Abigail Bottar

A late August Earthquake occurred in a place some might not expect: Ohio. Recently the state has experienced plenty of low-level seismic activity.

The Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine has raised questions about the safety of freight rail companies. Two bills in Congress aim to fix that and would regulate wayside defect detectors.

Some of the toxic waste from the East Palestine derailment cleanup will go to sites in Ohio and Indiana after the United States Environmental Protection Agency paused shipments heading to Michigan and Texas to allow for more oversight measures.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said thousands of aquatic species, including minnows, fish, crayfish and amphibians, died due chemical contamination after a train derailment in East Palestine.

Officials in Ohio say cleanup of the site of a derailed freight train that carried toxic chemicals is moving quickly, but some residents worry about the health impacts of the chemicals.

Residents are allowed to go back to their homes after the evacuation order in place since Sunday was lifted Wednesday night.

The environmental advocacy group PennEnvironment says there should be more transparency from freight rail companies, and they're criticizing how long it took officials to disclose what hazardous materials were on the train.

Officials say they don't know when residents of East Palestine will be able to return to their homes, as air quality testing continues. Officials say there have been no reports of significant injury from the Friday derailment nor the controlled release of chemicals Monday.

Governor Mike DeWine extends the evacuation area, calls the situation "a matter of life and death" and says anyone still in the area needs "to leave immediately."

Dozens of cities across the state have removed penalties for minor marijuana possession, but not all law enforcement agencies are enforcing these new laws.