Amtrak engineer recalls speeding up before crash
WASHINGTON – The last thing Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian remembers before last May’s fatal crash in Philadelphia is pushing the throttle forward to pick up speed and then braking when he felt the train going too fast into a sharp curve, according to a transcript of his interview with federal accident investigators.
When he realized the train was about to derail, Bostian said he was holding tightly to the controls and thinking, “Well, this is it, I’m going over.”
The transcript was among more than 2,200 pages of documents released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The documents don’t come to any conclusions on the cause of the crash but offer a glimpse into what investigators have learned thus far.
Among the most illuminating are two transcripts of interviews Bostian had with investigators, one immediately after the May 12 crash that killed eight people and injured nearly 200 others, and the second in November.
In the later interview, Bostian provided investigators with a vivid account of what he believes happened in the seconds before Train 188 left the tracks – a sharp contrast from his first interview, where he said he remembered little.
Bostian cautioned that there were “several gaps” in his recollection but that “a couple of prominent scenes” had come back to him since the previous interview.
Nobel Peace Prize nomination window closing
STAVANGER, Norway – A woman who champions the rights of Islamic State rape victims, Pope Francis and the Afghan women’s cycling team are among the known candidates for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize as the nomination window was set to close Monday.
The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee typically receives more than 200 nominations for the prestigious prize, and keeps candidates secret for 50 years. Panel members can make their own nominations during their first judging meeting on Feb. 29.
Norwegian lawmaker Audun Lysbakken nominated Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who escaped from Islamic State sexual slavery to become a spokeswoman for those abused by IS militants.
Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu has given his backing to Pope Francis, as well as the economist Herman Daly and The Club of Rome think-tank for their “significant contributions to global understanding of sustainable development.”
The Afghani women’s cycling team has been nominated by 118 Italian lawmakers to promote “the most democratic means of transportation for all mankind.”
CDC says Chipotle-linked outbreak of E. coli over
WASHINGTON – Looks like it’s safe to bite into that burrito.
The federal agency that monitors public health says the outbreak of E. coli illness linked to Chipotle restaurants that sickened 60 people appears to be over.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday the most recent illness reported to the agency started on Dec. 1.
Although the CDC closed its investigation, the source of the illness that spread to 14 states is still unknown. Chipotle executives say they may never be able to identify what made people sick.
Associated Press
