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Officers had to form a skirmish line to clear a large mob that vandalized a Metro train, a police car and several businesses in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night.

The Tren de Aragua rose to power in Nicolas Maduro’s anarchotyranny. Now they’re in Florida. Last week, El American broke the news that members of the Tren de Aragua, the largest criminal organization in Venezuela (after the government), had crossed the southern border and were living in Orlando, Florida. The news came a week after Breitbart had claimed that Venezuelan criminals were crossing the border to live in the U.S.—more than likely continuing their criminal enterprises. The source told El American that the criminals were living in Bogotá, Colombia, and were able to change their identity by bribing Venezuelan officials....

KOLWEZI, Democratic Republic of Congo — Little about Kolwezi, a small city in southern Democratic Republic of Congo, hints at its global importance. Nondescript and ringed by slag heaps, pits and quarry lakes, the city is home to some of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world. Now, Kolwezi is at the center of U.S.-Chinese competition over critical minerals. Earlier this year, mining firms began shipping ore along a U.S.-backed railway that terminates in Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito. A massive infrastructure project is focused on this rail line -- which is viewed as a bid to counter...

A charity led by billionaire and Democratic mega-donor Bill Gates funneled millions of dollars into government departments run by the Chinese Communist Party as well as organizations that collaborate with the Chinese military, newly released tax forms show.In 2023, the Gates Foundation directed roughly $11.7 million into various arms of China’s communist-controlled government, as well as $2 million to a corporation the Department of Defense determined works with the Chinese military and an additional $6.7 million to state-run universities that help prop up Chinese President Xi Jinping’s regime. The multitude of six and seven-figure grants from the Gates Foundation to...

The company behind the project cancelled it and the steel that was in ground has been removed, but it’s on the president-elect’s energy to-do list. Donald Trump is looking to revive the Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day back in the White House, according to three people familiar with the president-elect’s plan, even though no companies are trying to build it anymore. Trump believes declaring the 1,200-mile Canada-to-Nebraska crude project back on the table would drive the pro-oil message he delivered in his campaign, said people involved in the transition team discussions about the idea. Trump also wants...

Both of Canada’s major freight railroads have come to a full stop because of a contract dispute with their workers, an impasse that could bring significant economic harm to businesses and consumers in Canada and the U.S. if the trains don’t resume running soon. Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Thursday passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that represents some 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers. ... All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the U.S. border have stopped... Billions of dollars of goods...

Ukraine’s surprise invasion of the Russian Kursk region has not left the latter’s rail untouched. The attack led to rail congestion in the area, and now Kursk and surrounding areas are no longer accepting freight trains coming in from Belarus. The Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region has prompted Russia to move soldiers from all over the country to contain the Ukrainian advance, says the Belarusian Railway Workers Association (BelZhD). The inflow of soldiers to the new front by train has overcrowded stations in the region. For that reason, Russian Railways (RZD) says it can no longer accept freight trains...

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Demand for transporting goods from Asia to Europe by rail via Russia has increased by an average of 30% since the start of the Red Sea crisis, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing logistics companies and rail operators. German shipping company DHL said that requests to transport goods on Russian railways have increased by 40% since container ships began traveling along alternative routes following the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the report said on Sunday. At the same time, Netherlands-based Rail Bridge Cargo said that rail freight traffic via Russia was 31% higher this year compared...

CHICAGO () - When temperatures drop to bone-chilling levels like we’re experiencing now, railroads use open flames to keep the trains moving.. According to Metra spokesman Michael Gillis, they’re using natural gas to heat switches. “It looks like the tracks are on fire, but what it is, there are gas burners next to the switches, and we light them to keep the switches warm, so the switches can move,” said Gillis. “If they freeze up, then our trains can’t change tracks and that leads to congestion…It’s really essential to keep the switches operational so that we can keep our trains...

A Cleveland man has been arrested by police for allegedly trying to cause trains in the city to derail by jamming metal into tracks and rail lines. Joseph Findley, 43, has been arrested by the FBI on federal terrorist charges following a string of alleged attacks against railroad carriers on October 6. He is accused of placing railroad spikes onto the path of oncoming trains and wedging pieces of metal into a rail switch. During a test run for a CSX employee appreciation day, one train hit an obstruction on the track and temporarily derailed before the wheels dropped back...

