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Freight trains frequently stop and block the roads of York, Ala., sometimes cutting off two neighborhoods for hours. Emergency services and health care workers can’t get in, and those trapped inside can’t get out. “It’s not fair.”Residents have voiced these complaints for years to Norfolk Southern, which owns the tracks, and to regulators and members of Congress. Freight trains frequently block roads nationwide, a phenomenon that local officials say has grown steadily worse in the last decade as railroads run longer trains and leave them parked on tracks at crossings. The blockages can turn school drop-offs into nightmares, starve local businesses of customers and prevent emergency services from reaching those in distress.

Persons: can’t, ”, Amanda Brassfield, Grant City, “ Organizations: Norfolk, Freight Locations: York, Ala, Grant, Norfolk Southern

☆ Overuse of marijuana linked to surgery complications and death, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Clinical overuse of marijuana is linked to a variety of complications after major elective surgery, including blood clots, stroke, breathing difficulties, kidney issues and even death, a new study found. Compared with people who were not overly dependent or addicted to marijuana, those with cannabis use disorder were more likely to suffer complications from those surgeries. The most significant associations were for blockages of coronary arteries, stroke, injury to the kidneys, blood clots, breathing complications, infection and in-hospital death, the study found. People with cannabis use disorder also stayed in the hospital longer and had higher hospital bills than people without the disorder. “In the context of increasing cannabis use rates, our findings support preoperative screening for cannabis use disorder,” the authors wrote.

Persons: Hannes P, Albert Organizations: CNN, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, National Institute on Drug Abuse Locations: Houston

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with African leaders on June 17 in Russia. The Black Sea grain deal: Putin also claimed "the crisis on the global food market is not a consequence of conflict in Ukraine." “Ukrainian grain supply to the world’s markets doesn’t solve the problem of world hunger,” he said. “Countries in need should not suffer, so Moscow went to great lengths to ensure the supply of Ukrainian grain to African countries,” Putin said. Ramaphosa also pushed for "opening up of the movement of the grains across the Black Sea so whatever blockages there are should be released."

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, ” Putin, Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramaphosa, Maria Lvova Organizations: United Nations, “, Initiative, African Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, ”, Turkey, Africa, Russian

☆ Pope Francis Leaves Rome Hospital After Surgery
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pope Francis was expected to return to the Vatican after he was released from a Rome hospital on Friday following abdominal surgery for a hernia, the third time in two years that the 86-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized. Francis left the Policlinico A. Gemelli hospital around 8:45, nine days after surgeons operated on what is known as an incisional hernia, typically the consequence of previous operations, that had been causing painful intestinal blockages. The pope smiled as he left the hospital in a wheelchair along a sidewalk lined with dozens of well-wishers. Reporters and photographers jostled for his attention, but the pope did not stop. A reporter for the state broadcaster RAI said she had asked the pope how he was, and he told her: “Still alive.” Asked about the migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean off the Greek coast earlier this week, Francis replied: “So much pain.”

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, jostled, Sergio Alfieri, “, ” Organizations: RAI Locations: Rome

ISTANBUL, June 5 (Reuters) - Global airlines more than doubled their 2023 industry profit forecast to $9.8 billion from $4.7 billion on Monday cheered by strong travel demand as the sector recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. "The pandemic years are behind us and borders are open as normal," Director General Willie Walsh told the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Global airlines have in recent months reported strong results as they prepare for a busy summer season, with travel demand showing no sign of flagging despite peaking inflation. Revenue levels for 2023 are also inching closer to pre-pandemic levels, climbing to an expected $803 billion versus $838 billion in 2019. And they will continue to do so through this year," Walsh told Reuters in an interview separately.

Persons: Willie Walsh, Walsh, " Walsh, Joanna Plucinska, Aditi Shah, Tim Hepher, Jason Neely Organizations: Global, International Air Transport Association, . Global, Reuters, Airlines, Schiphol Airport, Schiphol, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Netherlands, South Africa

☆ A Wharton professor says AI is like an 'intern' who 'lies a little bit' to make their bosses happy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

UPenn professor Ethan Mollick compares AI to an "intern" who "lies a little bit," CBS reports. Like interns, AI tools require guidance for their outputs to be useful, according to Mollick. Similar to interns who may overcompensate to get ahead of the curve, Mollick compares AI to an "infinite intern" who "lies a little bit" and, at times, wants to make their bosses "a little happy." But like interns, AI requires guidance for its outputs to be useful. Mollick's thoughts on AI come as generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT take the world by storm.

