OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Amtrak is getting ready to resume part of its service between California and Chicago after last week’s derailment in southwest Nebraska. The railroad said Thursday that it would restart service between Denver and Emeryville, Calif., on Saturday, but Amtrak won’t resume carrying passengers across Nebraska and Iowa until sometime later this month. Amtrak says its California Zephyr will depart California on Saturday, and a westbound train will leave Denver on Sunday. Amtrak suspended service after last Friday’s derailment near Benkelman, Neb. Two locomotives and three passenger cars were forced after the rails when the train struck a crane but no major injuries were reported. Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, which owns the tracks Amtrak uses in Nebraska, is still repairing flood damage near Omaha that forced long detours for Amtrak.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Energy Secretary Steven Chu says Canada’s status as a close U.S. ally may help win approval of a plan to pipe oil from Canada across the U.S. to the Gulf of Mexico. Chu says that importing oil from Canada “is much more comforting than to have other countries supply our oil.” Chu’s comments are the latest signal that the Obama administration appears likely to back the 1,700-mile pipeline. It would carry crude oil that’s extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, and bring it to refineries in Texas. The pipeline would travel through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. Chu says the project “is not perfect, but it’s a trade-off.” The interview with the “energyNOW!” TV show is set to air in mid-September on Bloomberg Television.