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Tag: explosions

  • Why lithium-ion batteries found in many products keep exploding | CNN Business

    Why lithium-ion batteries found in many products keep exploding | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Lithium-ion batteries, found in many popular consumer products, are under scrutiny again following a massive fire this week in New York City thought to be caused by the battery that powered an electric scooter.

    At least seven people have been injured in a five-alarm fire in the Bronx which required the attention of 200 firefighters. Officials believe the incident stemmed from a lithium-ion battery of a scooter found on the roof of an apartment building. In 2022, the the New York City Fire Department responded to more than 200 e-scooter and e-bike fires, which resulted in six fatalities.

    “In all of these fires, these lithium-ion fires, it is not a slow burn; there’s not a small amount of fire, it literally explodes,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh told reporters. “It’s a tremendous volume of fire as soon as it happens, and it’s very difficult to extinguish and so it’s particularly dangerous.”

    A residential fire earlier this week in Carlsbad, California, was suspected to be caused by an e-scooter lithium battery. On Tuesday, an alarming video surfaced of a Canadian homeowner running downstairs to find his electric bike battery exploding into flames. A fire at a multi-family home in Massachusetts last month is also under investigation for similar issues.

    These incidents are becoming more common for a number of reasons. For starters, lithium-ion batteries are now in numerous consumer tech products, powering laptops, cameras, smartphones and more. They allow companies to squeeze hours of battery life into increasingly slim devices. But a combination of manufacturer issues, misuse and aging batteries can heighten the risk from the batteries, which use flammable materials.

    “Lithium batteries are generally safe and unlikely to fail, but only so long as there are no defects and the batteries are not damaged or mistreated,” said Steve Kerber, vice president and executive director of Underwriters Laboratory’s (UL) Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI). “The more batteries that surround us the more incidents we will see.”

    In 2016, Samsung issued a global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 in 2016, citing “battery cell issues” that caused the device to catch fire and at times explode. HP and Sony later recalled lithium computer batteries for fire hazards, and about 500,000 hoverboards were recalled due to a risk of “catching fire and/or exploding,” according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

    In 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration banned uninstalled lithium-ion metal batteries from being checked in luggage and said they must remain with a passenger in their carry-on baggage, if approved by the airline and between 101-160 watt hours. “Smoke and fire incidents involving lithium batteries can be mitigated by the cabin crew and passengers inside the aircraft cabin,” the FAA said.

    Despite the concerns, lithium-ion batteries continue to be prevalent in many of today’s most popular gadgets. Some tech companies point to their abilities to charge faster, last longer and pack more power into a lighter package.

    But not all lithium batteries are the same.

    Dylan Khoo, an analyst at tech intelligence firm ABI Research, said electric bikes and scooters use batteries which can be around 50 times larger than the one in a smartphone. “So when a fire does happen, it’s much more dangerous,” Khoo said.

    All lithium-ion batteries use flammable materials, and incidents such as the one in the Bronx are likely the result of “thermal runaway,” a chain reaction which can lead to a fire or catastrophic explosion, according to Khoo.

    “This process can be triggered by a battery overheating, being punctured, or an electrical fault like a short circuit,” Khoo said. “In cases where fires occur spontaneously while charging, it is likely due to manufacturing defects.”

    According to Kerber, the number of lithium-ion battery-based fires is growing with enormous frequency both in the United States and internationally, particularly when it comes to e-bikes and e-scooters, due to an uptick in purchases of these products during the pandemic.

    “After Covid started, scooter use went dramatically up, especially in places like New York City, for deliveries,” Kerber said. “People started to get overcharged for them and turned to manufacturers which happened to have lower quality control with the battery systems. The quality manufacturers are not having issues.”

    “It will continue to happen until there are regulations around the quality of these devices,” Kerber said.

    Kerber recommends people buy UL-certified electric bikes and scooters from reputable retailers; online marketplaces often make it hard for customers to tell where products are actually coming from. If a fire occurs, he advised people to evacuate and call 911 immediately rather than trying to put it out themselves.

    “The fire spreads incredibly fast and a fire extinguisher is not effective,” he said.

    Beyond scooters and e-bikes, experts warn anyone with a lithium-ion battery should follow proper charging and battery usage guidelines. According to researchers at the University of Michigan, any device with this kind of battery should be charged and stored in a cool, dry place, and not left charging for too long or while you’re asleep – a recommendation likely at odds with how many consumers handle their devices.

    “Elevated temperatures can accelerate degradation of almost every battery component and can lead to significant safety risks, including fire or explosion,” the researchers said. “If a laptop or cellphone is noticeably hot while it’s charging, unplug it. Minimize exposure to low temperatures, especially when charging.”

    Batteries should also be routinely inspected to make sure there is no cracking, bulging or leaking, and people should always use the charger that came with the device or use one from a reputable supplier. When charging an electric scooter or bike, Kerber said it should never block a fire escape or exit route.

    Although some battery chemistries are safer than others, we are still a few years away from adoption of a better, safer lithium-ion alternative, according to Sridhar Srinivasan, a senior director at market research firm Gartner.

    For example, LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries don’t overheat as much as other types of lithium-ion batteries. Future battery technologies in development, such as sodium-ion or solid state batteries, are also expected to address some of the safety issues of lithium ion.

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  • ‘Powder keg’ for 9/11: 1993 trade center bombing remembered

    ‘Powder keg’ for 9/11: 1993 trade center bombing remembered

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    NEW YORK — Lolita Jackson was at her 72nd-floor desk in the World Trade Center, feeling like she worked at the top of the world. Then came the boom, and smoke started curling in from an elevator shaft.

