| Investigators: Train in deadly wreck was going over 100 mph Posted: 13 May 2015 02:03 PM PDT  Dozens of others were injured when the New York-bound train crashed in Philadelphia.
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| Lawmakers slash Amtrak funding hours after crash Posted:  Just because the accident struck close to home does not mean Congress will increase an already shrunken budget for transportation.
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| Ex-CIA official: America no safer than four years ago Posted:  Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell tells Yahoo News that Americans are less safe from terrorism than they were when President Barack Obama won reelection in 2012.
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| Penalty phase of Boston bombing trial heads to jury Posted:  Closing arguments are set for today in the federal trial of admitted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
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| Amtrak train was traveling at twice speed limit when derailed Posted: 13 May 2015 03:26 PM PDT  By Jarrett Renshaw PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - An Amtrak train in Philadelphia was traveling at more than 100 miles per hour, over twice the speed limit, when it entered a curve in the tracks and derailed, killing seven people and injuring more than 200, federal investigators said on Wednesday. While the precise cause of Tuesday night's crash remains to be determined, experts from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) believe the derailment would have been prevented by installation of an advanced safety system called "positive train control," NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt said. The engineer of the New York City-bound passenger train applied the locomotive's emergency braking system just after entering the curved stretch of track, where the maximum allowed speed is 50 miles per hour (80 km per hour), Sumwalt said.
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| Derailed Amtrak train lacked latest U.S. safety controls Posted: 13 May 2015 03:47 PM PDT  By Patrick Rucker and Jarrett Renshaw WASHINGTON/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The commuter rail route where an Amtrak train left the track on Tuesday was not governed by an advanced safety technology meant to prevent high-speed derailments, investigators said on Wednesday. A system called "positive train control" (PTC) automatically slows or even halts trains that are moving too fast or heading into a danger zone. Under current law, the rail industry must adopt the technology by the end of this year. It would have been impossible for a train to reach such speeds if PTC had been in place, officials said.
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| U.S. House votes to ban most abortions after 20 weeks Posted: 13 May 2015 04:10 PM PDT  The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks, a measure strongly opposed by the White House. The Republican-led House approved the bill by a largely party-line vote of 242-184. An earlier version was pulled by House Republican leaders in January after a revolt by some Republican women in the chamber. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte called Wednesday's vote "a victory for the most innocent and defenseless among us, our children." "Extensive medical research shows that unborn children begin to feel pain by 20 weeks post fertilization, and probably earlier," the Virginia Republican said.
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| Amtrak victims: Naval Academy student and software architect dead, CEO missing Posted: 13 May 2015 08:33 AM PDT  Several people are missing after the fatal Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia Tuesday night.
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| Toyota, Nissan recall 6.5 mn cars over exploding airbag fears Posted: 13 May 2015 01:53 AM PDT  Japanese auto giants Toyota and Nissan on Wednesday said they were recalling 6.5 million vehicles globally in the latest chapter of an exploding airbag crisis linked to several deaths. The world's biggest automaker said its recall of five million vehicles affected 35 models globally produced between 2003 and 2007, while Nissan said it was calling back 1.56 million vehicles also due to faulty airbags made by embattled supplier Takata. "This will affect many of our markets, including Japan, Europe and North America," a Nissan spokesman told AFP, adding that the explosion risk was among a range of problems seen in the defective airbags.
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| Dozens of Shiites killed as gunmen attack bus in Karachi Posted: 12 May 2015 05:17 PM PDT  Pistol-wielding gunmen in Pakistan's biggest city Karachi on Wednesday stormed a bus carrying members of the Shiite Ismaili minority, killing at least 43 in the second deadliest militant attack in the country this year. The Jundullah militant faction, a splinter of the Pakistani Taliban, later said it was responsible for the massacre while police said they also found leaflets at the scene claiming the attack on behalf of the Islamic State group. Pakistan has experienced a rising tide of sectarian violence in recent years, particularly against Shiites, who make up around 20 percent of the country's predominantly Muslim population of 200 million. "According to the initial information which we have received from hospitals, 43 people have been killed and 13 wounded," Ghulam Haider Jamali, police chief of Sindh province told reporters at the site in the eastern district of Malir.
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