JOSH FUNK

Josh covers railroads & Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway

Deacon Paul Cerio places a cross on the casket of Rev. Stephen Gutgsell during his funeral at St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. Gutgsell was killed in the rectory of St. John the Baptist Church in Fort Calhoun on Dec. 10. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

After 2 grisly killings, a small Nebraska community wonders if any place is really safe

Two brutal killings in four months have left 1,100 residents in a tiny corner of eastern Nebraska reeling.

This image provided by the Archdiocese of Omaha shows the Rev. Stephen Gutgsell. (Archdiocese of Omaha via AP)

A Nebraska priest and the man who killed him had no connection to each other, prosecutor says

Prosecutors say a suspect in the stabbing death of a Catholic priest in eastern Nebraska appears to have no connection to the priest or the town where the stabbing occurred.

Crime scene tape surrounds the rectory at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun, Neb., Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, one day after a priest was fatally stabbed there during a break-in. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)

Nebraska priest, bleeding from multiple stab wounds, yelled ‘help me’ when deputy arrived

Nebraska prosecutors have charged a man with murder, burglary and two weapons charges in the stabbing of a Catholic priest who authorities say was attacked during a break-in at the rectory where he lived in the small town of Fort Calhoun.

The Washington County Sheriff's office investigates the scene of a fatal stabbing on a Catholic priest in the rectory of St. John the Baptist Church, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in Fort Calhoun, Neb. The Rev. Stephen Gutgsell died at an Nebraska hospital, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Omaha. Police say a person is in custody. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

As few details are released, fatal stabbing of Catholic priest rocks small Nebraska community

The fatal weekend stabbing of a Catholic priest inside the church rectory where he lived is the second killing this year in the one-stoplight town in eastern Nebraska.

This undated photo provided by Nebraska Department of Correctional Services shows Ed Poindexter, the second of two former Black Panthers who always maintained their innocence in the 1970 bombing death of a white Omaha police officer, has died Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in prison. A spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said Friday that Poindexter had died a day earlier at the age of 79. (Nebraska Department of Correctional Services via AP)

Ex Black Panther who maintained innocence in bombing that killed an officer dies in Nebraska prison

The second of two former Black Panthers who always maintained their innocence in the 1970 bombing death of a white Omaha police officer has died in prison.

FILE - Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the night before burn in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2023. Norfolk Southern railroad announced on Tuesday, Dec. 5, plans to stop paying relocation aid to people displaced by the derailment right after the one-year anniversary of the crash. Railroad officials reiterated their long-term commitment to helping the town of East Palestine and the surrounding area recover. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Norfolk Southern to end relocation aid right after one-year anniversary of its fiery Ohio derailment

Norfolk Southern railroad plans to stop paying relocation aid to people displaced by last February’s fiery derailment in eastern Ohio right after the one-year anniversary of the crash.

FILE - In this May 7, 2018, file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett speaks during an interview in Omaha, Neb. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway says the billionaire Haslam family tried to bribe at least 15 executives at the Pilot truck stop chain with millions of dollars to inflate the company’s profits this year because that would force Berkshire to pay more for the Haslams’ remaining 20% stake in the company. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Warren Buffett’s company’s bribery allegations against the Haslam family won’t be decided in January

Warren Buffett’s company decided not to move forward with an expedited trial on its bribery allegations against the billionaire Haslam family in January under the strict conditions a judge set.

FILE - A Union Pacific train engine sits in a rail yard on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Commerce, Calif. Union Pacific reports earnings on Thursday, April 20, 2023. The head of the union that represents track maintenance workers says Union Pacific is jeopardizing safety by delaying nearly 1,200 planned projects until next year and laying off more than 1,000 workers. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

Rail union says Union Pacific layoffs of over 1,000 track maintenance workers jeopardizes safety

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The head of the union that represents track maintenance workers says Union Pacific is jeopardizing safety by delaying nearly 1,200 planned projects until next year and laying off more than 1,000 workers, but the railroad says the seasonal move shouldn’t be alarming.

FILE - In this April 19, 2013, file photo, Jimmy Haslam, CEO of Pilot Flying J and owner of the Cleveland Browns, speaks during a news conference at the company headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway says the billionaire Haslam family tried to bribe at least 15 executives at the Pilot truck stop chain with millions of dollars to inflate the company’s profits this year because that would force Berkshire to pay more for the Haslams’ remaining 20% stake in the company. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

Billionaire family denies allegation from Warren Buffett’s company that it bribed truck stop chain execs

An attorney for the billionaire Haslam family has called the bribery allegations from Warren Buffett’s company a “wild invention.”

