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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Sept. 28, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Damaging winds and rain lashed the state, and the heavily populated Naples to Sarasota region was at highest risk of a devastating storm surge.

OMAHA, Neb. — A union that rejected its deal with the nation’s freight railroads earlier this month now has a new tentative agreement, but officials cautioned that the contract dispute won’t be fully settled until all 12 rail unions approve their agreements this fall.

North Dakota is joining a handful of states that are merging their long-term freight and rail plans into a single document to maximize multimodal synergies and streamline federal reporting requirements.

Hurricane Ian is poised to become one of the costliest storms in U.S. history, threatening to slam Florida’s western coastline with 125 mph winds.

Democratic lawmakers have unveiled a stopgap spending measure to finance the federal government through Dec. 16, provide additional support to Ukraine and help communities respond to recent natural disasters.

A plan to impose congestion pricing tolls on Massachusetts roadways remains kicked back to the state Legislature and unlikely to proceed following Gov. Charlie Baker’s recent veto.

The recent Senate confirmation of Robin Hutcheson as administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration prompted praise from groups representing key aspects of the freight industry.

Federal trucking regulators are planning a study that will examine the effect of human driver factors for Level 2 and Level 3 automated driving systems on commercial trucks.

WASHINGTON — All 50 states received final approval Sept. 27 to begin construction on a first nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations that places one roughly every 50 miles along interstate highways, part of the Biden administration’s plan to spur widespread adoption of zero-emission cars.

Cemvita Factory Inc., a Houston-based biotech company backed by Occidental Petroleum Corp., says tax credits passed by Congress last month will allow it scale up plans to produce hydrogen using oil-eating microbes.