Norfolk Southern is making broad safety changes following the company’s third train derailment in just over a month. A Norfolk Southern train had 20 of its 212 cars derail on Saturday in Springfield, Ohio. The company plans to reduce the length of its trains to no more than 10,000 feet and add about 200 temperature detectors along its tracks. More: - The company also plans to review the temperature levels that set off alarms for train crews and add more acoustic sensors.
- Norfolk said it had spent $200M in safety measures over the last several years to avoid derailments.
- Norfolk Southern suffered a major train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, which released hazardous chemicals.
- No hazardous materials were on board during Saturday’s derailment.
- A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said an overheated wheel bearing on a railcar was likely the cause of the East Palestine 38-car derailment.
- Norfolk has about 1,000 temperature sensors throughout its network, spaced about 13.9 miles apart on average.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state would not do business with Walgreens after the pharmacy company said it would not dispense abortion pills in some Republican states. Newsom accused the company of cowering to extremists and putting women’s lives at risk. More: - Last week, Walgreens said it would not dispense abortion pills in 20 Republican states, including some states where the pills are legal.
- Walgreens said Republican attorneys general warned the pharmacy chain it risked breaking the law should it dispense the pills to the states by mail.
- CVS Pharmacy also received a similar warning.
- The move comes after the FDA allowed retail pharmacies to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone, provided they are certified under special safety rules for the drug.
- Walgreens said it plans to become certified to sell mifepristone where it is legal under state and federal law.
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Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the Biden Administration would give preferential treatment to companies who voluntarily agree to forgo stock buybacks for five years when it begins to give out the $52B provided by the CHIPS and Science Act. More: - The CHIPS Act, signed into law by President Biden last year, aims to boost the development and production of semiconductor chips in the U.S. and reduce the U.S.’s dependence on Asia for the technology.
- Raimondo said share repurchases are one of the factors being considered as part of a $39B manufacturing subsidy program.
- The agency will also consider a company’s recruitment and training strategies and childcare benefits for employees, among other criteria.
- The CHIPS Act provides a 25% investment tax credit for building chip plants valued at about $24B.
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Tesla reduced the U.S. prices of its Model S and Model X vehicles. The EV maker dropped the price of its Model S luxury sedan from $94,990 to $89,990, or about 5%, and reduced the price of its Model X SUV from $109,990 to $99,990, or about 9%. More: - The Model S and Model X represented about 5% of Tesla’s total vehicle production in 2022.
- The recent price cuts come after the company reduced the prices of its two bestselling vehicles, the Model Y and Model 3.
- In January, Tesla reduced the price of its Model Y by 20% and its Model 3 by 14%.
- CEO Elon Musk, at the company’s Investor’s Day last week, said even small changes in the price of Tesla vehicles significantly affected demand.
- Tesla shares closed at $193.81 on Monday, down ~2%.
- The company is up nearly 80% YTD.
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JetBlue Airways expects the DOJ to file an antitrust lawsuit this week to block its planned $3.8B acquisition of budget airline Spirit Airlines. JetBlue said it accounted for the possibility of a lawsuit when it set the timeline to complete the deal for H1 2024. More: - The Transportation Department is also reviewing the planned merger and is expected to file a lawsuit to block the deal.
- Last year, JetBlue beat out Frontier Airlines in a months-long bidding war to merge with Spirit Airlines.
- JetBlue said it plans to fight any lawsuit from the government aimed at blocking the deal with Spirit.
- JetBlue is awaiting the outcome of a DOJ lawsuit seeking to break its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines.
- If the JetBlue-Spirit deal closes, it will create the fifth largest airline in the U.S. after American, United, Delta, and Southwest.
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Actor and producer Tyler Perry is interested in buying a majority stake in BET Media Group from Paramount Global. According to sources, Paramount is considering selling a majority stake in BET as part of a broader strategy to sell Paramount in pieces. More: - BET Media Group owns the BET cable network and studio, VH1, and the streaming service BET+.
- Perry already owns a minority stake in BET+.
- BET Media generated about $1.5B in total revenue in 2022.
- Paramount also owns CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and the streaming platform Paramount+.
- BET was founded in 1980 by Robert Johnson and was the first national programming service primarily targeting Black viewers.
- Viacom, now Paramount Global, acquired BET in 2000 for $2.3B in stock and assumed the company’s $570M debt.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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