On today’s episode of the 5 Things podcast: Ohio residents want answers after toxic train derailment
Cincinnati Enquirer Health Reporter Brooks Sutherland gives a scene report from Ohio after a train derailment and toxic chemical release. Plus, a Georgia grand jury recommends perjury charges in the Trump election interference probe, President Joe Biden confirms that objects shot down by the U.S. last week were not likely spy balloons, USA TODAY Trending Reporter Wyatte Grantham-Philips talks about why the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is in trouble, and Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with dementia.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I’m Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Friday, the 17th of February 2023. Today, where things stand two weeks after the Ohio train derailment. Plus, we know more about those unidentified flying objects the US shot down, and the Doomsday Glacier is in trouble.
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Today marks two weeks since the massive train derailment in Ohio, and the release of toxic chemicals that followed. For an update on where things stand, and how residents in the area feel about the situation, I spoke with Cincinnati Enquirer Health Reporter Brooks Sutherland. Brooks, thanks for hopping on the podcast.
Brooks Sutherland:
Hey, thanks so much for having me. Appreciate it.
Taylor Wilson:
It’s been two weeks since the massive train derailment in Ohio where officials subsequently burned off the toxic chemicals that were on board to prevent a massive explosion. So Brooks, walk us through what we know now two weeks later.
Brooks Sutherland:
So we know that obviously a train derailment, an axle issue caused this on February the third. A couple of days later, officials deemed that there needed to be a controlled burn to essentially avoid what they called that explosion in the area. They evacuated residents to do that controlled burn. They brought them back. They have since told these folks that it’s safe to get back to allow the normal things, but certainly residents are concerned about the lingering health effects that may come from an exposure like this, and are a little bit mistrusting of fully returning to normal life.
Taylor Wilson:
Brooks, there was a town hall in East Palestine, Ohio. This is the village that has experienced the worst of the disaster. So what happened at this meeting?
Brooks Sutherland:
This was billed as a town hall initially. When we got there, the folks that have it set up said it’s going to be more of an informational meeting, set up like a job fair almost, where residents could walk around and get information from the different agencies that were there. They invited the Environmental Protection Agency, they invited Norfolk and Southern. When we got there, the mayor informed media first and then told residents that Norfolk and Southern would not be at the meeting. And that obviously caused residents to be a little bit… It was a little tense, they were a little bit angry about that fact. And what ultimately happened was the mayor took questions from residents. You can imagine that they have a lot of concerns. They’re very upset at what they perceive as a lack of transparency. But the mayor and the Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, was there. And folks from the EPA just trying to answer some of the questions and concerns.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah, you mentioned Norfolk and Southern, the president and CEO issued an open letter to East Palestine residents this week. What did the letter say? And did it succeed at all in making residents feel any safer?
Brooks Sutherland:
So the letter essentially said, “Look, we hear you. We hear that you have some concerns.” The letter I think emphasized a couple of times that I think it said directly, “We will not walk away from East Palestine.” I can tell you just from being there last night and talking to people, residents of East Palestine, outside as they’re waiting – which by the way, hundreds of people, quite a showing for something like this. One resident said it’s the biggest turnout he’s ever seen in that gymnasium – but I don’t think that a statement like that would essentially maybe cause them to be less concerned, to kind of be accepting of everything.
Taylor Wilson:
I’m trying to get a sense of the latest from lawmakers. What is Ohio Governor Mike DeWine saying about all of this in recent days? And how about other lawmakers, either in the area or nationally?
Brooks Sutherland:
So I know that Governor DeWine yesterday is really pushing for Congress to take action. There’s a lot of federal regulations that I think will eventually come into the fold. The governor is also pressing for the CDC to get involved and take the lead in figuring out what kind of exposure these folks may face and what that might look like down the road. I do know that Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff was there last night explaining to residents that even though they may experience some bad smells and other things in the air, that a lot of the testing suggests that they should be okay, which you can imagine residents may have a little bit of mistrust in that. But I believe both senators in Ohio, Senator J.D. Vance and Senator Sherrod Brown, were both in East Palestine.
Taylor Wilson:
Brooks, people across the country are following the story and concern that maybe the same could happen in their town. Could this sort of thing happen again?
Brooks Sutherland:
Yes, I think that’s the concern. And as I mentioned earlier, when you get into some of these federal regulations, the governor, the other day, in his conference noted that it’s basically legal for a company like Norfolk and Southern to come through the state with hazardous materials, without even having to notify state officials that they’re doing so. And so all of these federal regulations are going to be explored. I think there’s going to be a lot of talk about what we can do. You probably saw the news in Houston of something similar. The short answer is that this certainly could happen again anywhere, and I think until we had this conversation that the concern’s going to be there.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Cincinnati Enquirer Health Reporter Brooks Sutherland, fantastic insight on all of this. Thanks so much, Brooks.
