Drone footage shows part of the Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023.
Credit: © Gene J. Puskar, AP Photo

On Friday, February 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. East Palestine is near the border of Pennsylvania. Residents in the town have worried about their health and future while teams clean up the mess. Environmental efforts are underway to protect fish and wildlife as much as possible. While almost two months have passed, there are still many unanswered questions.

On February 3rd, the train was heading from Illinois to Pennsylvania when 38 of its 150 cars derailed around 9 PM. Representatives from Norfolk Southern stated the derailment was most likely caused by an overheated wheel bearing on one of the cars. The crash caused a fire that damaged 12 more cars. Shortly after the crash, residents were told to evacuate the area. Five derailed cars were carrying vinyl chloride, used to make plastic products. The cars burned for two days, and then officials began a controlled burn of the remaining chemicals to prevent an unplanned explosion.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources stated the chemical spill killed nearly 3,500 fish in local streams. Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine announced that residents could return to the area on February 8th, five days after the derailment. While the Environmental Protection Agency conducted tests and began cleaning efforts, residents of East Palestine complained of headaches, coughs, fatigue, and even skin irritation. Later, officials advised residents to drink bottled water, not water from the city’s supply.

Residents have met in town hall sessions to ask how the disaster happened and what will be done to resolve it. Politicians, including former President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have visited the town.

Some of the residents of East Palestine were extras in the motion picture “White Noise,” released by Netflix in November 2022, based on the novel of the same name by Don DeLillo. In the fictional movie, a college professor and his family evacuate a small midwestern town after a train derails, creating an airborne toxic event. Many residents say the disaster is like deja vu since they have seen the movie.

Another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio on Saturday, March 4th. The second train was not carrying hazardous materials and was cleaned up quickly. A derailment in Arizona occurred on March 16th. However, the train was only carrying corn syrup that didn’t spill.

Others around the world are questioning rail safety. On February 28th, a train carrying 350 people in Greece near Larissa crashed into a freight train. The crash killed 57 people, causing an uproar about rail safety in the country.

July 12, 2019

On Tuesday night, July 9, the American League (AL) topped the National League (NL) 4-3 in a crisply played Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The AL jumped out to a 4-1 lead and held on for its seventh consecutive win. The All-Star Game features the best MLB players in a midseason interleague exhibition. Cleveland Indians right-hander Shane Bieber, pitching before an adoring home crowd, struck out three National Leaguers in the fifth inning to earn the game’s Most Valuable Player award. Events surrounding the All-Star Game were rock music themed, as Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

The 2019 MLB All-Star Game logo honors the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, where the American League topped the National League 4-3 at Progressive Field on July 9, 2019. Credit: © Major League Baseball

Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, a first-time All-Star, started the game for the NL, and eight-time All-Star Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros took the hill for the AL. Both sides then rolled out new arms every inning, using 18 of the 31 pitchers invited to the game. Another Dodgers left-hander, Clayton Kershaw, surrendered the game’s first run in the second inning on a double by Astros outfielder Michael Brantley, scoring fellow Astro Alex Bregman. Minnesota Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco delivered an RBI (run batted in) single in the fifth for a 2-0 AL advantage, but Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon homered in the sixth to cut the lead in half.

In the seventh inning, Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman scored on a double play and Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo homered to extend the AL lead to 4-1. New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso brought the NL closer with a clutch two-out, two-run single in the eighth, but New York Yankees fireballer Aroldis Chapman fanned the side in the ninth to seal the 4-3 AL victory. AL pitchers set a record by striking out 16 NL hitters, the most ever in a 9-inning All-Star game.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, seen here hitting at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, played in his eighth-straight All-Star Game on July 9, 2019. Trout wore number 45 during the game to honor his late teammate, Tyler Skaggs. Credit: Keith Allison (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

The AL squad was led by Alex Cora, manager of the 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Dave Roberts, manager of last year’s NL champion Dodgers, led the NL side for the second-straight year. A moment of silence before the game honored Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who passed away suddenly at age 27 on July 1, 2019 (there has been no official cause of death). Angels All-Stars Mike Trout and Tommy La Stella both wore Skaggs’s number 45 on their jerseys, and all players wore a black 45 patch on their uniforms.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Logo.
Credit: © Major League Baseball

Cleveland has now hosted six All-Star games (1935, 1954, 1963, 1981, 1997, and 2019), more than any other city. In the 1997 game, a 3-1 AL victory, the AL began an era of dominance over the NL, and the American Leaguers have now won 19 of the past 23 games. Overall, however, the history is nearly even. Since the first All-Star Game in 1933, the AL has won 45 times and NL squads have won 43 (along with 2 ties). The AL has outscored the NL by a scant 3 runs (373-370) in All-Star play. There was no All-Star Game in 1945 because of World War II travel restrictions, and from 1959 through 1962, there were two All-Star games each year.

