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South Carolina nuclear plant gets warning over another cracked emergency fuel pipe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

JENKINSVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Federal officials have issued a warning about a substantial safety violation at a South Carolina nuclear plant after cracks were discovered again in a backup emergency fuel line.Small cracks have been found a half-dozen times in the past 20 years in pipes that carry fuel to emergency generators that provide cooling water for a reactor if electricity fails at the V.C. Summer plant near Columbia, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.The agency issued what it calls a preliminary “yellow” warning to plant owner Dominion Energy last week. It is the second most serious category and only seven similar warnings have been issued across the country since 2009, nuclear power expert David Lochbaum told The State newspaper after reviewing records from federal regulators.A crack first appeared on a diesel fuel pipe in 2003, and similar pipes have had other cracks since then.During a 24-hour test of the system in November, a small diesel fuel leak gre...

Numbers drawn for $1.55 billion Powerball jackpot after a long stretch without a winner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The numbers were drawn Monday night for an estimated $1.55 billion Powerball jackpot that ranks as the world’s fourth-largest lottery prize.The winning numbers announced were: 16, 34, 46, 55, 67 and the Powerball 14.The top prize has grown so large because it has rolled over for 34 consecutive drawings, since the last time someone won the top prize on July 19. That streak trails the Powerball record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022. The largest jackpot ever was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize hit by a player in California in November 2022.The scarcity of Powerball jackpot winners reflects the game’s long odds of 1 in 292.2 million, which are designed to make winning rare so that grand prizes can grow huge.The $1.55 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 30 years. Most jackpot winners opt for cash, which for Saturday night’s drawing would be an estimated $679.8 million.Federal taxes eat into the winnings, and...

10 buildings damaged, 11 displaced after home explosion in Woodstock

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — Emergency response teams were still on scene in Woodstock Monday night, hours after an explosion reduced a home to ruble and caught nearby structures on fire. Officials say it was around 2:40 p.m. when the two-story home exploded, damaging 10 buildings and displacing 11 people."The house is burned to the ground and there’s nothing left," said Becky Bosowski, the homeowner's sister.  2 dead after shooting inside convenience store in Englewood Bosowski said her bother shared the home with his wife, their roommate, two dogs and a cat. According to Bosowski nobody was home at the time of the explosion. "All three of them were at work," Bosowski said.Officials say the gas company was working in the area when a gas main was struck shortly before the explosion happened. Woodstock Fire and Rescue District Fire Chief Brendan Parker said crews were notified about the smell of natural gas in the area around 12:35 p.m. after the two-inch gas line was hit."The explosion ...

Cottony fair weather clouds Tuesday — but an autumn storm is to spin up over Colorado; its wet weather is Chicago bound in the days ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

CHICAGO’S OFFICIAL COOLEST LOW TEMPERATURES OF THE SEASONChicago recorded its coolest official low temperature of the season at O'Hare Monday morning and the chilliest temp in more than 5 months with a 44-degree low there (43 at Midway). The last time the city was cooler was May 4th when the low dipped to 42 degrees.FROST LIKELY OCCURRED in some colder outlying areas. Remember, temperatures are taken by thermometers above the the ground, but when temps get down to the mid 30s at thermometer level, there can be freezing temps which encourage frost development below the thermometer.IT'S NOT SURPRISING WE WERE CHILLY when you look at the upper-air analyses which show a pool of chilly air locked in place by a blocking pattern and covering eastern Canada south into the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.WGN WEATHER HEADLINESMonday, October 9, 2023A SAFE PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE VIEWINGAt the Adler Planetarium, Saturday October 14OUR FRIENDS AT ADLER PLANETARIUM invite you to A SAFE PARTIAL...

Anoka grower wins world record (again) with a 2,749-pound pumpkin in California contest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — A Minnesota horticulture teacher set a world record in California on Monday for the heaviest pumpkin after growing a giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,749 pounds.Travis Gienger, of Anoka, won the 50th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., with an enormous, lumpy, orange pumpkin that could produce at least 687 pies.“I was not expecting that. It was quite the feeling,” said Gienger, 43, who has been growing pumpkins for nearly 30 years and last year set a new U.S. record for growing a giant gourd.The previous world record for heaviest pumpkin was set by a grower in Italy who produced a 2,702-pound squash in 2021, according to Guinness World Records.Gienger grows his gourds in the pumpkin patch in his backyard. He said this year he decided to give his plants extra care, watering them up to 12 times a day and feeding and fertilizing them a bit more than usual.Gienger, a landscape and horticulture teacher at Anoka Technical Coll...

