JOSH FUNK

Business writer

Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers transportation including aviation safety and airlines along with all the major freight railroads including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National and CPKC. Funk also covers Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and has attended Buffett’s “Woodstock for Capitalists” annual meeting every spring in Omaha, Nebraska, for 20 years. And Funk writes about the impact of the ongoing bird flu outbreak, agriculture and other news out of the Midwest.

FBI agents gather outside a home in a Dearborn, Mich., neighborhood on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Michigan lawyer says a Halloween terror plot that FBI Director Kash Patel described never existed

A Michigan defense lawyer is disputing FBI allegations that his 20-year-old client and four others planned a terror attack on Halloween weekend.

Berkshire Hathaway’s profits rise 17% as Warren Buffett prepares to step down as CEO

Warren Buffett’s company’s profits improved 17% thanks to a relatively mild hurricane season and more paper investment gains this year as Berkshire Hathaway continues to prepare for the legendary 95-year-old investor to relinquish the CEO title in January.

Workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in Ganxian county in central China's Jiangxi province on Dec. 30, 2010. (Chinatopix via AP, File)

China’s rare earth export delay offers US a chance to weaken Beijing’s grip on the market

China’s promise to delay its newest restrictions on the export of the rare earths that are crucial to many high-tech products for one year as part of a trade agreement creates an opportunity for the U.S. and its allies.

Rodney Egger harvests soybeans with a combine on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, south of Lincoln, Neb. (Arthur H. Trickett-Wile/Lincoln Journal Star via AP)

American farmers welcome China’s promise to buy soybeans, but the deal doesn’t solve everything

American farmers welcomed China’s promise to buy some of their soybeans, but Iowa farmer Robb Ewoldt cautioned this won’t solve all the problems as farmers continue to deal with soaring prices for fertilizer, tractors, repair parts and seeds.

Investigators look at a crashed Learjet at Scottsdale Airport after it collided with a parked plane Feb. 10, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

NTSB says FAA was wrong not to require inspections of Learjet landing gear after Arizona crash

The National Transportation Safety Board wants the owners of nearly 2,000 Learjets to urgently inspect their landing gear to make sure they won’t collapse like they did in a fatal crash earlier this year involving a private jet owned by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil.

Kierre Williams, right, sits with his attorneys in court, Jan. 3, 2024, in Blair, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk, File)

Man pleads guilty to killing Catholic priest who was stabbed in his rectory in Nebraska

A man accused of fatally stabbing a Catholic priest at his home beside a church in a small Nebraska town has pleaded guilty to murder and other charges.

Air Traffic Controllers stand outside distributing leaflets explaining how the federal government shutdown is impacting air travel at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Isolated flight delays may spread as air traffic controllers go without pay during shutdown

Air traffic controllers are missing another paycheck due to the ongoing government shutdown, raising concerns about financial stress affecting their work.

President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

US and China seek to strike a deal over rare earths, tariffs and soybeans

The United States and China are not going to resolve all the issues that divide them before presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet Thursday in Busan, South Korea.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks to reporters on day 23 of the government shutdown as he is joined by, from left, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Government shutdown continues to add to stress on air traffic controllers and disrupt flights

The ongoing government shutdown continues to disrupt flights and put pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay.

A Union Pacific freight train idles on the track as it waits to continue moving, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Red Rock, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern report solid profits as they make their case for their merger

Both Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern delivered solid profits Thursday as the railroads continued to make the case for their proposed merger.

Soybeans are harvested on the Warpup Farm in Warren, Ind., Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

USDA is reopening some 2,100 offices to help farmers access $3B in aid despite the ongoing shutdown

The Agriculture Department will reopen about 2,100 county offices all across the country Thursday despite the ongoing government shutdown to help farmers and ranchers get access to $3 billion of aid from existing programs.

A United Airlines emergency landing likely caused by collision with a weather balloon

A recent United Airlines emergency landing appears to have been the result of a collision with a weather balloon over Utah.

Bryant Kagay holds a tool in the workshop of the farm he co-owns with his father and grandfather in Amity, Missouri, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram, File)

US ranchers oppose Trump’s plan to import more Argentine beef and experts doubt it will lower prices

President Donald Trump’s plan to cut record beef prices by importing more meat from Argentina is running into heated opposition from U.S. ranchers who are enjoying some rare profitable years and skepticism from experts who say the president’s move probably wouldn’t lead to cheaper prices at grocery

Traffic drives in view of a Boeing Co. production plant, where images of jets decorate the hangar doors on April 23, 2021, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

FAA allows Boeing to increase 737 Max production nearly two years after door plug flew off plane

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it will allow Boeing to produce more 737 Max airplanes by increasing the limit it imposed after a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines jet that the company built.