FILE - In this May 7, 2018, file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett speaks during an interview in Omaha, Neb. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway says the billionaire Haslam family tried to bribe at least 15 executives at the Pilot truck stop chain with millions of dollars to inflate the company’s profits this year because that would force Berkshire to pay more for the Haslams’ remaining 20% stake in the company. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Warren Buffett’s company says a billionaire family offered bribes to inflate earnings at a truck stop chain

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway says the billionaire Haslam family tried to bribe at least 15 executives at the Pilot truck stop chain with millions of dollars to get them to inflate the company’s profits this year because that would force Berkshire to pay more for the Haslams’ remaining 20% sta

File - Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, left, and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, briefly chat with reporters May 3, 2019, one day before Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb. Berkshire Hathaway says Munger, who helped Warren Buffett build an investment powerhouse, has died. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Charlie Munger, who helped Warren Buffett build investment powerhouse Berkshire Hathaway, dies at 99

Charlie Munger, who helped Warren Buffett build Berkshire Hathaway into an investment powerhouse, has died. He was 99.

Emergency responders work at the scene of a derailment of a CSX train north of Livingston, Ky., on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. Two of the railcars were carrying molten sulfur and at least one of them was breached, causing a fire that burned until Thursday. (WTVQ via AP Photo.)

Failed wheel bearing caused Kentucky train derailment but didn’t trigger alarms beforehand, CSX says

CSX says a failed wheel bearing on a train car caused a derailment that sparked a chemical fire in a small Kentucky town.

FILE - A hen stands next to an egg, Jan. 10, 2023, at a farm in Glenview, Ill. More than 1.3 million chickens are being slaughtered on an Ohio egg farm as the bird flu continues to take a toll on the industry. The outbreak that began in early 2022 has been much less severe this year as fewer cases of the virus are being found among the wild birds that spread it. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

1.35 million chickens are being killed on an Ohio egg farm as bird flu takes a toll on the industry

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 1.35 million chickens are being slaughtered on an Ohio egg farm as the bird flu continues to take a toll on the industry.

FILE - Smoke emanates from a railroad car after an explosion at Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, Sept. 14, 2023, in North Platte, Neb. The explosion of a shipping container filled with toxic acid inside the world’s largest railyard, combined with hundreds of rules violations inspectors found there, raises questions about Union Pacific's safety and the effectiveness of the rules for shipping hazardous materials. The Sept. 14 blast fortunately happened in a remote corner of the railyard and the resulting fire did not spread widely. (Ryan Herzog/The Telegraph via AP, File)

Railyard explosion, inspections raise safety questions about Union Pacific’s hazmat shipping

Federal inspectors have twice found hundreds of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific was using at the world’s largest railyard in Nebraska, but none of those seem to explain why a shipping container filled with toxic acid exploded there this fall.

FILE - Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett smiles during an interview, May 7, 2018, in Omaha, Neb. Buffett's company unloaded a number of the smaller investments in its portfolio in the third quarter including GM, Mondelez, Johnson & Johnson, UPS and Procter & Gamble. Berkshire Hathaway filed a quarterly update on its $313 billion portfolio with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Buffett’s firm sells off several smaller investments, including GM and UPS

Warren Buffett’s company unloaded a number of the smaller investments in its portfolio in the third quarter including GM, Mondelez, Johnson & Johnson, UPS and Procter & Gamble.

Ohio business owner sues Norfolk Southern for February derailment that closed his companies

A business owner whose companies are near the site where a Norfolk Southern train derailed in eastern Ohio in February is suing the railroad.

FILE- Turkeys stand in a barn on a farm near Manson, Iowa, Aug. 10, 2015. Nearly 5 million chicken, turkeys and ducks have been slaughtered this year because of a persistent bird flu outbreak that began in 2022, but as big as that number may sound, it’s far less than the number of birds killed last year and that means consumers generally aren’t seeing as much impact on poultry and egg prices. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

The bird flu outbreak isn’t over, but it’s less severe, helping egg and poultry prices recover

Nearly 5 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been slaughtered this year because of a persistent bird flu outbreak that began in 2022.

FILE - Chickens walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm in Iowa on Oct. 21, 2015. Another 1.2 million chickens will have to be slaughtered after bird flu was confirmed on an Iowa egg farm in the second massive case this week just days after nearly 1 million chickens had to be killed on a Minnesota egg farm. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

1.2 million chickens will be slaughtered at an Iowa farm where bird flu was found

An additional 1.2 million chickens will be slaughtered after bird flu was confirmed on an Iowa egg farm in the second massive case this week.

Nearly 1M chickens will be killed on a Minnesota farm because of bird flu

Nearly 1 million chickens on a Minnesota egg farm will be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious bird flu. The U.S.

FILE - Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles as he plays bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., May 5, 2019. Buffett's company reported a $12.8 billion loss Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, as the paper value of its investments fell, but the companies it owns — particularly the insurers — generally performed well.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Warren Buffett’s firm reports $12.8 billion loss as investments fall but its insurers performed well

Warren Buffett’s company has reported a $12.8 billion loss as the paper value of its investments fell, but the companies it owns — particularly the insurers — generally performed well.

