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  • Nuclear Power/IAEA Fast Facts | CNN

    Nuclear Power/IAEA Fast Facts | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the International Atomic Energy Agency and nuclear power.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspects nuclear and related facilities under safeguard agreements. Most agreements are with countries that have committed to not possessing nuclear weapons. The IAEA is the verification authority to enforce the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

    The IAEA has 173 member states (as of April 7, 2021).

    Rafael Grossi has been the director general of the IAEA since December 3, 2019.

    There are 35 member countries on the IAEA Board of Governors, which meets five times a year.

    The IAEA has about 2,500 employees.

    IAEA safeguard programs monitor nuclear reactors to make sure nuclear material is not being diverted for making weapons.

    The IAEA sends out inspectors to monitor reactors.

    The IAEA helps countries prepare and respond to emergencies.

    There are more than 420 nuclear power reactors in operation.

    There are more than 50 nuclear power reactors under construction.

    There are more than 90 operational nuclear reactors in the United States.

    France has a 69% share of nuclear power to total electricity generation, the highest percentage of nuclear energy in the world.

    1939 – Nuclear fission is discovered.

    1942 – The world’s first nuclear chain reaction takes place in Chicago as part of the Manhattan Project, a US research program aimed at developing the first nuclear weapons.

    July 16, 1945 – The United States conducts its first nuclear weapons test in New Mexico.

    August 6, 1945 – An atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

    August 9, 1945 – An atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

    August 29, 1949 – The Soviet Union conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    December 1951 – Electricity is first generated from a nuclear reactor at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho.

    October 3, 1952 – The United Kingdom conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    December 8, 1953 – In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Dwight D. Eisenhower asks the world’s major powers to work together in developing peacetime uses of the atom. This is known as the Atoms for Peace program, and 40 countries participate. Also during this speech, Eisenhower proposes the creation of an international agency to monitor the spread of nuclear technology.

    June 26, 1954 – In the Soviet Union, the first nuclear power plant is connected to an electricity grid to provide power to residences and businesses in a town near Moscow.

    1957 – The IAEA is established to facilitate the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

    1950’s – Brazil and Argentina begin research and development of nuclear reactors.

    February 13, 1960 – France conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    October 16, 1964 – China conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    March 5, 1970 – The NPT goes into effect.

    May 18, 1974 – India conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    March 28, 1979 – A partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant occurs in Middletown, Pennsylvania. It is determined that equipment malfunctions, design-related problems and human error led to the accident.

    April 26, 1986 – Reactor number four explodes at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, releasing large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.

    September 24, 1996 – The United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and 66 other UN member countries sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, barring the testing of nuclear weapons.

    December 1997 – Mohamed ElBaradei is appointed IAEA director-general.

    May 1998 – India and Pakistan test nuclear devices amid tensions between the neighboring countries.

    January 10, 2003 – North Korea announces its withdrawal from the NPT.

    August 2003 – IAEA inspectors find traces of highly enriched uranium at an electrical plant in Iran.

    December 19, 2003 – Libya announces that it will dismantle its WMD program, in cooperation with the IAEA as well as the United States and the United Kingdom.

    October 7, 2005 – The IAEA and ElBaradei are named the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

    December 1, 2009 – Yukiya Amano replaces ElBaradei as director general of the IAEA.

    March 11, 2011 – A 9.0 magnitude earthquake strikes near the coast of Honshu, Japan, creating a massive tsunami. The tsunami knocks out the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s cooling systems. The cores of three of six reactors are damaged by overheating. Resulting hydrogen explosions blow apart the buildings surrounding two reactors.

    May 30, 2011 – Germany announces it will abandon the use of all nuclear power by the year 2022. This repeals a 2010 plan to extend the life of the country’s nuclear reactors.

    November 11, 2013 – Iran signs an agreement with the IAEA, granting inspectors access to nuclear sites.

    July 14, 2015 – After 20 months of negotiations, Iran reaches a comprehensive agreement (The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)), with the United States and other countries that is aimed at reining in Iran’s nuclear program. In exchange for limits on its nuclear activities, Iran will get relief from sanctions while being allowed to continue its atomic program for peaceful purposes.

    August 11, 2015 – Japan restarts a nuclear reactor on the island of Kyushu. It’s the country’s first reactor to come back online since the 2011 tsunami.

    January 16, 2016 – The IAEA confirms that Iran has taken all of the steps outlined in the nuclear deal, allowing for sanctions to be lifted, as per the agreement.

    May 8, 2018 – US President Donald Trump announces that the United States will withdraw from JCPOA and will be imposing “the highest level of economic sanction” against Iran. In Tehran, Rouhani says Iran will take a few weeks to decide how to respond to the US withdrawal, but Rouhani says he had ordered the country’s “atomic industry organization” to be prepared to “start our industrial enrichment without limitations.”

    May 8, 2019 – Rouhani announces a partial withdrawal from the JCPOA.

    February 16, 2021 – The IAEA reports it received a February 15 letter from Iran stating that it will stop implementing provisions of the additional monitoring protocol as of February 23. This will effectively limit which facilities nuclear inspectors can scrutinize and when they can access them, making it harder for experts to determine if Tehran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons.

    February 18, 2021 – The Joe Biden administration releases a statement indicating that the United States is willing to sit down for talks with Tehran and other signatories to the Iran nuclear deal, before either side has taken tangible action to salvage or return to compliance with the agreement.

    February 21, 2021 – In a joint statement, the IAEA and Iran announce they have reached a deal in which Iran will give IAEA inspectors continued access to verify and monitor nuclear activity in the country for the next three months.

    March 15, 2023 – A spokesman from the IAEA tells CNN in an email that “approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium” contained in 10 drums were found to be missing from supplies held in Libya during an inspection on March 14, 2023.

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  • 2011 Japan Earthquake – Tsunami Fast Facts | CNN

    2011 Japan Earthquake – Tsunami Fast Facts | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011.

    March 11, 2011 – At 2:46 p.m., a 9.1 magnitude earthquake takes place 231 miles northeast of Tokyo at a depth of 15.2 miles.

    The earthquake causes a tsunami with 30-foot waves that damage several nuclear reactors in the area.

    It is the largest earthquake ever to hit Japan.

    Number of people killed and missing

    (Source: Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency)

    The combined total of confirmed deaths and missing is more than 22,000 (nearly 20,000 deaths and 2,500 missing). Deaths were caused by the initial earthquake and tsunami and by post-disaster health conditions.

    At the time of the earthquake, Japan had 54 nuclear reactors, with two under construction, and 17 power plants, which produced about 30% of Japan’s electricity (IAEA 2011).

    Material damage from the earthquake and tsunami is estimated at about 25 trillion yen ($300 billion).

    There are six reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, located about 65 km (40 miles) south of Sendai.

    A microsievert (mSv) is an internationally recognized unit measuring radiation dosage. People are typically exposed to a total of about 1,000 microsieverts in one year.

    The Japanese government estimated that the tsunami swept about five million tons of debris offshore, but that 70% sank, leaving 1.5 million tons floating in the Pacific Ocean. The debris was not considered to be radioactive.

    READ MORE: Fukushima: Five years after Japan’s worst nuclear disaster

    All times and dates are local Japanese time.

    March 11, 2011 – At 2:46 p.m., an 8.9 magnitude earthquake takes place 231 miles northeast of Tokyo. (8.9 = original recorded magnitude; later upgraded to 9.0, then 9.1.)
    – The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues a tsunami warning for the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the US. About an hour after the quake, waves up to 30 feet high hit the Japanese coast, sweeping away vehicles, causing buildings to collapse, and severing roads and highways.
    – The Japanese government declares a state of emergency for the nuclear power plant near Sendai, 180 miles from Tokyo. Sixty to seventy thousand people living nearby are ordered to evacuate to shelters.

    March 12, 2011 – Overnight, a 6.2 magnitude aftershock hits the Nagano and Niigata prefectures (USGS).
    – At 5:00 a.m., a nuclear emergency is declared at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Officials report the earthquake and tsunami have cut off the plant’s electrical power, and that backup generators have been disabled by the tsunami.
    – Another aftershock hits the west coast of Honshu – 6.3 magnitude. (5:56 a.m.)
    – The Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency announces that radiation near the plant’s main gate is more than eight times the normal level.
    – Cooling systems at three of the four units at the Fukushima Daini plant fail prompting state of emergency declarations there.
    – At least six million homes – 10% of Japan’s households – are without electricity, and a million are without water.
    – The US Geological Survey says the quake appears to have moved Honshu, Japan’s main island, by eight feet and has shifted the earth on its axis.
    – About 9,500 people – half the town’s population – are reported to be unaccounted for in Minamisanriku on Japan’s Pacific coast.

    March 13, 2011 – People living within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of the Fukushima Daini and 20 kilometers of the Fukushima Daiichi power plants begin a government-ordered evacuation. The total evacuated so far is about 185,000.
    – 50,000 Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel, 190 aircraft and 25 ships are deployed to help with rescue efforts.
    – A government official says a partial meltdown may be occurring at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, sparking fears of a widespread release of radioactive material. So far, three units there have experienced major problems in cooling radioactive material.

    March 14, 2011 – The US Geological Survey upgrades its measure of the earthquake to magnitude 9.0 from 8.9.
    – An explosion at the Daiichi plant No. 3 reactor causes a building’s wall to collapse, injuring six. The 600 residents remaining within 30 kilometers of the plant, despite an earlier evacuation order, have been ordered to stay indoors.
    – The No. 2 reactor at the Daiichi plant loses its cooling capabilities. Officials quickly work to pump seawater into the reactor, as they have been doing with two other reactors at the same plant, and the situation is resolved. Workers scramble to cool down fuel rods at two other reactors at the plant – No. 1 and No. 3.
    – Rolling blackouts begin in parts of Tokyo and eight prefectures. Downtown Tokyo is not included. Up to 45 million people will be affected in the rolling outages, which are scheduled to last until April.

    March 15, 2011 – The third explosion at the Daiichi plant in four days damages the suppression pool of reactor No. 2. Water continues to be injected into “pressure vessels” in order to cool down radioactive material.

    March 16, 2011 – The nuclear safety agency investigates the cause of a white cloud of smoke rising above the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Plans are canceled to use helicopters to pour water onto fuel rods that may have burned after a fire there, causing a spike in radiation levels. The plume is later found to have been vapor from a spent-fuel storage pool.
    – In a rare address, Emperor Akihito tells the nation to not give up hope, that “we need to understand and help each other.” A televised address by a sitting emperor is an extraordinarily rare event in Japan, usually reserved for times of extreme crisis or war.
    – After hydrogen explosions occur in three of the plant’s reactors (1, 2 and 3), Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says radiation levels “do not pose a direct threat to the human body” between 12 to 18 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) from the plant.

    March 17, 2011 – Gregory Jaczko, head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tells US Congress that spent fuel rods in the No. 4 reactor have been exposed because there “is no water in the spent fuel pool,” resulting in the emission of “extremely high” levels of radiation.
    – Helicopters operated by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces begin dumping tons of seawater from the Pacific Ocean on to the No. 3 reactor to reduce overheating.
    – Radiation levels hit 20 millisieverts per hour at an annex building where workers have been trying to re-establish electrical power, “the highest registered (at that building) so far.” (Tokyo Electric Power Co.)

    March 18, 2011 – Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency raises the threat level from 4 to 5, putting it on a par with the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. The International Nuclear Events Scale says a Level 5 incident means there is a likelihood of a release of radioactive material, several deaths from radiation and severe damage to the reactor core.

    April 12, 2011 – Japan’s nuclear agency raises the Fukushima Daiichi crisis from Level 5 to a Level 7 event, the highest level, signifying a “major accident.” It is now on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union, which amounts to a “major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.”

    June 6, 2011 – Japan’s Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters reports reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced a full meltdown.

    June 30, 2011 – The Japanese government recommends more evacuations of households 50 to 60 kilometers northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The government said higher radiation is monitored sporadically in this area.

    July 16, 2011 – Kansai Electric announces a reactor at the Ohi nuclear plant will be shut down due to problems with an emergency cooling system. This leaves only 18 of Japan’s 54 nuclear plants producing electricity.

    October 31, 2011 – In response to questions about the safety of decontaminated water, Japanese government official Yasuhiro Sonoda drinks a glass of decontaminated water taken from a puddle at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

    November 2, 2011 – Kyushu Electric Power Co. announces it restarted the No. 4 reactor, the first to come back online since the March 11 disaster, at the Genkai nuclear power plant in western Japan.