☆ Black Sea grain deal: A crucial pact aimed at averting a global food crisis has been extended
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —A crucial deal aimed at averting a global food crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been extended for two months. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday an agreement has been reached with Russia and Ukraine to extend the Black Sea grain deal. Murat Kula/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesWhat is the Black Sea grain deal and why is it important? The Black Sea grain deal was first reached in July 2022. The Black Sea grain deal was an agreement made between Russia and Ukraine – however, it was not a direct agreement.

Cloetta AB, (CLOEb.ST) a Swedish confectioner which makes Lakerol lozenges that use gum arabic, has "ample" stock of the ingredient, a spokesperson said in an email. Global production of gum arabic is about 120,000 tonnes a year, worth $1.1 billion, according to estimates cited by Kerry Group. "Both buyers and sellers are clueless on when things will normalise.”Alwaleed Ali, who owns AGP Innovations Co Ltd, a gum arabic exporting business, said his customers are looking for alternative countries to source gum arabic. It accounts for the livelihoods of thousands of people and the more expensive variety can cost about $3,000 a tonne, according to Gum Sudan. There is a poorer quality, cheaper gum from outside of Sudan, but the preferred ingredient is only found in acacia trees in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, Alnoor said.

Kids in Hammond, Indiana, are forced to climb over and through stopped trains block their way to school. Jamie Kelter Davis for ProPublicaState lawmakers have tried to curb blocked crossings by restricting the lengths of trains. Spielmaker, the Norfolk Southern spokesperson, said: "We work with first responders on a daily basis to assist however we can. A favorable court opinion could allow other states to finally enforce their laws on blocked crossings. Among those who hope to voice their concerns about the blocked crossings are rail workers themselves who worry about the kids.

☆ In pictures: Protests take place across France after Macron forces through pension changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A man in Lille, northern France, stands next to a placard reading "No!" Strikes and protests around France on Thursday disrupted travel and filled the streets as citizens demonstrated against changes to the pension system. His bill will see the retirement age for most workers rise from 62 to 64 and the number of years a worker must pay into the system to receive a full pension rise from 42 to 43 in 2027. On Thursday, unions accused Macron of making "provocative" comments after he said they had failed to engage in negotiations over changes to the pension system and compared the protests to the raiding of the U.S. Capitol in 2021. Meanwhile, electricity output was cut, refinery blockages continued and the civil aviation authority said flight services would be reduced into the weekend.

[1/11] Protesters take part in a demonstration against the French government's pension reform plan, as part of the eighth day of national strike and protests, in Ancenis-Saint-Gereon, France, March 15, 2023. The pension bill passed to a joint parliamentary committee on Wednesday where lawmakers from the lower and upper chambers are seeking a compromise text. If a deal is reached, a final vote in both the Senate and National Assembly will be held on Thursday. This new day of protests "is meant to tell lawmakers: don't vote this reform," he said. "In the National Assembly, there will not be an easy vote, nor will there be panic," government spokesman Olivier Veran told Europe 1 radio station.

"If corporate profits were to decline from the extremely high levels that we saw recently, would it be possible to sustain" growth in workers' benefits "even as we get inflation down to the target of 2%?" Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen asked Powell during the Fed chief's semi-annual testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. "Wages affect prices and prices affect wages," Powell said, associating current earnings growth to the current ultra-low unemployment rate of 3.4%, and suggesting the labor market may need to weaken at least somewhat for inflation to fall. SHORTAGESUltimately, Powell said he felt profits would likely moderate on their own as the U.S. economy moves beyond the pandemic. "What we're seeing in the economy is pretty much about shortages ... supply chain blockages," Powell said.

