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Biden admin insists president has 'laser focus' on East Palestine despite not visiting for a year

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Biden admin insists president has 'laser focus' on East Palestine despite not visiting for a year

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President Biden visited East Palestine, Ohio, on Friday where administration officials said he has had a “laser focus” on the issues facing the rural village following a hazardous train derailment that released more than a million gallons of toxic chemicals in the environment, and despite the president not visiting the area for more than a year after the disaster. 

“Mr. President, thank you for your laser focus on this community,” Michael Regan, administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said after officials toured the recovery site where dozens of Norfolk Southern train cars derailed on Feb. 3, 2023. 

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The president has been heavily criticized by Republicans and local residents for not visiting the rural Ohio village, which is located in Columbiana County on the state’s border with Pennsylvania, in the weeks and months that followed. 

The resulted in many residents on both sides of the border having to abandon their homes and suffering from various ailments. The Atlanta-based railroad has been making payments to residents forced to relocate but announced in December that the financial aid would stop on Feb. 9. 

OHIO RAILROAD WORKER CRUSHED TO DEATH BY REMOTE-CONTROLLED TRAIN 

President Biden speaks after touring the East Palestine Recovery Site on Friday in East Palestine, Ohio, more than a year after a freight train derailment caused an environmental disaster in the village.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The National Transportation Safety Board said 38 Norfolk Southern cars derailed, and a fire damaged another dozen train cars. 

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“Let me be clear. While there are acts of God. This was an act of greed that was 100% preventable,” Biden said Friday. “Norfolk Southern failed in its responsibility.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the railroad company. 

Norfolk Southern said it has spent roughly $1.1 billion in its response to the derailment. The company says it has invested $103.2 million in the community, including $21 million distributed to residents.

President Biden talks as he tours the East Palestine Recovery Site on Friday in East Palestine, Ohio, more than a year after a freight train derailment caused an environmental disaster in the village.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

During his remarks, Biden announced the awarding of six grants to the National Institutes of Health to study the short and long-term impacts “of what happened here.”

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East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said the community refuses to be defined by a single event. He called for bipartisan federal railway legislation and federal tax relief for funds received from Norfolk Southern.

“President Biden, your long-awaited visit to our village today allows us to focus on the things we agree with,” Conaway said. 

Biden claimed in September that he simply had not had time with his busy schedule to visit the Ohio town. His lack of a visit came in contrast to former President Trump, who met with residents of East Palestine on Feb. 22, 2023, just weeks after the incident. Joining Trump was Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.

The aftermath of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed is seen still burning, Feb. 4, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. The train derailed the night before, releasing toxic chemicals into the environment. (AP Photo / Gene J. Puskar / File)

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“You are not forgotten. We stand with you. We pray for you. And we will stand with you and your fight to help ensure the accountability that you deserve,” Trump told the crowd at the time. “The community has shown the tough and resilient heart of America. And that’s what it is. This is really America right here. We’re standing in America.”

“You are not forgotten. We stand with you. We pray for you. And we will stand with you and your fight to help ensure the accountability that you deserve.” 

Vance criticized Biden for announcing his visit to the community a year after the disaster. 

“I cannot get the White House to give a crap about these people,” he told the Wall Street Journal in a story published Thursday. “They gave my deputy chief of staff a lecture about what the National Institutes of Health does” when he asked for an NIH grant.”

Earlier this month, GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno weighed in, saying Biden, “refused to stand with the patriots of East Palestine when it really mattered. He could have united our country by showing support to a right-leaning community, but instead he ignored them.” 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Ohio

‘Pure evil’: Adults arrested after 16 children found in deplorable conditions in Ohio home

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‘Pure evil’: Adults arrested after 16 children found in deplorable conditions in Ohio home


Authorities arrested four adults on felony child endangerment charges after discovering 16 children in dire need of medical treatment Tuesday in a rural southern Ohio home.

The Ohio Bureau of Investigation and local sheriff’s department searched a home in the small village of Hamden, where they found the kids in what officials called “deplorable” conditions.”

“Conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said at a news conference.

Law enforcement arrested Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders. They have not yet been arraigned and assigned public defenders.

