ophelia,' Soon (see path chart)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the third month in a row in August, as higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a dearth of properties on the market shut out many would-be homebuyers.Existing home sales fell 0.7% last month from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.04 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s below the 4.10 million pace that economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Sales slumped 15.3% compared with the same month last year and are down 21% through the first eight months of the year versus the same stretch in 2022.Meanwhile, prices rose again last month, propped up by buyers competing for a near-record low inventory of homes on the market.The national median sales price rose 3.9% from August last year to $407,100, marking the third month in a row that the median price remained above $400,000. Last month's median sale price is also the fourth-highest on records going back to 1999.“Home prices continue to march higher despite lower home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. “Supply needs to essentially double to moderate home price gains.”Even as rising mortgage rates force many buyers to the sidelines, the shortage of homes for sale has kept the market competitive, driving bidding wars in many places, especially for the most affordable homes.Buyers snapped up homes last month typically within just 20 days after the properties hit the market, and about 31% of homes sold for more than their list price.“Sales are down, people are struggling to buy a home, but prices are going up," Yun said.All told, there were 1.1 million homes on the market by the end of last month, down 0.9% from July and 14.1% from August last year, the NAR said. That amounts to just a 3.3-month supply, going by the current sales pace. In a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, there is a 4- to 5-month supply.Would-be homebuyers are also seeing their purchasing power diminish as mortgage rates push higher.The weekly average rate on a 30-year mortgage hovered just below 7% in June and July, when many of the home sales that were finalized in August would have gone under contract. It has remained above 7% since, surging at one point last month to 7.23%, a 22-year high, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.High rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already unaffordable to many Americans. They also discourage homeowners who locked in those low rates two years ago from selling.Mortgage rates have been echoing moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. The yield has been climbing amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep short-term interest rates higher for longer to fight inflation.On Wednesday, Federal Reserve policymakers signaled that they expect to raise rates once more this year and envision their key rate staying higher in 2024 than most analysts had expected.The 10-year Treasury yield surged to 4.46% in morning trading Thursday, up from 4.40% late Wednesday and from 0.50% three years ago. It’s now near its highest level since 2007.“It's possible mortgage rates may go up to 8% in the short run,” Yun said.

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A notice indicating that a home has been sold appears on a sign in residential section of San Francisco, Friday, April 21, 2023.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the third month in a row in August, as higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a dearth of properties on the market shut out many would-be homebuyers.

