—From Franklin, Tenn.

Nation: The Amtrak train that crashed Tuesday night in Philadelphia was accelerating when it went into the fatal curve travelling 106 mph. The engineer, 32-year-old Brandon Bostian has said through a lawyer that he doesn’t remember what happened, but he has agreed to be interviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The body of an eighth victim has been recovered and all the passengers have now been accounted for. So far there’s no explanation for why the train was going twice the proper speed when it entered a curve. The engineer has said through a lawyer he doesn’t remember what happened.

> Poultry farmers, and the poultry, have been hit hard this year by an outbreak of avian bird flu that’s infected chickens, turkeys and ducks. As many as 33 million of them. The flu can kill most of a flock within 48 hours and farmers are having trouble disposing of the bodies. The spread f the disease is aggravated by the way the birds are raised, stacked in cages inches from each other.

World: A US Marine relief helicopter that went missing in Nepal this week has been found along with three bodies. Eight people were on bard when it went down. Recovery teams are with the wreckage.

The Obit Page: The thrill is gone. The great bluesman BB King has died in Las Vegas at age 89. His guitar wailed pain and joy to generations of blues fans. “I wanted to connect my guitar to human emotions,” he said in his autobiography. The initials “BB” came from an early nickname “Blues Boy.”

Small Screen: ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos has been embarrassed by the revelation that he gave the Clinton family foundation $75,000 over three years. Reporters are not supposed to support causes and in the case of the Clintons there’s a fine line between their good works and their political aspirations.

As a result Stephanopoulos has recused himself from covering Republican presidential debates. He rose to fame as a political aide to Bill Clinton and launched his journalism career from there.

In particular, George did not disclose his gifts when he interviewed the author of a book that questioned whether the Clintons traded donations to the foundation for political influence. The anchorman apologized and ABC characterized it as “an honest mistake.” In truth it was the act of someone who is smart but not really a journalist.

Politics: Undeclared presidential candidate Jeb Bush tripped up this week on the question of whether he would have gone to war in Iraq, a decision he didn’t have the power to make at the time. His brother George was president. The younger Bush at first told Fox’s Megyn Kelly that he would not have done anything different. Then he said he misunderstood the question, then he called the question a “hypothetical,” and finally yesterday he said, “Knowing what we know now I would not have engaged—I would not have gone into Iraq.”

Now we know what he would not have done when he was not president.

Don’t Have a Cow: Actor and comedian Harry Shearer, 71, who gives voice to a dozen characters including Ned Flanders and Mr. Burns on the animated series “The Simpsons,” is leaving the show in a contract dispute over the freedom to do other work. The show set in the fictional town of Springfield has been on the air since 1989. As Ned Flanders said, “I’m overstimulated. I’ve gotta get out of this town!”

Chicken***t: Life on the farm in Tennessee. Chickens all put themselves to bed at night. No matter how far flung they are, come sundown they go in the coop and settle down. All you have to do is shut the door so the fox doesn’t get in the henhouse. That’s the good part. Roosters start crowing at about 5 am.

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