Biden urges Congress to stop a potential rail strike. Monday's request by President Joe Biden to Congress for an intervention to stop a rail strike before the next month deadline in the stalled contract negotiations was met with congressional speaker Nancy Pelosi stating that lawmakers would consider legislation this week to implement the agreement the unions reached in September. Biden stated in a statement that a railroad shutdown would "devastate our economy." Many U.S. industries will shut down if freight rail is not available. Pelosi stated in a statement that she was hesitant to skip the standard ratification process of…