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US nuclear regulators to issue construction permit for a reactor that uses molten salt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is issuing a construction permit for a new type of nuclear reactor that uses molten salt to cool the reactor core.The NRC is issuing the permit to Kairos Power for the Hermes test reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the agency said Tuesday. The reactor won’t generate generate electricity and it will be far smaller than traditional ones. This is the first construction permit the NRC has issued for a reactor that uses something other than water to cool the reactor core. The United States Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor to the NRC, did license other types of designs. Kairos Power is working on fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology. The California-based company received funding from the Department of Energy. The 35-megawatt thermal reactor will test the concept of using molten salt as a coolant and test the type of nuclear fuel, the NRC said. Kairos Power aims to develop a larger version for commercial electricity t...

Father of July 4th Illinois parade shooting suspect released early from jail for good behavior

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — The father of the suspect in a deadly 2022 Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago has been released early from jail after serving part of a 60-day sentence for sponsoring a firearm application for his son.Robert Crimo Jr. was released Wednesday for good behavior, according to authorities.Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty last month in Lake County court in Waukegan, Illinois, to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. He originally had been charged with seven felony counts of reckless conduct — one for each person his son, Robert Crimo III, is accused of killing.Three years before the attack in Highland Park, Crimo III at 19 was not old enough to seek his own gun license, but could apply with the sponsorship of a parent or guardian. His father signed off on the application even though just months earlier, a relative reported to police that Crimo III had threatened to “kill everyone.”Crimo III faces 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted m...

Man shot to death at large Minneapolis homeless encampment that has been slated for closure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man was shot to death at a large Minnesota homeless encampment, days before it was scheduled to be removed.The shooting was reported around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at the encampment known as Camp Nenookaasi in Minneapolis. The 45-year-old victim suffered several gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. His name has not been released.A man suspected in the shooting was arrested near the encampment and a gun was recovered, police spokesperson Aaron Rose said at a news briefing. A second man also was arrested but it wasn’t immediately clear why. No charges had been filed as of Wednesday morning.After the shooting, police temporarily dispersed people from the encampment and brought in a Metro Transit bus to provide warmth and shelter on a night when the temperature was in the 20s. It wasn’t immediately clear if the residents have been allowed to return. A message left with police on Wednesday morning wasn’t immediately ret...

Illinoisans need $11,600 more just to live like they did in 2021: analysis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – An economic analysis by a group of Congressional Republicans may have you feeling nostalgic for January 2021. There’s not much to miss about that time – when many Americans were still out of a job or under stay-at-home orders because of the pandemic – but inflation hadn’t yet exploded.Since then, the cost of just about everything, from groceries to gas to housing, has skyrocketed.An inflation tracker created by the members of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee shows the impact of inflation on the average household in every state. (While the joint committee is chaired by a Democrat, the report and data were put out by the committees’ Republican members.) The report uses January 2021 as a benchmark “because it was the last time inflation was within recent historical norms.”Now, the report claims, most American households would need to spend an additional $10,000 or more just to afford the same goods and quality of life they had less than three year...

Hunter Biden defends father, defies subpoena from House GOP

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Hunter Biden is defending his father and calling House Republican’s effort to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden “shameless.”“There’s no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen,” Hunter Biden said.The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Hunter Biden to sit for a closed-door deposition today as part of the committee’s inquiry into President Biden and his family, but Hunter Biden insisted he would only testify in public.“I am here to testify at a public hearing today to answer any of the committee’s legitimate questions,” Hunter Biden continued.The president’s son criticized the house GOP’s probe several times while speaking to the press.“There is no fairness or decency in what these Republicans are doing. They have lied over and over about every aspect of my personal and professional life,” Hunter Biden added.Hunter Biden is facing federal gun charges and was re...