    Unsure what was happening, she joined thousands of other office workers on a harrowing trek down dark, smoky stairs, emerging into the scene of a terror attack.

    It wasn’t Sept. 11, 2001. This was Feb. 26, 1993, when a deadly bombing killed six people, one of them pregnant, and injured more than 1,000 — becoming a harbinger of terror at the twin towers.

    Jackson hopes that Sunday’s 30th anniversary serves as a reminder that even though decades have passed since the seismic acts of terrorism in the United States’ most populous city, no one, anywhere, can say the threat of mass violence is over.

    She knows that more personally than most: On 9/11, she had to flee the trade center’s south tower again.

    “I’m a living testament that it can happen to you, and it can happen to you twice.”

    Victims’ relatives, survivors, dignitaries and others are set to gather at the trade center Sunday for a ceremony that will include the reading of the names of the six people killed in the 1993 bombing, one of whom was pregnant. Anniversary observances also include a Mass Sunday at a church near the trade center and a panel discussion Monday at the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

    The noontime explosion, set off in a rented van parked in an underground garage, served notice that Islamic extremists yearned to destroy the trade center’s twin towers. But the public memory of the attack was largely subsumed after 9/11. Even the fountain that memorialized the bombing was crushed on Sept. 11.

    But for some survivors and victims’ relatives, the ’93 attack still echoes as a warning that was unheeded, a loss that feels overlooked and a lesson that still needs learning.

    “The ’93 World Trade Center bombing was the powder keg for the 9/11 attacks,” said Andrew Colabella, a cousin of bombing victim John DiGiovanni. Colabella feels the earlier attack is largely remembered as “a blip,” rather than a siren, in the history of international terror.

    “These two historical events that have taken place should be instilled in our hearts and minds, to think united and to be united,” Colabella said. Now a town council member in Westport, Connecticut, he regularly attends ground zero anniversary ceremonies for both the bombing and 9/11, to honor the cousin he lost as a small child but can still picture.

    DiGiovanni was at the trade center as a visiting salesperson. His fellow victims all worked in the complex. They were Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen A. Knapp, William Macko, Wilfredo Mercado and Monica Rodriguez Smith, who was due to start maternity leave the next day.

    All six victims’ names are now inscribed on one of the Sept. 11 memorial pools, and the 9/11 museum has their photos and a room devoted to discussing the ’93 explosion.

    “Every part of our effort has considered the ’93 bombing as a part of the story that we are telling,” Museum Director Clifford Chanin said.

    The explosive was planted by Muslim extremists who sought to punish the U.S. for its Middle East policies, particularly Washington’s support for Israel, according to federal prosecutors.

    Six people were convicted and imprisoned, including accused ringleader Ramzi Yousef. A seventh suspect in the bombing remains on the FBI’s most wanted list.

    Yousef hoped the bomb would fell the twin towers by making one collapse into the other, according to the FBI. The idea of razing the skyscrapers endured: A message found on another convicted conspirator’s laptop warned that “next time it will be very precise, and the World Trade Center will continue to be one of our targets.”

    Yousef’s uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would later become the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11, when hijacked planes were used as missiles to strike the buildings.

    Although the towers endured the ’93 bombing, it knocked out power, backup generators and the public address system. Tens of thousands of people picked their way down the stairs; others were rescued from stalled elevators and the wrecked garage. Some workers kicked out windows for air, a group of 120 kindergarteners were stranded for a time on an observation deck and police helicopters flew to rooftops to pick up two dozen people.

    The governmental agency that runs the trade center apologized to the victims’ relatives on the 25th anniversary, saying the complex and the country weren’t prepared for the attack.

    After the bombing, the trade center forbade underground parking and installed security cameras and vehicle barriers. Stairwells got battery-powered lights and reflective tape. Office tenants stepped up fire drills and the complex issued worker ID cards for entry.

    On Sept. 11, 2001, Jackson was again in her office, by then on the 70th floor. When flames started shooting out of the tower next door, her company ordered an immediate evacuation.

    Now she wonders whether what she experienced — twice — seems “like folklore” to people born after both attacks. She warns against complacency.

    “You’re just at work getting a cup of coffee,” she said, “and you might have to run for your life.”

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  • 2 dead, 3 injured in semi-truck fire and explosion near Miami | CNN

    2 dead, 3 injured in semi-truck fire and explosion near Miami | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Two people are dead and three injured after semi-trucks and other vehicles exploded and burned in Medley, Florida, Tuesday morning, police said.

    Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue units responded to an explosion at an address a fire department map showed as a truck dealer in the suburb of Medley.

    “Upon arriving to the scene, crews found multiple vehicles on fire,” said Anthony Nuñez, a fire department spokesperson.

    Aerial video from CNN affiliate WSVN showed a large plume of black smoke over the area, where several semi-tractors, cars and a structure were engulfed in flames.

    More than 20 Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue units were at the scene, a spokesperson for the department said.

    “Crews deployed multiple hose lines to put the fire out,” the fire department said. The blaze was under control Tuesday afternoon.

    CNN affiliate WSVN video showed several semi-tractors, cars and a structure engulfed in flames.

    Two of the injured had burn injuries, according to Nuñez. One was airlifted to a Miami hospital, and another was transported by ground. A third injured person was treated at the scene.

    Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, the Miami-Dade Police Department said.

    The cause is still under investigation, the police department added.

    The Miami-Dade Police Homicide Unit was called to the scene by Medley Police, a Miami-Dade spokesperson told CNN.

