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Residents near the site of a toxic train derailment say they are afraid to take showers because of the fear of contamination.

It has been almost three weeks since about 50 freight carriages on a 150-car Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, and the controlled burn a few days later of the toxic cocktail being carried by five of the cars.

It is thought that the train was carrying the highly flammable and carcinogenic vinyl chloride, which can cause dizziness, headaches, drowsiness and even some cancers.

More than 1.5 million gallons of contaminants and contaminated water have been removed from the area since the crash, authorities say.

Doug Brayshaw, 63, told NBC he was sitting on his porch when he spotted a black plume of smoke rising from the scene of the derailment.

He added: “We’re afraid to shower.

“I won’t even give my dog drinking water out of my well right now, because I’m worried.”

Amanda Greathouse told CNN she had returned to her house for about 30 minutes when she developed a rash and nausea, and that her eyes were “burning”.

She added: “That’s when we decided that we couldn’t raise our kids here.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it began testing air quality within 24 hours of the derailment and is also helping to monitor air quality indoors.

So far it has reported that vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride amounts are not found above levels of concern.

But the 4,700 people of East Palestine are still worried – since the derailment, there have been reports of headaches, irritated eyes and other problems.

Read more:
Environmental agency tells Ohio residents it’s ‘safe to return’
Crews release chemicals from train to avert explosion

‘Increased risk of cancer’

Ila Cote, a former EPA toxicologist, said: “The data on cancer risk from a single high exposure is not good.

“But it would certainly be safe to say that if people had been highly exposed to vinyl chloride, they would incur increased risk of cancer.”

Mo Osman, who runs a lab hired by the county to analyse its water samples, told NBC: “If a well is safe right now, we don’t know what the quality of that water is going to be in a week, a month or two months.

“It takes time for pollution to potentially travel from the source of contamination to the individual well, so it is very important to continue sampling at a certain frequency.”

‘Have fun, everybody’

Donald Trump, who is running for president next year, was in the town on Wednesday, taking the opportunity to criticise the federal response to the disaster.

He told residents: “In too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks past pallets of donated water bottles with a "Trump" label during an event at a fire station to speak about the recent derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste, in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Alan Freed
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Donald Trump donated Trump-branded bottled water when he visited the area

Mr Trump stopped at a McDonald’s to give out hats, ordered meals for emergency workers and picked up food for his plane ride home.

He donated cleaning supplies and Trump-branded bottled water to those worried about the safety of their tap water, signing autographs before telling supporters: “Have fun, everybody.”

Mr Trump said that he hoped US President Joe Biden would have “some money left over” for the residents of East Palestine after his return from this week’s trip to Ukraine.

In response, the White House criticised Mr Trump for not doing enough as president to toughen rail and environmental laws.

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4 Feb: Train derailment causes fire in Ohio

Train operator will not ‘get off the hook’

Meanwhile, EPA administrator Michael Regan, who visited the site last week, vowed that Norfolk Southern would be made to clean up the damage left by the derailment.

He said: “Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they’ve inflicted on this community.

“In no way shape or form will Norfolk Southern get off the hook for the mess they created.”

Norfolk Southern’s chief financial officer Mark George responded: “We take responsibility… We’re fully dedicated to making things right.

“We’re here for the long term.”

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Donald Trump’s tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics

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Donald Trump's tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics

For decades, trade and trade policy has been an economic and political backwater – decidedly boring, seemingly uncontroversial. 

Trade was mostly free and getting freer, tariffs were getting lower and lower, and the world was becoming more, not less, globalised.

But alongside those long-term trends, there were some serious consequences.

Trump latest: US president announces sweeping global trade tariffs

Mature, developed economies like the UK and US became ever more reliant on cheap imports from China and, in the process, saw their manufacturing sectors shrink.

Large swathes of the rust belt in the US – and much of the Midlands and North of England – were hollowed out.

And to some extent that’s where the story of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” really began – with the notion that free trade and globalisation had a darker side, a side he wants to remedy via tariffs.