    November 17, 2011 – Japanese authorities announce that they have halted the shipment of rice from some farms northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after finding higher-than-allowed levels of radioactive cesium.

    December 5, 2011 – Tokyo Electric Power Company announces at least 45 metric tons of radioactive water have leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility and may have reached the Pacific Ocean.

    December 16, 2011 – Japan’s Prime Minister says a “cold shutdown” has been achieved at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a symbolic milestone which means the plant’s crippled reactors have stayed at temperatures below the boiling point for some time.

    December 26, 2011 – Investigators report poorly trained operators at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant misread a key backup system and waited too long to start pumping water into the units, according to an interim report from the government committee probing the nuclear accident.

    February 27, 2012 – Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, an independent fact-finding committee, releases a report claiming the Japanese government feared the nuclear disaster could lead to an evacuation of Tokyo while at the same time hiding its most alarming assessments of the nuclear disaster from the public as well as the United States.

    May 24, 2012 – TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) estimates about 900,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials were released between March 12 and March 31 in 2011, more radiation than previously estimated.

    June 11, 2012 – At least 1,324 Fukushima residents lodge a criminal complaint with the Fukushima prosecutor’s office, naming Tsunehisa Katsumata, the chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and 32 others responsible for causing the nuclear disaster which followed the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and exposing the people of Fukushima to radiation.

    June 16, 2012 – Despite public objections, the Japanese government approves restarting two nuclear reactors at the Kansai Electric Power Company in Ohi in Fukui prefecture, the first reactors scheduled to resume since all nuclear reactors were shut down in May 2012.

    July 1, 2012 – Kansai Electric Power Co. Ltd. (KEPCO) restarts the Ohi nuclear plant’s No. 3 reactor, resuming nuclear power production in Japan for the first time in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown following the tsunami.

    July 5, 2012 – The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission’s report finds that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis was a “man-made disaster” which unfolded as a result of collusion between the facility’s operator, regulators and the government. The report also attributes the failings at the plant before and after March 11 specifically to Japanese culture.

    July 23, 2012 – A Japanese government report is released criticizing TEPCO. The report says the measures taken by TEPCO to prepare for disasters were “insufficient,” and the response to the crisis “inadequate.”

    October 12, 2012 – TEPCO acknowledges in a report it played down safety risks at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant out of fear that additional measures would lead to a plant shutdown and further fuel public anxiety and anti-nuclear movements.

    July 2013 – TEPCO admits radioactive groundwater is leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi site, bypassing an underground barrier built to seal in the water.

    August 28, 2013 – Japan’s nuclear watchdog Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) says a toxic water leak at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant has been classified as a Level 3 “serious incident” on an eight-point International Nuclear Event Scale (lINES) scale.

    September 15, 2013 – Japan’s only operating nuclear reactor is shut down for maintenance. All 50 of the country’s reactors are now offline. The government hasn’t said when or if any of them will come back on.

    November 18, 2013 – Tokyo Electric Power Co. says operators of the Fukushima nuclear plant have started removing 1,500 fuel rods from damaged reactor No. 4. It is considered a milestone in the estimated $50 billion cleanup operation.

    February 20, 2014 – TEPCO says an estimated 100 metric tons of radioactive water has leaked from a holding tank at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

    August 11, 2015 – Kyushu Electric Power Company restarts No. 1 reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima prefecture. It is the first nuclear reactor reactivated since the Fukushima disaster.

    October 19, 2015 – Japan’s health ministry says a Fukushima worker has been diagnosed with leukemia. It is the first cancer diagnosis linked to the cleanup.

    February 29, 2016 – Three former TEPCO executives are indicted on charges of professional negligence related to the disaster at the Fukushiima Daiichi plant.

    November 22, 2016 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hits the Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures and is considered an aftershock of the 2011 earthquake. Aftershocks can sometimes occur years after the original quake.

    February 2, 2017 – TEPCO reports atmospheric readings from inside nuclear reactor plant No. 2. as high as 530 sieverts per hour. This is the highest since the 2011 meltdown.

    February 13, 2021 – A 7.1 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Japan is an aftershock of the 2011 quake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

    April 13, 2021 – The Japanese government announces it will start releasing more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean in two years – a plan that faces opposition at home and has raised “grave concern” in neighboring countries. The whole process is expected to take decades to complete.

    September 9, 2021 – The IAEA and Japan agree on a timeline for the multi-year review of Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

    February 18, 2022 – An IAEA task force makes its first visit to Japan for the safety review of its plan to discharge treated radioactive water into the sea.

    July 4, 2023 – An IAEA safety review concludes that Japan’s plans to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean are consistent with IAEA Safety Standards.

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  • As hundreds remain missing in Maui, electric company admits evidence to determine how wildfires started may have been compromised | CNN

    As hundreds remain missing in Maui, electric company admits evidence to determine how wildfires started may have been compromised | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Hundreds of people are still listed as unaccounted for after this month’s devastating wildfires on Maui – a number that’s expected to change as the FBI continues vetting names.

    The “validated list” curated by the FBI currently includes 388 names, Maui County said Thursday, as cell phone data is now being used to try to pinpoint where victims may have been when the deadliest US wildfire disaster in more than 100 years tore through the Hawaiian island. At least 115 people are confirmed dead, though authorities say that number is likely to change.

    The FBI on Friday acknowledged the list of names was “a subset of a larger list” of people who are believed to be missing. Steven Merrill, the bureau’s special agent in charge in Hawaii, said those currently on the list are people who authorities had more complete information about. Since the list was released, they’ve gotten “at least 100 people that have notified us that a certain person shouldn’t be on the list,” Merrill said – so the number of those still unaccounted for is expected to change.

    As the race to identify the lost continues, the state’s main electrical utility stands accused of compromising evidence in the fire investigation, and Maui County officials have followed others in suing the company over responsibility for the fire. First responders also are pressing for answers about why they weren’t better prepared after a similar ruinous fire five years ago.

    The updated list of the missing was released with hopes of confirming anyone who’s not truly still lost, officials said.

    “We’re releasing this list of names today because we know that it will help with the investigation,” Police Chief John Pelletier said in the release. “We also know that once those names come out, it can and will cause pain for folks whose loved ones are listed. This is not an easy thing to do, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make this investigation as complete and thorough as possible.”

    Pelletier said Friday that since the names were released, authorities have received hundreds of calls. Authorities would like to do a weekly update on the list of missing people to help notify the public, he said.

    The FBI has worked with agencies “to unduplicate people that have been reported missing,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said earlier Thursday in a social media post. Some 800 to 1,200 people have been listed as unaccounted for since the fires, he said.

    The grim search for those believed missing began shortly after wind-whipped flames tore through the island on August 8. Much of the western Maui community of Lahaina – once a lively economic and cultural hub – was left in ruins, with entire neighborhoods and businesses reduced to ash. Some residents were forced to jump into the ocean to survive as flames overtook the town.

    Search crews and cadaver dogs have searched 100% of single-story homes in the disaster area, Maui County officials said Tuesday. They are now going through multistory homes and commercial properties.

    And an FBI team that specializes in using cell phone data has launched in Maui to help identify potential fire victims, a law enforcement source told CNN. The Cellular Analysis Survey Team was on the island working with local law enforcement, the official said.

    The team can get and analyze cell phone company subscriber records and cellular tower registration data, which could prove useful to the search efforts by geolocating the last known area where a victim’s cell phone was operating.

    The team in the past has used information obtained through court orders to help with terrorism, kidnapping and criminal investigations.

    “Cellular telephone analysis” is among the resources being provided by the bureau, Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Hawaii, said during news conference Tuesday without giving specifics.

    Additionally, Maui County has named a new interim administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency after its prior chief resigned from the post August 17.

    In announcing Darryl Oliveira’s hiring Friday, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said he has a track record of “invaluable experience and skill during challenging times.”

    Oliveira, who previously served as the administrator of the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, is expected to begin leading the county’s emergency agency Monday.

    In pictures: The deadly Maui wildfires

    As the human toll of the fire comes into focus, investigators also are trying to determine what sparked the flames, and while no official cause has been announced, the Hawaiian Electric Company is facing scrutiny over its actions before and after the fires broke out.

    Some evidence potentially vital in determining the cause of the deadly fire in Lahaina may have been compromised, Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) acknowledged in an exchange with attorneys included in court documents obtained by CNN.

    The company said fallen power poles, power lines and other equipment were moved during firefighting efforts and as officials worked to make the area safe for residents, according to letters part of a class action lawsuit. The company told attorneys, who are representing Lahaina residents in the class action suit, that it was “possible, even likely” that evidence that “relate(s) to the cause of the fire” might be lost, correspondence obtained by CNN shows.

    The equipment was removed from the area around the Lahaina substation – which is thought to be where the blaze started – before federal investigators arrived.

    Those actions could have violated national guidelines, which say the fire scenes should be heavily preserved for investigators and any and all evidence should be secured and not removed from the site without documentation, court documents filed by attorneys say.

    The ATF said on August 17 that its National Response Team was being deployed to Hawaii to help determine the cause and origin of the deadly fire – days after the utility company acknowledged equipment and evidence had likely been moved or lost.

    On August 10 – two days after the wildfire devastated the town of Lahaina, a group of attorneys notified the utility of anticipated litigation and requested that all electrical equipment that may relate to the origin of the fire – including power poles, lines and conductors – be preserved.

    An attorney for Hawaiian Electric responded on August 11 that some potential evidence may have already been compromised during the firefight, not by the utility itself, but by others.

    John Moore, an attorney for the utility wrote to attorneys for the families on August 11 that the company’s main focus was the safety of first responders and displaced residents and restoring power.

    The company also noted it was taking steps to preserve property but local, state and federal agencies were on the ground and it was possible “that the actions of these third parties, whose actions Hawaiian Electric does not control, may result in the loss of property or other items that relate to the cause of the fire.”

    The families’ attorneys then submitted a request for a temporary restraining order to stop Hawaiian Electric from altering the scene where it’s believed the Lahaina fire started, court documents show.

    A judge signed an interim discovery order on August 18, detailing how the company should handle evidence around the scene, including preserving and protecting all physical evidence within a defined area and refraining from destructive testing.

    The order also specified that it was not making any findings of any wrongdoing at this time.

    The class action lawsuit was filed several days after the fires ignited alleging Hawaiian Electric failed to deenergize power lines ahead of the fire despite high wind and red flag warnings. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. It is believed to have ignited near a power substation where “where authorities reported a downed power line early on August 8, 2023,” the complaint says.

    Hawaiian Electric vice president Jim Kelly previously told CNN that, “as has always been our policy, we don’t comment on pending litigation.”

    “At this early stage, the cause of the fire has not been determined and we will work with the state and county as they conduct their review,” he said.

    Hawaiian Electric has been “in regular communication with ATF and local authorities and are cooperating to provide them, as well as attorneys representing people affected by the wildfires, with inventories and access to the removed equipment, which we have carefully photographed, documented and stored,” spokesman Darren Pai told The Washington Post.

    CNN has requested further comment on the potentially compromised evidence.

    The ATF’s National Response Team, which is investigating the cause of the fire, declined to comment.

    While the investigation continues, Maui County officials made their position clear in a lawsuit filed Thursday, claiming “the negligence, carelessness, and recklessness, and/or unlawfulness” of Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiaries is directly responsible for the fires.

    The utility, known as HECO, “inexcusably kept their power lines energized” in early August, despite the National Weather Service issuing a High Wind Watch and a Fire Warning, the lawsuit alleges. The warnings cautioned that strong winds could knock down power lines and ignite a fire that would spread quickly due to dry conditions, the lawsuit indicated.

    Maui County is seeking damages from HECO that may total tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, said John Fiske, an attorney representing the county in the suit.

    “Our primary focus in the wake of this unimaginable tragedy has been to do everything we can to support not just the people of Maui, but also Maui County. We are very disappointed that Maui County chose this litigious path while the investigation is still unfolding,” a spokesperson from Hawaiian Electric told CNN in a statement.

    Hawaiian Electric Company serves 95% of the state’s customer base.

    As of Thursday, officials still were tracking at least three active fires on Maui, including the Lahaina fire, which was 90% contained after burning more than 2,170 acres. The Olinda fire, which has burned an estimated 1,081 acres, was 85% contained, and the Kula fire was also 85% contained, with just over 200 acres burned, county officials said.

    And even as fire crews work to find and contain hot spots, a Hawaii police union official said firefighters “were set up for failure” ahead of the outbreak.