    Medley is an industrial area of Miami-Dade and is near Doral, where another fire has been burning for more than a week.

    CNN has reached out to Medley Police for more information.

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  • 1 person dead after Monday explosion and fire at Ohio metal factory | CNN

    1 person dead after Monday explosion and fire at Ohio metal factory | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    One of the 13 people taken to local hospitals after an explosion Monday at a metal factory near Oakwood, Ohio, has died, according to Captain Brian DiRocco with the Oakwood Village Fire Department.

    The explosion was at the I. Schumann & Co. building, a metal alloy factory, DiRocco said.

    “There was a lot of smoke, a lot of fire, and a lot of injured people,” DiRocco said at a news conference Tuesday, adding that the interior of the building looks “catastrophic” and that the damage is extensive.

    DiRocco did not have an update on the condition of the others who were taken to hospitals. At least two were in critical condition Monday at MetroHealth Medical Center, where four patients were being treated, according to Dorsena Drakeford, a media relations specialist at the center.

    Local officials have been working with the State Fire Marshal, EPA, ATF and OSHA since Monday afternoon in the investigation of the explosion and fire. The cause is still unknown.

    Several people had burn injuries, DiRocco said. All staff have been accounted for, he added. One additional person was treated at the site, DiRocco said Monday.

    The bulk of the fire was out as of 5 p.m. Monday. The explosion and fire occurred around 3 p.m. and left debris scattered around the area, according to DiRocco.

    Several fire departments responded to a large fire at the scene, the Twinsburg Fire Department said. The fire department sent one crew to respond to patients and they transported at least one person to the hospital, the department told CNN.

    With the fire located in the area of Walton Hills and Oakwood, many rural fire departments responded.

    Stephenie Davis was at her job in Oakwood Village when she suddenly felt the entire building start to shake. She walked to a window and saw a “huge cloud of black smoke” coming from a building less than 1,000 feet away, Davis told CNN.

    Davis and her coworkers went outside to see what happened and saw debris on the roof and scattered through the parking lot, she said.

    “Some windows at our neighboring building in front of us were blown out, cars were damaged and debris was on the ground on fire,” Davis said.

    Videos posted to Facebook show a large smoke cloud consuming the sky as flames continue to burn at a building across the street. Pictures show the burning debris in the parking lot next to a truck with dents and damage.

    “Everyone was in shock and looking at their cars and the building where the smoke was exiting,” Davis said. “We heard another smaller boom and everyone started to either get in their cars to leave or go back into their work building for safety.”

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  • 5 derailed train cars carrying hazardous material at risk of exploding are no longer burning, official says | CNN

    5 derailed train cars carrying hazardous material at risk of exploding are no longer burning, official says | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Five train cars that contained vinyl chloride, a potentially explosive chemical, are no longer burning after a train derailment in Ohio, a Norfolk Southern official said Tuesday.

    The burning stopped after a controlled release of the unstable, toxic chemical Monday at the train derailment site in East Palestine, near the Pennsylvania border.

    Four of those five cars have been cleared from the wreckage, and crews are working to remove the fifth car, Norfolk Southern official Scott Deutsch said Tuesday.

    The train, which partially derailed Friday, had more than 100 cars. About 20 of those cars were carrying hazardous materials, said the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident.

    “There have been no reports of significant injuries – either in the initial derailment or in the controlled detonation last night,” Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson said Tuesday.

    But it’s not yet clear when residents who were ordered to evacuate can return home, East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick said Tuesday.

    “Once the Ohio Department of Health, the United States Environmental Protection Agency in conjunction with the East Palestine Fire Department and Norfolk Southern Railroad have determined that this is safe for East Palestine residents to return to their homes – and, quite frankly, once I feel safe for my family to return – we will lift that evacuation order and start returning people home,” Drabick said.

    Three days of anxiety about a potentially deadly explosion culminated in a loud boom Monday, when crews started the controlled release of vinyl chloride into a pit to burn it away.

    A large plume of black smoke shot up toward the sky and the operation went as planned.

    “The detonation went perfect,” Deutsch said. “We’re already to the point where the cars became safe. They were not safe prior to this.”

    Vinyl chloride is a man-made chemical used to make PVC and it burns easily at room temperature.

    It can cause dizziness, sleepiness and headaches; and has been linked to an increased risk of cancer in the liver, brain, lungs and blood.

    Breathing high levels of vinyl chloride can make someone pass out or die if they don’t get fresh air, the Ohio Department of Health said.

    The train derailment Friday led to a massive inferno and increased pressure inside the hot steel.

    By Sunday evening, the burning wreckage threatened a catastrophic explosion capable of spewing toxic fumes and firing shrapnel up to a mile away, officials said.

    Mandatory evacuations were ordered over several square miles straddling the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

    After the breach, officials detected “slightly elevated” readings of the phosgene and hydrogen chloride in the burn area and “only one minor hit for the hydrogen chloride downwind of the burn area” within the exclusion zone, the EPA’s James Justice said Monday evening.

    Such readings were expected after the controlled release, Justice said.

    As for East Palestine’s water supply, no impacts to the waterway were detected as of Monday evening, an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency official said.

    A team will continue to monitor the air and water quality in the area, officials said.

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who had also called for evacuations, said Monday evening that air and water quality is being monitored closely and no concerning readings had been detected so far.

    But he told Pennsylvanians who live within 2 miles of the East Palestine derailment to keep sheltering in place with their windows and doors closed Monday evening.

    Derailed train cars smoldered Monday in East Palestine, Ohio.