FILE - Flowers sit on the Senate desk of late North Dakota Sen. Doug Larsen, Oct. 6, 2023, inside the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. Larsen, his wife, Amy, and their two young children, 11-year-old Christian and 8-year-old Everett, died on Oct. 1, in a plane crash near Moab, Utah. Federal investigators say they found no evidence of a mechanical failure before the state senator's plane crashed in Utah, killing him, his wife and their two young children, according to a preliminary report released Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, by the National Transportation Safety Board. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)

North Dakota lawmaker’s plane took off without runway lights before the crash that killed his family

A North Dakota state senator took off from a remote Utah airport last month with his wife and two young sons in the plane without the runway lights on a dark night with no moonlight and crashed just a minute later killing everyone aboard.

FILE – This photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, shows damage from a Sept. 29, 2016, commuter train crash that killed a woman and injured more than 100 people at the Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, N.J. The National Transportation Safety Board issued a report Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, urging the Federal Railroad Administration and the industry to keep developing new technology that can be used to improve Positive Train Control systems. But their recommendations include at least one practical idea that railroads could likely implement relatively quickly. (Chris O'Neil/National Transportation Safety Board via AP, File)

Railroad automatic braking system needs improvement to prevent more derailments, safety board says

Federal safety investigators say the automatic braking system railroads were required to install several years ago needs improvement to prevent more derailments.

Union Pacific eliminates management jobs as part of plan to speed decision making at the railroad

Union Pacific is trimming the ranks of the railroad’s management employees as part of the new CEO’s push to eliminate layers of bosses involved in decisions.

FILE - In this May 7, 2018 file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett speaks during an interview in Omaha, Neb. The billionaire Haslam family says in a lawsuit that Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are trying to artificially depress the price the company is obligated to pay for the family's remaining 20% stake in the Pilot Travel Centers truck stop chain that Jim Haslam found. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Haslams say Warren Buffett’s Berkshire wants to take money out of their pockets in truck stop deal

The billionaire Haslam family says in a lawsuit that Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are trying to artificially depress the price the company is obligated to pay for the family’s remaining 20% stake in the Pilot Travel Centers truck stop company after paying nearly $11 billion since 2017 for t

FILE - In this photo taken with a drone, portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the previous night in East Palestine, Ohio, remain on fire at mid-day, Feb. 4, 2023. The removal of contaminated soil from the eastern Ohio site of February's fiery Norfolk Southern derailment is expected to be completed sometime this weekend, although the larger cleanup effort isn't over. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials and the railroad announced the milestone Thursday, Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Soil removal from Ohio train derailment site is nearly done, but cleanup isn’t over

The removal of contaminated soil from the site of February’s fiery Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio is expected to be completed sometime this weekend although the larger cleanup will continue.

FILE - Norfolk Southern locomotives are moved in Norfolk Southern's Conway Terminal, June 17, 2023, in Conway, Pa. Norfolk Southern has installed the first of what will be more than a dozen automated inspection portals on its tracks in Ohio — not far from where one of its trains derailed in February and spilled hazardous chemicals that caught fire. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Norfolk Southern investing in more automated inspection systems on its railroad to improve safety

Norfolk Southern has installed the first of what will be more than a dozen of a new generation of automated inspection portals on its tracks in Ohio — not far from where one of its trains derailed in February and spilled hazardous chemicals that caught fire.

FILE - Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett smiles during an interview, May 7, 2018, in Omaha, Neb. Buffett joined the recent oil-buying spree in the market this week by resuming Berkshire Hathaway's purchases of Occidental Petroleum stock for the first time in four months. Buffett's company said late Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 that it invested more than $246 million to add to its already massive Occidental stake. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Warren Buffett’s company joins oil-buying frenzy this week by resuming its Occidental Petroleum buys

Investor Warren Buffett joined the recent oil-buying spree in the market this week by resuming Berkshire Hathaway’s purchases of Occidental Petroleum stock for the first time in four months.

FILE - Cleanup continues, Feb. 24, 2023, at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. The costs related to the East Palestine derailment continue to grow to reach $966 million for Norfolk Southern, but the railroad's service is improving and its insurance companies have started to pay their share of the cost of the crash in eastern Ohio early this year. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)

Derailment costs grow for Norfolk Southern but railroad’s trains moving more smoothly

Norfolk Southern’s costs related to the East Palestine derailment have grown to reach $966 million. But the railroad’s service is improving and its insurance companies have started to pay their share of the cost of the crash in eastern Ohio early this year.

FILE - In this Thursday, July 12, 2012, photo, a rail yard worker climbs off a switching engine at the CSX facility in Boston. CSX Corp. reports earnings on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

CSX boss wants railroad to keep improving service as profit falls 24%

CSX reported a 24% drop in the railroad’s third-quarter profit Thursday as it hauled 2% less freight.

FILE - A Union Pacific train travels through Union, Neb., July 31, 2018. Union Pacific's third-quarter profit fell 19% as the railroad hauled fewer shipments and costs remained high, but the average speed of its trains improved 5% as new CEO Jim Vena began to tweak the operations, the company reported Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Union Pacific railroad’s quarterly profit falls 19% as volumes slow and costs remain high

Union Pacific’s third-quarter profit fell 19% as the railroad hauled about 3% fewer shipments and costs remained high, but the average speed of its trains improved 5% as new CEO Jim Vena began to tweak the operations.