    Following a destructive wildfire that broke out in 2018 under similar conditions in the same area, no wildfire management or other preventative methods were taken to mitigate future disasters, Nicholas Krau, the Maui Chapter Chair for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, told CNN.

    “We all knew this was going to happen again. While no one could have predicted this much destruction or loss of life, we all knew there would be another destructive fire that would threaten these same businesses and homes again,” Krau said. “I don’t know who’s responsible for preventing wildland fires and managing the private owned land where the fire started, but they should definitely answer for it.”

    More than 2,000 acres burned and 20 homes were damaged in the 2018 fire, county officials have said.

    Many police officers who helped with evacuations this month suffered smoke inhalation because they didn’t have proper respiratory protection, even after it was requested following previous fires, Krau said.

    “If someone needs help, (the police) are going to rush in and do everything they can to help. But the department and county of Maui have the obligation to properly equip them,” he said.

    CNN has reached out to Maui County and the Maui Police Department for comment on Krau’s claims.

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  • Record heat and power outages create ‘the perfect storm,’ meteorologist says | CNN

    Record heat and power outages create ‘the perfect storm,’ meteorologist says | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter, the CNN Weather Brief, which is released every Monday. You can sign up here to receive them every week and during significant storms.



    CNN
     — 

    People in the South are storm weary. I’ve heard it from friends and family in my home state of Louisiana, where storms have hit exceptionally hard, and the damage extends much further.

    Six tornadoes were reported in Mississippi alone in the last 24 hours, and strong storms are still in progress right now.

    Tornadoes have been reported in the South every day during the last week, and more could occur in the next few days. They have caused serious damage, several deaths, and as of this morning half a million people are in the dark, according to PowerOutage.us. Making matters worse, some are expected to be without power for much of the week, leaving them without air conditioning as temperatures reach the triple digits.

    The combination of power outages and dangerous heat “made this event the perfect storm,” meteorologist Michael Berry from the National Weather Service office in Shreveport said.

    His region is recovering from an EF-1 tornado that hit Cass County, Texas on Friday night, along with extensive wind damage that uprooted trees and damaged power lines, littering them all over the region. He said the damage is in some ways worse than a tornado because it is so widespread.

    Power crews have not been able to keep up. SWEPCO, which services Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas issued a statement late Sunday saying, “Nearly 3,000 utility professionals have now joined forces to tackle the work and rebuild communities across northwest Louisiana, east Texas and the western communities in Arkansas following the continued onslaught of extreme weather.” They added, “When you have devastation at this scale, with widespread damage that includes significant impacts to both our transmission and distribution stations the prolonged effort requires time to mobilize additional resources.”

    Utility crews from as far away as Michigan and Indiana have come to the region to help rebuild the power grid.

    According to Berry, straight-line winds Friday night approached 100 mph, which is what resulted in the damage to be so widespread, as well as causing damage to the power grid. He said it is the type of storm they typically only see once or twice a decade.

    Another round of storms came through many of the same areas Saturday night, causing even more damage. Saturday’s round of storms produced nearly a dozen tornadoes across the South, hail greater than three inches in diameter and widespread wind reports stretching from Kansas to the Florida Panhandle. It caused even more power outages and set back power crews from getting power restored from Friday’s storms.

    SWEPCO’s outages account for about 30% of the power outages across the South and some could be in the dark another week or more. It creates another concern for not only this region but for all the residents without power across the South: the heat!

    Heat alerts are up for roughly 35 million people across the South, with temperatures remaining in the upper 90s to triple digits but feeling much hotter when you factor in the humidity.

    weather extreme heat

    “Widespread high and low temperature records are forecast to be tied or broken over the coming days,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

    The heat index will be running anywhere from 115 across northern Louisiana and East Texas to close to 125 degrees across South Texas. The heat index is the “feels like” temperature when you factor in the humidity. It could be deadly for the hundreds of thousands without power.

    “Our message quickly became how deadly the heat can become with the widespread power outages, encouraging people without power to try to stay cool by any means possible, drinking plenty of water, staying in the shade, relocating to friends or a family member’s home with power and AC,” Berry warned.

    Many areas have opened cooling centers for those without power and in need of a place to cool off.

    How to find cooling centers by state

    With nighttime temperatures staying in the upper 70s to low 80s, they could be just as dangerous. Overnight is when the body needs to cool and reset, and if temperatures are staying warm overnight, we could see serious heat-related consequences as a result.

    Why high overnight temperatures are so deadly

    More than 50 million people are in the path of more severe weather today across the South.

    A Level 2 of 5 slight risk of severe weather covers parts of the Gulf Coast from southeastern Louisiana to the East Coast of northern Florida. Areas possibly affected include New Orleans, Mobile and Jacksonville.

    A broader area at a Level 1 of 5 marginal risk covers 40 million people and extends from central Texas to the Carolinas and down to South Florida. Cities like Austin and Fort Worth in Texas, Atlanta and Miami could face severe weather today.

    “Any storm that develops will have the potential to become severe with large hail and damaging winds being the primary threats,” the weather service office in Fort Worth warned.

    While tornadoes are not the primary threat today, they will also be a possibility.

    The areas facing a severe threat also run the risk of excessive rainfall, which could lead to flash flooding. The storms could produce heavy downpours capable of dropping up to four inches of rain in some locations.

    The severe threat continues tomorrow, before winding down for the rest of the week, giving the South a much-needed break.

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  • ‘A new era’: Germany quits nuclear power, closing its final three plants | CNN

    ‘A new era’: Germany quits nuclear power, closing its final three plants | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Germany’s final three nuclear power plants close their doors on Saturday, marking the end of the country’s nuclear era that has spanned more than six decades.

    Nuclear power has long been contentious in Germany.

    There are those who want to end reliance on a technology they view as unsustainable, dangerous and a distraction from speeding up renewable energy.

    But for others, closing down nuclear plants is short-sighted. They see it as turning off the tap on a reliable source of low-carbon energy at a time when drastic cuts to planet-heating pollution are needed.

    Even as these debates rumble on, and despite last-minute calls to keep the plants online amid an energy crisis, the German government has been steadfast.

    “The position of the German government is clear: nuclear power is not green. Nor is it sustainable,” Steffi Lemke, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment and Consumer Protection and a Green Party member, told CNN.

    “We are embarking on a new era of energy production,” she said.

    The closure of the three plants – Emsland, Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim – represents the culmination of a plan set in motion more than 20 years ago. But its roots are even older.

    In the 1970s, a strong anti-nuclear movement in Germany emerged. Disparate groups came together to protest new power plants, concerned about the risks posed by the technology and, for some, the link to nuclear weapons. The movement gave birth to the Green Party, which is now part of the governing coalition.

    Nuclear accidents fueled the opposition: The partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania in 1979 and the 1986 catastrophe at Chernobyl that created a cloud of radioactive waste which reached parts of Germany.

    In 2000, the German government pledged to phase out nuclear power and start shutting down plants. But when a new government came to power in 2009, it seemed – briefly – as if nuclear would get a reprieve as a bridging technology to help the country move to renewable energy.

    Then Fukushima happened.

    In March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami caused three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to melt down. For many in Germany, Japan’s worst nuclear disaster was confirmation “that assurances that a nuclear accident of a large scale can’t happen are not credible,” Miranda Schreurs, professor of environment and climate policy at the Technical University of Munich, told CNN.

    Three days later then-Chancellor Angela Merkel – a physicist who was previously pro-nuclear – made a speech called it an “inconceivable catastrophe for Japan” and a “turning point” for the world. She announced Germany would accelerate a nuclear phase-out, with older plants shuttered immediately.

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, provided another plot twist.

    Fearful of its energy security without Russian gas, the German government delayed its plan to close the final three plants in December 2022. Some urged a rethink.

    But the government declined, agreeing to keep them running only until April 15.

    For those in the anti-nuclear movement, it’s a moment of victory.

    “It is a great achievement for millions of people who have been protesting nuclear in Germany and worldwide for decades,” Paul-Marie Manière, a spokesperson for Greenpeace, told CNN.

    For critics of Germany’s policy, however, it’s irrational to turn off a low-carbon source of energy as the impacts of the climate crisis intensify.

    “We need to keep existing, safe nuclear reactors operating while simultaneously ramping up renewables as fast as possible,” Leah Stokes, a professor of climate and energy policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told CNN.

    The big risk, she said, is that fossil fuels fill the energy gap left by nuclear. Reductions in Germany’s nuclear energy since Fukushima have been primarily offset by increases in coal, according to research published last year.

    Germany plans to replace the roughly 6% of electricity generated by the three nuclear plants with renewables, but also gas and coal.

    More than 30% of Germany’s energy comes from coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels – and the government has made controversial decisions to turn to coal to help with energy security.

    In January, protestors including Greta Thunberg converged on the west German village of Lützerath in an unsuccessful attempt to stop it being demolished to mine the coal underneath it.

    “Building new coal capacity is the opposite of what we need,” said Stokes. Fossil fuels are a climate problem, but they’re also a health risk, she pointed out. Air pollution from fossil fuels is responsible for 8.7 million deaths a year, according to a recent analysis.

    Veronika Grimm, one of Germany’s leading economists, told CNN that keeping nuclear power plants running for longer would have allowed Germany more time “to electrify extensively,” especially as renewable energy growth “remains sluggish.”

    A new solar energy park near Prenzlau, Germany. The German government is seeking to accelerate the construction of both solar and wind energy parks.

    But supporters of the nuclear shutdown argue it will ultimately hasten the end of fossil fuels.

    Germany has pledged to close its last coal-fired power station no later than 2038, with a 2030 deadline in some areas. It’s aiming for 80% of electricity to come from renewables by the end of this decade.

    While more coal was added in the months following Fukushima, Schreurs said, nuclear shutdowns have seen a big push on clean energy. “That urgency and demand can be what it takes to push forward on the growth of renewables,” she said.

    Representatives for Germany’s renewable energy industry said the shutdown will open the door for more investment into clean energy.

    “Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power is a historic event and an overdue step in energy terms,” Simone Peter, president of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), told CNN. “It is high time that we leave the nuclear age behind and consistently organize the renewable age.”

    The impacts of nuclear power shouldn’t be overlooked either, Schreurs said, pointing to the carbon pollution created by uranium mining as well as the risk of health complications for miners. Plus, it creates a dependency on Russia, which supplies uranium for nuclear plants, she added.

    Nuclear has also shown itself to have vulnerabilities to the climate crisis. France was forced to reduce nuclear power generation last year as the rivers used to cool reactors became too hot during Europe’s blistering heatwave.

    The Gorleben nuclear waste storage facility, an interim storage facility for spent fuel elements and high-level radioactive waste.

    Now Germany must work out what do with the deadly, high-level radioactive waste, which can remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years.

    Currently, the nuclear waste is kept in interim storage next to the nuclear plants being decommissioned. But the search is on to find a permanent location where the waste can be stored safely for a million years.

    The site needs to be deep – hundreds of meters underground. Only certain types of rock will do: Crystalline granite, rock salt or clay rock. It must be geologically stable with no risks of earthquakes or signs of underground rivers.

    The process is likely to be fraught, complex and breathtakingly long – potentially lasting more than 100 years.

    BGE, the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal, estimates a final site won’t be chosen until between 2046 and 2064. After that, it will take decades more to build the repository, fill it with the waste and seal it.

    Plenty of other countries are treading paths similar to Germany’s. Denmark passed a resolution in the 1980s not to construct nuclear power plants, Switzerland voted in 2017 to phase out nuclear power, Italy closed its last reactors in 1990 and Austria’s one nuclear plant has never been used.

    But, in the context of the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices and pressure to reduce carbon pollution, others still want nuclear in the mix.

    The UK, in the process of building a nuclear power plant, said in its recent climate strategy that energy nuclear power has a “crucial” role in “creating secure, affordable and clean energy.”

    France, which gets about 70% of its power from nuclear, is planning six new reactors, and Finland opened a new nuclear plant last year. Even Japan, still dealing with the aftermath of Fukushima, is considering restarting reactors.

    The Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant, Germany.

    The US, the world’s biggest nuclear power, is also investing in nuclear energy and, in March, started up a new nuclear reactor, Vogtle 3 in Georgia – the first in years.

    But experts suggest this doesn’t mark the start of a nuclear ramp up. Vogtle 3 came online six years late and at a cost of $30 billion, twice the initial budget.

    It encapsulates the big problem that afflicts the whole nuclear industry: making the economics add up. New plants are expensive and can take more than a decade to build. “Even the countries that are talking pro-nuclear are having big trouble developing nuclear power,” Schreurs said.

