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NEWS

An Alaskan airline pilot, 44 year old Joseph D. Emerson, was off duty when he tried to cut fuel from the planes engines while the flight was heading to San Francisco, California from Washington state.

Awake for 40 hours and taking psychedelic mushrooms 48 hours before the incident on the plane, Emerson reached for the controls when another pilot grabbed his wrists and wrestled him for a few seconds in the cockpit until he confirmed he felt better.

The reports claim Emerson thought he was dreaming and believed pulling the handles of the fire control—which cuts fuel to the aircraft’s system—would make him wake up. While it’s unlikely that shrooms could affect him 48 hours later, health experts believe his sleep deprivation, lingering effects of the mushrooms, and depression he’s had after the loss of a friend, might have caused derealization. Which is known for causing psychotic-like behavior and making one feel detached from their surroundings.

Emerson has been charged 83 felony counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment, and one count of endangering an aircraft. He pleaded not guilty to all state charges in Oregon on October 24.

BUSINESS

As a result of the Northern Southern train derailment that happened in February 2023, the company now turns to automated inspection portals to regularly check moving trains for any problems.

One of the first portals, of the dozens to come, got installed in Leetonia, Ohio, and is less than 15 miles away from the February derailment. The portals are equipped with high-speed cameras that will capture and record hundreds of pictures of every passing locomotive and railcar. The 700 photos received at 60 mph will be analyzed instantaneously by Artificial Intelligence (AI) software the railroad developed.

There is controversy amongst the rail unions on whether or not AI should replace well-trained carmen for thorough inspections. Norfolk Southern plans to install a minimum of twelve of them in its 22-state East network by 2024. The Atlanta-based railroad did not disclose the investment amount for the technology developed in collaboration with Georgia Tech.

“It’s much harder for a person to inspect a moving car than a stationary one… The proposed system can ‘see’ the entirety of the passing vehicle and, through image processing, is probably able to find conditions not obvious to the human viewer along the track.” — David Clarke

ECONOMY

Around 360 workers from Unifor, Canada's largest private-sector union, went on strike on October 22 in Ontario and Quebec. The crowds are protesting against the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp over wages. As a result, 13 locks between Lake Erie and Montreal have been closed, causing ships to be stuck in the Great Lakes and preventing more ships from entering.

This has disrupted the export of grain and other goods from Canada and the United States to the rest of the world. The strike has been ongoing for three days as of October 24, but the Canadian government has ordered both sides to return to negotiations on October 27 with a federal mediator. U.S. officials are urging the Canadian government and the Seaway corporation to reach a settlement.

“We have grain that feeds the world that’s not moving. We have salt that goes on winter roads for safety that’s not moving. We have iron ore for steelmaking that’s not moving.” — Jason Card, Spokesman