Home Sales Fall Again In August As Mortgage Rates Rise

NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Australian media magnate whose creation of Fox News made him a force in American politics, is stepping down as leader of both Fox's parent company and his News Corp. media holdings.Fox said Thursday that Murdoch would become chairman emeritus of both companies, effective at board meetings in November. His son, Lachlan, will become News Corp. chairman and continue as chief executive officer of Fox Corp.Lachlan Murdoch said that “we are grateful that he will serve as chairman emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies.”Besides Fox News, Murdoch started the Fox broadcast network, the first to successfully challenge the Big Three of ABC, CBS and NBC, with shows like “The Simpsons.” He is owner of The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.He slimmed down his corporate holdings with the 2019 sale of many entertainment assets to the Walt Disney Co. These included film production, rights to the Marvel comics, National Geographic and the cable network FX.Fox News Channel has profoundly influenced television and the nation's politics since its start in 1996, making Murdoch a hero to some and pariah to others. The 24-hour network converted the power and energy of political talk radio to television. Within six years, it outrated CNN and MSNBC.But it has been a rough year for Fox, which was forced to pay $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit related to its coverage of false claims following the 2020 presidential election. Shortly after, Fox fired its most popular personality, Tucker Carlson.Stock in Fox Corp., while positive this year, began to decline early in 2022, due in part to lawsuits and investor anxiety over the loss of viewers to smaller media outlets.Murdoch vowed in a letter to employees that he would remain engaged at Fox.“In my new role, I can guarantee you that I will be involved every day in the contest of ideas," Murdoch wrote. “Our companies are communities, and I will be an active member of our community. I will be watching our broadcasts with a critical eye, reading our newspapers and websites and books with much interest.”There was no immediate word on why Murdoch's announcement came now. Ironically, next week author and Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff is publishing a book, “The End of Fox News,” speculating on what will happen to the network when the patriarch is gone.Murdoch and his family, particularly children James, Lachlan, Elisabeth and Prudence, were said to be the model of the HBO show “ Succession.”He built his empire from a single newspaper in Adelaide, Australia, inherited from his father and became a multi-billionaire. Forbes estimated the Murdoch family's net worth at roughly $19 billion in 2020.While Murdoch never ran for political office, politicians in the United States and Britain anxiously sought his approval. He had a complicated relationship with Donald Trump. Wolff reported in 2018 that Murdoch had called Trump an “idiot,” adding an expletive for emphasis, but Fox News is built with an audience that largely admires Trump.Fox briefly seemed to tout the candidacy of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the current election cycle, but that has faded along with DeSantis' prospects.For decades, Murdoch was one of the most powerful media figures in Britain, a market he entered after buying the tabloid News of the World in 1969. He reinvigorated Britain's stodgy newspaper scene with scandal and celebrity and helped shake up television with satellite broadcaster Sky.His clout has waned since the revelation more than a decade ago that employees of the News of the World had eavesdropped on phones and used other underhanded methods to get scoops on celebrities, politicians and royals. News Corp. owns the Times, Sunday Times and Sun newspapers, but News of the World closed and Murdoch sold his 40% stake in Sky when he failed to get complete control of the company.Fox News went through a series of sexual harassment scandals in the 2010s, which led to top executive Roger Ailes and prime-time personality Bill O'Reilly being pushed out. Murdoch dismissed them as isolated instances that were “largely political because we're conservative.”Shares of News Corp. and Fox rose Thursday in early trading.

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Rupert Murdoch attends the WSJ. Magazine 2017 Innovator Awards at The Museum of Modern Art in New York

The 92-year-old Australian media magnate whose creation of Fox News made him a force in American politics, is stepping down as leader of both Fox's parent company and his News Corp. media holdings.

Rupert Murdoch Stepping Down As Chairman Of Fox 