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Trump’s tariffs: Ed Conway analysis

He imposed a set of tariffs in his first term, some on China, some on specific materials like steel and aluminium. But the height and the breadth of those tariffs were as nothing compared with the ones we have just heard about.

Not since the 1930s has the US so radically increased the level of tariffs on all nations across the world. Back then, those tariffs exacerbated the Great Depression.

It’s anyone’s guess as to what the consequences of these ones will be. But there will be consequences.

Consequences for the nature of globalisation, consequences for the US economy (tariffs are exceptionally inflationary), consequences for geopolitics.

President Trump with his list of tariffs for various countries. Pic: Reuters
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Imports from the UK will face a 10% tariff, while EU goods will see 20% rates. Pic: Reuters

And to some extent, merely knowing that little bit more about the White House’s plans will deliver a bit of relief to financial markets, which have fretted for months about the imposition of tariffs. That uncertainty recently reached unprecedented levels.

But don’t for a moment assume that this saga is over. Nothing of the sort. In the coming days, we will learn more – more about the nuts and bolts of these policies, more about the retaliatory measures coming from other countries.

We will, possibly, get more of a sense about whether some countries – including the UK – will enjoy reprieves from the tariffs.

To paraphrase Churchill, this isn’t the end of the trade war, or even the beginning of the end – perhaps just the end of the beginning.

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‘A genius actor’, ‘firecracker’, and ‘my friend’: Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

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'A genius actor', 'firecracker', and 'my friend': Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

Actors, directors and celebrity friends have paid tribute to Val Kilmer, after he died aged 65.

The California-born star of Top Gun, Batman and Heat died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press.

She said Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.

Tributes flooded in after reports broke of the actor’s death, with No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin among the first to share their memories.

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Watch: Val Kilmer in his most iconic roles

He wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.

“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”

Kyle Maclachlan, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1991 biopic The Doors, wrote on social media: “You’ll always be my Jim. See you on the other side my friend.”

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Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in 1995’s Heat, also paid tribute in a statement, saying: “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.

“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”

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Heat co-star Danny Trejo also called Kilmer “a great actor, a wonderful person, and a dear friend of mine” on Instagram.

Cher, who once dated the actor, said on X that “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND… BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness”.

Lifelong friend and director of Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola said: “Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.

“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know – I will always remember him.”

The Top Gun account on X also said it was remembering Kilmer, who starred as Iceman in both the 1986 original and 2022 sequel, and “whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations”.

Nicolas Cage added that “I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing”.

“I thought he was a genius actor,” he said. “I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor.

“He should have won the Oscar for The Doors.”

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Elon Musk calls reports he will step back from government role ‘fake news’

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Elon Musk calls reports he will step back from government role 'fake news'

Elon Musk has called reports that he will leave his government role in the coming months “fake news”.

A senior White House official previously told NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, that Donald Trump had discussed the Tesla and X boss transitioning back to the private sector at a cabinet meeting last month.

Donald Trump walks with Elon Musk before attending a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., November 19, 2024 . Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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The Tesla boss has headed DOGE since 20 January. File pic: Reuters

After reports emerged of the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “garbage” and added: “Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”

Mr Musk added in response on X: “Yeah, fake news.”

NBC News reported that the official said Mr Musk would leave at the end of his 130 days as a special government employee.

That would be 30 May, but it is unclear if the billionaire businessman will indeed leave on that date.

Previously, the White House said that as a temporary organisation, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would be terminated on 4 July next year – the 250th anniversary of the US.

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It comes days after Mr Musk said some members of his DOGE team were getting death threats on a daily basis.

Mr Musk had drawn criticism over his efforts to downsize the US federal government.

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‘Elon Musk has got to go’

In just weeks, entire agencies were dismantled, and tens of thousands of workers from the 2.3 million federal workforce have been fired or have agreed to leave their jobs.

A number of lawsuits were filed in state and federal courts over cuts recommended by DOGE.

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