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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 16 august 2024
Federal agency says lax safety practices are putting New York

City subway workers at risk

By KAREN MATTHEWS FTA said. Crichlow said the close
Associated Press The FTA is demanding that calls that the FTA identified
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York City Transit con- “have been thoroughly in-
agency that runs New York duct a comprehensive vestigated to determine
City’s subway system is put- safety assessment, submit a cause, so we can imple-
ting track workers at risk by mitigation plan and under- ment new or strengthen ex-
failing to follow its own safe- take weekly internal moni- isting mitigations to prevent
ty rules, federal authorities toring of its safety compli- future incidents.”
said in an audit issued this ance. Crichlow said the Nov. 29,
week. Officials at New York City 2023 fatality and the June
The Federal Transit Adminis- Transit, which is part of the 6, 2024 worker injury are
tration said in a special di- Metropolitan Transportation under investigation by the
rective Tuesday that there is Authority, said they would National Transportation
“a substantial risk of death appeal the directive. Safety Board. “Given the
or personal injury” because This photo, provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Demetrius Crichlow, the unresolved status of these
of unsafe conditions and shows work continuing in the tunnel near Court Square on the transit agency’s interim inquiries, it seems prema-
practices in the subway Crosstown G subway line, Aug 6, 2024, In New York, president, said in a letter ture to infer that a ‘combi-
system. Associated Press to the FTA Wednesday that nation of unsafe conditions
The FTA, an arm of the fed- 2023, and another worker from 24 close calls in 2022. agency officials “strongly and practices’ led to those
eral Department of Trans- was critically injured on Half of the near misses in- dispute FTA’s view that events,” he said.
portation, reviewed safety June 6, 2024. volved transit workers fail- NYCT has somehow been If New York City Transit does
practices at New York City The FTA says there were 38 ing to follow established negligent when it comes not follow with the transit
Transit after a subway work- close calls in which a sub- rules for flagging, the job of to addressing the safety of administration’s orders it
er was dragged under a way worker was almost alerting train operators that track workers, one of our could lose part of its federal
train and killed on Nov. 29, killed or injured in 2023, up workers are on the track, most essential priorities.” funding.q

Florida election officials warn of false rumor about ballot markings

days before the state’s primary

By ALI SWENSON the voting process.
Associated Press The false claim comes as
NEW YORK (AP) — An un- Republican presidential
founded claim that elec- nominee Donald Trump has
tion workers will invalidate primed his supporters, with-
ballots by writing on them out evidence, to expect
is prompting election clerks election workers and parti-
in Florida to correct the re- san actors to meddle with
cord ahead of next week’s the results. Polls also show
state primary. that confidence in election
Clerks in Collier and Es- results is at historic lows.
cambia counties, home to The false claim has cir-
Naples and Pensacola, are culated both as copied-
reassuring voters that the and-pasted text and as a
warning that some have screenshot of a text mes-
encountered on social me- sage shared on social me-
dia and in texting conver- dia. It purports to come
sations is inaccurate and from a “poll manager”
that ballot markings will not who recently completed a Elections assistant Mikayla Riley works in the processing center during early voting, Feb. 21, 2024,
disqualify their votes. training. “I want you all to in Raleigh, N.C.
Election officials say the know something … if you Associated Press
claim, which has circulated are checking in at the polls
online nationwide since at and they happen to write ing of any kind … please the North Carolina State ballots. But even if they did,
least 2020, is an example of anything on your ballot be- request a new ballot,” the Board of Elections explains it shouldn’t invalidate the
the kind of misinformation fore they give it to you to misleading warning reads. that election workers in vote, said Escambia Coun-
that often spreads among put in the voting machine “Your ballot could be dis- some of that state’s coun- ty Clerk Robert Bender.
well-meaning voters but … a letter, a checkmark, a qualified if it is written on.” ties write voter precincts on “We’ve had people write
threatens to erode trust in star, an R or a D any writ- That verbatim claim has ballots during early voting paragraphs to us on their
spread online and been so they can be properly ballot,” Bender said. “Our
debunked over the years sorted after the election. scanners are looking for
in several states, includ- Election workers in the state marks in certain areas.
ing Florida, Massachusetts, also write a number on mail And so, if there’s a mark in
North Carolina, South Car- or early in-person ballots, a bubble, then that’s how
olina and Texas. the fact-check explains. the vote gets assigned to
Depending on the jurisdic- The number allows the bal- the voters.”
tion, there can be legiti- lot to be removed from the He said when voters in his
mate reasons why an elec- count if there is a successful county get their ballot,
tion worker might mark a voter challenge. they fill it out and take it di-
ballot. In Florida, election work- rectly to the tabulator that
A recent fact-check from ers are trained not to mark countsit.q