    Many nuclear power plants in Europe, the US and elsewhere are aging – plants have an operating life of around 40 to 60 years. As Germany puts an end to its nuclear era, it’s coming up to crunch time for others, Schreurs said.

    “There will be a moment of decision as to whether nuclear really has a future”

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  • First nor’easter of the season set to hit the Northeast and New England | CNN

    First nor’easter of the season set to hit the Northeast and New England | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter, the CNN Weather Brief, which is released every Monday. You can sign up here to receive them every week and during significant storms.



    CNN
     — 

    Much of the Northeast and New England so far has experienced an unusually quiet winter season (aside from areas around the Great Lakes). However, it is all changing this week.

    We are already into meteorological spring as of March 1, which means we did not see a single nor’easter in the winter months, and hardly any snow for some of the East Coast’s big cities. But a major spring nor’easter is in the making and will have far-reached effects on the Northeast and New England this week.

    “Overnight Monday, a coastal low pressure will strengthen rapidly into a major nor’easter that significantly impacts the Northeast beginning later Monday night through Wednesday,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

    A nor’easter is a coastal storm with winds out of the northeast. Nor’easters are notorious for bringing huge impacts such as heavy rain, snow, strong winds, power outages and coastal flooding.

    “The greatest concerns that I have about this storm is the fact that there will be heavy, wet snow that will combine with high winds, essentially causing power outages,” David Novak, director of the Weather Prediction Center, told CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. “The weight of the snow will be extreme. It’s known as ‘snow loading’ and has to do with the heavy, wet type of snow we are expecting.”

    Areas around New York City will begin feeling the storm’s effects later today. Heavy rain and windy conditions will be the opening act, before the storm peaks tonight through Tuesday evening. Closer to Boston, the storm will peak Tuesday into Wednesday.

    “The heavy-wet nature of the snow, combined with max wind gusts up to 50 mph, will result in scattered to widespread power outages and tree damage,” the prediction center explained. “Similar impacts could be felt along the I-95 corridor from New York City to Boston.”

    Along Cape Cod and the islands, winds could gust as high as 60 mph. Further inland, winds will top 50-55 mph, adding to the threat of falling tree limbs and power outages.

    More than 20 million people are under winter alerts in advance of the storm, including cities like Boston and Worchester in Massachusetts, Albany and Syracuse in New York and Portland, Maine.

    Heavy, wet snow could fall at 2-3 inches per hour, resulting in up to a foot of snow in the higher elevations of the Northeast. The area includes the Catskills and southern Adirondacks in New York, Berkshires and Worcester Hills in Massachusetts, Monadnocks and White Mountains in New Hampshire, and southern Green Mountains in Vermont. Localized snow totals of 24 to 30 inches are possible.

    “We’re trying to tell people not to focus on the amount of snow that you’ve got. Some areas are going to have a lot and other areas will only get four or five inches,” noted Glen Field, warning coordination meteorologist at the weather service office in Boston. ” Anything more than four inches of heavy wet snow will be enough loading to knock down trees, power lines, and lose power,” he added.

    Novak said there will be a sharp difference between low and top snow totals. Some areas around Boston could see up to 7 inches of snow, he said, while other sections, like downtown, might see little to no snow.

    Along with rain, snow, gusty winds and possible power outages, another big concern along the coast will be coastal flooding and beach erosion. For coastal areas in New York and Connecticut, residents can expect water to run a foot to a foot and a half above normal levels. This could result in flooding in coastal communities. Also, four-foot waves will break along the shoreline, leading to beach erosion.

    Get the latest on the nor’easter here

    The storm is coming late in the season, however, it is not unheard of. Nor’easters can strike the Northeast through April. In 1997, a nor’easter on April Fools’ Day buried New England. However, it is odd the first one of the season is striking so late. According to Field, New Englanders knew better than to count on the season finishing without a nor’easter.

    “I think everybody was still expecting that we were going to get one,” Field said.

    By late Wednesday, the nor’easter will push out, leaving chilly and windy conditions.

    Ahead of the storm, Maine Gov. Janet Mills ordered state offices closed Tuesday.

    “I encourage Maine people to stay off the roads if they can, plan for extra time if traveling, and give plenty of space to road crews and first responders working hard to keep us safe,” Mills said.

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for five counties – Morris, Sussex, Warren, Passaic and Bergen – in the northern part of the state.

    Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont ordered a partial activation of the state emergency operations center, starting Tuesday.

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  • Bay Area Rapid Transit running limited service to Oakland Airport due to power outage | CNN

    Bay Area Rapid Transit running limited service to Oakland Airport due to power outage | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    California’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system says it is running a “limited service” to the Oakland International Airport because of a power outage in Alameda County.

    “Oakland Airport Connector service is running limited service due to a power outage. Shuttles will depart every 18 minutes,” BART said in a 2:38 p.m. PST update.

    Pacific Gas and Electric Company spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian tweeted that a “large outage” was impacting approximately 50,000 Oakland customers. “We are currently investigating the details and will provide more information on the timing of restoration as soon as we can,” Sarkissian said.

    A transformer fire at a substation caused the outage, Pacific Gas and Electric told CNN in an email Sunday evening.

    “The cause of the outage is a transformer fire within the substation, and we are working closely with fire officials to make the situation safe. We will provide more information on the timing of restoration once we have those details,” spokesperson JD Guidi said.

    The outage impacted the Oakland International Airport for more than an hour Sunday afternoon, according to airport spokesperson Robert Bernardo.

    The power at the airport went down at approximately 1 p.m. PST and was restored at 2:50 p.m. PST, Bernardo told CNN.

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  • Biden administration restores Obama-era mercury rules for power plants, eyes more regulations in coming months | CNN Politics

    Biden administration restores Obama-era mercury rules for power plants, eyes more regulations in coming months | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The Biden administration on Friday finalized a decision to reestablish Obama-era rules that require coal and oil-fired power plants to reduce toxic pollutants, including mercury and acid gas, that come out of their smokestacks.

    Mercury is a neurotoxin with several health impacts, including harmful effects on children’s brain development. And while the updated rule significantly benefits public health for communities around these kinds of power plants, it also has the effect of requiring plants to cut down on planet-warming pollution that comes from burning coal to generate electricity.

    President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency announced early last year that it intended to undo a Trump-era rollback of the 2012 mercury pollution rules, one of many Trump-era environmental decisions it has reversed.

    “This is a really good day for public health in this country,” EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe told CNN. “We’re talking about mercury, arsenic, acid gases; these are dangerous pollutants that impact people’s health.”

    The EPA estimates the 2012 rule brought down mercury emissions from power plants by 86% by 2017, while acid gas emissions were reduced by 96%.

    McCabe said the EPA is currently working on its own, stronger mercury standard that it expects to propose “not too long from now” and finalize before the end of Biden’s first term.

    The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rules are part of a larger tranche of regulations the agency is expected to roll out this spring that would cut down on coal-fired power plant pollution, including rules on proper disposal of coal ash.

    It also plans to release a much-anticipated rule that would regulate planet-warming pollution like carbon dioxide and methane. That rule is expected to be more limited than climate advocates desire, after the US Supreme Court limited the EPA’s ability to broadly regulate carbon pollution in a ruling last year.

    “We’re very mindful of the Supreme Court precedent,” McCabe told CNN. “We’ve been working very, very carefully to craft a rule that will be in the four corners of the direction that the Supreme Court has laid down.”

    McCabe said the agency will propose that rule “in the relatively near future,” but did not share specifics about what the rule would do to limit pollution.

    Many of the nation’s coal-fired power plants are aging and new ones are not being built – especially as it’s getting more expensive operate existing plans. If the EPA implements stronger federal regulations on mercury, coal ash and greenhouse gas emissions, it could have the impact of more utilities shuttering coal-fired plants, as many are already doing.

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  • Power outage disrupts New York’s JFK Airport Terminal 1 | CNN

    Power outage disrupts New York’s JFK Airport Terminal 1 | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A power outage is disrupting flights at a John F. Kennedy International Airport terminal, the airport said Thursday.

    The outage at Terminal 1 was caused by an electrical panel failure that resulted in a “small isolated fire overnight that was immediately extinguished,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.

    “The power outage is currently impacting the terminal’s ability to accept inbound and outbound flights,” the statement said.

    Other terminals are being used to accommodate the affected flights, and travelers should check with their airlines for flight status, the Port Authority said.

    An Air New Zealand flight that was due to land at JFK at 5:40 p.m. ET Thursday was diverted back to its origin airport, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

    Some arriving international flights were diverted to other East Coast airports, including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Boston’s Logan International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport, JFK’s website showed.

    The Port Authority is trying to restore power at Terminal 1 by working around the circuits affected by the overnight fire, according to a Port Authority official with knowledge of the outage.

    If this method of restoring the power to the terminal is not successful, they are prepared to use generator power to get Terminal 1 back online, the Port Authority source added.

    The aircraft ramp around Terminal 1 has been closed and is scheduled to reopen Friday morning, according to a notice posted in a Federal Aviation Administration safety database.

    The FAA referred questions about the incident to the airport operator. The Transportation Security Administration said: “TSA is eagerly awaiting the power situation to be resolved.”

    Passengers on the Air New Zealand flight found themselves on a nearly 16-hour flight from Auckland back to Auckland after ANZ2 turned around because of the disruption at JFK.

    “Diverting to another US port would have meant the aircraft would remain on the ground for several days, impacting a number of other scheduled services and customers,” the airline said in a statement to CNN.

    Airline staff will be on hand to rebook passengers when they arrive back in Auckland.

    “We apologise for the inconvenience and thank our customers for their patience and understanding.”

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  • Dead chickens and decomposing bodies: Inside South Africa’s power blackout ‘pandemic’ | CNN

    Dead chickens and decomposing bodies: Inside South Africa’s power blackout ‘pandemic’ | CNN

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    Johannesburg, South Africa
    CNN
     — 

    Car crashes, opportunistic criminals, rotting food, decomposing bodies, bankrupt businesses, and water shortages. Welcome to life under South Africa’s power blackouts.

    Last week the grim extent of the outages was laid bare when South Africans were advised to bury dead loved ones within four days.

    In a public statement, the South African Funeral Practitioners Association warned that bodies in mortuaries were rapidly decomposing because of the unrelenting electricity outages, putting huge pressure on funeral parlors struggling to process corpses.

    The situation is so bad that the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering declaring a national disaster, similar to one in 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic, which had a devastating effect on the country’s economy.

    Last week scores of supporters from the Democratic Alliance opposition party marched under heavy security through the streets of Johannesburg and Cape Town to voice their frustrations over the persistent blackouts.

    Known locally as loadshedding, widespread electricity blackouts are carried out multiple times a day by state-owned energy utility Eskom to avoid the total collapse of the grid.

    Shortages on the electricity system unbalance the network, and Eskom has stated that controlled outages are necessary to ensure reserve margins are maintained, and the system remains stable.

    While the country has been experiencing on-off power outages for years, since September 2022 scheduled blackouts have become routine, affecting every part of South African society.

    For some people, not having access to reliable power can be the difference between life and death.

    Before she died in October 2022, Lis Van Os needed oxygen for 17 hours a day. Her stationary oxygen machine required mains power, making periods of loadshedding extremely stressful, particularly when power did not return as scheduled, her family said.

    Her daughter Karin McDonald was forced to explore backup options such as inverters and a back up oxygen mobile tank, which only lasted short periods.

    “Towards the end (of her life) power outages created a lot of anxiety for everyone,” she said.

    South Africans experienced more than twice as many power cuts in 2022 than in any other year. And things are set to get worse in 2023.

    Even simple daily tasks need to be arranged around loadshedding schedules, including meal planning, travel times, work that requires internet connectivity.

    From preparing baby formula to keeping fans running during the summer heat, not having access to mains power is makes daily life challenging for South Africans.

    Maneo Motsamai, a domestic worker in Johannesburg, says the outages prevents her from simple tasks such as cooking.

    “I boil water to cook mealie meal (maize porridge) and the power goes. I can’t eat, it’s a waste. I can’t cope like that,” Motsamai told CNN.

    Pump stations can’t provide water and many small businesses without access to backup power are having to close shop and lay off employees, according to people CNN spoke to.

    Thando Makhubu runs Soweto Creamery, an ice cream shop in Jabulani, Soweto, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. His family pooled small welfare grants they received during the Covid-19 pandemic to set up the business, but are now feeling the pressure from power outages.

    In early January, the shop was without power for 72 hours, when electricity did not return as scheduled. Thando was forced to shell out money for diesel to power their generator and prevent all his stock melting. He says the outages are costly and destroying their hopes of expanding.

