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Xcel Energy to build underground barrier to further contain radioactive water at Monticello nuclear plant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

The utility responsible for leaking radioactive water from its nuclear plant in Monticello, Minn., in recent months has announced that it will build an underground metal barrier to keep affected groundwater away from the nearby Mississippi River.Xcel Energy said construction will last several weeks and should begin by Monday, according to a statement posted on the city of Monticello’s website Thursday.“Constructing the barrier wall is another step the company is taking to try and ensure that the small amount of tritium still present in the groundwater remains within the plant boundaries and can be safely recovered, stored and reused on site,” Xcel said in the statement.Xcel discovered in November that about 400,000 gallons of water containing tritium — a radioactive isotope of hydrogen — had leaked from a faulty pipe. The utility made a temporary fix but learned in March that hundreds more gallons of tritium-laced water had leaked, leading to a dayslong shutdown to fix the pip...

Ask Amy: A mistaken recipient reposted my email about a friend, and now it’s loose on the internet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

Dear Amy: My friend “Tyler” and I decided to try a yoga class. As we were doing the first position, he passed gas. Very audibly!It was super-awkward, but then he said, “Excuse me! Sounds like I started things with a bang.”People chuckled and the class went on.I thought Tyler’s recovery from an ultra-embarrassing moment was great, so I mentioned it in an email to a mutual friend of ours, but I stupidly and accidentally sent it to the wrong person (a near-stranger I’d exchanged a couple of emails with a couple of years ago).The person who received the email posted a screenshot of it on social media with the message: “I got an email about a dude who farted!”Her posting was reposted many times by her impressive number of followers. The email had Tyler’s actual first and last name and some details about where we live.I was horrified and insisted that she delete her posting, and she did – but of course it is still “out there,” floating around on the internet.Should...

Harriette Cole: This disagreement over my luxury car might break our engagement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My fiance is 24, and I am 33. I met him last year at a restaurant, and we have been together ever since. He recently proposed! We are both excited to get married and start a life together.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: We went on one date, and he’s so gross every time I see him Advice | Harriette Cole: I learned that my new friend used to badmouth me. What should I do? Advice | Harriette Cole: Was it rash to choose this job over my boyfriend’s objections? Advice | Harriette Cole: What does it mean that my boyfriend’s sister called me by this name? Advice | Harriette Cole: Our guest walked through a closed screen door. Is it our problem? I am in the process of looking to buy a home, and this week I found one that I could see myself in for a long time. My financial adviser told me that I was $15,000 short of making a down payment. I didn’t want to ask my fi...

“Serial” Podcast's Adnan Syed Might Go Back to Prison Because of Toxic Maryland Politics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

Even if you’ve never heard “Serial,” the true crime podcast that went viral in 2014, you’ve probably heard about the case it made famous. Adnan Syed was 17 years old when he was arrested in 1999 for killing 18-year-old Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore. A jury found Syed guilty the following year, and he was sentenced to life in prison.After “Serial” premiered in 2014 and raised questions about the case, a Maryland court heard Syed’s appeal and he was awarded a new trial. Holes in the original prosecution were established, new suspects were identified, and DNA evidence was newly tested. After a long fight, his conviction was overturned last year, and the charges against him were officially dropped in October 2022.In March of this year, though, Syed’s conviction was reinstated. Lee’s family had filed an appeal and argued that the state’s attorney — what the state of Maryland calls its local prosecutors — hadn’t given adequate notice for them to attend the September hearing ...

England reaches the Women’s World Cup final despite key injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

There were some doubts about England’s squad leading into the Women’s World Cup because a trio of dominant players — Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby — weren’t with the team because of injuries.Then there were questions about how they would handle the absence of forward Lauren James, who was suspended for both England’s quarterfinal and semifinal matches.But the Lionesses, led by coach Sarina Wiegman, have shown they are adept at adjustments — and it’s gotten them all the way to the title match.England plays Spain on Sunday for the World Cup trophy. The Lionesses defeated Australia 3-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday.“The commitment of this team, the willingness to become better and to win games is so high. I haven’t seen any moment that’s any different. There’s never any complacency in the team,” Wiegman said. “Of course, we’ve had a lot of things thrown at us, with injuries. We had to find a way, ‘OK, what fits best now? How to play?’”En...

