Railroad CEO to testify in Congress about Ohio derailment

OMAHA, Neb. - The CEO of Norfolk Southern railroad will testify in Congress next week about last month’s fiery Ohio derailment and the precautions the railroad takes to prevent similar crashes.

The railroad said Wednesday that Alan Shaw had agreed to appear before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works next Thursday. He is likely to face tough questions about whether the railroad has been investing enough in safety as it slashed jobs and streamlined operations in recent years to rely on fewer, longer trains.

Already, several lawmakers have proposed a series of rail safety reforms in response to the Feb. 3 derailment that forced the evacuation of half the town of East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border because of concerns about the toxic chemicals that were on fire. The National Transportation Safety Board has said that an overheating bearing likely caused the derailment that sent 38 cars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials, off the tracks.

TikTok sets new default time limits for minors

TikTok said Wednesday that every account held by a user under the age of 18 will have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit in the coming weeks. The changes arrive during a period in which there are growing concerns among different governments about the app’s security and ability to alter its algorithm to push certain posts.

The update also mirrors gaming rules imposed on minors in China, where TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was formerly based. ByteDance now says it has no headquarters because it is a global business and that instead it has leaders in Singapore, New York and elsewhere managing its business. In 2021, Chinese authorities issued new rules that let minors play online games for only an hour a day and only on Fridays, weekends and public holidays - an effort to curb internet addiction.

In the U.S., families have struggled with limiting the amount of time their children spend on the Chinese-owned video sharing app. According to the Pew Research Center, about two-thirds of Americans teens use TikTok.

MLB sets up local media group, could broadcast 17 teams

NEW YORK - Major League Baseball added three executives to its new local media department as it prepares for a possible takeover of broadcasts for 17 teams amid the financial deterioration of the Bally and AT&T SportsNet regional sports networks.

Doug Johnson was hired as senior vice president and executive producer of local media, Greg Pennell as senior vice president of local media and Kendall Burgess as vice president of local media technical operations, the commissioner’s office said Wednesday.

“These new hires are an important step in our preparation to address the changing landscape of MLB game distribution in light of the increasing challenges and pressure facing regional sports networks,” MLB chief revenue officer Noah Garden said in a statement.

Russia says Ukrainian saboteurs launch cross-border attack

KYIV, Ukraine - Russian officials said Thursday that Ukrainian saboteurs crossed into western Russia and attacked local villages, as the war extended into its second year.

Amid conflicting initial reports, Russia’s Federal Security Service said fighting with the sabotage unit was taking place in the Bryansk region.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials, and the exact circumstances of the incident were unclear.

If confirmed, it would be another indication following drone attacks earlier this week that Kyiv could be taking the fight into Russian territory, exposing Russian defensive weaknesses, embarrassing the Kremlin and sowing unease among Russian civilians.

The Federal Security Service was quoted by the Russian state Tass news agency as saying that “activities to eliminate armed Ukrainian nationalists who violated the state border” were underway.

- The Associated Press