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Vinton County prosecuting attorney William Archer said they were being charged with second-degree felony child endangering because it involves “serious physical harm.”

Officials did not confirm if the children were related but said it was not a human trafficking situation. They said the adults were not locals and appeared to have been traveling.

Hamden has a population of less than 1,000 people and is about 60 miles southeast of Columbus.

The children ranged from ages 1.5 to 18 and included both boys and girls, officials said. Several were in serious conditions when found, and two had to be flown to level one trauma centers because of their injuries.

Wilson said it was the worst scene he had ever encountered in his entire career, describing what he saw as “pure evil.”

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Law enforcement were also executing a secondary search warrant at the home Tuesday, and the investigation is ongoing. The four adults will appear in court Wednesday morning.

“Justice will be served for these children,” Wilson said.



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South Dakota

Vermillion’s Reuvers commits to South Dakota

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Vermillion’s Reuvers commits to South Dakota


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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Vermillion guard Taylor Reuvers is staying home as the junior announced her commitment to USD via X on Tuesday.

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Reuvers earned first team All-State honors as a sophomore, averaging 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. The 2028 graduate led her squad to a 13-9 record for the 2025-26 season.



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Wisconsin

Missing Wisconsin teen Joniah Walker found safe 4 years after disappearing from home

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Missing Wisconsin teen Joniah Walker found safe 4 years after disappearing from home


A missing Wisconsin teen was found safe after mysteriously vanishing from home four years ago as her family had believed she was “lured away.”

Joniah Walker, 19, was safely discovered on May 25, the Milwaukee Police Department told WISN on Tuesday.

Police officials didn’t disclose where Walker was found or provide any further information on the case, including whether the teen was with someone else.

Joniah Walker, a Milwaukee teen who disappeared in 2022, has been found safe in May 2026. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Walker, then 15, had disappeared from her Milwaukee home on June 23, 2022.

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Walker’s mother, Tanesha Howard, said she last saw her daughter lying in bed when she left for work the morning of her disappearance, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

“Joniah was lying in bed because she had just finished school. I went in to give her a hug before leaving for work,” Howard told the organization.

The mother and daughter duo had talked on the phone several times throughout the day before Walker “suddenly stopped responding.”

Walker was supposed to meet her father to apply for a summer work permit but failed to arrive at the designated time.

“He called me and said that Joniah wasn’t picking up her phone,” Howard said. “That is when I immediately knew something was wrong. I left work right away.” 

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Walker, then 15, had disappeared from her Milwaukee home on June 23, 2022. Milwaukee Police Department
Walker’s mother, Tanesha Howard, said she last saw her daughter lying in bed when she left for work the morning of her disappearance. Tanesha Howard

A nearby ring camera captured Walker leaving the apartment complex at around 2:30 p.m. in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood, a mile-and-a-half north of Downtown Milwaukee.

Video footage showed the teen carrying a large green backpack.

It was the last known sighting of Walker until she was reportedly found last month.

Howard believed her daughter had met someone online after she deleted her digital footprint and never returned.

“Somebody stole her…that was my first instinct,” Howard said. “But when I saw that she left with a big backpack that I had never seen, that’s when I knew. I was like, someone lured her away.” 

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The protective mother issued multiple pleas for her daughter to come home, begging Walker to “call me,” WISN reported in July 2022.

Video captured the teen carrying a large green backpack, in the last known sighting of Walker. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The protective mother issued multiple pleas for her daughter to come home, begging Walker to “call me.” National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

“She is my youngest daughter, so I always call her by ‘baby girl’ because that is exactly who she is, my baby girl,” she said. “She is what I would describe as a perfect daughter. She is angelic, soft spoken and very intelligent.”

Walker was one of the faces of a legislative push by Wisconsin State Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) seeking to pass a bill to create a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force, according to Fox6 Now.

Stubbs says she believed Walker was still alive, telling Howard to hold out hope for her daughter’s return.

“I believed Joniah was still living, and I said that to her – I don’t believe Joniah is dead, it’s only a matter of time,” Stubbs told the outlet.

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“I think right now, the family needs their privacy,” Stubbs added. “I know there are so many questions, but I think as time goes by when they are ready to tell their story, they will tell it.”



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