Reading archive 2023-01-25

Dolphins just spotted in New York City’s Bronx River: ‘Had me shocked’: ‘This is great news — it shows that the decades-long effort to restore the river as a healthy habitat is working,’ NYC Parks posted on Twitter.

Metro says relationship with regulator is untenable, needs ‘mediation’: Transit agency says Washington Metrorail Safety Commission takes arbitrary actions against Metro, while commission officials say Metro continues to ignore oversight and safety protocols - "Metro’s own records showed a train operator who was supposed to have eight hours of operation with a training instructor had just nine minutes, he said."

Metro plans summer safety work as tensions resurface with regulator: Washington Metrorail Safety Commission members said Metro should have fired or removed an operator for lying during an investigation - "Safety commission staff members presented commissioners with reports of several incidents over the past few months, including a July 16 incident in which a track inspection crew on the Red Line had to rush from the path of a speeding train. Surveillance footage showed the train operator had been flagged to slow at the preceding station and by rail operations control. When asked why the operator didn’t slow, he told investigators he was distracted by a passenger who raised him on the emergency intercom about a weapon onboard.

"Vehicle data showed the intercom was never activated. Metro’s investigative report, according to the safety commission, recommended 'low' level punishment and indicated the transit agency docked his personnel record. 

"'Is this appropriate for putting roadway workers at risk and then lying about it?' asked Commissioner Robert Lauby, a former chief safety officer for the Federal Railroad Administration." [ed. note: JFC]

For Ukraine, what’s so special about Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks?

Why conservatives are accusing the Xbox of being ‘woke’: The criticism comes after the brand said this month it’s rolling out updates to improve the energy efficiency of the video-game consoles

‘I felt like we were in “Goodfellas’’’: How George Santos wooed investors for alleged Ponzi scheme: Accounts gathered by The Post detail how Santos used lavish dinner, inflated credentials to pitch Harbor City securities

Opinion  Biden’s devious plan to break the MAGA fever just might work - "To the extent there’s an economic base to backlash politics, these programs may well counter that. They will accelerate accessible noncollege work opportunities in exactly the kinds of places left behind by deindustrialization." [ed. note: the extent of the economic basis of backlash politics is small]

North Texas youth pastor, high school coach and volunteer firefighter among 46 arrested in commercial sex sting, Homeland Security says: Among those arrested were a volunteer firefighter, youth pastor, high school teacher, football coach and the director of operations for a large hospital network.