Fire marshals this morning were preparing to start their investigation into a massive explosion that rocked an under-construction power plant where gas lines were being tested, killing at least five people.
A dozen or more others were hurt in Sunday's blast, which was so powerful it alarmed residents who heard the boom and felt tremors in their homes miles away from the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, about 20 miles south of Hartford.
The explosion left huge pieces of metal that once encased the plant peeling off its sides. A large swath of the structure was blackened and surrounded by debris, but the building, its roof and its two smokestacks were still standing at the site, which is near Wesleyan University on a wooded and hilly 137-acre parcel of land overlooking the Connecticut River.
Search and rescue crews were combing through the debris from the damaged plant overnight but believed no one was missing amid the rubble, Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano said. The investigation into what caused the explosion was to begin Monday morning, he said.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, a federal agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents, was mobilizing a team of workers from Colorado and hoped to have them on the scene by midday Monday, spokesman Daniel Horowitz said.
The nearly completed 620-megawatt plant is being built to produce energy primarily using natural gas, which accounts for about a fifth of the nation's electricity. Workers for the construction company, O&G Industries, were purging a gas line, clearing it of air, when the explosion occurred around 11:15 a.m. Sunday, Santostefano said.
'Historic' Snow Strands Countless In Mid-Atlantic
Tens of thousands of workers in the snowy Mid-Atlantic region were given Monday off to shovel out from a blizzard that buried some areas in nearly 3 feet of snow as another storm loomed.
Federal agencies that employ 230,000 in Washington will be closed, as will many businesses and school districts across the region. With more snow expected Tuesday, stranded travelers and those struggling with no electricity wondered when they'd escape the icy, gray mess.
Crews plowing streets and homeowners shoveling their walkways faced the possibility of another storm adding to the work. The National Weather Service issued a storm watch for the Washington area Tuesday, saying there was potential for another 5 inches or more of snow. Forecasters expect highs in the low- to mid-30s for the next few days, though sunshine on Monday should help melt some of the snow, said weather service meteorologist Bryan Jackson.
The sight of cross-country skiers cascading down monument steps and flying snowballs has since given way to images of people hunched over snow shovels or huddled next to fireplaces.
Space Shuttle Blasts Off On Last Night Flight
Endeavour and six astronauts rocketed into orbit this morning on what's likely the last nighttime launch for the shuttle program, hauling a new room and observation deck for the International Space Station.
The space shuttle took flight before dawn, igniting the sky with a brilliant flash seen for miles around. The weather finally cooperated: Thick, low clouds that had delayed a first launch attempt Sunday returned, but then cleared away just in time.
There are just four more missions scheduled this year before the shuttles are retired.
Endeavour's destination - the space station, home to five men - was soaring over Romania at the time of liftoff. The shuttle is set to arrive at the station early Wednesday.
The crew will deliver and install Tranquility, a new room that will eventually house life-support equipment, exercise machines and a toilet, as well as a seven-windowed dome. The lookout has the biggest window ever sent into space, a circle 31 inches across. It will be the last major construction job at the space station. No more big pieces like that are left to fly.
Both the new room and dome -- together exceeding $400 million -- were supplied by the European Space Agency.
NASA began fueling Endeavour on Sunday night just as the Super Bowl was kicking off to the south in Miami. The shuttle crew did not watch the game -- neither did the launch team -- but it was beamed up to the space station in case anyone there wanted to watch it.
Endeavour's launch also was broadcast to the space station residents, who got to watch it live.
Launch manager Mike Moses said he got "evil glares" in the control center for making his team report to work on Super Bowl night. He noted that the shuttle's fuel tank was made in New Orleans. "They were at least happy with the results of the game," he said with a smile. The coin used in the opening toss flew to the space station in November, aboard Atlantis.
Monday morning's countdown ended up being uneventful, except for a last-minute run to the launch pad. Astronaut Stephen Robinson forgot the binder holding all his flight data files, and the emergency red team had to rush it out to him, just before he climbed aboard. The launch team couldn't resist some gentle teasing.
A quick look at the launch video showed a couple pieces of foam insulation breaking off Endeavour's external fuel tank, but none appeared to strike the shuttle, officials said.
The 13-day mission comes at an agonizing time for NASA. Exactly one week ago, the space agency finally got its marching orders from President Barack Obama: Ditch the back-to-the-moon Constellation program and its Ares rockets, and pack on the research for an as-yet-unspecified rocket and destination.
NASA's boss, ex-astronaut Charles Bolden, favors Mars. But he, too, is waiting to hear how everything will play out. The space station came out a winner in the Obama plan. The president's budget would keep the outpost flying until at least 2020, a major extension.
The spectacle of the night launch illuminating the sky attracted a crowd, including some members of Congress, federal big shots and European space leaders.
100-Year-Old Whiskey Found 'On The Rocks'
The story about Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's "whiskey on ice" got even better when explorers found more of the century-old whiskey than they were looking for.
Explorers struggled to find a way to get to the whiskey without upsetting the historic explorer's hut above the ice. They said it was less than enjoyable.
"We were lying on our stomachs on the permafrost completely under the hut removing the ice enclosing the boxes; to say it was a pleasant job would be untrue," said Al Fastier, of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust.
For three days, they chipped their way through the ice toward the crates. Their efforts were more than rewarded.
"We got the two boxes out and were very excited and pleased with ourselves and then we looked through the layer of ice behind the second box and could see through the opaque ice the words 'whiskey' again," says Fastier.
Fastier said they found not only the extra crate of whiskey, but two crates of brandy.
The liquor cache is believed to be what's left of 25 cases donated to Shackleton on his first expedition to the icy, unforgiving continent.
The biggest proponents of the expedition were from faraway Scotland. The makers of the original whiskey said they want a sample so they can attempt to recreate the old recipe.
The AP, Reuters
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