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BNSF faces a lawsuit from the US EEOC alleging hostile treatment of women at Nebraska railroad yard
On Thursday, a federal appeals court revived an U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against BNSF Railway accusing them of allowing a severe, pervasive and hostile work environment towards women in a western Nebraska railroad yard. The 8th U.S. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Omaha, said a judge dismissed wrongly claims that BNSF sexually harassed Rena Merker, a train conductor, and other female employees at the Alliance Railyard from 2011 until 2022. The allegations include sexual advances, derogatory remarks about women's body, sexually explicit graffiti on locomotives and at the railyard, the soiling of bathrooms for unisex, and the placement of a dead bird on the toilet of a female train conductor. The EEOC accused BNSF of Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on sex. BNSF belongs to Warren Buffett and his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. Railroads and lawyers in Fort Worth, Texas did not respond immediately to comments. Circuit Judge Lavenski Smith, writing for a panel of three judges, said that the EEOC claims were plausible and the trial judge shouldn't have required the agency show that the same harassment was experienced by female workers at the same time. The appeals court rejected the judge’s conclusion that the sexist remarks were "sporadic", and the graffiti was excused because of its "social context", which is a railyard where there are mainly male workers, not a professional office. Smith wrote that "viewing the evidence most favorably for the EEOC," "we conclude that a jury could reasonably find that Merker had been subjected to harassment which was objectively severe, pervasive and widespread." The EEOC has not responded to comments immediately. Merker died on January 20, 2024, but the case continues. The appeals court sent it back to U.S. district judge Brian Buescher of Omaha. Berkshire wasn't a defendant and Buffett’s Omaha-based conglomerate is minimally involved in the day-today operations of its businesses. The case is EEOC v BNSF Railroad Co, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 24-2082.
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FAA: Arriving flights at Newark Airport were halted by a telecom issue
The Federal Aviation Administration halted arriving flights for over an hour at Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday due to a telecom frequency issue. This is the latest technical problem to cause delays at the airport in New York City. Flightradar24 is a flight-tracking site that reports flights to Newark, the hub of United Airlines, are currently suspended. Flights already in the air are held, but the departures are unaffected. The FAA reported that delays are increasing as flights resume following a 75-minute pause. In April and May, there were two major communications failures for the air traffic controllers in Newark. This caused hundreds of flights to be disrupted. The FAA cut flights at Newark in May after a series major disruptions. Has proposed to extend these through Late October Last year, the FAA moved control of Newark's airspace from Newark to Philadelphia in order to deal with staffing issues and congestion in New York City. The FAA has since upgraded its communications technology in order to prevent similar incidents, but is still working on adding air traffic controllers. (Reporting and editing by Diane Craft; David Shepardson)
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India extends IndiGo's leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines
India has allowed IndiGo, India's biggest airline, to continue leasing from Turkish Airlines two planes for another six-month period. This is a change from a May decision when New Delhi had told IndiGo that the agreement must be terminated by August 31, 2015. A source with knowledge of the situation said that the new extension will expire on February 28. IndiGo said that the extension would help it cut costs caused by geopolitical constraints. The airline was referring to a ban on airspace imposed earlier this year by Pakistan against Indian airlines, which led to longer routes as well as higher costs. IndiGo said that the extension would be subject to the conditions set by India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which was not available outside of regular business hours. IndiGo confirmed that it had requested an extension. IndiGo's spokesperson stated in a press release that "this extension will provide much-needed stability and continuity in operations." IndiGo's partnership Turkish Airlines with Turkish Airlines has been criticised in India since Turkey supported Pakistan in the recent conflict between two South Asian neighbours. In May, it was reported that rival Air India had also been irritated by the tie-up and lobbied for the Indian government's halting of the partnership. In May, the DGCA announced that it had rejected IndiGo's request to extend its contract by six months and only approved three. IndiGo's new extension comes after the airline reported a slower revenue growth in its first quarter, due to border tensions with Pakistan and an Air India crash that killed a pilot. Turkish Airlines has leased two Boeing 777 wide-body aircraft to IndiGo since 2023. The aircraft are equipped with crew and pilots. IndiGo can now carry more passengers on its narrow-body aircraft than it did before, as the aircraft are currently operating on Delhi-Istanbul or Mumbai-Istanbul routes. Reporting by Abhijith Ganahapavaram Editing Mark Potter