☆ Australian prime minister seeks to diversify trade, investment on visit to India
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his government wants to diversify trade and foreign investment partners, as he prepares to lead a business delegation to India which he said shares Australia's democratic values. China is easily Australia's largest trading partner, although a diplomatic dispute has resulted in what Australia calls "trade blockages" being imposed by China on a raft of Australia's exports. Canberra has asked Beijing to remove those blockages as the two nations resume talks after a years-long diplomatic freeze. Business leaders across transport, resources, finance, higher education, architecture and energy will on Wednesday accompany Albanese to India, which is Australia's sixth largest trading partner. The delegation includes Macquarie Group Chief Executive Shemara Wikramanayake, Commonwealth Bank of Australia Chief Executive Matt Comyn, Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest, Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson, and executives from BHP , Rio Tinto and Graincorp .

☆ 'Let's bring France to a halt': Oil refineries blocked and trains halted by pension reform protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Christophe Archambault | Afp | Getty ImagesStrike action over plans to raise the pension age in France caused widespread disruption on Tuesday, as trains came to a near-standstill, many schools were shut and fuel deliveries were blocked from refineries. Lou Benoist | Afp | Getty ImagesEric Sellini, a representative from the CGT union at TotalEnergies, told Reuters that a strike blocking the Gonfreville refinery in Normandy would run until Thursday. Another at the Donges refinery in western France is set to run until Friday, he added. Sameer Al-doumy | Afp | Getty ImagesThe strikes come as French workers grapple with red-hot inflation, which accelerated unexpectedly in February to hit 6.2% year-on-year. Around two thirds of the public support protests against the pension reforms, according to an Elabe survey.

☆ Australian PM seeks to diversify trade, investment on India visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, March 7 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his government wants to diversify trade and foreign investment partners, as he prepares to lead a business delegation to India which he said shares Australia's democratic values. China is easily Australia's largest trading partner, although a diplomatic dispute has resulted in what Australia calls "trade blockages" being imposed by China on a raft of Australia's exports. Business leaders across transport, resources, finance, higher education, architecture and energy will on Wednesday accompany Albanese to India, which is Australia's sixth largest trading partner. "We can do all these things as well as remaining a trusted and reliable supplier of energy to key trading partners such as Japan and the Republic of Korea," he added. Albanese said Australia would be "deepening and diversifying our international investment and trade links".

☆ Record retail theft puts pressure on Australian supermarket giants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 2 (Reuters) - Retail theft has hit record levels in Australia, government statistics show, putting pressure on grocery giants Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW.AX) and Coles Group Ltd (COL.AX) that are already struggling with soaring supply costs and freight blockages. Queensland, Australia's third-largest state, had the highest monthly rate of shop stealing on record this January, according to publicly available police data. Neither state's data specified which retailers reported theft. That may impact profit at Woolworths and Coles, which together ring up two-thirds of Australian grocery sales and noted rising store theft in trading updates last month. Supermarkets refer to goods lost to theft, expiry or payment error as stock losses.

☆ Australian exporters rekindle China ties amid diplomatic thaw
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Australian business leaders are following the political signals. Fortescue Metals (FMG.AX) founder Andrew Forrest, BHP (BHP.AX) head Mike Henry and Tim Ford, chief executive of tariff-hit winemaker Treasury Wine Estate (TWE.AX), have scheduled visits to China in March. At least 15 vessels carrying Australian coal were bound for China last week as traders bet already-reduced trade barriers will fall further. "People are starting to get on the front foot," Grain Trade Australia Chief Executive Pat O'Shannassy told Reuters. A shipment of Australian coal diverted to Vietnam last week after waiting at a Chinese port for five days without unloading.

☆ A Chinese city is offering couples almost $2,900 to have a third child and some others are giving newlyweds paid marriage leave to help boost the birth rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese city of Hangzhou is giving $2,900 to parents welcoming a third child this year. Some other cities are giving almost 30 days of marriage leave to boost the birth rate. Meanwhile, the northeastern city of Shenyang is offering subsidies of up to $72 a month till a child is three years old. Chinese employees are typically entitled to three days of paid marriage leave. The push for babies comes after China's population started shrinking for the first time in six decades.

☆ WTO director general: dispute settlement reform a 'priority'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ghaida Ghantous | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI Feb 13 (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization's director general said on Monday that reforming the body's dispute settlement system is a "priority." When asked whether reforming the process would be a focus of the remainder of her term, which ends in 2025, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said "Absolutely. The WTO's trade dispute arbitration system, which rules on top disputes, has been stalled for more than two years due to Trump-era blockages of adjudicator appointments. Under President Joe Biden, Washington has resisted calls by WTO members to approve appointments and has instead been leading negotiations on how to reboot the WTO's dispute system. The United States has criticized the WTO's alleged overreach and lengthy processes and it has strongly contested some of its recent rulings against the United States.