A group of 25 state governors that make up the U.S. Climate Alliance and the Biden administration are expected to announce a pledge Thursday to quadruple the number of heat pumps in U.S. homes by 2030, from 4.7 million to 20 million.Heat pumps use little electricity, yet are able to heat and cool buildings. Since they often replace oil or gas furnaces that add greenhouse gases to the air, they can meaningfully address climate change.Buildings account for more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.The pledge on heat pumps is a collection of state initiatives to work toward the goal of ramping down emissions to zero by 2050. Pennsylvania and seven other states, for example, will look into developing a standard for how non-polluting a heater needs to be.The governors in the alliance represent approximately 60% of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the country's population.Washington Governor Jay Inslee called heat pumps “almost a miraculous solution” to three problems Americans face, “heating in the winter, cooling in the summer, and a reduction of carbon pollution.”The reason heat pumps run on less electricity than other forms of heating is that they merely extract heat from outdoor air or underground and transfer it inside, instead of heating up a coil, for instance. They are just as good at cooling, pulling heat from indoors and dumping it outside or underground.“Even on a winter’s day, heat pumps can take heat from outside, move it inside, and use less energy than if you were heating your house with a furnace," said Stephen Porder, a professor of ecology and assistant provost for sustainability at Brown University. ”A furnace makes heat by burning something, (but) moving heat is more efficient than making it.”In Providence, Rhode Island where Porder lives, there is more call for heating than air conditioning. In 2014, he said, he ditched his oil furnace and installed heat pumps. "My house is more comfortable, my energy bills are about half what they were before, and my house’s greenhouse gas emissions, even counting the electricity to run the heat pumps, have dropped by 75%. Plus, I now have AC, which I didn’t have before," he said.Because they help address climate change, heat pumps are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-reduction-act-renewable-energy-policy-economy-d5b0a7f15659930c6c15f0d180b193e8">highly incentivized under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act</a>, which provides a 30% tax credit. Other states and utilities offer additional tax credits on top of the IRA incentive.“There is already a huge increase in heat pump installations in the U.S. Heat pump units outsold gas furnace units, previously the most popular type of heating system, last year,” said Amanda Smith, a senior scientist at Project Drawdown, citing <a href="https://www.iea.org/commentaries/global-heat-pump-sales-continue-double-digit-growth">data from the International Energy Agency</a>.“People have been struggling with home heating costs and high energy costs in Maine, especially the last couple of years because we’ve been so over reliant on global fossil fuel energy markets,” said Maine Governor Janet Mills. “I think people in Maine are interested in anything that will save them money, make their homes and businesses more efficient, and more comfortable financially.”White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi Zaidi noted rising demand for heat pumps will stimulate domestic manufacturing. But many clean energy businesses report shortages of qualified installers.“We want to ensure that we're not held captive to foreign supply chain issues ... we want manufacturers here in the U.S. to get ready for high demand that we anticipate will follow this announcement,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.Alexandra Rempel, associate professor of environmental studies at the University of Oregon, agreed heat pumps are more sustainable than traditional heating and cooling systems, but they are not highly efficient in extremely cold regions. Like other systems, they use refrigerants — chemical fluids that significantly warm the atmosphere when they leak. They also draw power from the same electrical grid as everything else, which is often powered by fossil fuels, so their sustainability depends in part on the amount of green energy generated in that region, she pointed out.“Overall, the benefits do outweigh the limitations in most places, but there are some limitations,” she said.The governors of Washington, New York, and California formed the U.S. Climate Alliance in 2017 after the U.S. pulled out of the Paris Agreement. Alliance governors have pledged to collectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26% by 2025 and at least 50% by 2030, compared to 2005 emission levels.