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Druzhba restarts as the end of driving season approaches
The oil prices fell on Thursday due to the lower demand for fuel in the United States at the end the summer travel period and the restarting of Russian oil supplies through the Druzhba Pipeline. Brent crude futures dropped 46 cents or 0.7% to $67.59 at 12:04 pm. ET . U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) were down 57c, or 0.9% at $63.58 per barrel. The long Labor Day weekend in the United States ends summer driving. The U.S. gasoline demand is expected to fall, even though crude oil supplies are rising due to OPEC+'s plan to increase September output by 547,000 bpd. Ritterbusch and Associates stated in a report that the mismatch would cause oil inventories rise. They said that as the summer fades into the fall and the gasoline demand drops, refiners will switch to the cheaper winter grade product. After a disruption caused by an attack on Russia by the Ukrainians last week, Russian crude oil supplies to Hungary have resumed through the Druzhba Pipeline. This was announced Thursday by MOL (Hungarian Oil Company) and Slovakia's Economy Minister. After President Donald Trump doubled the tariffs on Indian imports, they could reach 50%. Tony Sycamore, IG's market analyst, said that India is likely to continue buying crude oil from Russia in the near future. This should help limit the impact of new tariffs on the global supply. Official data released on Wednesday showed that U.S. crude inventory levels fell more than anticipated last week. This was a sign of a strong demand and helped to support prices. The data released on Wednesday led to a 1% increase in both crude benchmarks. Russia and Ukraine also intensified their attacks on the energy infrastructure of each other. Ukraine officials reported that Russia had launched a massive drone strike on the energy and gas transportation infrastructure in six Ukrainian regions over night, Wednesday. The attack left more than 100,000 Ukrainians without electricity. (Additional reporting from Sam Li in Beijing, Siyi Liu and David Gregorio in Singapore. Editing by Louise Heavens and Ros Russell)
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Sources say that the Ust-Luga port in Russia will operate at only half its capacity this September due to pipeline damage.
Two industry sources said that the Ust-Luga oil terminal in Russia will only be able to export 350,000 barrels of oil per day, which is about half its normal capacity, due to damage caused by Ukrainian drones on pipeline infrastructure. This disruption shows that recent Ukrainian attacks on key energy facilities have caused Russian exports to be affected and could lead to supply disruptions. Drone strikes in Russia's Bryansk Region earlier in August caused problems at the Unecha pumping stations. Unecha is an important transit point for crude oil heading to Ust-Luga. The Druzhba Pipeline, which supplies Belarus to Slovakia and Hungary, was also affected by the strikes. Slovakia announced on Thursday that the first supplies through the pipeline had resumed. Sources did not specify the pipeline that was damaged, but confirmed that repairs were underway. However, there is no timeline set for complete restoration. Sources said that the fall in Ust-Luga's capacity would result in a diversion of oil to Russia's Primorsk & Novorossiisk port. This could help limit export losses. The Russian authorities have not commented publicly on the extent of damage or the impact on export plans. Transneft declined to comment. Mark Potter, Editor (Reporting)
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White House dismisses Surface Transportation Board member who regulates railroads
A White House spokesman confirmed that Robert Primus was fired as a Surface Transportation Board member. He did not agree with the agenda of U.S. president Donald Trump, the spokesman added. White House spokesperson Kush Desai stated that Robert Primus was fired from his post because he did not agree with President Donald Trump's America First agenda. The Administration plans to nominate in a short time new members who are more qualified to the Surface Transportation Board. Trump is purging bureaucrats from agencies that are not in line with his agenda. The railway regulators are evaluating the proposed $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. Primus said earlier that he had rejected an email sent by the White House that terminated his position. He deemed it to be "legally invalid", and that "it would weaken the Board, and adversely impact the freight rail system in a manner that could ultimately harm consumers and the economy." In a social media post, he stated, "With all this in mind, my plan is to continue to discharge the duties I have as a Board member and, if prevented from doing so I will explore my options in court." The White House statement didn't address the proposed merger, or the legal questions surrounding termination. Surface Transportation Board has not responded to an earlier request for comments. Trevor Hunnicutt, Harshita Menaktshi and Mark Porter edited the article.
