The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by BlackRock — What we know about the cause of the Ohio train derailment

View Online  12:30 REPORT PRESENTED BY BLACKROCK NEWS THIS MORNING  Buttigieg visits Ohio:  ©  AP/Gene J. Puskar Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in East Palestine, Ohio, today to assess the damage of the trail derailment that spewed hazardous chemicals.   Buttigieg tweeted: "This morning I'm in East Palestine, Ohio, to see the site of the Norfolk Southern derailment, hear updates from investigators, and meet first responders. USDOT will continue its work to ensure safety and accountability."     Photos of Buttigieg visiting Ohio: From The Columbus Dispatch's Monroe Trombly    Will President Biden visit?: The White House has not yet said.  ➤  JUST RELEASED — WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED??: The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) just released its initial report on the train derailment.    The gist: The preliminary report tentatively confirms reports that a wheel bearing severely overheated ahead of the accident.     The Hill's Zack Budryk has a helpful explainer on what's in the NTSB report on the accident.    See for yourself: Read the report  ➤  A FEW HEADLINES ON THE DERAILMENT: 'Trump Visits East Palestine, Seeking to Draw Contrast With Biden': From The New York Times's Jazmine Ulloa, Maggie Haberman and Mark Walker    'The overlooked message behind Republicans' response to the Ohio train derailment': From Vox's Ben Jacobs    'Railroad pushback to safety regulations scrutinized amid East Palestine disaster': From The Hill's Karl Evers-Hillstrom    Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw 'understands the anger': "I've experienced it as I've talked to the citizens of this community over the last two and a half weeks," Shaw said during a CNN town hall. "It's important to me that I hear directly from the citizens of East Palestine and what I can do and what Norfolk Southern can do to help the recovery of this community."  It's a wildly warm Thursday in the DC-area. Get outside today if you can! I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. Content from our sponsor: BlackRock Meet Christine, a retired Army nurse and volunteer for the Medical Reserve Corps.     BlackRock is proud to help U.S. healthcare providers offer retirement products to 4.8 million healthcare workers.      Learn more.  💍💔 In Congress Didn't the US … try this once? And not to be dramatic, but didn't it start a … war?: ©  CBC Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has called for the U.S. to be split into two countries, one red and one blue, irking both parties.    Is that what the kids are calling it these days?: Greene is calling it a "national divorce."    Greene tweeted: "We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat's traitorous America Last policies, we are done."    How it's being received: Greene's comments angered Democrats and have given Republicans an unwanted headache.     Keep in mind about Greene: She is known for making incendiary remarks, but she's getting a lot more attention now. She sits on the House Homeland Security Committee and has floated interest in jumping onto former President Trump's 2024 ticket.    More on the political storm Greene has started with her comments, via The Hill's Al Weaver  ➤  REACTION FROM REPUBLICAN SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UTAH):  "I think Abraham Lincoln dealt with that kind of insanity," Romney said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. "We're not going to divide the country. It's united we stand and divided we fall."  ➤  "WHEN MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SAYS 'NATIONAL DIVORCE,' SHE MEANS ANOTHER CIVIL WAR": From New York Magazine's Ed Kilgore  ➤  MTG EXPLAINED HER RATIONALE ON FOX NEWS:  Greene joined Fox News's Sean Hannity on Tuesday to discuss her comments.    Excerpt from Greene: "The last thing I ever want to see in America is a civil war. No one wants that — at least everyone I know would never want that. But it's going that direction, and we have to do something about it." Watch her full explanation  🎤 In Orlando How horrible:  The Orlando Sentinel's David Harris, Amanda Rabines and Jeff Weiner report that "an Orlando TV journalist and a child were shot and killed on Wednesday evening near a crime scene where a woman was found shot to death earlier in the day, in a brutal spate of violence in Pine Hills that prompted widespread shock and grief." What we know    Spectrum News 13 identified the reporter who died as 24-year-old Dylan Lyons: And Spectrum News 13 photojournalist Jesse Walden was "critically injured."     Read Spectrum News 13's story on the incident    Watch an on-air report from Spectrum News 13's Celeste Springer: Video    This is hard to watch: Here's a clip from another local reporter's on-air report  📍 In Ukraine Friday marks one year of the war in Ukraine: Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.    To sum up Year One in one sentence: "The first year of the Russia-Ukraine war has been defined by the resilience of Kyiv's forces and Moscow's diminished military power."    What to expect during Year Two: "The course of the second year will depend largely on forces outside of either country .. Ukraine's success in routing Russian forces will depend largely on how quickly the U.S. and Europe supply decisive arms like long-range missiles, tanks and jets, while Russia's hope for retaking momentum hinges on Western unity disintegrating."     The Hill's Brad Dress gives a broad picture of where the conflict stands ➤  'HOW THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR HAS CHANGED CYBERSPACE': From The Hill's Ines Kagubare  ➤  'UKRAINE WAR: TEN PHOTOS TAKEN BEFORE LIVES CHANGED FOREVER': From BBC's Alice Cuddy  ➤  OP-ED:  "Is Ukraine the 'war before the war'?" From Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy  🦠 Latest with COVID BY THE NUMBERS Cases to date: 102.9 million  Death toll: 1,113,254  Current hospitalizations: 19,527  Shots administered: 670 million  Fully vaccinated: 69.2 percent  CDC data here. Content from our sponsor: BlackRock At BlackRock, we are serving the communities that help the country thrive.     We are proud to invest in the projects that build our economy, with $20 billion in U.S. roads, bridges and transportation invested on behalf of our clients.     Learn more.  🐥 Notable tweets  DC has been showing off this week:  @marthaswilson tweeted a stunning photo of the sunrise at the National Mall yesterday. Photo  Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams tweeted, "Crumbly shortbread cookies in buttery sweet cream. Salty, mouthwatering, conversation-worthy. Biscuits with the Boss — our collab with the show Ted Lasso — drops everywhere 3/2 (noon ET online, noon local time in scoop shops)." Photo of the Ted Lasso-inspired flavor  ©  Big Brother Australia ⏱ On tap The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. 9:30 a.m.: Biden received his daily briefing.  Feb. 27: The Senate meets next. The Senate's pro forma schedule this week  All times Eastern.  📺 What to watch 1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gives a press briefing. Livestream  🍌🍞 In lighter news Today is National Chili Day and National Banana Bread Day!  ©  The Office It's your day, Kevin Malone!  I'm skeptical. Very skeptical.: Starbucks is now offering beverages made with olive oil.    Where to find them: Starting this week in Italy. Then in Southern California this spring — and Japan, the Middle East and the U.K. later in 2023.    Details from CNN Business  And to leave you smiling, here's one chill bro. Stay Engaged Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com and follow along on Twitter and Facebook. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.   Check out other newsletters from The Hill here! Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.