Here in south-central Indiana we are watching the rail tracks removed throughout our region of the state. There is, . . . no, was a rail line 500 feet from the Indiana house I bought in 1997. At that time we enjoyed watching and hearing two fairly long freight trains pass us each day. We went to the Philippines for a missionary tour, and when we returned (2004), there was no more rail traffic. But after several months, one day, to our surprise, we heard the rail-crossing bells, then a train horn, then we saw a lengthy automobile carrier train...

A train car carrying roughly 30,000 gallons of propane was among six that derailed in Florida Tuesday in a scene first responders compared to a “minefield.” The six train cars fell off the tracks as a Seminole Gulf Railway train rode through Sarasota County, News Channel 8 WFLA reported. SNIP “It looks like a minefield, honestly,” Southern Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Robert Bounds told the local NBC affiliate station. “The cars are on their side. [The train] was in motion when it happened, so it wasn’t just a tip-over, they really dug in and the tracks are pulled up and...

If you ask someone to close their eyes and picture a train, they'll typically imagine one of two things: The sleek, fast European passenger trains that can zip through the countryside, or The industrial, coal-burning freight trains that powered the American westward expansion. So, how did these two vastly dissimilar pictures come to be? In this article, we'll take a closer look at the key differences between American and European rail systems. HOW DO EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN TRAINS DIFFER? When it comes to American trains vs. European trains, there are six main factors that help make each one stand...

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) announced Monday its members voted against ratifying a tentative agreement with the major freight railroads, making IBB the third labor group to turn down the deal brokered by the Biden administration and upping the chances of a nationwide strike. The IBB said in a statement that it has now entered a "cooling off" period and plans to continue to negotiate further with the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents the nation's largest railroads, including BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. IBB joins the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and the Brotherhood of...

Union Station had as many as 100 stores more than two decades ago. It’s down to about 40 retailers and eateries while more than half its commercial space sits vacant. Calls for fire and emergency services show the range of problems at the station, including drug and alcohol intoxication, overdoses and assaults. Meanwhile, foot traffic remains well below pre-pandemic levels, with Metro and commuter rail traffic roughly halved, even as Amtrak reaches more solid footing.

OMAHA, Neb. — The U.S.’s third largest railroad union rejected a deal with employers Monday, renewing the possibility of a strike that could cripple the economy. Both sides will return to the bargaining table before that happens. Over half of track maintenance workers represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division who voted opposed the five-year contract despite 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. Union President Tony Cardwell said the railroads didn’t do enough to address the lack of paid time off — particularly sick time — and working conditions after the major railroads eliminated nearly one-third of...

According to the German security services, last weekend's sabotage of train cables in northern Germany was a "politically motivated act". This is reported by German media. They did not disclose why the security services think this. On Saturday morning, rail traffic in northern Germany was halted for hours after the railway's essential radio communications cables were cut. The fiber optic cables were also damaged, causing the backup system to fail. Offenders with inside knowledge The security services assume perpetrators with insider knowledge. Germany has in the past experienced politically motivated acts of sabotage, recalls Der Spiegel...

Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and other railroads reached a tentative union deal brokered by the Biden administrationThe threat of a U.S. freight railroad strike still looms. Union members still need to ratify a tentative agreement reached by their leaders. Some local members have already rejected the terms.The largest U.S. freight railroads and union leaders struck a tentative deal Wednesday after 20 hours of negotiations, temporarily averting a strike that would have shut down rail lines across the country and disrupted the economy. But the issue is far from over. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District...

One day after leading Democratic politicians and the media announced that tentative agreements had been reached between the two largest railroad workers unions, both unions acknowledged that no final tentative agreements actually exist yet and that workers should not expect to view any details of the agreements for weeks.“Anyone who states that they have seen a final copy of the TA, have a copy of the final TA or knows the final contents of the agreement is not being truthful.” The documents, it continues, “have not been fully reviewed by both parties’ legal counsel” and have not been presented “to...

Little do people know that this administration has tried to avert total disaster amid a rail strike set to effect Friday at midnight. Thirty percent of the nation’s freight would be shuttered, and the cost per day to the US economy will be around $2 billion. Most passenger and commuter rail services will also cease operating. Ten of the twelve major railway unions have agreed to the new agreements, though the two largest, which represent engineers and conductors, has not signed off. They still have lingering questions about sick leave and penalties for missing work. Thus far, these two are...