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A condenser sits on the roof during the installation of a heat pump on Jan. 20, 2023, in Denver.

Heat pumps use little electricity, yet are able to heat and cool buildings.

A Group Of Governors Want To Quadruple The Number Of Heat Pumps

MIAMI (AP) — The first big test of whether privately owned high-speed passenger train service can prosper in the United States will launch Friday when Florida's Brightline begins running trains between Miami and Orlando, reaching speeds of 125 mph (200 kph).It's a $5 billion bet Brightline's owner, Fortress Investment Group, is making, believing that eventually 8 million people annually will take the 3.5-hour, 235-mile (378-kilometer) trip between the state's biggest tourist hubs. The company is charging single riders $158 round-trip for business class and $298 for first-class, with families and groups able to buy four round-trip tickets for $398. Thirty-two trains will run daily.Brightline, which began running its neon-yellow trains the 70 miles (112 kilometers) between Miami and West Palm Beach in 2018, is the first private intercity passenger service to begin U.S. operations in a century. It's also building a line connecting <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bullet-train-vegas-los-angeles-nevada-california-e6ac480fd784e2947dba49304cb4fe20">Southern California and Las Vegas</a> that it hopes to open in 2027 with trains that will reach 190 mph (305 kph). The only other U.S. high-speed line is Amtrak's Acela service between Boston and Washington, D.C., which began in 2000. Amtrak is owned by the federal government.“This is a pretty important moment, whether you’re thinking about it in the context of the state of Florida or what it might mean for these kinds of products as they develop elsewhere in the United States," Brightline CEO Mike Reininger said in a recent interview. “The idea that my car is the only way for me to get where I need to go is being challenged by a new product. A new product that’s safer, that’s greener, that is a great value proposition (and) it’s fun.”The Florida trains, which run on biodiesel, will travel up to 79 mph (127 kph) in urban areas, 110 mph (177 kph) in less-populated regions and 125 mph (200 kph) through central Florida’s farmland. Brightline plans possible extensions to Tampa and Jacksonville.John Renne, director of Florida Atlantic University's Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, said the Miami-Orlando corridor is a perfect spot for high-speed rail — about 40 million Floridians and visitors make the trip annually, with more than 90% of them driving.If Brightline succeeds that could lead to more high-speed lines between major cities 200 to 300 miles (320 to 480 kilometers) apart, both by Brightline and competitors, he said.“It is quite exciting for South Florida to kind of be a test bed for what could be seen as a new paradigm for transportation, particularly high-speed rail transportation, in the United States,” Renne said.Because Brightline is privately owned and seeking a profit, it was more sensitive to getting the project completed quickly to save money. On the government side, Renne pointed to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/eab3e5e3d0504547b6456eb3c62509b9">California’s effort</a> to build a high-speed rail system. Approved by voters in 2008, it isn’t near fruition, has already cost billions more than expected and its prospects for completion are uncertain as finding a route through mountains is proving difficult and politicians added dubious side projects. Brightline began planning in 2012.Brightline's development has suffered setbacks, though. COVID-19 shut down the Miami-West Palm Beach line for 17 months. <a href="https://apnews.com/0ddc85f43ae047dfb2b96b9e90d9bc01">A 2018 partnership</a> with Richard Branson's Virgin Group to rebrand Brightline as Virgin Trains USA quickly soured. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-u-s-news-fort-lauderdale-florida-travel-530777f8d01b8c8973cd4185b100739a">Brightline terminated the partnership in 2020</a> and Virgin sued in London. According to the lawsuit, Brightline says Virgin “ceased to constitute a brand of international high repute, largely because of matters related to the pandemic." That case is pending.Then there is the question of safety for residents near the tracks.Brightline trains have the highest death rate in the U.S., fatally striking 98 people since Miami-West Palm operations began — about one death for every 32,000 miles (51,500 kilometers) its trains travel, according to an ongoing <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-us-news-ap-top-news-transportation-technology-florida-0973281682ed4cc9bbd33a5fd569d5d5">Associated Press analysis</a> of federal data that began in 2019. The next-worst major railroad has a fatality every 130,000 miles (209,200 kilometers).None of the deaths have been found to be Brightline's fault — most have been suicides, drivers who go around crossing gates or pedestrians running across tracks. The company hasn’t had a fatality since June, its longest stretch except during the pandemic shutdown.Still, the company's fatality rate concerns officials in the extension area.Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said a Brightline official seemed callous during a recent meeting, saying he seemed more worried about explaining Brightline’s procedure for getting passengers to their destination after an accident than how it deals with deaths.“They don’t seem to have any empathy for our community. We’re just in their way,” said Flowers, whose county includes Vero Beach. “It’s a cost of doing business for them that they’re going to run some people over.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-florida-fort-lauderdale-west-palm-beach-3b9b16add1ca8a4c52c77d138e2f5b6c">Brightline has taken steps</a> its leaders believe enhance safety, including adding closed-circuit cameras near tracks, installing better crossing gates and pedestrian barriers and posting signage that includes the suicide prevention hotline.“We have invested heavily in the infrastructure so that we have a safe corridor,” Reininger said. 'We continue to operate literally every day with safety at top of mind."Reininger said most of Brightline’s Miami-Orlando passengers will come from those who drive the route regularly and others who stay home because they hate the drive. Prime targets are families headed to Orlando’s theme parks and travelers to South Florida’s nightlife, concerts, sports and cruises.The drive between Miami and Orlando takes about four hours each way on Florida’s Turnpike with round-trip tolls costing between $40 and $60. Gas costs between $50 and $80, plus wear and tear on the vehicle.Reininger said his company’s challenge is to convince travelers that its trains’ amenities make any extra cost worthwhile.“It’s the value of your time,” Reininger said. The train “gives you the ability to use your time that you are dedicating to travel in any number of ways that you can’t do when you are behind the wheel.”Robert Barr, who lives near Miami and publishes guides on rum and South Florida locales, has taken Brightline to West Palm Beach and looks forward to traveling the line to Orlando. He said Brightline’s accommodations “compare really well to some of the best trains” he’s taken in Europe, where high-speed rail between cities is common.“You’ve got comfortable seats and a relatively quiet ride. It feels very modern,” said Barr.

first-us-passenger-rail-line-in-100-years-is-about-to-link-miami-and-orlando

A Brightline train approaches the Fort Lauderdale station on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“It is quite exciting for South Florida to kind of be a test bed for what could be seen as a new paradigm for transportation

First US Passenger Rail Line In 100 Years Is About To Link Miami And Orlando

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities are trying to figure out how a heavily armored, but unarmed, tank was stolen from a military training zone after finding it discarded in a junkyard.The Israeli Merkava 2 tank disappeared from a training zone in northern Israel near the coastal city of Haifa, the Israeli army said Wednesday. The training zone is closed to the public when in use, but is otherwise accessible to passersby.Police said the 65-ton tank was found abandoned in a scrapyard near a military base. In a video from the scene, the army green tank towers alongside rusty scraps of metal and other industrial castoffs.The army said the Merkava 2 was decommissioned years ago and was unarmed. It said it had been used most recently as a “stationary vehicle for soldiers' exercises.”Police said they had arrested two suspects in connection with the theft.

