South Korea will bring home 300 workers detained in Hyundai plant raid
South Korea says it has reached a deal with the U.S. for the release of South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik announced Sunday that South Korea and the U.S. finalized negotiations on the workers’ release. He said South Korea plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said that more than 300 South Koreans were among the 475 people detained. The raid stunned many in South Korea because the country is a key U.S. ally.
Jen Pawol breaks MLB's gender barrier as first female umpire
Jen Pawol has made history as the first female umpire to work a regular-season game in the major leagues. Pawol worked as the first base umpire for Saturday’s first game of a split doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. She enjoyed a quiet first inning. Pawol will work third base in Saturday night’s second game of the doubleheader and will be in the spotlight when she calls pitches behind the plate in Sunday’s final game of the series. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough and Braves bench coach Walt Weiss greeted Pawol when lineups were exchanged at home plate.
Federal cuts disrupt repairs on two of America's most iconic trails
Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail that runs through three western states is already challenging. Now the grueling journey may become even tougher this year due to federal cuts. Over a year’s worth of trail work to clear downed trees and rebuild stretches of the Pacific Crest Trail has been canceled, while similar repairs have been disrupted for the Appalachian Trail. Wildfires and hurricanes already were taking a toll on America's two legendary trails that are used by millions each year. Now the associations overseeing the paths say cuts in grant money and the Trump administration's downsizing of the federal workforce threaten their very existence.
Waffle House Index helps Southerners and FEMA judge a hurricane's severity
For some residents of storm-prone Southeastern states, the best indicator of a hurricane's severity can be found at the local Waffle House. If the Georgia-based restaurant chain stays open in town, neighbors are reassured that the coming storm is unlikely to cause devastation. A closed location of the dependable diner chain has come to indicate impending disaster. What might sound like silly logic has become one of the most reliable ways for Southerners and even federal officials to gauge a storm’s severity and identify communities most in need of immediate aid. The Waffle House Index was created by a federal emergency management official and is still used today.
US port strike: Over 45,000 dockworkers from Maine to Texas hit picket lines
Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas have started walking picket lines in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks. The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress was reported in talks on Monday, the workers went on strike early Tuesday. The strike is affecting 36 ports. The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, said Monday evening that both sides had moved off of their previous wage offers, but when picket lines went up just after midnight, it was apparent there was no deal.
USPS debuts long-awaited new mail truck
The Postal Service’s new delivery vehicles aren’t going to win a beauty contest. They're tall and ungainly, with outsize windshields, thick bumpers and duck-bill hoods. But they're getting rave reviews from letter carriers accustomed to cantankerous older vehicles. The first handful of the so-called Next Generation Delivery Vehicles rolled out in August in Athens, Georgia. Within a few years, the fleet will have grown to 60,000, most of them electric models. The next-gen vehicles will serve as the Postal Service’s primary delivery truck on routes from Maine to Hawaii.
Construction to begin on high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Los Angeles
A $12 billion high-speed passenger train line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Brightline West company officials on Monday to hammer commemorative yellow rail spikes at the site of terminal due to open in 2028 just south of the Las Vegas Strip. The company plans to build track in the median of Interstate 15 to a Rancho Cucamonga, California, commuter rail hub connection to Los Angeles. Trains would whisk past at speeds comparable to Japan's bullet trains. A Brightline sister company operates a train about two-thirds that fast between Miami and Orlando.
Hacker News