    Bongi Monjanaga, who runs a startup cleaning services company operating across Johannesburg, says the outages affect every part of her fledgling business, such as operating electric cleaning equipment, entering and leaving premises when security gates aren’t functioning, and having internet to invoice clients and complete online tax compliance documents.

    “I find myself in this pool of misery when I’m just trying to start up. I’m just trying to grow,” she says.

    The escalation of power outages is also deeply worrying for South Africa’s food security, driving up prices, and placing an even greater strain on stretched household budgets.

    With modern farming practices ever more reliant on electricity for crop irrigation, processing, and storage, loadshedding is having a huge impact on agricultural output.

    Gys Olivier, a farmer from Hertzogville in Free State province, in east-central South Africa, says he and other farmers in the area have been forced to throw away hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of seed potatoes due to disruptions to the ‘cold chain’ – (the process of keeping produce refrigerated throughout the supply chain.)

    There is also less demand from growers due to water shortages, with pump stations reliant on electricity to operate.

    Protests against power blackouts in South Africa

    “We have done everything we can to make sure there is food on the table for a very good price, but it’s become so capital-intensive to farm,” Olivier says.

    Meanwhile livestock and poultry are dying before they even get to the slaughterhouse.

    A gruesome video circulating on social media shows workers removing 50,000 dead broiler chickens from a farm in North West province, the birds suffocated when power outages caused ventilation systems to stop. The financial damage to the farmer was around ZAR1.6m ($93,300) according to local media reports.

    South Africa is notorious for high crime rates, and loadshedding is making it worse as home security systems fail when the power goes out, giving criminals a field day inside unsecured properties.
    Policing also becomes harder, with officers unable to reach crime scenes fast enough due to congestion when traffic lights are off.

    Tumelo Mogodiseng, General Secretary of the South African Policing Union (SAPU), describes the load-shedding as “a pandemic.”

    He says his members’ lives are now more at risk, with officers unable to see potentially dangerous situations in the darkness, and police stations, many of which don’t have backup power systems, at risk of attack from criminals during blackouts.

    “Police are dying every day in this country. If this is happening in the daylight, what happens when there is no light for them to see at night?”

    Mogodiseng also worries that crimes are going unreported, with citizens fearful of leaving their houses during outages and traveling in the darkness. “Communities won’t travel to police stations to open cases because they are afraid,” he told CNN.

    Gareth Newham, who runs the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria, says that it’s hard to get solid data on the impact outages are having on crime. While anecdotal evidence suggests criminals are exploiting outages, the recent escalation of loadshedding has coincided with the Christmas holidays, when crime rates typically spike.

    His biggest concern is that continued loadshedding or a temporary grid collapse could lead to a repeat of the coordinated civil unrest, rioting, and looting in parts of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces 18 months ago.

    “A complete breakdown in the grid could be the trigger for local level gangs getting more power, and we could see a similar kind of violence to that we saw in July 2021.”

    Under the ruling African National Congress (ANC), in charge since 1994, Eskom has become synonymous with corruption, crime, and mismanagement.

    Last year a judge-led inquiry into graft under the former president, Jacob Zuma, found that there were grounds to prosecute several former Eskom executives.

    The government has failed to build new power stations to keep up with increased demand, and warnings from energy experts on looming supply shortages across the past two decades have gone ignored.

    A 2019 report by the South African Institution of Civil Engineering shows skilled engineers have been leaving the country in droves.

    Despite spending billions of USD on two huge coal power stations, neither works properly.

    Older plants are dilapidated due to a lack of maintenance, and organized crime steals vital coal supplies and cable from the rail lines going from mines to power stations.

    South Africa's opposition party Democratic Alliance protests onto headquarters of ruling ANC against power blackouts in the country

    Renewable energy companies say they are desperate to supply to the grid, but the government has been slow to cut red tape and streamline regulatory processes that would reduce the time frame for environmental authorisations, registration of new projects and grid connection approvals.

    Legal challenges against the government and Eskom are stacking up. Several political parties and trade unions say they will take the government and state utility to court for not upholding their duty to provide electricity.

    With no end in sight to the outages, South Africans are desperate for alternative energy sources, but even they are out of the reach of many citizens.

    Thando Makhubu says he was shocked by the cost to power his ice cream business off-grid. “We were quoted R100,000 ($5,945) and that excluded the solar panels.”

    Karin McDonald, who runs a swimming school, similarly found the upfront costs of solar prohibitive. “We received quotes for solar for the business and house and were not looking at anything less than half a million rand ($29,500) which is a major life decision to make,” she said.

    There is also a long wait for solar. “I know a solar provider that had 40 requests just last week, all for big solar projects, ” said Angus Williamson, a cattle farmer from KwaZulu-Natal province.

    As they come to terms with their new reality, many South Africans are finding it hard to stay optimistic.

    “The light at the end of the tunnel is a train heading in our direction,” said Williamson.

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  • 90% of Californians are under flood watches as another storm threatens mudslides, power outages and deadly inundation | CNN

    90% of Californians are under flood watches as another storm threatens mudslides, power outages and deadly inundation | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Much of California can’t soak up another drop of rain. Yet the state is getting pummeled again with torrential downpours and ferocious winds, causing power outages and treacherous travel conditions.

    More than 34 million Californians were under a flood watch Monday – about 90% of the state’s population and 10% of the US population.

    Parts of the central California coast got walloped with 1 to 1.25 inches of rainfall per hour, the Weather Prediction Center said. Extensive rainfall there Monday triggered significant flooding, mudslides, debris flows and closed roadways.

    Widespread rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches have been observed from just south of San Francisco to just north of Los Angeles. Isolated amounts of 6 to more than 10 inches have been observed in the higher terrain near the coast.

    As the rain shifted slowly to the south Monday toward Los Angeles, the National Weather Service there warned of the risk of flooding, debris flow in land scarred by recent wildfires and an increased risk of rock and mudslides in mountains and on canyon roads.

    And hurricane-force wind gusts topping 74 mph thrashed states across the western US. More than 37 million people were under wind alerts Monday in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming.

    A 132-mph wind gust lashed Oroville, California. Residents in Washoe City, Nevada, were hit with a 98-mph gust, the Weather Prediction Center said.

    TRACK THE STORMS

    “Expect widespread power outages, downed trees and difficult driving conditions,” the National Weather Service in Sacramento tweeted. “Now is the time to prepare if you have not already!”

    Almost 92,000 homes, businesses and other power customers had no electricity Monday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.

    And the central California coast could be at risk of a tornado, CNN Meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

    The severe weather is part of a relentless parade of atmospheric rivers slamming the West Coast.

    California is now extremely vulnerable to flooding because much of the state has been scarred by historic drought or devastating wildfires – meaning the land can’t soak up much rainfall.

    And after an onslaught of storms since late December led to deadly flooding, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Sunday: “We expect to see the worst of it still in front of us.”

    Two bouts of major rainfall are expected to hammer the West Coast over the next few days – without much of a break between events for the water to recede.

    The system is part of an atmospheric river – a long, narrow region in the atmosphere that can transport moisture thousands of miles, like a fire hose in the sky.

    The atmospheric river slamming California on Monday could result in a 1-in-50 year or 1-in-100 year rainfall event near Fresno, the Weather Prediction Center said.

    A moderate risk – level 3 of 4 – of excessive rainfall covers over 26 million people in California, including in San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Fresno, where rain could fall at 1 inch per hour.

    Owners of a restaurant in Aptos, California, place sandbags in front of their establishment Monday.

    The San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz County has risen 14 feet in just over four hours and is in major flood stage. Parts of the county will experience “widespread flooding at shallow depths,” and the city of Santa Cruz will have serious flooding, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Geological Survey.

    The threat will shift further south Tuesday, with a level 3 of 4 risk centered over Los Angeles.

    “While some of the forecast rain totals are impressive alone, it is important to note that what really sets this event apart are the antecedent conditions,” the National Weather Service office in San Francisco said.

    “Multiple systems over the past week have saturated soil, increased flow in rivers and streams, and truly set the stage for this to become a high impact event.”

    In Sacramento County, officials warned “flooding is imminent” and issued evacuation orders for the Wilton community near the Cosumnes River before roads become impassable.

    Wilton residents also had to evacuate during last week’s storm, when exit routes flooded quickly, officials said.

    A man wades through a flooded street in Aptos Monday.

    El Dorado, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara and Alameda counties have issued evacuation warnings or recommendations for some areas due to possible flooding and other safety risks as forecasters warned of swelling rivers.

    Residents in all all areas of Montecito, parts of Santa Barbara and Summerland are being ordered to evacuate immediately due to the threat of the ongoing storm, the local fire department announced Tuesday.

    Montecito is a haven for the rich and famous, including Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres. Monday marks exactly five years since heavy rains in the area caused deadly mud- and landslides.

    Santa Barbara County authorities are advising residents to “be prepared to sustain yourself and your household for multiple days if you choose not to evacuate, as you may not be able to leave the area and emergency responders may not be able to access your property in the event of road damage, flooding, or a debris flow.”

    A section of a parking lot sits sunken Sunday after a storm at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California.

    Newsom on Sunday asked the White House for an emergency declaration to support response and recovery efforts.

    “We are in the middle of a deadly barrage of winter storms – and California is using every resource at its disposal to protect lives and limit damage,” Newsom said in a statement. “We are taking the threat from these storms seriously, and want to make sure that Californians stay vigilant as more storms head our way.”

    San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Monday issued a Local Proclamation of Emergency due to the ongoing series of winter storms that began New Year’s Eve, according to a news release from his office.

    This storm system arrives on the heels of a powerful cyclone that flooded roads, toppled trees and knocked out power last week to much of California. Earlier, a New Year’s weekend storm system produced deadly flooding.

    At least 12 Californians have died from “storm-related impacts” such as flooding since late December, the governor’s office said.

    In San Luis Obispo County, dive teams from the sheriff’s office and Cal Fire rescuers were searching Monday for a 5-year-old child reported to have been swept away in flood waters near the Salinas River in San Miguel.

    “Floods kill more individuals than any other natural disaster,” California Emergency Services Director Nancy Ward said Sunday. “We’ve already had more deaths in this flood storm since December 31 than we had in the last two fire seasons of the highest fire acreage burned in California.”

    Flood-related deaths can happen when drivers attempt to cross standing water.

    “Just a foot of water and your car’s floating. Half a foot of water, you’re off your feet. Half foot of water, you’re losing control of your vehicle,” Newsom said.

    “We’re seeing people go around these detours because they don’t see any obstacles – they think everything is fine, and putting their lives at risk or putting first responders lives at risk.”

    For anyone who doesn’t need to travel during the peak of this storm, “please don’t,” California Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said. “Be prepared for power outages and other interruptions. Have those flashlights, the candles, batteries, charge cell phones at the ready.”

    Already, flooded roads, toppled trees and downed power lines are making travel difficult, California Highway Patrol said. Some fallen trees crushed cars and homes over the weekend. On Monday, portions of the Pacific Coast Highway – US 101, a major north-south highway, were closed.

    The Santa Barbara Airport, a tri-county regional airport, is closed because of flooding airport officials said Monday.

    Crane operator Ricky Kapuschinsky prepares to lift uprooted trees Sunday in Sacramento, California.

    California is experiencing “weather whiplash,” going from intense drought conditions to now contending with its fifth atmospheric river, Newsom said.

    Much of the state has already seen 5 to 8 inches of rain over the last week. Two to 4 more inches of rain are expected across the coasts and valleys – and even more in mountains and foothills through Tuesday.

    Rising from swelling rivers could spill over and inundate communities.

    The rainfall over the weekend brought renewed flood concerns for streams, creeks and rivers. The Colgan Creek, Berryessa Creek, Mark West Creek, Green Valley Creek and the Cosumnes River all have gauges that are either above flood stage or expected to be in the next few days.

    “The cumulative effect of successive heavy rainfall events will lead to additional instances of flooding. This includes rapid water rises, mudslides, and the potential for major river flooding,” the National Weather Service said Monday.

    The moisture is expected to sink southward Monday night, making flooding “increasing likely” over the Southern California coastal ranges Tuesday, the weather service said. Fierce winds are expected to accompany the storm as it pushes inland.

    “Valley areas will likely see gusts as high as 45-50 mph, with gusts greater than 60 mph possible in wind prone areas,” the National Weather Service in Reno said. The Sierra Ridge could receive peak gusts between 130 to 150 mph Monday.

    For those at higher elevations, intense snow and ferocious winds will be the biggest concerns.