    The derailment has upended life in East Palestine, a village of about 5,000 people. Schools have been closed for the rest of the week, and some residents haven’t been home since the initial evacuation orders Friday.

    When the Norfolk Southern train crashed in East Palestine, about 10 of 20 cars carrying hazardous materials derailed.

    One rail car carrying vinyl chloride became a focus of concern when its malfunctioning safety valves prevented the release of the chemical inside, a Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency official said.

    That meant “the car’s just building pressure inside the steel shell, and that’s a problem,” Deutsch said Monday.

    But after the controlled release, “There’s no pressure now in the cars,” he said.

    On Monday afternoon, charges were used to blow small holes in each rail car, allowing the vinyl chloride to spill into a flare-lined trench.

    While the cause of the derailment remains under investigation, National Transportation Safety Board Member Michael Graham said Sunday that there was a mechanical failure warning before the crash.

    “The crew did receive an alarm from a wayside defect detector shortly before the derailment, indicating a mechanical issue,” Graham said. “Then an emergency brake application initiated.”

    Investigators also identified the point of derailment and found video showing “preliminary indications of mechanical issues” on one of the railcar axles, he said.

    The NTSB has requested records from Norfolk Southern and is investigating when the potential defect happened and the response from the train’s crew, which included an engineer, conductor and conductor trainee.

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  • 12 killed as Russian airstrikes hit targets across Ukraine | CNN

    12 killed as Russian airstrikes hit targets across Ukraine | CNN

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    Kyiv, Ukraine
    CNN
     — 

    Air raid sirens rang out across Ukraine on Saturday as Russia carried out another series of missile attacks across the country, including one in Dnipro that hit a nine-story apartment building and killed at least 12 people.

    Missiles and explosions were heard everywhere from Lviv in the west; Kharkiv in the northeast; Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro in the southeast; Myokaliv in the south; and Kharkiv in the northeast, officials said.

    In Dnipro, another 27 people, including six children, were hospitalized after being wounded in the apartment building strike, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.

    Local authorities are working to dig people from the rubble but 26 remain trapped, according to Reznichenko. So far, at least 15 have been rescued, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

    “We are fighting for every person, every life,” Zelensky said on social media.

    In his nightly address on Saturday, Zelensky said “dozens” of people, including a three-year-old girl, were rescued from the building even though most of the floors were “smashed” in the strike.


    The Ukrainian Air Force said the Russian missile fired at the apartment block in Dnipro was a Kh-22 – the same type that hit a busy shopping mall in central Ukraine last summer.

    Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, said the Kh-22 “was fired from a Tu-22M3 long-range bomber, launched from the area near Kursk and the Sea of Azov.”

    “There were a total of five launches of these missiles,” Ihnat said.

    The Kh-22 is an older type of cruise missile that is less accurate than most modern missiles.

    Authorities in Kyiv said there was an “attack on the capital.” Blasts were heard as early as 6 a.m. local time, according to the head of Kyiv region military administration, Oleksiy Kuleba. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said strikes hit the city’s east bank, where several power facilities were located. The exact locations of the blasts could not be immediately verified by CNN. A thick fog blanketed much of the city.

    However, Oleksandr Pavliuk, a Kyiv-based commander in the Ukrainian army, said the explosions in Kyiv were not caused by Russian attacks.

    “The explosions are not connected with the threat from the air or air defense, as well as with any military actions,” Pavliuk wrote on the encrypted social media app Telegram. “If there was a threat – you would have heard the alarm. The cause of the explosions will be reported separately.”

    Russia’s latest nationwide salvo appeared to target critical infrastructure across Ukraine, as the Kremlin continues its efforts to limit the country’s ability to heat and power itself in the middle of winter.

    On the battlefield, all eyes are fixed on Soledar, a town of little strategic value that Russia is attempting to retake in the hopes that it will provide Russian President Vladimir Putin a symbolic victory. Various units of the Ukrainian military said that Soledar remains the scene of “fierce fighting.” Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its forces took control of the town, although Kyiv has denied it.

    After a broad assessment regarding the situation on the ground in Ukraine, several Western governments have decided to answer Zelensky’s longstanding call to supply modern battle tanks to Kyiv.

    France, Poland and the United Kingdom have pledged to soon send tanks for the Ukrainian military to use in its efforts to protect itself from Russia. Finland is considering following suit. Britain said it plans to send a dozen Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems. Poland plans to send a company of German-built Leopard tanks while France will deliver its domestically built AMX 10-RCs.

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  • Volkswagen recalls Beetles to replace Takata air bags

    Volkswagen recalls Beetles to replace Takata air bags

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    Volkswagen is recalling nearly 42,000 Beetles in the U.S. and Canada because they have potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators.

    The recall covers Beetles from the 2015 and 2016 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted Friday that the inflators can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel.

    Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity.

    Since 2009, the exploding air bags have killed at least 33 people worldwide, including 24 in the United States.

    Dealers will replace the driver’s air bag in the Beetles. Owners will be notified by letter starting Feb. 17.

    The Beetle air bags have a moisture-absorbing chemical that can slow the ammonium nitrate deterioration. But VW and the U.S. government reached an agreement to recall them in 2020.

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  • 7 dead in Turkish restaurant blast; gas leak suspected

    7 dead in Turkish restaurant blast; gas leak suspected

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    ISTANBUL — An explosion at a restaurant in western Turkey killed seven people on Friday, with one official saying a gas leak may have caused the blast.

    The governor of Aydin province told Turkish broadcaster CNN Turk that five others were injured, with one of them in critical condition.