In other All-Star festivities, a pair of slugging rookies took the Home Run Derby to new heights on Monday night. The Blue Jays’ 20-year-old Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., broke the single-round home run record (40) as well as the derby total record (91), but the Mets’ phenom Alonso bested Guerrero (son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero) 23-22 in the final round for the title. On Sunday evening, the best of Minor League Baseball squared off in the All-Star Futures Game. The AL and NL future stars battled to a 2-2 tie.

June 21, 2019

Today, June 21, is the first day of summer, and people in parts of the Midwestern and Southeastern United States can say goodbye to a stormy spring that included record flooding and an unusual number of powerful tornadoes. Beginning in March, snowmelt and repeated heavy rains overflowed the Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and other rivers. Tornadoes ravaged many areas in March and April, and in the month of May alone, an astounding 362 twisters touched down in 12 different states. The combined spring storms killed 64 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.

Mississippi River floodwaters cut off a highway at the Illinois-Missouri border on May 30, 2019. Spring storms ravaged many parts of the Midwest and Southeast in 2019. Credit: © Scott Olson, Getty Images

An unusually cold winter resulted in large snowfalls and frozen ground throughout the Midwest. In March, melting snow added large amounts of water to streams and rivers. Torrential downpours then followed, resulting in floods that affected Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Six people died in the regional flooding, and the waters caused some $8 billion in damage. Powerful thunderstorms and flooding continued in April and May, spreading damage to the states of Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In some states, more than a month’s worth of rain (compared with the average) fell in a single day. Saturated fields prevented many crops from being planted, and many existing crops were severely damaged.

In early March, tornadoes first struck in the Southeast, killing 23 people and causing extensive damage in parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. In April, tornadoes killed 20 more people in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Then, in May, 362 tornadoes killed 15 people across the Midwest. A number of the tornadoes rated EF4—wind speeds of 166 to 200 miles (267 to 322 kilometers) per hour—on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, used to measure a tornado’s intensity. (EF5, with winds over 200 miles (322 kilometers) per hour, is the highest rating.) Destruction was substantial in Dayton, Ohio, and Linwood, Kansas, but no people were killed.

The Midwestern and Southeastern United States are accustomed to bouts of severe spring weather, but this year’s storms were abnormally abundant and strong. The increases in bad weather—in both winter and spring—aligned with what scientists expect as the world’s climate continues to change. As average global temperatures rise, air becomes saturated with moisture, resulting in higher amounts of precipitation. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have warned of increasing episodes of severe weather because of climate change.

December 17, 2018

On Dec. 17, 1903, 115 years ago today, Ohioan brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the world’s first controlled flight in a machine that was piloted, power driven, and heavier than air. They flew this airplane—called the Flyer—near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. With Orville at the controls, the plane flew 120 feet (37 meters) on the first flight. It stayed in the air 12 seconds. The brothers made three more flights that day. The longest, by Wilbur, was 852 feet (260 meters) in length and lasted 59 seconds.

The American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright built the first successful airplane. In this photograph, Wilbur looks on as Orville pilots their plane, called the Flyer, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, marking the world’s first flight in a heavier-than-air vehicle. Credit: © Classic Image/Alamy Images

After years of research and experimentation, and by studying the attempts of other would-be pilots, the Wright brothers knew that heavier-than-air flight was possible. They corresponded frequently with American engineer Octave Chanute, a friend and supporter of their work. The brothers built the Flyer in sections in their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. The airplane was assembled and tested on the coastal dunes of North Carolina, where their creation could, like a kite, take advantage of high winds—as well as soft sands for potential crashes.

Orville Wright. Credit: Library of Congress

After that first flight, the Wrights continued their experiments at Huffman Prairie near Dayton in 1904 and 1905. The site of their Ohio flights became Wilbur Wright Field, which evolved into the sprawling Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1948. The Wright brothers continued as aviation pioneers, building new airplanes, setting flight records, and developing aircraft for the U.S. military as well as for governments in other countries. Wilbur died of typhoid fever on May 30, 1912. Orville retired in 1915 but continued to work privately on aviation development until his death on Jan. 30, 1948.

Wilbur Wright. Credit: Library of Congress

Wilbur was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in New York City in 1955. Orville was elected in 1965. They were the first two individuals named to the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1962. Their first airplane, the Flyer, is displayed in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.