    Parts of the higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada have gotten more than 100” – or 8.3 feet – of snow in just the past few weeks, the Weather Prediction Center said.

    Now, another 6 feet of snow is expected in some parts of the Sierra.

    As the storm pushes inland, more than 5 feet of snow could fall along the Sierra Crest west of Lake Tahoe, the weather service said.

    The heavy snow and strong winds could lead to near whiteout conditions on roads.

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  • A prolonged winter storm delivers power outages, snarled travel and frigid temperatures on Christmas Day | CNN

    A prolonged winter storm delivers power outages, snarled travel and frigid temperatures on Christmas Day | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A nearly weeklong winter storm blasting much of the US has plunged temperatures to life-threatening lows, brought blizzards and floods, and left more than a quarter million people without power on Christmas Day.

    Blizzard conditions continue across the Great Lakes, while frigid cold temperatures grip the eastern two-thirds of the US, with some major cities in the Southeast, Midwest and East Coast recording their coldest Christmas in decades.

    Large areas of the central and eastern US remain under wind chill warnings and advisories, as freeze warnings are in effect across the South.

    New York City saw record cold temperatures on Christmas Eve at several locations, including its JFK and LaGuardia airports. The high at Central Park was 15 degrees, marking its second-coldest December 24 in at least 150 years, according to the National Weather Service.

    At least 22 deaths have been attributed to dangerous weather conditions since Wednesday, and some residents in the Northeast are spending the holiday without sufficient heat or hot water as extremely cold temperatures persist.

    Across the US, 275,856 homes and businesses in the US had no electricity service as of 1 a.m. ET, many of them in Maine and New York, according to PowerOutage.us. Since the start of the storm the number of outages has at times exceeded a million customers.

    A power grid operator for at least 13 states in the country’s eastern half asked customers to conserve power and set thermostats lower than usual from early Saturday to 10 a.m. on Sunday because usage was straining capacity.

    The operator, PJM Interconnection, serves about 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and warned rolling blackouts could happen if the strain becomes too much.

    In New York, utility companies Con Edison and Natural Grid US also urged customers to conserve energy, citing extreme weather conditions and increased energy demand on interstate pipelines carrying natural gas into the city.

    Meanwhile, a shortage of electricity in Texas prompted the US Department of Energy to declare an emergency Friday, allowing the state’s energy provider to exceed environmental emissions standards until energy usage drops.

    In Jackson, Mississippi, frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to repair a large water main break late Saturday, which has caused a loss in water pressure for residents, city officials said.

    “We are grateful to the crews who are braving these frigid temperatures on this Christmas Eve night, while working to restore pressure to residents. Their sacrifice does not go unnoticed and is appreciated not only by this administration, but also by every resident who is affected,” the release stated.

    The brutal weather conditions have also snarled travel during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday, and more than 1,000 canceled for Christmas Day.

    Conditions on the road weren’t any better in parts of the country amid whiteout conditions and icy and snow-covered roadways.

    In New York’s Erie County – which is seeing blistering blizzard conditions – about 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning, despite a county driving ban put in place during the storm, according to County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

    National Guard troops were called in to help “rescue people that are stuck in vehicles,” and to give rides to medical workers so they could relieve colleagues who had been working at hospitals for more than a day, Poloncarz said.

    In Seattle, Washington, online videos have documented cars sliding on the icy roads and bumping into each and residents slipping as they walked on sidewalks, CNN affiliate KOMO reported.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she will ask the federal government for a declaration of emergency after a blistering winter storm.

    “I’ll be asking the federal government for a declaration of emergency that’ll allow us to seek reimbursements for the extraordinary expenses of all the overtime and the fact that we brought in mutual aid from other parts of the state,” Hochul said to reporters Saturday. “We’ve deployed individuals – the utility crews have come but also making sure that we have all the vehicles we need.”

    New York’s three storm-related deaths were reported in Erie County. Two died in separate incidents Friday night when emergency medical personnel could not get to their homes in time for medical emergencies, Poloncarz said Saturday morning. Details about the third death, confirmed by a county spokesperson Saturday afternoon, weren’t immediately available.

    “The loss of two lives in Buffalo – storm related – because people were not able to get to medical attention, is again a crisis situation that unfolds before your eyes and you realize that lifesaving ambulances and emergency medical personnel cannot get to people during a blizzard situation,” Hochul added.

    Other storm-related deaths have been reported in the country. They include:

    • Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.

    • Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday.

    • Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle accident in Montgomery County.

    • Missouri: One person died after a caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

    • Ohio: Eight people have died as a result of weather-related auto accidents, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a semi tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

    • Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

    • Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

    In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


    The storm system is forecast to gradually weaken as it lifts into southeastern Canada, moving slowly during the next couple of days and pulling arctic air from Canada down into much of the eastern side of the country.

    The Arctic blast being felt across the eastern two-thirds of the nation will slowly moderate into Monday, but dangerous conditions will persist Christmas Day.

    The cold temperatures combined with dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers who become stranded, people who work outside, livestock and pets, according to the National Weather Service.

    “In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes,” the Weather Service warned.

    As the frigid air continues to blast the warm waters of the Great Lakes, lake-effect snows and blizzard conditions are expected to continue, but slowly become less intense.

    Still, strong gusty winds initially up to 60 mph accompanying the snow downwind from the Great Lakes will continue to make for extremely dangerous conditions on the road.

    By Christmas night into Monday, another low pressure system coming from the Pacific will deliver the next surge of moisture toward the Pacific Northwest and then into northern California, according to the Weather Service.

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  • Power may be back for thousands on Wednesday night as authorities continue to go through tips on electric substation attack | CNN

    Power may be back for thousands on Wednesday night as authorities continue to go through tips on electric substation attack | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The tens of thousands of customers in central North Carolina who haven’t had power since two weekend attacks on utility substations should see the lights come on by late Wednesday, a spokesperson for Duke Energy said at a news conference.

    The two substations in Moore County were damaged by gunfire Saturday night in what investigators believe were “intentional” and “targeted” attacks, officials said, with Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields saying that whoever fired at the substations “knew exactly what they were doing.”

    Duke Energy, which has has about 47,000 customers in Moore County, has made “very good progress” since Saturday and moved up its restoration timeline by a day, saying it expects most customers to have power restored by late Wednesday.

    “That will not happen all at once,” Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said Tuesday afternoon. “You will see waves of customers coming on. A few thousand at a time.”

    He said new equipment has been installed but it needs to be calibrated and tested so that it works in sync with the grid.

    About 35,000 customers in Moore County remained without power Tuesday afternoon, according to Brooks.

    The mayor of Southern Pines called the attack a cruel and selfish act.

    “There are so many people that are hurting,” Mayor Carol Haney said on CNN on Monday. The revenue stream has been stopped. If you have health issues, it is critical. It is just a horrible, horrible, terrorist, in my opinion, act.”

    No suspects or motives have been announced.

    At Tuesday’s news conference, Moore County Chief Deputy Richard Maness had no major updates about the investigation but said a tip line has been “very, very active” in the past 24 hours.

    Tom McInnis, the North Carolina Senate Majority Whip whose district includes Moore County, told reporters he is looking at potential legislation to modernize penalties for this kind of incident, which he said is something that has never happened in North Carolina.

    The outages have made life difficult for residents. Schools will be closed through Thursday, four days with no classes. Businesses without generators are shuttered. Residents without power must leave their homes for hot food and to charge their electronic devices.

    The owner of a Moore County pharmacy is storing medicines in his home, which is powered by a generator, so that people can continue to get their prescriptions, he said.

    Rob Barrett, the owner of Whispering Pines Prescription Shoppe, believes he has enough gas to keep the generator running, but the pharmacy faces other issues: Some employees have no gas to get to work, and there are communication issues.

    In rural areas of the county, the loss of electricity has also impacted the water supply to families.

    “Rural communities rely on electricity a lot more than people realize,” Andrew Wilkins, whose parents own a farm in Whispering Pines, told CNN. “Many big cities don’t lose their water when the power goes out, but a lot of rural areas rely on a well for water.

    “My family draws their water from a well, so when the power goes out, the well stops and the water pressure drops and we slowly lose water.”

    Southern Pines, a town of about 15,900 residents roughly a 40-mile drive northwest of Fayetteville and a 70-mile drive southwest of Raleigh, lost all power, according to the mayor. Haney said she had to get her 98-year-old mother out of the town and to Charlotte so she could be in a warm home.

    With the power out, the town’s water and sewer system is operating on generator power, according to Southern Pines Fire and Rescue.

    The town’s fire department has seen an increase in car crashes related to the lack of traffic lights, and more fires as people try to find alternate ways to heat their homes, Southern Pines Fire Chief Mike Cameron told CNN.

    The fire department also is getting more medical calls from people using supplemental oxygen or other medical devices that require power, Cameron said.

    FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst is running on a backup generator. However, the hospital is postponing certain elective procedures, and family medicine and other clinics in the country will be closed until power service is restored, hospital officials said in a news release Sunday.

    Investigators are “leaving no stone unturned to find out who did this,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday. FBI and state investigators have joined the investigation.

    “This was a malicious, criminal attack on the entire community that plunged tens of thousands of people into darkness,” Cooper said.

    “Our priorities now are health and safety, getting the power back on as quickly as possible, and making sure that federal, state and local law enforcement find out who did this, and why, and bring them to justice.”

    Several communities across the county began experiencing power outages just after 7 p.m. Saturday, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office said.

    Whoever fired bullets at the substations “knew exactly what they were doing,” Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said Sunday.

    Fields on Sunday noted “no group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept they’re the ones who (did) it.”

    Investigators were trying to determine whether both substations were fired at simultaneously, or one after the other, the sheriff said Monday.

    A countywide mandatory curfew from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. has been in effect since Sunday night, with Fields saying the decision was made to protect residents and businesses.

    Residents fill gas containers Monday just outside the area impacted by the power outage.

    The governor stressed Tuesday that the state needs to learn from the incident, saying “this is unacceptable to have this many people without power for this long.”

    “This is a retirement community, so there are a lot of adult care homes that do not have power,” Cooper told CNN on Tuesday. “We’re providing generators and help to make sure people are safe here.”

    The country needs to have “a serious … conversation about protecting our critical infrastructure,” Cooper said.

    “It was clear that (whoever is behind the gunfire) knew how to cause significant damage, and that they could do it at this substation, so we have to reassess the situation,” Cooper said.

    Officials are not disclosing whether there were cameras at the two affected substations, because that is “part of the investigation that they do not want to reveal at this time,” Cooper said.

    Less than two weeks before Saturday’s substation damage, the FBI said there had been an increase in reported threats to electric infrastructure from people who espouse “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist ideology.”

    The FBI has received reports of threats to electric infrastructure by people espousing racially or ethnically motivated extremist ideology “to create civil disorder and inspire further violence,” the FBI said in a November 22 bulletin sent to private industry, which CNN obtained.

    Though the motives for Saturday’s damage still are unclear, US officials have consistently been concerned by the interest violent extremists have shown in the country’s electric grid.

    Cooper said Tuesday he was aware of the FBI warning.

    “Matter of fact, we have worked to organize and step up our protection of our infrastructure, particularly in the area of cyber security. We know that those attacks can be massive and put down power or water or other infrastructure for a lot of people across the country, so we’ve been working on that,” Cooper said.

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  • Why the power grid is an ‘attractive target’ for attacks | CNN Politics

    Why the power grid is an ‘attractive target’ for attacks | CNN Politics

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    A version of this story appears in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.



    CNN
     — 

    The motivation behind an attack on the electrical grid in a North Carolina county remains a mystery.

    But the method – apparently coordinated attacks on multiple substations – exploits a vulnerability that has long been a source of concern for authorities warning about domestic terrorism.

    Just last week the Department of Homeland Security renewed a national bulletin to warn of attacks on critical infrastructure.

    The details of this particular story are only starting to come into view, although Moore County, North Carolina, remains plunged in darkness. The FBI has joined the hunt for answers into how attacks on substations left around 40,000 without power over the weekend.

    In a Sunday news conference, the county sheriff described the attacks as “intentional” and “targeted,” but had no reason why the person or persons involved would choose the place.

    CNN’s Whitney Wild, reporting from Moore County, mentioned online rumors that disrupting a drag show planned for Saturday night may have been the cause of the attack, but authorities have not confirmed that and said no person or group has claimed responsibility.

    What authorities have confirmed is that someone or some people removed a gate at one substation from its hinges. The damage to transformers was apparently caused by gunfire, although it’s not clear what kind of weapon was used.