Dead tree is a big problem for elderly St. Louis homeowner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

ST. LOUIS – An 83-year-old St. Louis woman reached out to FOX 2 to get something done about a city-owned tree.Margaret Kent and her son, Kelton, feared the tree could fall in a storm. They called our You Paid For It team for help. Branches have fallen from the tree and have just barely missed her.“Terrible. Because I don’t want no one to get damaged by this tree. I had a limb almost hit me in the head a couple of weeks ago,” she said.To make matters worse, the tree is breaking up the sidewalk, too.It’s also been a challenge for her son when he comes over.“Problem is this tree has been sitting in front of my mother’s house since 2019, and I’ve requested it to be removed because the fear is someone is either going to get killed or it’s going to fall and damage someone’s home,” Kelton said. “It actually has fallen on a car. I had a rental vehicle and it fell on the rental vehicle, and damaged it as well.”The family said they’ve contacted city hall time and again with no luck. They call...

Report: Israeli military preps for invasion of Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

A major update from Israel tonight. FOX News reports the Israeli military is preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza.FOX 2 is following reports of bombs going off in Gaza as we enter the fourth day of the conflict.Many Israeli citizens are forced to listen for airstrike warnings overnight as bombs continue to rain down along the Israeli-Gaza border. FOX News confirms at least 1,600 people are dead, including 900 Israelis and at least 11 Americans.Israel responded Monday with a series of strong counterattacks along the Gaza Strip. Drone video shows a mosque flattened by an Israeli air strike. Braham Shishbortish describes what live in Israel is like right now."People are crying, and we had to find shelter in less than twenty seconds. And this is the way we have to protect ourselves," he said.It's the third straight day of fighting between the two sides after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel Saturday, firing more than 3,500 rockets at residential areas from the Gaza st...

Nearly 2,000 gather for vigil at Temple Emanuel in Denver for Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

Nearly 2,000 people gathered at Temple Emanuel in Denver on Monday night for a vigil to support Israel and mourn the lives lost in the wake of deadly attacks by Hamas militants that began Saturday.There were few empty seats at the synagogue at 51 Grape St., including those filled by elected officials such as Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Jason Crow and Joe Neguse.“We are devastated yet again to use our walls to hold a community in pain,” Elizabeth Sacks, a senior cantor at Temple Emanuel, told the crowd. “In moments of tragedy that are beyond comprehension, that tear us into pieces and move us to anger and tears and despair, we cannot help but want to be together.”DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 9: Blake Jordan-Borns, 17, wore an Israeli flag and necklace to take part in a prayer vigil for those killed and injured in the recent attacks in Israel on October 9, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Jewish community came together amid the attacks on Isra...

Final piece of Space Shuttle Endeavour exhibit to be transported through L.A.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

Eleven years after the meticulous and monumental transportation of Space Shuttle Endeavour along the streets of Los Angeles, another piece of the puzzle will make its way to the California Science Center.Beginning Wednesday morning, two large Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs) will be transported along the 110 Freeway, before navigating surface streets as it makes its way to the museum.They are expected to arrive at the California Science Center's ceremonial "finish line" at 39th Street around 8:45 a.m. The public is invited to watch their arrival in person and take part in the celebration.In their original lifetimes, the SRMs were part of the propulsion system that was responsible for producing 6 million pounds of thrust and launching the shuttle into space. After burnout, the Solid Rocket Boosters would be jettisoned from the craft and left to fall into the ocean where they would be recovered, refurbished and then reused, officials said.The SRMs have been in storage at the Mojave Air and ...

Non-profits provide housing for displaced Maui residents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:33 GMT

Several non profit international relief organizations are helping ship modular pop-up homes to Maui, with a stop in Long Beach, to help Maui residents who were displaced by the recent fires. Thousands of residents were displaced after the Maui wildfire, considered the deadliest fire storm in the United States in more than a century, destroying more than 2,000 buildings, most of them homes. The pre-wired, insulated and quickly assembled homes arrived in the United States from Hungary, transported to Long Beach, arriving on Tuesday, and will then be transferred to Hawaii. Once they arrive in Maui, the homes will become a part of Ohana Hope Village, new temporary midterm housing in Hawaii, housing nearly 250 people.  Members of Family Life Center, an established non-profit organization of Maui, partnered with Continest LLC,  a modular shelter developer based out of Long Beach, CA, and Operation Blessing, a non-profit International Relief humanitarian organization th...