Although the reddit comments are interesting, it may be better to change this link to the original linked AP news article.
People on the parts of the internet HN stays far away from were sharing pictures of the crash and fireball for a few days before anyone gave a crap. Then someone arrests a reporter and suddenly the media has a bone to pick.
I can think of a billion things going on right now that are vastly more important than anything about a celebrity pregnancy.
BBC America
Reuters
CNN
Fox News
The New York Times
The Seattle Times
MSNBC
CNBC
Seems a little weird for sure. All of those sources have coverage AFAIK, but one has to dig to see it. I imagine algorithmic content promotion is at least partly a factor. I.e. if people aren't clicking on news about that story as much, it probably falls off the main page. So perhaps it's more like paid corporate Wikipedia shills, except it's click farms to promote other content and get the embarrassing news off of the front page?
That having been said, I know of at least two topics the American press is likely to deliberately downplay or avoid reporting on - solo suicides and certain types of civil unrest - so while I strongly dislike conspiracy theories in general and think it's unlikely in this case, I can't rule out the possibility that this is another one of those topics.
It is actually the first on the list at the top left as of my comment, linking to:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/train-derailment-prompts...
The headline is rather tame, though: "Train derailment prompts water utility to take precautions"
An earlier article from APNews was submitted, but was likely missed due to timing.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34770772
Front Page Link (2023-02-13): https://apnews.com/article/evacuations-west-virginia-pennsyl...
Reddit Link (2023-02-08): https://apnews.com/article/rail-accidents-evacuations-ohio-h...
NPR Article (2023-02-05): https://www.npr.org/2023/02/05/1154718234/mechanical-defect-...
First Article (2023-02-04): https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-ohio-evacuations-fir...
See related discussions:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34758525 1 day ago, 128 comments "Health concerns mounting as animals become sick after train derailment"
Source: https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-de...
It was on the AP front page. But is no longer.
For instance if I would not be BANNED from posting links on HN I'd post also this which I find more interesting news affecting everyone than some dumb made up baloons which are on par with Iraqi WMD
https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/more-natality-data-from-o...
But aparently I'm ALWAYS posting too fast only when it comes to posts, but have no such problems with comments, it's sad how low can go HN in shadowbanning users without transparently communicating why is one banned from something.