    Most of the roughly 40,000 people who lost power aren’t expected to get it back until Thursday, according to Duke Energy.

    Mike Cameron is the assistant town manager and fire chief of Southern Pines, North Carolina, which is in Moore County.

    Appearing on CNN on Monday, he said medical calls have increased as people who rely on oxygen and plug-in medical devices struggle.

    In temperatures that have dipped almost to freezing overnight, people have gotten creative to heat their homes, which has led to an increase in calls about house fires.

    There has also been an increase in emergency calls about traffic accidents, “just because our traffic lights are obviously not working,” he said.

    Southern Pines Mayor Carol Haney did not hold back on her message to whoever is responsible for plunging her town into darkness.

    “It is just a horrible, horrible terrorist, in my opinion, act. Cowardly,” she told CNN’s Victor Blackwell on Monday.

    The mayor of Pinehurst, North Carolina, John Strickland, said on CNN that investigators will have to determine if this was a targeted attack by domestic extremists, but he said it was meant to be destructive.

    “This is clearly an act that was intentional, very forceful and an act of vandalism to create a situation where the citizens of Pinehurst and Moore County are lacking heat and other support services at the present time,” he said on “CNN Newsroom.”

    FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital is currently being powered by diesel fuel, according to its president, Jonathan Davis, but elective procedures have been delayed.

    CNN’s chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller said this type of attack has long been feared.

    The American electrical grid is decentralized and controlled by a hybrid of public and private entities.

    “The challenge is most of these places are outdoors, most are in remote areas and most of them are available for attack from a long distance,” Miller said on “CNN This Morning.”

    He also noted there has been an uptick in chatter among various anti-government and ecoterrorist groups who consider attacks on the electrical infrastructure as a way to create chaos in the US.

    In particular, Miller said right wing neo-Nazi groups have suggested creating a chain reaction of attacks to systematically take down the power grid.

    “Their theory is that if you identify the key nodes and you knock out one and they divert power to the next one, and you knock out the next one and the next one, a domino effect can actually start to topple the national grid and plunge the nation into darkness and chaos,” Miller said.

    It’s obviously not clear if this North Carolina attack is anything along those lines, but the Department of Homeland Security has been warning about such attacks for some time.

    Sniper fire hit a Silicon Valley substation in April 2013, when 150 rounds from an assault rifle took out 17 transformers. Workers rerouted power in that case, but repairs to the transformers took nearly a month.

    Miller said that after that incident, power companies and the government undertook a systemic review of grid security and made changes to add more cameras and motion sensors.

    In January 2022, CNN’s Geneva Sands reported on a DHS memo about potential electrical grid threats from extremist groups angry at the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

    Violent extremist groups have identified the electrical grid as a “particularly attractive target,” according to the intelligence bulletin, and have drawn up specific plans.

    In October 2020, the memo noted, White supremacists in Idaho were charged with conspiracy for trying to damage transformers in that area.

    Also, in May 2020 the government charged followers of the Boogaloo movement, which believes there is a civil war coming, for allegedly conspiring to attack a substation in Las Vegas. Their larger goal was to incite riots and violence.

    Unsophisticated small-scale attacks are unlikely to cause the kind of large-scale meltdown that anti-government plotters envision, but they are likely to cause substantial harm and expensive damage – which is precisely what’s happening in Moore County.

    Juliette Kayyem, a CNN analyst and the former assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at DHS, said on CNN’s “The Lead” that investigators are probably looking at three possible scenarios:

    Foreign attack. She said this seems unlikely, since Moore County is a rural area and not the expected target for a foreign actor.

    Hate crime or domestic terrorism. She noted the lights went out at the drag show, which was organized by a LGBTQ group, just as it began.

    Insider threat. Kayyem noted the knowledge it would take to disable the substations could be a clue.

    “You don’t just drive by these places and know where to shoot,” she said. “(Investigators) will be looking at the potential there was either casing or someone who knew the area, the facilities and knew where to shoot. These aren’t drive-by incidents,” she said.

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  • FBI joins investigation into North Carolina power outage caused by ‘intentional’ attacks on substations as officials work to determine a motive and suspect | CNN

    FBI joins investigation into North Carolina power outage caused by ‘intentional’ attacks on substations as officials work to determine a motive and suspect | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    With no suspects or motive announced, the FBI is joining the investigation into power outages in a North Carolina county believed to have been caused by “intentional” and “targeted” attacks on substations that left around 40,000 customers in the dark Saturday night, prompting a curfew and emergency declaration.

    The mass outage in Moore County turned into a criminal investigation when responding utility crews found signs of potential vandalism of equipment at different sites – including two substations that had been damaged by gunfire, according to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office.

    “The person, or persons, who did this knew exactly what they were doing,” Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said during a Sunday news conference. “We don’t have a clue why Moore County.”

    Fields said multiple rounds were fired at the two substations. “It was targeted, it wasn’t random,” he said.

    The sheriff would not say whether the criminal activity was domestic terrorism but noted “no group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept they’re the ones who [did] it.”

    Authorities announced a mandatory curfew from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m., starting Sunday night, with Fields saying the decision was made to protect residents and businesses.

    In addition to the FBI, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has joined the investigation, officials said.

    More than 33,000 customers were still in the dark across the county Sunday evening, the Duke Energy outage map showed. For some, the outage may stretch into Thursday, officials said, upending life for tens of thousands.

    All schools in the county will be closed Monday and authorities have opened a shelter running on a generator.

    Traffic lights are also out, and while a few stores with generators were able to open their doors, several businesses and churches in Moore County were closed Sunday, CNN affiliate WRAL reported.

    “We were just getting over Covid. And now this,” the sheriff said, adding, “It’s gonna hurt all of our restaurants and businesses.”

    Inside people’s homes, it’s become difficult to keep the cold out.

    “We have a six-month-old baby in the house. We’re out of heat. We are trying to get heat for her,” Carthage resident Chris Thompson told WRAL.

    Chilly temperatures, with lows in the 30s, were expected in the area overnight Sunday with highs in the 50s and a chance of rain expected Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Moore County is in central North Carolina, about 50 miles northwest of Fayetteville.

    Mapbox

    The estimated cost of the substation damage is in the millions, the sheriff said Sunday.

    The damage has been significant and rerouting power isn’t an option, said Jeff Brooks, principal communications manager for Duke Energy.

    Damage to the gate to the Duke Energy West End substation is seen Sunday in Moore County.

    “Equipment will have to be replaced,” Brooks said. “We’re pursuing multiple paths of restoration so that we can restore as many customers as quickly as possible. Recognizing that, we are looking at pretty sophisticated repair with some fairly large equipment.”

    In addition to the gunfire damage at the substations, a gate at one of the locations appears to have been taken off its hinges, Asst. Chief Mike Cameron of the Southern Pines Fire and Rescue Department told CNN.

    While it’s unclear what motivated the alleged vandalism, the sheriff on Sunday addressed rumors circulating on social media that the attack was an attempt to thwart a local drag show.

    Fields said investigators “have not been able to tie anything back to the drag show,” which was scheduled in the town of Southern Pines at 7 p.m. Saturday, around the time the power went out.

    Duke Energy workers gather Sunday as they plan how to repair an electrical substation in Carthage, North Carolina.

    The county declared a state of emergency to protect residents and property and maintain public services, authorities said. The countywide curfew is expected to stay in effect nightly while the emergency declaration is in effect.

    “It is going to be very, very dark and it’s going to be chilly tonight, and we don’t need to have anyone out on the streets and that is the reason for our curfew,” North Carolina state Senator Tom McInnis said during the news conference. “Please stay home tonight … the roads are dangerous.”

    The emergency order also encourages residents to conserve fuel.

    With streets in the dark, the area has seen increased emergency calls and vehicle accidents are being reported because traffic lights are out, Cameron told CNN.

    People who rely on oxygen have also placed emergency calls, he added.

    A shelter was opened at the Moore County Sports Complex, and trailers with bathroom and shower facilities are being brought in, Moore County Manager Wayne Vest said.

    As for schools, it’s unclear how long campuses will stay closed. Moore County Superintendent Tim Locklair said decisions regarding school openings for the remainder of the week will be made on a day-by-day basis.

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  • NC county announces curfew as nearly 40,000 customers remain without power after 2 substations damaged by gunfire | CNN

    NC county announces curfew as nearly 40,000 customers remain without power after 2 substations damaged by gunfire | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Authorities have announced a mandatory curfew in a North Carolina county where around 40,000 customers lost power after two power substations were damaged by gunfire Saturday night.

    At a news conference Sunday, Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said the county will implement a mandatory curfew from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m., starting Sunday night.

    Municipality and county officials “have formed a plan for the night and the next few nights that we may be out of power. It’s a very serious situation,” Fields said. “So we’ve come to an agreement to best protect our citizens and to protect the businesses of our county, we’re going to implement a curfew tonight.”

    The power outage in Moore County is being investigated as a “criminal occurrence” after crews found signs of potential vandalism at several locations, CNN previously reported.

    A gate at one of the locations also appears to have been taken off its hinges, Mike Cameron of the Southern Pines Fire and Rescue Department told CNN on Sunday afternoon.

    Cameron said the area is experiencing increased emergency calls due to the lack of power, adding that auto accidents have occurred because traffic lights are out. People who rely on oxygen have placed emergency calls, he said.

    Initially, local officials estimated power would be restored Sunday evening, but Cameron said after assessing the damage, they’ve determined it could take at least until Monday.

    The equipment that was damaged is not easily replaceable and will have to be brought in to make the repairs, Cameron said.

    A local supermarket is distributing ice to impacted residents, according to a news release from grocery chain Harris Teeter.

    The power outage has also led officials to cancel Monday classes for all schools in the county. “An announcement will be made tomorrow evening to inform parents and staff of the status of schools for Tuesday,” Moore County Schools said in a tweet Sunday afternoon.

    Mapbox

    Several communities across the county began experiencing power outages just after 7 p.m. Saturday, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

    “As utility companies began responding to the different substations, evidence was discovered that indicated that intentional vandalism had occurred at multiple sites,” the office said.

    At least two substations were vandalized “with criminal intent,” US Rep. Richard Hudson said Sunday morning in a release.

    The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are responding, according to Hudson. He said the motive remains unknown.

    Hudson, whose congressional district includes Moore County, said the Southern Pines Police Department has opened a community center for residents to charge devices.

    CNN has reached out to Southern Pines police and the FBI.

    More than 38,000 customers were without power across the county Sunday morning, according to the Duke Energy outage map. According to poweroutage.us, about 41,000 customers had lost power in Moore County and neighboring Hoke County.

    Crews were experiencing “multiple equipment failures” that are affecting substations in Moore County, Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks told CNN affiliate WRAL.

    “We are also investigating signs of potential vandalism related to the outages,” Brooks said.

    Deputies and officers from other law enforcement agencies responded to the different sites to provide security, according to the sheriff’s office.

    Gov. Roy Cooper on Sunday tweeted that state law enforcement would join the investigation.

    “I have spoken with Duke Energy and state law enforcement officials about the power outages in Moore County. They are investigating and working to return electricity to those impacted,” Cooper said. “The state is providing support as needed.”

    Moore County is in central North Carolina, about 50 miles northwest of Fayetteville.

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  • Astronauts will give the space station a power boost during Saturday spacewalk | CNN

    Astronauts will give the space station a power boost during Saturday spacewalk | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The International Space Station will receive a power boost during a spacewalk on Saturday, as NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio install a solar array outside the floating laboratory.

    The spacewalk is on track to begin at 7:25 a.m. ET and will last for about seven hours, with live coverage streaming on NASA’s website.

    During the event, Cassada will serve as extravehicular crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes, while Rubio will wear an unmarked white suit as extravehicular crew member 2. The duo conducted their first spacewalk together in November. Against the backdrop of spectacular views of Earth, the team assembled a mounting bracket on the starboard side of the space station’s truss.

    This hardware allows for the installation of more rollout solar arrays, called iROSAs, to increase electrical power on the space station.

    The first two rollout solar arrays were installed outside the station in June 2021. The plan is to add a total of six iROSAs, which will likely boost the space station’s power generation by more than 30% once all are operational.

    Two more arrays were delivered to the space station on November 27 aboard the 26th SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply mission, which also carried dwarf tomato seeds and other experiments to the orbiting laboratory.

    The arrays were rolled up like carpet and are 750 pounds (340 kilograms) and 10 feet (3 meters) wide.

    During Saturday’s spacewalk, Cassada and Rubio will install a solar array to increase capacity in one of the space station’s eight power channels, located on the station’s starboard truss.