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Aurora and McLeod software partner to manage autonomous truck shipments
Aurora Innovation and McLeod Software announced on Thursday that they will integrate their self-driving trucks platform into McLeod Software’s Transportation Management System in order to increase adoption. McLeod TMS and Aurora's API will integrate to allow customers to manage their autonomous shipments. Aurora's president, Ossa Fischer, said that by meeting customers where they already are with their TMS, it is easy to take advantage of the safety and efficiency advantages of autonomous trucks. As other autonomous trucking startup companies like Plus and Waabi try to capture the market, they are also developing their own technologies. McLeod is currently beta testing Aurora's integration and plans to make the feature available to customers in 2019. The road to commercialization for self-driving cars, particularly trucks, is long and includes regulatory approvals, hours of testing, and large capital investments. Aurora began commercial driverless operations in Texas earlier this year -- an open state to self-driving technologies -- by using its flagship Aurora Driver technology for long-haul trucks. McLeod offers software for managing trucking logistics, freight brokerage management and more than 1,200 clients. (Reporting and editing by Sahal Muhammad in Bengaluru, Zaheer Kachwala from Bengaluru)
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ADNOC sells 3% of its logistics and services unit through a bookbuild offer
ADNOC, the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates, announced on Thursday that it would sell an approximately 3% stake in its Logistics and Services unit via a bookbuild offer. ADNOC announced that it would offer up to 222,000,000 shares of ADNOC L&S to institutional and professional investors in the UAE. The deal will increase ADNOC L&S’s free float from 22% to 22%, and “enhance trading liquidity” of the shares. ADNOC L&S was created in 2016 and exports crude oil from Abu Dhabi, as well as refined products, dry bulk, liquefied gas, and other natural gases to over 100 customers in more than 50 countries. ADNOC, who owns 81% of the company, raised $769 millions in its initial public offering (IPO) in 2023. This deal follows other secondary share offers in ADNOC units, including its gas business, which raised $2.84billion in February, in one of the largest share sales in recent Middle East history. ADNOC didn't disclose the offer price of ADNOC L&S shares. They closed Thursday up 2.3%, at 5.43 dirhams each ($1.48). According to LSEG, the stock has risen by around 1.5% over the past year. ADNOC stated that the final number of shares offered and the price will be determined after the closing of the bookbuilding. The settlement is expected to occur on or about September 3. First Abu Dhabi Bank was one of the banks that were appointed as joint global coordinaters and joint bookrunners.
US grants exemption to self-driving Zoox cars, ends probe
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Wednesday that it had certified Amazon.com’s self-driving Zoox units for demonstration use, and ended an investigation into whether the vehicles met federal requirements.
In 2022, the U.S. Auto Safety Agency began an investigation to determine if the self-driving cars without traditional driving controls met federal safety standards when the company certified the vehicle.
Zoox applied in June for an exemption to some requirements, and NHTSA granted that request. The agency said all purpose-built Zoox vehicles now on the road in the United States were operating under an exemption granted by the agency.
The Trump Administration in June announced that it would move more quickly on requests for self-driving vehicle exemptions. This was after General Motors' and Ford's proposals to deploy vehicles with no steering wheel and brake pedals were lingering and eventually withdrawn.
Zoox must remove any existing statements stating that the vehicle is compliant with federal motor vehicle standards.
In May, Zoox announced that it would recall 270 driverless cars after an unoccupied roboticaxi was involved in a crash on April 8, with a car in Las Vegas.
In certain driving scenarios, the Zoox Automated Driving Systems "may make an incorrect prediction when another vehicle approaches slowly perpendicularly" and stops. In these scenarios the Zoox vehicle might not be able avoid a collision.
Zoox suspended operations for a few days while it conducted a safety assessment of the incident. A software update was developed to resolve the problem.
In April, after Zoox had issued a recall for 258 Zoox cars over brake problems, the NHTSA concluded its investigation.
Remind your software to be updated
. The investigation was opened in May 2024 after two rear-end crashes that injured motorcyclists when the automated vehicles unexpectedly braked. (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Margueritachoy and David Shepardson)
(source: Reuters)