A CSX freight pulls through Ohiopyle, Pa., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

CSX profit falls 22% but investors focus on the direction the new CEO will take the railroad

Investors looked past a 22% drop in CSX’s third quarter earnings Thursday and focused on the direction the railroad’s new CEO might take it and the possibility of any strategic deals.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference Aug. 5, 2025, at the Department of Transportation in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Federal government to withhold $40M from California for not enforcing trucker English requirements

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he will withhold $40 million from California because it is the only state that is failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference Aug. 5, 2025, at the Department of Transportation in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Air traffic controllers who duck unpaid work during the gov’t shutdown could be fired, Duffy warns

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he understands the frustrations and worries of air traffic controllers who have to work without a paycheck during the government shutdown, but he and the union that represents controllers are also now emphasizing that calling out sick in protest could cost th

Workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in Ganxian county in central China's Jiangxi province on Dec. 30, 2010. (Chinatopix via AP, File)

China outlines more controls on exports of rare earths and technology

China has outlined new curbs on exports of rare earths and related technologies, extending controls over the use of the elements critical for many high-tech products and military applications.

Passengers walk from a terminal at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

What to do if your flight is delayed or canceled during the US government shutdown

The U.S. government shutdown has now dragged on for over a month, and shortages of air traffic controllers are straining operations — with flight disruptions piling up nationwide.

A plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Harry Reid International Airport, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Staffing shortages cause more US flight delays as government shutdown reaches seventh day

Staffing shortages led to more flight delays at airports across the U.S. as the federal government shutdown stretched into a seventh day.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference Aug. 5, 2025, at the Department of Transportation in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Transportation secretary says government shutdown adds stress on air traffic controllers

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the government shutdown is putting more stress on air traffic controllers who already have an extremely stressful job, as well as threatening a program that small communities rely on to help subsidize airline service.

Soybeans are harvested on the Warpup Farm in Warren, Ind., Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Trump plans aid package for US soybean farmers while seeking trade deal with China

President Donald Trump is making plans for a significant aid package for U.S. soybean farmers. The move aims to help them survive China’s boycott of American beans, which was sparked by Trump’s trade war.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett speaks during an interview with Liz Claman on Fox Business Network's "Countdown to the Closing Bell," May 7, 2018, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Berkshire Hathaway to pay $9.7 billion for OxyChem, potentially Warren Buffett’s last big deal

Berkshire Hathaway is buying Occidental Petroleum’s chemical division for $9.7 billion in what may be one of the last big deals of Warren Buffett.

A man waits for a Delta Airlines flight at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta on Jan. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Cockpit recorders of Delta jets that collided on LaGuardia taxiway are being analyzed

Two Delta Air Lines regional jets collided on the ground at LaGuardia Airport in New York, injuring a flight attendant, damaging a cockpit and tearing off part of a wing.

A Norfolk Southern freight train passes a train on a siding as it approaches a crossing in Homestead, Pa, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Fired Surface Transportation Board member sues Trump over his dismissal ahead of rail merger review

A former Democratic member of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board has filed a lawsuit challenging his dismissal by President Donald Trump.

Terminal 1 is seen at the San Diego International Airport on Jan. 9, 2020, in San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, file)

Distracted controllers allowed planes to come dangerously close on a San Diego runway, NTSB says

Investigators say that a private jet came within 100 feet of crashing into a Southwest Airlines plane on a runway in San Diego two years ago because the air traffic controllers in the tower got distracted.

A CSX freight pulls through Ohiopyle, Pa., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)

CSX railroad replaces CEO after investor pressure and poor performance as Union Pacific merger looms

CSX railroad replaced its CEO less than two months after an investment fund urged it to either find another railroad to merge with to better compete with the proposed transcontinental Union Pacific railroad or fire outgoing CEO Joe Hinrichs.

Brian Warpup inspects one of his soybean fields in Warren, Ind., Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Trump’s trade battle with China puts US soybean farmers in peril

American soybean farmers are worried about where they’re going to sell their crops and whether they’ll lose money this year because China hasn’t bought any for months.

Harjinder Singh is escorted to an airplane by Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and law enforcement, Aug. 21, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy, File)

What to know about the stricter rules coming to noncitizen truck drivers after fatal Florida crash

It is now significantly harder for non-U.S. citizens to obtain a commercial driver’s license under new rules the Transportation Department has imposed.

Harjinder Singh is escorted onto an airplane by Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and law enforcement on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy, file)

Transportation Department tightens noncitizen truck driver rules after fatal crash in Florida

The U.S. Transportation Department has tightened requirements for noncitizens to get commercial driver’s licenses after fatal crashes that officials say were caused by immigrant truck drivers.