☆ U.S. wants World Trade Organization dispute system fixed by 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The WTO's appeals bench, which rules on top disputes, has been mothballed for over two years due to Trump-era blockages of adjudicator appointments. Under President Joe Biden, Washington has resisted calls by WTO members to approve appointments and has instead been leading negotiations on how to reboot the WTO's dispute system. "Our goal is a fully functioning (dispute system) by 2024," Deputy United States Trade Representative Maria Pagan told Reuters in her first public comments on the closed-door talks, saying Washington was "very committed" to reforms. The United States has criticized the WTO's alleged overreach and lengthy processes and it has strongly contested some of its recent rulings against the United States. Pagan described the process as "frustrating" but said she was hopeful a breakthrough had been found, without elaborating.

[1/6] French energy workers on strike gather with dockers near tyres set on fire as they protest against French government's pension reform plan, in the port of Saint-Nazaire, France, January 26, 2023. An Elabe poll for BFM showed 72% of the French are against the pension reform. "Oil workers are against this (pension) reform but they don't want to be on the front line," said a CGT union representative for Exxonmobil. A spokesperson for Esso, whose two French refinery sites are run by ExxonMobil (XOM.N), said only truck loading operations were suspended at Fos, with everything else operating normally. A union representative added that production at the Port Jerome site was slightly impacted.

☆ Plastics Export: How I Keep My Family, Baby Safe From Toxic Microplastics.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Adrienne Matei | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Hardman does research on microplastics — tiny pieces of plastic debris that are broken down from larger plastic items. Microplastics are often too small to pick up or even notice, but they are everywhere: in the air, dust, and rain. Laura HardmanPlastic is a relatively new pollutant, so there's still a lot we don't know about it. In the lab, my team of researchers and I focus on the sources, effects, and fate of plastics in the ocean. The simple answer is we don't know what plastics might be doing to us, but I've started to get really concerned.

☆ Senior Australian official asks China to remove trade impediments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Jan 20(Reuters) - Australia's Assistant Minister for Trade Tim Ayres called for the removal of China's "trade impediments" on Australian exports in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, his office said. China's Xinhua news agency earlier reported that Thursday's meeting between Australian and Chinese officials had agreed that trade ministers from the two nations will hold virtual discussions "in the near future." No date has been set for the video meeting between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and his Australian counterpart, Don Farrell, it said. "Assistant Minister Ayres raised the importance of cooperation to deliver the outcomes of the World Trade Organization 12th Ministerial Conference, and the removal of current trade impediments affecting Australian exports to China in both countries' interests," a spokeswoman for Ayres said in a statement. Canberra has two complaints at the World Trade Organisation against China's tariffs on Australian wine and barley, and is watching to see if Beijing lifts unofficial trade blockages on other Australian exports.

☆ U.S. FDA, CDC see early signal of Pfizer bivalent COVID shot's link to stroke
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - A safety monitoring system flagged that U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and German partner BioNTech's updated COVID-19 shot could be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data analyzed by U.S. health authorities. An ischemic stroke, also known as brain ischemia, is caused by blockages in arteries that carry blood to the brain. "Although the totality of the data currently suggests that it is very unlikely that the signal in VSD (Vaccine Safety Datalink) represents a true clinical risk, we believe it is important to share this information with the public," the health authorities said. Pfizer and BioNTech said in a statement that they have been made aware of limited reports of ischemic strokes in people 65 and older following vaccination with their updated shot. This safety concern has not been identified with Moderna's (MRNA.O) bivalent shot and both the CDC and FDA continue to recommend that everyone aged 6 months and older stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccination.

☆ VW Posts Lowest Sales in Over a Decade on Supply-Chain Issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN— Volkswagen AG reported its lowest sales in more than a decade, but said it was confident business would improve this year as supply-chain blockages ease and semiconductors become more easily available. VW, which also includes passenger-car brands Skoda and Seat, luxury-car maker Audi, and sports-car maker Porsche AG, said Thursday that global sales dropped 7% to 8.3 million vehicles, as supply-chain constraints shut down some factories in Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Covid-19 measures in China.

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