NTSB concludes burning wheel bearing caused derailment in eastern Ohio; Nvidia recovers and again masks losses for the rest of Wall Street – Boston Herald

FILE – The remains of a Norfolk Southern freight train are found scattered and burning along the tracks on Feb. 4, 2023, the day after it derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. East Palestine residents will learn more Tuesday about the fiery Norfolk Southern train crash that derailed their lives last year when the National Transportation Safety Board holds another hearing in their eastern Ohio hometown to discuss what it discovered. their research and their recommendations to prevent future disasters. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, was caused by a wheel bearing that was shown on video to have been on fire for more than 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) beforehand, but never It was detected by roadside detectors that did not accurately measure temperatures. confirmed Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The board also said Norfolk Southern and its contractors made a mistake by making the decision three days after opening five tank cars and burning the vinyl chloride inside.

Area residents, railroad industry representatives and local and state officials packed the East Palestine High School auditorium Tuesday to hear the findings of the NTSB investigation and its recommendations for setting federal rules for those detectors and how they railroads respond to them, as well as review how officials decide whether to ever vent and reburn.

The board approved more than two dozen recommendations that the railroad, industry and other federal agencies will consider adopting.

On February 3, 2023, outside East Palestine near the Pennsylvania border, dozens of freight cars derailed, including 11 carrying hazardous materials. Some residents were evacuated that night, but days later many more had to leave their homes for fear of an imminent explosion. Despite the possible health effects, three days after the accident, authorities intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five railcars, causing flames and smoke in the air.

Nvidia recovers and once again masks losses for the rest of Wall Street

A rally in Nvidia on Tuesday supported a weakening Wall Street.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and approached its all-time high set a week earlier, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.3% for its first gain in four days. Such strength came even as most stocks fell outside of Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial intelligence technology.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which does not include Nvidia among its members, lagged, sinking 299 points, or 0.8%.

Nvidia rose 6.8%, and without that gain, the S&P 500 would have fallen to a loss that day. The chip company’s shares snapped a three-day losing streak in which they had lost nearly 13%, their worst streak since 2022.

It’s just a stock, but Nvidia has the power to spin the S&P 500 because it has grown to become one of the largest and most influential companies on Wall Street.

Ravenous demand for Nvidia chips to power artificial intelligence applications has been a big reason for the U.S. stock market to hit record highs recently, even as the economy’s growth slows under the weight of high interest rates. But the rise of AI has been so frenetic that it has raised concerns about a possible stock market bubble and overly high expectations among investors.