Short Takes – 8-28-23

GOP tensions between Senate, House raise shutdown odds. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Senate GOP aides point out that Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), the senior Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has worked well with Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the Democratic chairwoman, to pass all 12 spending bills out of the committee with overwhelming bipartisan votes.”

Tropical Storm Idalia threatens Florida, may strengthen. TheHill.com article. Potentially a major hurricane before landfall. Pull quote: “Idalia is expected to become a hurricane over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and then turn northeast toward the west coast of Florida, the National Hurricane Center said. In an advisory Sunday, forecasters said this could bring an increased risk of storm surges and hurricane-force winds along portions of Florida’s west coast and the Florida Panhandle starting as early as Tuesday.”

AAR explains 'impasse' over Class Is joining FRA's safety reporting system. ProgressiveRailroading.com article. Pull quote: “"The crux of the current dispute centers on a significant nuance: situations where the employer is aware of a safety rule violation without any employee report — referred to as a 'known event' — but the employee reports the event anyway and therefore avoids discipline," the letter states. "If an employee repeatedly uses the system in this way simply to avoid discipline, the basic objective of the C3RS concept is thwarted. The focus of the program shifts from prevention of accidents to employment protection."”

Ukraine claims liberation of key southeastern town. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““As Ukraine continues to gradually gain ground in the south, Russia’s doctrine suggests that it will attempt to regain the initiative by pivoting back to an operational level offensive,” the U.K. Defense Ministry said in an intelligence update over the weekend. “Kupiansk-Lyman is one potential area for this.””

America’s fight against chemical terrorism is at risk. WashingtonPost.com commentary (Jen Easterly). Pull quote: “Since CFATS’s inception in 2006, CISA has maintained a regular presence at chemical facilities, conducting 160 inspections a month. More than 1 in 3 inspections identified chemical security gaps, including the inability to detect intruders, insufficient access controls, incomplete cyber system patching and vulnerability scanning, inadequate security training and missing background investigations. The inspections have led to an improved security posture by an average of nearly 60 percent, based on the identification of risk and subsequent implementation of new security measures.”

Canada's TSB warns of safety risks from locomotive, trackside fires. ProgressiveRailroading.com article. Pull quote: “The incident that prompted the warning was a 2021 fire on a Canadian Pacific (now Canadian Pacific Kansas City) freight train in Elko, British Columbia. On July 8, 2021, the train was traveling east on the Cranbrook Subdivision near Caithness, British Columbia, when its mid-train locomotive experienced a mechanical failure that resulted in flames and embers emanating from the exhaust stack, likely causing a trackside fire.”

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