    Once the array is unfurled and bolted into place by the astronauts, it will be about 63 feet (19 meters) long and 20 feet (6 meters) wide.

    The spacewalking duo will also disconnect a cable to reactivate another power channel that recently experienced “unexpected tripping” on November 26.

    “By isolating a section of the impacted array, which was one of several damaged strings, the goal is to restore 75% of the array’s functionality,” according to a release from NASA.

    Cassada and Rubio will go on another spacewalk on December 19 to install a second roll-out solar array on another power channel, located on the station’s port truss.

    The original solar arrays on the space station are still functioning, but they have been supplying power there for more than 20 years and are showing some signs of wear after long-term exposure to the space environment. The arrays were originally designed to last 15 years.

    Erosion can be caused by thruster plumes, which come from both the station’s thrusters and the crew and cargo vehicles that come and go from the station, as well as micrometeorite debris.

    The new solar arrays are being placed in front of the original ones. It’s a good test for the new solar arrays, because this same design will power parts of the planned Gateway lunar outpost, which will help humans return to the moon through NASA’s Artemis program.

    The new arrays will have a similar 15-year life expectancy. However, since the degradation on the original arrays was expected to be worse, the team will monitor the new arrays to test their true longevity, because they may last longer.

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  • A pilot and passenger have been rescued after a small plane crashed into power lines in Maryland | CNN

    A pilot and passenger have been rescued after a small plane crashed into power lines in Maryland | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A pilot and passenger who were stuck in a small plane for hours after it crashed Sunday into power lines in Montgomery County, Maryland, have been rescued, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Chief Scott Goldstein said early Monday morning.

    Both were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, he said.

    The rescue operation began at 5:30 p.m. when crews responded to reports of a small airplane that had flown into the power lines, according to Pete Piringer, chief spokesperson for Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue Service.

    When units arrived on the scene, they found a small plane suspended about 100 feet in the air that had struck the tower.

    The pilot was identified by Maryland State Police as Patrick Merkle, 65 of Washington, DC. The passenger is Jan Williams, 66 of Louisiana, the state police said in a news release.

    The fire department was in communication with the pilot and passenger during the rescue and nearby roads were closed, according to officials. The crash scene is about four miles northwest of the Montgomery County Airpark, state police said.

    Rescuers had to wait for the tower to be “grounded or bonded” before they could get to the passengers, Goldstein said during a Sunday evening news conference.

    That involved crews ascending to put clamps or cables onto the wires to make sure there was no static electricity or residual power, the chief said. The airplane also needed to be secured to the tower structure, he said. Foggy weather conditions in the area made matters more complicated, he added, by affecting visibility.

    The plane “is not going to be stable until it’s chained and strapped in place,” Goldstein said. “Any movement, any accidental movement, could make the circumstance worse.”

    Utility bucket trucks were seen near the plane late Sunday about six hours into the rescue operation, video from CNN affiliate WJLA showed.

    Goldstein said the department regularly checked in with the plane occupants and moderated the use of their cell phones to conserve their batteries.

    After the tower was safe to access and the plane was secured, crews worked “to bring the occupants of the plane out and down to the ground and transport (them) to area hospitals,” Goldstein said.

    Roughly 120,000 customers were without power Sunday evening following the crash, but that number was down to less than 1,000 customers early Monday morning, according to the Pepco utility company, which provides electric service to roughly 894,000 customers in Washington, DC, and surrounding areas in Maryland. Montgomery County is just north of Washington, DC.

    “We have confirmed that a private plane came into contact with Pepco’s transmission lines in Montgomery County,” Pepco tweeted. “We are assessing damage and working closely with Montgomery County fire and emergency services.”

    “We are awaiting clearance to the scene before crews can begin work to stabilize the electric infrastructure and begin restoring service,” the company added.

    Schools in Montgomery County will be closed Monday due to the widespread power outages, district officials said Sunday night.

    The district earlier said that more than 40 schools in the Montgomery County Public Schools system and six central offices were without power, affecting services such as maintenance, buses and food service.

    Two hospitals, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center and Holy Cross Hospital, were operating in limited capacity due to the power outage, Goldstein said.

    Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and leadership from Maryland State Police are on scene, Goldstein said Sunday night. The FAA put an aircraft restriction in place during rescue efforts, state police said.

    The FAA told CNN the plane is a single-engine Mooney that departed from Westchester County Airport in New York. The agency will investigate the incident along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

    William Smouse, who lives about a mile from where the crash took place, told CNN affiliate WJLA on Sunday evening that he was going out to dinner with his son when he saw “two big flashes” and then multiple fire engines driving by.

    Smouse said the incident was “pretty scary” and that his house is located in an area where planes and jets often pass through.

    “I think about it a lot, where they come in, and, literally, they are like 200 or 300 feet over us,” he said.

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  • First-time NASA spacewalkers venture outside the space station | CNN

    First-time NASA spacewalkers venture outside the space station | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Things are about to get busy on the International Space Station as the first in a series of end-of-the-year spacewalks kicked off Tuesday morning.

    First-time spacewalkers and NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio began their excursion outside the space station at 9:14 a.m. ET, with live coverage on NASA’s website. The event is expected to last for about seven hours.

    Cassada is wearing the spacesuit with red stripes as extravehicular crew member 1, while Rubio is in the unmarked suit as extravehicular crew member 2.

    The astronauts will assemble a mounting bracket on the starboard side of the space station’s truss. The hardware that will be installed during the spacewalk was delivered to the space station on November 9 aboard a Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, which safely delivered its cargo despite only one of its two solar arrays deploying after launch.

    This hardware will allow for the installation of more rollout solar arrays, called iROSAs, to give the space station a power boost. The first two rollout solar arrays were installed outside the station in June 2021. Six iROSAs total have been planned and will likely boost the space station’s power generation by more than 30% once all are operational.

    During two more spacewalks on November 28 and December 1, a two-astronaut crew will unroll and install another pair of solar arrays once the mounting hardware is in place. The solar arrays will be delivered on the next SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply mission, currently slated for launch on November 21.

    Spacewalks are part of the space station crew’s routine as they maintain and upgrade the aging orbital laboratory, but Tuesday’s spacewalk is NASA’s first since March. The agency’s spacewalks came to a halt after European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer ended his first spacewalk with water in his helmet.

    A thin layer of moisture that exceeded the normal, expected amount was discovered in Maurer’s helmet once he returned to the airlock after a nearly seven-hour spacewalk. Maurer quickly shed the helmet, in an event deemed “a close-call” by NASA, and water samples, suit hardware and the spacesuit itself were returned to Earth for investigation. Officials at NASA determined the suit didn’t experience any hardware failures.

    “The cause for the water in the helmet was likely due to integrated system performance where several variables such as crew exertion and crew cooling settings led to the generation of comparatively larger than normal amounts of condensation within the system,” according to NASA in a blog post update.

    “Based on the findings, the team has updated operational procedures and developed new mitigation hardware to minimize scenarios where integrated performance results in water accumulation, while absorbing any water that does appear. These measures will help contain any liquid in the helmet to continue to keep crew safe.”

    Officials at NASA gave the “go” for spacewalks to resume after concluding the review in October.

    The investigation team has developed techniques to manage temperatures in the suit and added new absorption bands to the helmet, said Dina Contella, operations integration manager for the International Space Station Program.

    The thin orange pieces have been placed in different parts of the helmet, which has already been tested on orbit by the astronauts inside the space station.

    “We’ve taken several different models of this up and the crew on board sloshed water around, essentially tried to inject water into the helmet at the same rate that would be kind of a worst, worst case. And we found that these pads were very, very effective,” Contella said.

    Tuesday’s spacewalk will allow the crew to test the new pads as they work outside of the space station before the more complex solar array installation spacewalks within the next couple of weeks.

    Meanwhile, a Russian spacewalk is scheduled to take place on Thursday. Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin will begin their walk at 9 a.m. ET to work on the outside of the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. The duo will prepare a radiator for transfer from the Rassvet module to Nauka during their seven-hour spacewalk, which will also stream live on NASA’s website.

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  • Kyiv residents mull life outside the city as power outages bite and incomes plummet | CNN

    Kyiv residents mull life outside the city as power outages bite and incomes plummet | CNN

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    Kyiv, Ukraine
    CNN
     — 

    Kyiv residents have been getting used to 12 hours a day without electricity, but the situation has gone from bad to worse recently as the Russian missile campaign puts the Ukrainian grid under further pressure, causing even more outages.

    On Monday evening, in a normally busy neighborhood on the east bank of the Dnipro River, almost everything was dark. One cafe was open thanks to a generator, but other stores, including a supermarket, and the apartment buildings had no power.

    Without power, everything takes much longer – just as the temperatures are beginning to drop. There are lines for cash machines, which only work when the power is on, and at stores and welfare centers that provide basic grocery supplies to those in greatest need.

    The power interruptions have led to spontaneous street markets appearing, even though they are unlicensed.

    The people of Kyiv are improvising and adapting as they have for much of this year, but without some relief from the missile attacks, many may choose to leave the city and hunker down for the winter months around a wood-burning stove.

    On Sunday Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, said the city is preparing for worst-case scenarios in the event of further Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, which could potentially leave it without any power or water. He said: “Our enemies are doing everything to keep the city without heat, electricity, and water supply, and in general, they want us all to die.”

    CNN has spoken to some of the city’s residents about the harsh realities that lie ahead, among them 21-year-old coffee shop barista, Anna Ermantraut.

    When she arrived for work at 8.30 a.m. on Monday, there was no electricity. She said she eventually started work two hours later – but at 12 p.m. the power went out again.

    Ermantraut said the coffee shop’s earnings had more than halved and she could no longer sell many cakes because the refrigerators were off so frequently.

    Life is not much better at home, she told CNN. When the electricity goes there, she also loses the water supply.

    Ermantraut said she had begun thinking about what to do if the power situation further deteriorates and Kyiv is evacuated. She said she planned to move to a house in a nearby village where there is a stove that runs on firewood and a well with water.

    When CNN met 70-year-old pensioner Lubov Mironenko she had been waiting in line for five hours at a welfare center for grocery supplies. The persistent outages have made it difficult to survive, she said.

    Marya Litvinchuk, 29, a hairdresser, said the additional power cuts, in addition to the three scheduled every day, have worsened an already difficult situation.

    When the power was cut off according to a schedule, “you could plan to work, but still, working time was reduced by half.” Of course, that meant that “earnings were also cut by half.”

    In a bid to keep operating, she ordered special lights that run on batteries and bought a generator for $1,000 – even though the average price of a haircut is just $6. There was then more bad news as she discovered that she had been scammed and the generator didn’t work. She now has to take electric clippers home to recharge them overnight.

    Hairdresser Marya Litvinchuk was scammed out of $1,000 for a faulty generator.

    Like Ermantraut, she plans to move to the countryside to stay with relatives if Kyiv is evacuated.

    Yuriy Pogulay, 39, is also suffering financially. Not so long ago the small cafe that Pogulay jointly owns operated between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. – they now struggle to stay open for more than three hours.

    He told CNN that revenue had dropped significantly and that they cannot store food for long as they have tried to minimize using the refrigerator.

    “I ordered a generator, but I don’t know when it will arrive,” he said.

    Pogulay said the business was financially squeezed. “With the generator my costs will increase, but I can’t raise prices because the economic situation of people has worsened.”

    The World Bank has forecast that the Ukrainian economy may contract by 40% or more this year because of the conflict.

    Musician Anton Kargatov has nowhere else to go.

    One man who has suffered less than most is Anton Kargatov, a 36-year-old musician.

    “I play music outdoors, so I don’t need electricity,” said Kargatov, who told CNN he has a sleeping bag and a powerbank at home. “If Kyiv is evacuated, I’m not going anywhere. There’s a well with water not far from my house. And in the backyard I can cook food over a fire. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

    Victoria Storozh works at a pizzeria in downtown Kyiv; the business suffers fewer power cuts than some as it is located in an area close to government buildings. Even so, she said: “My husband and I are ready in case we all have to evacuate, we have a stock of firewood and water at our dacha in the Kyiv region. We will live through the hard times there.”

    Serhey Kizilov, 23, is a rehabilitation coach who works out of a basement gym. Lighting is just one of the issues he faces, he told CNN.

    “Our whole sewage system depends on pumps running on electricity. Also our ventilation system,” he said. “Even if we can make the rooms light when there is no electricity, we can’t do anything about the sewage and ventilation.

    “My income suffers also, because there are fewer people in the hall – not everyone wants to practice in such conditions.”

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