SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Federal inspectors said Monday that they will ratchet up scrutiny of California’s San Onofre nuclear power plant after discovering that a battery meant to power safety systems had been inoperative for four years.
Plant personnel discovered in March that bolts connecting an emergency battery to a circuit breaker were loose, a problem the Nuclear Regulatory Commission attributed to poor maintenance.
The commission said that the twin-Âreactor plant near San Clemente, run by Southern California Edison, remains safe, and that other backup batteries are functioning. But the commission expressed concern that the battery problem had gone unnoticed from 2004 to 2008. Apart from the battery, the commission discovered seven additional safety flaws that it described as minor in themselves — including poor documentation and inconsistent follow-up on potential problems — but that taken together formed a troubling picture.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Gay-pride sticker linked to rape
A woman in the San Francisco Bay area was jumped by four men, taunted for being a lesbian, repeatedly raped and left naked outside an abandoned apartment building, authorities said Monday. Detectives say the 28-year-old victim was attacked Dec. 13 after she got out of her car, which bore a rainbow gay pride sticker. The men, who ranged from their late teens to their 30s, made comments indicating they knew her sexual orientation, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan. Authorities are characterizing the attack as a hate crime but declined to reveal why they think the woman was singled out because of her sexual orientation.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Groups sue over EPA mining rule
Environmentalists sued the Bush administration on Monday, trying to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from changing a rule they say keeps mining waste from entering mountain streams. At issue is mountaintop mining, in which forests are clear cut and holes are drilled to blast apart rock. Massive machines then scoop coal from the exposed seams. The rock and dirt left behind is dumped into adjacent valleys, changing the natural shape of the earth, lowering the height of the mountain and covering streams.
Texas: 2 killed, 2 hurt in shootings
Authorities searched Monday evening for a motorist they say shot at a car and three semitrailer trucks on Dallas-area roads during the afternoon rush hour, killing two people and injuring two.
D.C.: Obama to release contacts
President-elect Barack Obama plans to reveal today his staff’s conversations with the Illinois governor accused of trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat, transition officials said Monday. “We have a report,” said Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter. “It’s been ready for release for a week. We’ve held off at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and that continues to be the case, though we expect to be able to release the report shortly.”
Tennessee: 12 homes flooded
An earthen dam holding back a retention pond broke early Monday at a power plant run by the nation’s largest public utility, releasing a frigid mix of water, ash and mud that damaged 12 homes and put hundreds of acres of rural land under water. The 40-acre pond was used by the Tennessee Valley Authority to hold a slurry of ash generated by the coal-burning Kingston Steam Plant in Harriman, about 50 miles west of Knoxville, said TVA spokesman Gil Francis. The dam gave way just before 1 a.m., burying a road and railroad tracks leading to the plant under several feet of dark gray mud. Authorities said no one was seriously injured or hospitalized.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Sen. Ted Stevens asks for dismissal
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens on Monday called for his conviction on corruption charges to be thrown out after an FBI agent bitterly complained about some Justice Department tactics during the trial, including not turning over evidence and an “inappropriate relationship” between a government representative and the prosecutor’s star witness. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan is expected to hold a hearing in early January on some of Stevens’ charges against the Justice Department team that convicted him.
New York: Clinton absorbs loan
Hillary Rodham Clinton has written off $13.1 million in personal funds she lent her failed presidential campaign, new disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show. The former first lady and New York senator has been working to pay down campaign debt to clear the way for confirmation secretary of state. Ethics rules prohibit Cabinet officials from actively soliciting campaign contributions.
Guinea: President Conte dies
Guinea President Lansana Conte, who has ruled the African nation with an iron hand since seizing power in a coup nearly a quarter century ago, has died following a lengthy illness, the National Assembly president said Tuesday. Aboubacar Sompare said on state-run television that Conte died Monday evening. He was believed to be in his 70s.
From Herald news services
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