Your pet is priceless to you, but the law says they’re property

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

The deaths of 10 dogs in a flood at a dog day care in Northeast D.C. on Monday has left some owners angry, as well as grief-stricken.When a dog — or any pet — dies in the care of a veterinarian, boarding facility or groomer, or even a dog walker, an owner may want to sue, but an attorney says they can find their options are limited.While laws vary from state to state, typically, a pet is seen as property.In Maryland, “you can recover the market value of the pet before the injury, or the cost of veterinary care,” attorney Daniel Miller of the Miller Stern law firm in Baltimore told WTOP.He explained that, under a Maryland law known as the pet damages statute, the current cap is $10,000.Punitive damages are “extremely hard to get in Maryland,” according to Miller, because a pet owner would have to show “deliberate actions” or “willful intent” led to the death of the animal.And when it comes to trying to recover damages for the anguish caused by the loss of a pet, Miller said, “T...

Tropical Wave to Unleash Tropical Downpours this Weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

South Florida has been caught up in a rather unsettled and damp weather pattern the past few days from an earlier tropical wave and then leftover moisture trapped across Florida. Now a more robust tropical wave is set to track across the state this weekend, elevating rain chances some more.Out of the two weekend days, Saturday looks to be the stormier half with a rain chances up to 70%. Given how fickle tropical waves are and the setup in place, the exact timing of when to expect rain is rather difficult to forecast. We’re expecting there to be anytime showers and storms as a result with rounds of rain tracking onshore.Areas that see repeated rounds of heavy rain could see flooding, with a widespread 1-2 inches forecast through Monday.By Sunday, the tropical wave will be to our west and over the Gulf of Mexico. Moisture will remain in place, so times of additional showers and storms will be likley. At the same time, some Saharan dust will try to settle in overhead. This could ...

Von der Leyen condemns Turkish Cypriot attack on UN peacekeepers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joined the U.K., France and the U.S. in expressing shock and disapproval over an assault on U.N. peacekeepers on Cyprus by Turkish Cypriots.“I strongly condemn the attacks on @UN_CYPRUS peacekeepers by Turkish Cypriot personnel. Threats and assaults on UN peacekeepers are unacceptable,” von der Leyen said late Friday on social media.U.N. forces on the divided Mediterranean island on Friday morning blocked Turkish Cypriot construction workers who were building a road near the village of Pyla/Pile that encroached on the U.N. enforced buffer zone. The zone divides the southern half of the island, which is controlled by Greek Cypriots, from the breakaway Turkish north.Video obtained by the Telegraph showed bulldozers picking up U.N. vehicles and tossing them across the landscape. Angry physical clashes reportedly left three U.N. personnel — two Brits and a Slovak — in need of hospital treatment.“Threats to the safe...

Five things to watch in Patriots-Packers preseason game Saturday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

It was an eventful two days of joint practices between the Patriots and Packers in Green Bay that quite possibly saw significant growth for the hometown team.The Patriots struggled at times on Wednesday as the Packers went deep for big plays of the team’s young cornerbacks. While quarterback Mac Jones and the Patriots offense was effective in moving down the field at times, they couldn’t match Green Bay’s electricity on offense.Things shifted in a major way Thursday. The Patriots’ defense amped up the intensity. Fights erupted. Linebacker Anfernee Jennings was ejected for laying out a Packers rookie defender on a punt drill. Safety Jabrill Peppers was jawing at the Packers all day. And most importantly, Jones was hitting his receivers deep, and cornerbacks Jack Jones and Christian Gonzalez weren’t allowing big plays.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots have another potential emerging starter from 2023 NFL Draft class New England Patriots | Patri...

Pakistani police seek to arrest father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who died in the UK

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:41 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police are seeking to arrest a man in connection with the death of his 10-year-old daughter in the U.K, officers in the eastern Punjab province said Saturday.Sara Sharif was found dead at her home in Woking, on the southern outskirts of London, on Aug. 10, U.K. police said in a statement. They identified her father, Urfan, his partner, Beinash Batool, and Urfan’s brother, Faisal Malik, as people they want to speak to as part of their investigation.An autopsy didn’t establish a cause of death but did show that Sara had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time,” the police statement said. Urfan Sharif travelled to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad with Batool and Malik on Aug. 9. There are five children with them, ranging from 1 to 13 years of age, the statement added.Sharif’s family home is in Jhelum, Punjab, around 135 kilometers (84 miles) from the capita...