Brooks Sutherland:
Thanks so much. Appreciate you having me.
Taylor Wilson: You can read more from Brooks on this topic with a link in today’s show notes.
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A grand jury in Georgia examining interference in the 2020 election found no evidence of fraud as claimed by former President Donald Trump, and they recommended perjury charges for unnamed witnesses suspected of lying under oath. That’s according to a partial version of the panel’s final report released yesterday. The report was heavily redacted, but the panel’s rejection of election fraud gave a direct rebuke to Trump. The 23 member group wrote, “We find by unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.” The investigation was launched after Trump called Georgia’s Secretary of State in January of 2021, urging him to find votes to tilt the election in Trump’s favor.
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President Joe Biden said yesterday that three unidentified flying objects shot down last weekend over North American airspace were most likely balloons tied to private companies, or research institutions. In other words, they were not part of China’s surveillance spy balloon program. The US shot down the objects about a week after downing a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina. Still, no private companies or institutions have come forward to take responsibility for the objects. President Biden said he has directed his administration to create sharper rules for how to deal with unidentified flying objects in the future, to figure out what poses a security threat and what doesn’t. Biden also said he’ll soon speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the Chinese balloon shot down earlier this month.
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A massive glacier in Antarctica is known as the Doomsday Glacier, and new research indicates that it’s in trouble. For more on why that is, I spoke with USA TODAY Trending Reporter Wyatte Grantham-Phillips. Wyatte, welcome back to 5 Things.
Wyatte Grantham-Phillips:
Thank you for having me back.
Taylor Wilson:
First off, where is this Doomsday Glacier and why is it in trouble?
Wyatte Grantham-Phillips:
So the Thwaites Glacier, also known as the Doomsday Glacier, is a glacier in Antarctica, and it’s a glacier that’s about the size of Florida. It’s nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier because some scientists see this glacier as the most vulnerable and most significant glacier in terms of future global sea level rise.
Taylor Wilson:
Why is it especially in trouble right now?
Wyatte Grantham-Phillips:
So this glacier, it’s always rapidly changing, scientists have long been concerned about the trouble that it’s in. And the two studies published on Wednesday, they basically, as one researcher put it, found neither good news or bad news, but sustained that this glacier is still in trouble. So essentially the studies concluded that the glacier appears to be driven by different processes beneath its floating ice shelf than previously understood. The research shows that Thwaites isn’t melting at a pace as fast as once was feared, but that there are deep fractures in the ice that are taking the heaviest tolls. So the melting beneath much of the ice shelf is slower than we previously expected, but the melting in crevices and cracks is much more rapid, and that is worrisome in terms of the integrity of the structure of the ice shelf, it could fall apart. They actually used this 13-foot pencil-looking-like robot to go under the sea, and it allowed scientists to examine the first look that they’ve been able to see in this very hard spot under the glacier, and look at what’s eating away at Thwaites.
Taylor Wilson:
Stepping back, and just going a little bit more broad here, what does the Doomsday Glacier’s current state tell us about potential sea levels, and also just about where climate change is at right now, in general?
Wyatte Grantham-Phillips:
The Doomsday Glacier is already contributing to about 4% of global sea level rise, and so that’s already concerning. And again, in terms of sea level, if it did completely collapse, it could increase in sea levels by more than two feet, some estimates even more than that, which could devastate the coastal communities worldwide. That could take hundreds of years, but the ice shelf could fall apart much sooner. In fact, there was a study in 2021 that basically was looking at the accelerating fractures within the ice shelf, and saying that the ice shelf itself could fall in the next five years.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow.
Wyatte Grantham-Phillips:
So that is very concerning as well. Yeah.
Taylor Wilson:
Wyatte Grantham-Phillips, Trending Reporter for USA TODAY, thanks as always, thanks so much.
Wyatte Grantham-Phillips:
Thank you for having me.
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Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. The brain disorder is caused by degeneration of the brain’s frontal lobe. The diagnosis comes nearly a year after his family confirmed that the 67-year-old iconic movie star was stepping away from acting because of aphasia, a condition that affects speech. In a statement his family wrote, “Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition worsens, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”
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And finally, today is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. The first was celebrated in Denver in 1995, and it’s grown ever since. So wherever you are, take a minute today to make a kind gesture, share encouraging words, or do something nice for a stranger.
And thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every morning right here, wherever you’re listening right now. I’m back tomorrow with more of 5 things for USA TODAY.
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