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In this photo provided by the Israeli police, an Israeli tank that was stolen from a military zone is seen in a junkyard near Haifa, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2022.

 Israeli authorities are trying to figure that out

How Did A Heavily Armored Tank Wind Up In a Junkyard?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returns to Washington on Thursday for a whirlwind one-day visit, this time to face the Republicans now questioning the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has kept his troops in the fight against Russian forces.Zelenskyy will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House, speak with U.S. military leaders at the Pentagon and stop at Capitol Hill to talk privately with Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate as the world is watching Western support for Kyiv.It is Zelenskyy's second visit to Washington since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and comes as Biden's request to Congress for an additional $24 billion for Ukraine’s military and humanitarian needs is hanging in the balance.National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the Ukrainian president “our best messenger” in persuading U.S. lawmakers to keep vital U.S. money and weapons coming.“It’s really important for members of Congress to be able to hear directly from the president about what he's facing in this counteroffensive," Kirby told reporters Wednesday, "and how he’s achieving his goals, and what he needs to continue to achieve those goals."Biden has called on world leaders to stand strong with Ukraine, even as he faces domestic political divisions at home. A hard-right flank of Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, Biden’s chief rival in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2024-presidential-candidates-who-is-running-e89fbfee94e7e7980594a9ce3994fec7">the 2024 race</a> for the White House, is increasingly opposed to sending more money overseas.As the White House worked to shore up support for Ukraine before Zelenskyy's visit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top intelligence officials briefed senior lawmakers behind closed doors Wednesday to argue the case.But some Senate Republicans walked out of the briefing no more convinced than before about the necessity of spending more on Ukraine. “It’s not close to the end,” Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said. “What we’re basically told is, ‘Buckle up and get out your checkbook.”’Since the start of the war, most members of Congress supported approving four rounds of aid to Ukraine, totaling about $113 billion, viewing defense of the country and its democracy as an imperative, especially when it comes to containing Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some of that money went toward replenishing U.S. military equipment sent to the frontlines.Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who traveled to Kyiv this week, said cutting off U.S. aid during the Ukrainians’ counteroffensive would be “catastrophic” to their efforts.“That would clearly be the opening that Putin is looking for,” Kelly said Wednesday. “They cannot be successful without our support.”The political environment has shifted markedly since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-biden-68c65b3274e552f36f16853f24fedbb9">Zelenskyy addressed Congress</a> last December on his first trip out of Ukraine since the war began. He was met with rapturous applause for his country’s bravery and surprisingly strong showing in the war.His meeting with senators on Thursday will take place behind closed doors in the Old Senate Chamber, a historical and intimate place of importance at the U.S. Capitol, signifying the respect the Senate is showing the foreign leader.But on the other side of the Capitol, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who faces more opposition within his Trump-aligned ranks to supporting Ukraine, is planning a separate meeting with Zelenskyy, with a smaller bipartisan group of lawmakers and committee chairmen.“I will have questions for President Zelenskyy,” McCarthy told reporters before the visit.The House speaker said he wanted more accountability for the money the U.S. has already approved for Ukraine before moving ahead with more.And, McCarthy said, he wants to know, "What is the plan for victory?”In the Senate, however, Ukraine has a strong ally in Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who is out front in pushing his party, and the president, to continue robust support for Kyiv.McConnell urged Biden before Wednesday’s closed-door briefing to senators to make sure the administration’s top brass puts forward a more forceful case in support of Ukraine so Congress can send Zelenskyy what’s needed to win the war.“I sometimes get the sense that I speak more about Ukraine matters than the president does,” McConnell said in a speech Wednesday.

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President Joe Biden speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington.

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