Before the Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio—causing a massive explosion, hours of hazardous chemicals burning, and emergency evacuations—the company helped kill a federal safety rule aimed at upgrading the rail industry’s Civil War-era braking systems.
What's more, President Biden's Department of Transportation still hasn't made any moves to revive the proposed safety rule.
You wouldn't know this if you watch CNN or read The New York Times. But if you're a fan of THE LEVER or you use the OptOut News app, you would.
Perhaps taking cues from Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, who was mum on the disaster for days, corporate and legacy media hardly covered the still-unfolding environmental debacle. But the financially independent news outlets in the OptOut network have been reporting on the disaster since it happened. For example:
THE LEVER: “There Will Be More Derailments”
UNICORN RIOT: ‘Like the Doors of Hell Were Open’: East Palestine Train Disaster Casts Toxic Cloud Over Future of OH/PA Region
GRIST: The Ohio train derailment underscores the dangers of the plastics boom
STATUS COUP: Toxic Ohio Train Derailment in East Palestine - Dead Animals, Rail Company Offers $5 Per Resident
This story, and mainstream media's failure to cover it adequately, is exactly why we built the OptOut News app and our independent media network. As THE LEVER puts it, "Informed citizens make better choices."
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