    Gov. Huseyin Aksoy said initial testimonies from a restaurant worker suggested there was a leak in a cooking gas canister, leading to an explosion at around 3:35 p.m. (1235 GMT; 7:35 a.m. EST).

    Media also said there was a fire following the explosion in the Turkish doner kebab shop in the Nazilli district of Aydin. Footage showed fire trucks and ambulances at the scene.

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  • Boil water order issued in Mississippi capital amid freeze

    Boil water order issued in Mississippi capital amid freeze

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    City officials in Jackson, Mississippi, say residents must boil their drinking water due to water lines bursting in the frigid temperatures

    JACKSON, Miss. — City officials in Jackson, Mississippi, on Christmas Day announced that residents must now boil their drinking water due to water lines bursting in the frigid temperatures.

    “Please check your businesses and churches for leaks and broken pipes, as these add up tremendously and only worsen the problem,” the city said in a statement, adding: “We understand the timing is terrible.”

    The problems come months after the water system in Jackson — the state capital with about 150,000 residents — partially collapsed. Most of Jackson lost running water for several days in late August after flooding exacerbated longstanding problems in one of two water treatment plants. Residents had to wait in lines for water to drink, cook, bathe and flush toilets.

    Along with the order to boil drinking water, city officials said some residents also have reported low water pressure or no water pressure. The city’s water system saw “fluctuating” pressure beginning on Saturday amid frigid temperatures.

    The Christmas Day announcement said crews were working to make repairs, but it did not give an estimate on how long the disruption might last.

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  • Third air bag death confirmed, owners urged to get repairs

    Third air bag death confirmed, owners urged to get repairs

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    DETROIT — Stellantis and U.S. safety regulators have confirmed that an exploding Takata air bag inflator has killed another driver.

    The company and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reiterated warnings to owners of 274,000 older Dodge and Chrysler vehicles to stop driving them until faulty inflators are replaced.

    Stellantis announced two deaths in November caused by the air bags and said it suspected the inflators caused another. The company formerly known as Fiat Chrysler confirmed the third death early Monday.

    Stellantis is urging people to stop driving Dodge Magnum wagons, Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars and Chrysler 300 sedans from the 2005 through 2010 model years.

    Since 2009, the exploding air bags have killed at least 33 people worldwide, including 24 in the United States.

    All three deaths this year were in warm-weather U.S. states and happened since April, the company said.

    Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. But the chemical can become more volatile over time when exposed to moisture in the air and repeated high temperatures. The explosion can rupture a metal canister and hurl shrapnel into the passenger compartment.

    Most of the deaths and about 400 injuries have happened in U.S., but they also have occurred in Australia and Malaysia.

    The Stellantis vehicles under the “Do Not Drive” warning were all recalled in 2015, and free repairs have been available since then. Dealers have the parts and the service is free, and Stellantis will provide transportation to get the vehicles to and from a dealership, the company said.

    NHTSA said the latest person killed was driving a 2010 Chrysler 300.

    “Time is a critical element here because the risk increases with each day these air bag inflators go unreplaced,” said Tom McCarthy, global head of safety and regulatory compliance at Stellantis.

    The recalls affect vehicles in which the air bag inflators have not been replaced as part of the recall.

    NHTSA urged all owners to check to see if their vehicles have an unrepaired Takata air bag recall. Drivers can go to https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls and key in their 17-digit vehicle identification number to see if they have any open recalls.

    “This holiday season, don’t let yourself or someone you love be at risk of dying or being seriously injured because of a defective, recalled Takata air bag,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson.

    In a statement, Stellantis said the vehicle’s owner asked the company about the air bag recall in 2018, but then declined to schedule service. The company said it sent 114 urgent notices to the owner for the past seven years.

    The owner loaned the vehicle to a family member who was killed in a July crash when the inflator blew apart, Stellantis said. The company wouldn’t say where the crash occurred, but said it extends its deepest sympathies to the family.

    Earlier this month NHTSA said the driver of a 2002 Honda Accord was killed when the driver’s air bag inflator ruptured and hurled shrapnel. Honda said the crash occurred on Feb. 22 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

    Potential for the dangerous malfunction led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 67 million Takata inflators recalled. The U.S. government says that millions have not been repaired. About 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide. The exploding air bags sent Takata Corp. of Japan into bankruptcy.

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  • Huge Berlin aquarium bursts; housed 1,500 tropical fish

    Huge Berlin aquarium bursts; housed 1,500 tropical fish

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    BERLIN — A huge aquarium in the center of Berlin burst Friday, causing a wave of devastation in and around the Sea Life tourist attraction, German police said Friday.

    Glass and other debris were swept out of the building, which also contains a hotel and cafes, as 1 million liters of water poured out of the 25-meter (82-foot) -high aquarium shortly before 6 a.m. (0500GMT).

    Berlin’s fire service said two people were lightly injured and rescue dogs were being prepared to search the building for anyone who might be trapped under debris.

    There was speculation that freezing temperatures of down to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) overnight had caused a crack in the tank, which then exploded under the weight of the water. Police said the cause of the incident was still being investigated but there was no evidence that it was the result of an attack.

    Witness Gwendolin Szyszkowitz told German news channel n-tv that she heard a loud bang and initially feared a bomb had exploded.

    Operators say the aquarium has the biggest cylindrical tank in the world and contained 1,500 tropical fish of 80 different species before the incident. The aquarium, which was last modernized in 2020, is a major tourist magnet in Berlin.

    The 10-minute elevator ride through the tank was one of the highlights of the attraction.

