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Nation Briefing for July 19, 2008
Crane collapses at refinery, killing 4
HOUSTON -- The largest mobile crane in the nation collapsed at a Houston oil refinery Friday, killing four workers and injuring six others, a company vice president said.
The crane, capable of lifting 800,000 pounds, fell over at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston about 2 p.m. The large crane fell on or knocked a smaller, nearby crane.
The casualties were in the area of the crane, but officials still aren't certain whether they were on the crane or under it, said John Roecker, the company's vice president for refining.
Three of the injured were treated and released at the scene, said Houston Fire Department Assistant Chief Omero Longoria. Two severely injured workers were taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center hospital and the other injured worker was taken to a hospital by ambulance.
Giant rig carves new tunnel beneath NYC
NEW YORK -- A huge, granite-eating machine that spent the past eight months chewing a mile-long tunnel beneath a busy Manhattan office district is getting a rest, of sorts, after completing its journey to Grand Central Terminal.
The 200-ton, tunnel-boring rig is one of two that have been carving a pair of new rail tubes that will eventually allow commuter trains from Long Island to connect with Grand Central for the first time.
The massive device, imported from Italy, went into the ground in Queens last spring, crawled beneath the East River through an existing tunnel and began chewing through bedrock in November on the East Side of Manhattan.
It reached its goal deep below Grand Central at the end of June and has since been backing up, slowly, to a new location, where it will begin work on another task related to the project.
The tunnel it made, opened to reporters for a brief tour Thursday, is a marvel.
The tube lies roughly 140 feet below the surface, cut through rock solid enough to support the neighborhood's many skyscrapers.
Today, it is still a dim, muddy place. Ground water seeps in constantly, trickling down the smooth stone walls and mixing with the slop of gray muck on the tunnel floor.
WTC site to be open to families on 9/11
NEW YORK -- Sept. 11 victims' families will be able to mourn their loved ones at the World Trade Center site again on the terrorist attacks' seventh anniversary.
New York City officials previously said last year would be the last time families could pay their respects at ground zero because of ongoing construction. They and the site's owner confirmed Friday, however, that the families will be allowed to descend to the base of the trade center towers this Sept. 11 as well.
As it was last year, the anniversary ceremony will be held in a park just southeast of ground zero. More than 2,700 victims' names are read aloud during the event.
Army to shoot live pigs for medical drill
HONOLULU -- The Army says it's critical to saving the lives of wounded soldiers. Animal-rights activists call the training cruel and outdated.
Despite opposition by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Army is moving forward with its plan to shoot live pigs and treat their gunshot wounds in a medical trauma exercise Friday at Schofield Barracks for soldiers headed to Iraq.
Maj. Derrick Cheng, spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, said the training is being conducted under a U.S. Department of Agriculture license and the careful supervision of veterinarians and a military Animal Care and Use Committee.
"It's to teach Army personnel how to manage critically injured patients within the first few hours of their injury," Cheng said.
The soldiers are learning emergency lifesaving skills needed on the battlefield when there are no medics, doctors or facility nearby, he said.
Pa. woman says she bought newborn
PITTSBURGH -- Police searched Friday for the mother of a newborn brought into a hospital by a woman they say first claimed she had given birth, then said she had paid $1,000 for the child.
Authorities are concerned that the infant's mother might be in danger or need medical attention.
Andrea Curry-Demus, who said she bought the baby after befriending the pregnant woman, has been charged with child endangerment. In 1991 she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and received 10 years' probation after stabbing a woman in a suspected plot to steal the woman's infant.
"I'm sure there is concern that there could be an injured woman somewhere or if there's a woman seeking treatment for her follow-up care after giving birth," Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said Friday. |
