In brief: Engineer saw track issue before train derailed

New Haven, Conn. – The engineer of the commuter train that derailed last week in Connecticut observed an “unusual condition” on the track before the wreck, federal officials said Friday without explaining what the condition was, though they did say repair work was done last month in the area of the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board has previously ruled out foul play, but it has not yet determined a cause of the May 17 crash that injured more than 70 people and disrupted service for days on the railroad used by tens of thousands of commuters.

But the NTSB did say Friday that a joint bar, used to hold two sections of rail together, had been cracked and repaired last month and that rail sections in the area of the derailment have been shipped to Washington for further examination.

Sports Illustrated model agrees to prom date

Los Angeles – A Southern California teen turned heads at his prom when he showed up with a Sports Illustrated model as his date.

Nina Agdal agreed to step in as Jake Davidson’s date Thursday night after he got turned down for prom by supermodel Kate Upton. The Sherman Oaks, Calif., teen appeared in a YouTube video that was viewed more than 2.5 million times asking Upton to be his date.

After Upton declined because of a scheduling conflict, Agdal volunteered to go, saying she never got to attend her own prom. The Danish model is better known as the bikini-clad sunbather in a Carl’s Jr. ad.