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  • 3 killed in blast at San Antonio construction company

    3 killed in blast at San Antonio construction company

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    SAN ANTONIO — Authorities on Sunday continued investigating the cause of an explosion that killed three people at a San Antonio construction company.

    The explosion happened at around 11:30 p.m. Friday at K-Bar Services.

    Authorities initially found one person who died at the scene. Investigators later announced that two more people were killed in the blast.

    Authorities have not released the names of the victims.

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  • One dead, dozen missing after explosion at apartment block on Channel island of Jersey | CNN

    One dead, dozen missing after explosion at apartment block on Channel island of Jersey | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    One person died Saturday and several are missing after an explosion and fire at an apartment building on the British self-governing island of Jersey.

    Chief officer of the States of Jersey Police, Robin Smith, told a press conference that two people were being treated in hospital after the incident in the island’s capital of St Helier, adding “around a dozen” residents were still missing.

    Local police were alerted to the incident just before 4 a.m. local time, Smith said, adding emergency services then responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.

    The three-story building has “completely collapsed,” Smith confirmed, describing the situation as a “devastating scene.”

    He said a number of flats had been evacuated, adding that between 20 and 30 people had been taken to a nearby town hall for shelter.

    A search and rescue operation for those unaccounted for has commenced, Smith added.

    Jersey is an island territory off the northwest coast of France, which is a possession of the British Crown, but not part of the United Kingdom itself.

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  • Today in History: December 6, 13th Amendment is ratified

    Today in History: December 6, 13th Amendment is ratified

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    Today in History

    Today is Tuesday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2022. There are 25 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified as Georgia became the 27th state to endorse it.

    On this date:

    In 1790, Congress moved to Philadelphia from New York.

    In 1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia.

    In 1917, some 2,000 people were killed when an explosives-laden French cargo ship, the Mont Blanc, collided with the Norwegian vessel Imo at the harbor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, setting off a blast that devastated the Canadian city. Finland declared its independence from Russia.

    In 1922, the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which established the Irish Free State, came into force one year to the day after it was signed in London.

    In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Calvin Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.

    In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman.

    In 1957, America’s first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down and exploding.

    In 1962, 37 coal miners were killed in an explosion at the Robena No. 3 Mine operated by U.S. Steel in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.

    In 1969, a free concert by The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Alameda County, California, was marred by the deaths of four people, including one who was stabbed by a Hell’s Angel.

    In 1973, House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew.

    In 1989, 14 women were shot to death at the University of Montreal’s school of engineering by a man who then took his own life.

    In 1998, in Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez (OO’-goh CHAH’-vez), who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier, was elected president.

    Ten years ago: Shocking some of his closest Republican colleagues, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina announced he would resign his seat to head Washington’s conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. Marijuana possession became legal in Washington state, the day a measure approved by voters to regulate marijuana like alcohol took effect.

    Five years ago: President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital, defying warnings from the Palestinians and others around the world that he would be destroying hopes for Mideast peace. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would seek reelection, putting him on track to become Russia’s longest-serving ruler since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

    One year ago: The Justice Department said it was ending its investigation into the 1955 lynching of the Black teenager Emmett Till, who was killed after witnesses said he whistled at a white woman in Mississippi. The White House said the U.S. would stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest Chinese human rights abuses; U.S. athletes would compete, but no U.S. dignitaries would be sent to attend the games. The Biden administration reinstated a Trump-era policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. Medina Spirit, a 3-year-old colt whose Kentucky Derby victory in May came under scrutiny because of a positive drug test, collapsed and died after a workout at Santa Anita in Southern California.

    Today’s Birthdays: Comedy performer David Ossman is 86. Actor Patrick Bauchau is 84. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 81. Actor James Naughton is 77. Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is 77. R&B singer Frankie Beverly (Maze) is 76. Former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., is 74. Actor JoBeth Williams is 74. Actor Tom Hulce is 69. Actor Wil Shriner is 69. Actor Kin Shriner is 69. Actor Miles Chapin is 68. Rock musician Rick Buckler (The Jam) is 67. Comedian Steven Wright is 67. Singer Tish Hinojosa is 67. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 66. Rock musician David Lovering (Pixies) is 61. Actor Janine Turner is 60. Rock musician Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) is 60. Writer-director Judd Apatow is 55. Rock musician Ulf “Buddha” Ekberg (Ace of Base) is 52. Writer-director Craig Brewer is 51. Actor Colleen Haskell is 46. Actor Lindsay Price is 46. Actor Ashley Madekwe is 41. Actor Nora Kirkpatrick is 38. Christian rock musician Jacob Chesnut (Rush of Fools) is 33. Tennis player CoCo Vandeweghe is 31. NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) is 28.

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  • One person dead after two explosions rock Jerusalem, Israeli police say | CNN

    One person dead after two explosions rock Jerusalem, Israeli police say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Two explosions shook Jerusalem early Wednesday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen others in a suspected “combined terror attack,” according to an Israeli police spokesperson.

    The first explosion occurred at a bus station near the entrance of Jerusalem at 7:06 a.m., injuring at least 11 people, including a person who later died, the spokesperson said.

    After a second explosion almost half an hour later at the city’s Ramot junction, at 7:30 a.m., three people were evacuated with minor injuries, police added.

    Initial investigations indicated that explosive devices were placed at both blast sites and a search is underway for suspects, the police spokesperson said.

    After the first blast, two paramedics from Magen David Adom, Israel’s Red Cross affiliate, said they found two seriously injured people lying on the ground when they arrived at the scene.