Supreme Court takes up abortion pill dispute 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will take up a case that could limit the availability of the common abortion pill mifepristone, bringing the issue of abortion back to the court more than a year after the justices ended the constitutional right to one.The court granted a request from the Justice Department and one from Danco, the manufacturer of Mifeprex, the branded version of mifepristone.The brief orders consolidate the two cases and set them up to be heard this term, with a decision expected by the end of June. While the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade and has appeared hostile to abortion, an emergency ruling by the Court in April has kept access to mifepristone unchanged.Mifepristone is widely used across the U.S. to end a pregnancy in the first 10 weeks of gestation. It was first approved in 2000, and about half of all abortions nationwide are performed using mifepristone as the first of a two-pill regimen. It is also used to help ...

Cedar Park man killed by fighting in Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

CEDAR PARK, TEXAS (KXAN) -- A Cedar Park man who traveled to Ukraine to offer humanitarian assistance has been killed in the fighting. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed to Irish media that Graham Dale, 45, died last week while fighting for the Ukrainian Army, according to Irish Public Service Broadcaster RTÉ.Dale was a Marine veteran and Irish-American citizen who lived in Cedar Park.In May 2022, Dale talked with KXAN and said his original plan was to travel to Poland to help with the wave of refugees fleeing over the border it shares with Ukraine.However, days after quitting his job in Cedar Park, Dale found himself driving toward the battle zone in Ukraine, feeling compelled to help those in the warzone.Graham Dale, 45, fills a car full of supplies while in Ukraine offering humanitarian relief in 2022. Dale died last week in Ukraine. (Courtesy: Graham Dale)“This is somewhere that I’ve been to on vacation before I know people from here,” he said at the time. “To me...

LIVE: UT students embrace shelter adoption, responsible pet ownership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — With an increasing number of University of Texas students seeking companionship and responsibility, students are looking to animal shelters for a remedy.Austin is a 'no-kill' city, meaning the city's shelter partners have limits on the number of animals they can euthanize entering the shelter and must implement a large-scale foster and adoption program. To save every animal possible, shelters across the city are brimming with available pets, and UT students are adopting."Shelters here in Texas are really faced with a lot more overcrowding issues than typical shelters," said Luis Sanchez, director of PR and communications at Austin Pets Alive! "What we believe in is that every pet that's in the shelter system deserves a chance at finding a family, and what sets us aside from most other shelters is that we strictly pull from the euthanasia list. We are really the last chance for a lot of these pets."Hall's cat, Kerbey, was adopted from Austin Pets Alive! in May 2020, a...

Gophers football: Linebacker Brady Pretzlaff decommits after Michigan State visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

The second shoe has dropped on the second of three high school players with questionable commitments to the Gophers football program.Gaylord, Mich., linebacker Brady Pretzlaff said Wednesday he has de-committed from the Gophers’ recruiting class for 2024.“I want to thank the Minnesota coaches and fans for believing in me,” said Pretzlaff, who committed to the U in January.The 6-foot-3, 230-pound prospect visited Michigan State last weekend, and the Spartans hired Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi for the same role on Sunday.Minnesota has had six total de-commitments from next year’s class. One was added to the list Monday, and one might be forthcoming.Prior Lake defensive lineman Jide Abasiri backed off his pledge to Minnesota after visiting USC last weekend.Esko, Minn., safety Koi Perich visited Ohio State this weekend and his decision between the U and the Buckeyes is expected before the national signing period opens Dec. 20.Related ArticlesCollege Sports | ...

LIVE: Blues introduce new head coach Drew Bannister

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:13 GMT

NOTE: WATCH LIVE @ 10:30 a.m.: The St. Louis Blues are introducing Drew Bannister as the interim head coach. The Blues parted ways with Craig Berube on Tuesday night.ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Blues have parted ways with head coach Craig Berube, the only coach to lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup title in its half-century-plus history. The Blues announced late Tuesday evening that Berube was relieved of duties as head coach, a decision made public just hours after the team's season-worst fourth straight loss and perhaps with heightened concerns over the future of the franchise.St. Louis has named Drew Bannister as the interim head coach. He had been serving as the head coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Blues. Bannister will take over as the 27th head coach in Blues history.This marks the first midseason coaching change for the Blues in nearly half a decade and the first time since 2017 that Berube is not part of the St. Louis coachin...