East Palestine, Ohio

It's not clear whether the judge will rule on their motion before Thursday's deadline for people who live within 20 miles (32 kilometers) of the derailment to file a claim.

The creeks around East Palestine, Ohio, were so badly contaminated by last year's disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment that some workers became sick during the cleanup.

People who live near East Palestine, Ohio, can now get $25,000 apiece for any injuries they sustained after last year's Norfolk Southern freight train derailment on top of whatever money they get for property damage as part of the $600 million class-action settlement.

The EPA's Inspector General is investigating why the agency didn't get its specialized plane loaded with advanced sensors into the air over East Palestine until four days after the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment last year.

The train crash spilled an assortment of hazardous chemicals from tank cars that ruptured, and days after the derailment, officials decided to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside because they worried the cars might explode.

Area residents, rail industry representatives and local and state officials packed East Palestine High School's auditorium Tuesday to hear the NTSB's investigation findings and recommendations to prevent similar disasters.

Train crews have long carried lists of their cargo in the cabs of their locomotives, but in the middle of the chaos after a derailment those engineers and conductors, who might have moved their locomotives miles down the track, can't always be found right away.

Most people who received money from Norfolk Southern in the wake of last year's fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio won't have to pay taxes on millions of dollars in aid payments after all.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department announced the agreement Thursday — two days after a federal judge signed off on the railroad's $600 million class action settlement with residents whose lives were disrupted.

Preliminary approval for the settlement came late Tuesday, so now lawyers involved in the case will return to the community to answer more questions about the deal Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern agreed to this spring.