    “We were at the MDA station by the entrance to the city when we heard a large explosion,” they said. “We immediately headed to the scene in large numbers, including ambulances, MICUs (mobile intensive care units) and medicycles.”

    “Two seriously wounded were lying nearby, a 16-year-old in the bus stop and a 45-year-old on the sidewalk.”

    This is a breaking news story. More to come…

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  • Twin blasts shake Jerusalem, killing 1 and wounding several

    Twin blasts shake Jerusalem, killing 1 and wounding several

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    JERUSALEM — Two blasts went off near bus stops in Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring at least 14, in what police said were suspected attacks by Palestinians.

    The first explosion occurred near a bus stop on the edge of the city, where commuters usually crowd waiting for buses. The second went off in Ramot, a settlement in the city’s north. Police said one person died from the wounds and Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom said four people were seriously wounded in the blasts.

    The apparent attacks came as Israeli-Palestinian tensions are high, following months of Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank prompted by a spate of deadly attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people. There has been an uptick in recent weeks in Palestinian attacks.

    The violence also comes as former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding coalition talks after national elections and is likely to form what’s expected to be Israel’s most right-wing government ever.

    Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremist lawmaker who has called for the death penalty for Palestinian attackers and who is set to become the minister in charge of police under Netanyahu, said the attack meant Israel needed to take a tougher stance on Palestinian attackers.

    “We must exact a price from terror,” he said at the scene of the first explosion. “We must return to be in control of Israel, to restore deterrence against terror.”

    Police said their initial findings showed that explosive devices were placed at the two sites. The twin blasts occurred amid the buzz of rush hour traffic and police closed part of a main highway leading out of the city, where the fist explosion went off. Video from shortly after the first blast showed debris strewn along the sidewalk as the wail of ambulances blared. A bus in Ramot was pocked with what looked like shrapnel marks.

    “It was a crazy explosion. There is damage everywhere here,” Yosef Haim Gabay, a medic who was at the scene when the first blast occurred, told Israeli Army Radio. “I saw people with wounds bleeding all over the place.”

    While Palestinians have carried out stabbings, car rammings and shootings in recent years, bombing attacks have become very rare since the end of a Palestinian uprising nearly two decades ago.

    The Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and once carried out suicide bombings against Israelis, praised the perpetrators of the attacks, calling it a heroic operation, but stopped short of claiming responsibility.

    “The occupation is reaping the price of its crimes and aggression against our people,” Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanua said.

    Israel said that in response to the blasts, it was closing two West Bank crossings to Palestinians near the West Bank city of Jenin, a militant stronghold.

    More than 130 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, making 2022 the deadliest year since 2006. The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the military incursions and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

    At least five more Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in recent weeks.

    Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with east Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Palestinians seek the territories for their hoped-for independent state.

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  • Factory fire kills 38 people in central China, state media reports | CNN

    Factory fire kills 38 people in central China, state media reports | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A fire at a factory in central China killed dozens of people on Monday, according to Chinese state-media, the latest in a string of fatal industrial accidents to hit the country in recent years.

    State run-newspaper Henan Daily reported Tuesday that two people previously reported missing had been found dead following the blaze at the factory in Anyang, Henan province, bringing the death toll to 38.

    Two others were being treated for minor injuries, state broadcaster CCTV reported Tuesday.

    Police have detained an unspecified number of suspects in connection with the blaze, which took firefighters nearly seven hours to put out, according to CCTV.

    According to preliminary findings, the fire was caused by violations of electrical welding protocols, Henan Daily reported, citing authorities.

    China has seen a spate of industrial accidents in recent years that have left scores dead, raising concerns about public safety.

    In 2015, at least 173 people died after a series of explosions at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin.

    Last October, at least three people were killed and more than 30 injured in a powerful explosion at a restaurant in the northeastern city of Shenyang. The gas explosion took place in a mixed-use residential and commercial building.

    And in June this year, at least one person was killed after a fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in Shanghai.

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  • Renewed shelling threatens key Ukrainian nuclear plant

    Renewed shelling threatens key Ukrainian nuclear plant

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Powerful explosions shook Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, the site of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the global nuclear watchdog said Sunday, calling for “urgent measures to help prevent a nuclear accident” in the Russian-occupied facility.

    Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said two explosions — one Saturday evening and another Sunday morning — near the Zaporizhzhia plant abruptly ended a period of relative calm around the nuclear facility that has been the site of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

    Fears of a nuclear catastrophe have been at the forefront since Russian troops occupied the plant during the early days of the war. Continued fighting has raised the specter of a disaster.

    In renewed shelling both close to and at the site, IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhia facility reported hearing more than a dozen blasts within a short period Sunday morning and could see some explosions from their windows, the statement said.

    Several buildings, systems and equipment at the power plant — none of them critical for the plant’s nuclear safety — were damaged in the shelling, the IAEA said, citing the plant’s management.

    Still, Grossi said reports of the shelling were “extremely disturbing.” He added: “Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately.

    “As I have said many times before, you’re playing with fire!” Grossi said, and appealed to both sides to urgently implement a nuclear safety and security zone around the facility.

    Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s power grid and other key infrastructure from the air, causing widespread blackouts for millions of Ukrainians amid frigid weather. That has left Ukrainians without heat, power or water as snow blankets the capital, Kyiv, and other cities.

    Ukraine’s state nuclear power operator said Russian forces were behind the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia plant. Energoatom said in a Telegram post Sunday that the targeted and damaged equipment in the facility is consistent with Kremlin’s strategy “to damage or destroy as much of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as possible as” winter sets in.

