America


Toxic Train Crash Cause Revealed • Federal investigators in June said a hot railcar wheel bearing sparked a fire and caused the 2023 massive derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying tank cars with hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio. Investigators said faulty


track sensors and delayed communications about the train’s toxic cargo from the railroad company contributed to the disaster. In its final report, the


National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the Feb. 3, 2023 crash, which caused the evacuation of more than 2,000 residents and endangered the lives of first responders, could have been avoided. The train comprised 149


freight rail cars, including 17 loaded with hazardous materials. About 25% of the cars had defective conditions, according to the report.


10 Commandments Law Challenged • A multifaith group of families is suing to challenge Louisiana’s new law requiring all public school classrooms


to display the Ten


Commandments. The federal suit argues


the new law violates U.S. Supreme Court precedent holding that the separation of church and state bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The parents represented include rabbis, pastors, and reverends. Supporters of the law


argue it isn’t about religion: “This is not preaching a Christian religion. It’s not preaching any religion. It’s teaching a moral code,” said Republican state Rep. Dodie Horton, the bill’s primary sponsor. “If you want to respect


the rule of law, you gotta start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said during the June 19 press conference where he signed the bills.


$9 Billion The annual cost of lost productivity in the New York metro area caused by traffic congestion. SOURCE: Partnership for New York City


24 NEWSMAX | AUGUST 2024


Hackers Target Water Supply • Cybercriminals increasingly are attacking water systems, targeting metering, billing, and payment processing, according to CNBC. The Environmental Protection Agency issued a report saying many water systems have alarming cybersecurity vulnerabilities, making them easier to access and hack. A water


system in Wichita, Kansas, recently was hacked, and


Alex Jones’ Infowars to Be Liquidated


A


U.S. bankruptcy court trustee is planning to shut down conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars media


platform and liquidate its assets to help pay the $1.5 billion in lawsuit judgments Jones owes for repeatedly calling the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut a hoax.


In a motion filed in Houston, trustee Christopher


Murray indicated publicly for the first time that he intends to “conduct an orderly wind-down” of the operations of Infowars’ parent company and “liquidate its inventory.” Jones has been saying on his web and radio shows that


he expects Infowars to operate for a few more months before it is shut down because of the bankruptcy. But he has vowed to continue his bombastic broadcasts in some other fashion, possibly on social media. Jones has about $9 million in personal assets, according to the most recent financial filings.


Russians hacked a water filtration plant in a Texas town near a U.S. Air Force base, causing a tank to overflow, CNBC said. While no hack has shut


off water to a population, it remains a chief concern, said Stuart Madnick, an MIT professor of engineering systems and co-founder of Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan. “A water plant could be shut down not just for hours or days, but for weeks.”


Minimum Wage for Domestics • Domestic workers in


Rhode Island will now be paid the state’s minimum wage under a bill signed into law by Democrat Gov. Daniel McKee. Traditionally, they


weren’t considered employees, but the new law eliminates that exception, specifically removing a provision that classifies “any individual employed in domestic service or in or about a private home” as not an employee. The minimum wage in


the Ocean State is currently $14 per hour. It is set to increase to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2025.


Briefly Noted


JOE BUGLEWICZ/GETTY IMAGES


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