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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.

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.

A whistleblower told The Associated Press that the Environmental Protection Agency's ASPECT plane could have provided crucial data about the chemicals spewing into the air around East Palestine as the wreckage burned and forced people from their homes.

Ancora Holdings had nominated seven directors as part of a bid to take control of the railroad’s 13-member board and overhaul its operations.

The Atlanta-based railroad’s profit was down from $466 million, or $2.04 per share, a year ago even though the railroad delivered 4% more shipments during the quarter.