    The most recent strikes damaged the system that would enable the plant’s power units 5 and 6 to start producing electricity again for Ukraine, the power operator said. It listed chemical desalinated water storage tanks and steam generator purge system as being damaged in the shelling Sunday, although the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.

    The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine decided to bring the two units to a minimally controlled power level to obtain steam, which is critical in winter for ensuring the safety of power units, the plant’s staff, the local population and the environment, Energoatom said.

    Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, however, blamed Ukrainian forces, claiming they shelled the power plant twice Sunday. He also said two shells hit near the power lines supplying the plant with electricity.

    Elsewhere in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian forces shelled civilian infrastructure in about a dozen communities, destroying 30 homes, the Ukrainian presidency said Sunday.

    In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, one person was wounded and 20 buildings damaged in shelling of Nikopol, a city across the river from the Zaporizhzhia plant, the report said. Three districts in the northern Kharkiv region — Kupyansk, Chuguiv and Izyum — also came under Russian artillery fire in the past 24 hours.

    In the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Russian shelling killed one person in Donetsk and damaged power lines, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office.

    The situation in the southern Kherson region “remains difficult,” the report said, citing the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces. Russian forces fired tank shells, rockets and other artillery on the city of Kherson, which was recently liberated from Ukrainian forces, and the settlements of Chervyn Mayak, Kachkarivka, Tokarivka, Chornobayivka and Antonivka.

    Shelling late Saturday struck an oil depot in Kherson, igniting a huge fire that sent black billowing smoke into the air. Russian troops also shelled people lining up to get bread in the Kherson regional town of Bilozerka, wounding five, the report said.

    In the city of Kherson — which still has little power, heat or water — more than 80 tons of humanitarian aid have been sent so far, said local administrator Yaroslav Yanushevych, including a UNICEF shipment of 1,500 winter outfits for children, two 35-40-kilowatt generators and drinking water.

    Also on Sunday, a funeral was held in eastern Poland for the second of the two men killed in a missile explosion Tuesday. The other man was buried on Saturday. Poland and the head of NATO have both said the missile strike appeared to be unintentional and was probably launched by Ukraine as it tried to shoot down Russia missiles or drones.

    ———

    Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed.

    ————

    Follow all AP stories about the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

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  • IAEA warns whoever was behind ‘powerful explosions’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is ‘playing with fire’ | CNN

    IAEA warns whoever was behind ‘powerful explosions’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is ‘playing with fire’ | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Powerful explosions rocked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine this weekend, renewing concerns that fighting so close to the facility could cause a nuclear accident.

    The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said that whoever was responsible for the attacks was “playing with fire,” reiterating a warning he made in September.

    IAEA experts at the plant said that more than a dozen blasts were heard within a short period of time Sunday morning local time, the nuclear watchdog said in a statement. Shelling was observed both near and at the site of the facility. IAEA officials could even see some explosions from their windows, the nuclear watchdog said.

    “Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately,” Grossi added.

    Based on information provided by the plant management, the IAEA team said there had been damage to some buildings, systems and equipment at the plant’s site, “but none of them so far critical for nuclear safety and security,” the agency said. There were no reports of casualties.

    Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other for the attacks.

    Ukraine’s national nuclear power company Energoatom said it appeared that Russian forces were trying to hinder the country’s ability to provide electricity to its citizens. The Kremlin has, in recent weeks, carried out a campaign of bombings and airstrikes on Ukrainian infrastructure designed to cripple Kyiv’s ability to provide heat to its residents as winter approaches.

    The Russian Defense Ministry alleged that the blasts at Zaporizhzhia were the result of artillery fired by the Ukrainian military.

    Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russian forces of storing heavy weaponry inside the complex and using it as cover to launch attacks, knowing that Ukraine can’t return fire without risking hitting one of the plant’s reactors.

    CNN is unable to verify the claims by Energoatom or the Russian government.

    Grossi and the IAEA have repeatedly called for both sides to implement a nuclear safety and security zone around Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Grossi has taken part in “intense consultations with Ukraine and Russia about establishing such a zone, but so far without an agreement,” the IAEA said.

    Skirmishes near Zaporizhzhia have taken place intermittently since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February and seized the plant days later. Intense shelling near the complex this summer sparked concerns of a nuclear accident, prompting the IAEA to send a team there.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in October federalizing the plant which is located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the city and sits in Russian occupied territory along the Dnipro River. The move sparked concerns over the fate of the Ukrainian technicians who have operated the plant since its occupation by Russian forces.

    The blasts on Saturday and Sunday ended what the IAEA said was “a relative period of calm.”

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  • Explosion kills at least 9 on Russia’s island of Sakhalin

    Explosion kills at least 9 on Russia’s island of Sakhalin

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    A gas explosion in an apartment building has killed at least nine people, including four children, on the island of Sakhalin in far eastern Russia

    A gas explosion in an apartment building Saturday killed at least nine people, including four children, on the island of Sakhalin in far eastern Russia, according local authorities.

    A section of the five-story building in the town of Tymovskoye collapsed after a gas cylinder exploded in one of the apartments at around 5:30 a.m. Moscow time, authorities said.

    Rescue teams were searching for more victims under the rubble, Sakhalin Gov. Valery Limarenko wrote on Telegram. Some of the 33 people known to have lived in the building remained unaccounted for, he said.

    Sakhalin is located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Japan.

    According to Limarenko, residents affected by the explosion were offered temporary shelter and families who lost their homes will be paid 500,000 rubles ($8,217). Relatives of the people killed can expect to receive 1 million rubles ($16,434), he said.

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