Mississippi
Low levels of radioactive tritium may be near the Mississippi River after an energy company’s leak
MONTICELLO, Minn. (AP) — Groundwater containing low levels of radioactive material may have reached the edge of the Mississippi River, the energy company responsible for the leak from its nuclear power plant in Monticello, Minnesota, announced on Thursday.
Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, has not been detected in the river water itself, Xcel Energy said in a statement.
“The closest sample to detect tritium is about 30 feet from the river, and detected about 1,000 picocuries per liter, far below Safe Drinking Water Act standards, or below 20,000 picocuries per liter,” the statement said. “Any presence of tritium in the river would be well below the Safe Drinking Water standard and likely at levels indistinguishable from what occurs naturally in the environment.”
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the state Department of Health released a joint statement saying the latest development does not present a threat to public health, and there are no immediate impacts to the safety of drinking water or private wells, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
Xcel Energy discovered in November that about 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of water containing tritium had leaked from a faulty pipe. The utility made a temporary fix but learned in March that hundreds more gallons of tritium-laced water leaked, leading to a dayslong shutdown to fix the pipe.
While the utility and health officials say the leak is not dangerous, the issue has prompted concerns among residents and raised questions about aging pipelines.
More than half of the tritium that leaked from the pipe has been recovered, officials said in May.
The nuclear plant is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Mississippi
Good samaritans help first responders rescue children, teen from Mississippi River near Silver Street – Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper
Good samaritans help first responders rescue children, teen from Mississippi River near Silver Street
Published 7:17 pm Sunday, June 30, 2024
NATCHEZ — Natchez police officer Kajlil Jenkins said whatever resources they could find, including civilian ones, came quickly to help rescue three juveniles from the Mississippi River at Silver Street on Sunday afternoon.
One of the victims, a 16-year-old attempting to rescue her younger brothers from drowning, was “in the water a good 20 or 25 minutes,” Jenkins said.
He saw people in the water before anyone had time to call 911 and called it in on his radio at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Seven-year-old Lakeithius “Eli” Brashears reportedly slipped on wet pavement and fell into the water and his brother Lakeivion Brashears, 8, and sister Jaila Tobias, 16, jumped in after him.
Doug Pruett from Montgomery, Alabama, said he and his wife Judy were eating at a nearby restaurant for their 25th anniversary and saw the commotion. He and another man whose name he didn’t know were able to get the two younger children out safely. Tobias, however, was caught in the current and carried beyond their reach about 250 yards out, authorities said.
Natchez Fire Chief Robert Arrington said while first responders were en route to the river, they spotted civilians Jackson Moody and Taylor Little at Fat Mama’s Tamales on Canal Street with a boat on a trailer and asked them to help.
Authorities also asked another civilian Jake Meriwether to stop with his boat and he did, but it wasn’t needed.
Moody and Little “were able to get their boat into the water and get her out,” Arrington said, adding, “She is on her way to the (Merit Health) hospital. She was conscious but not feeling well at all. She drank a lot of river water but we expect her to be OK.”
Arrington said the young people were very fortunate that the civilians were there, some with boats, to get to them quickly.
“The teenager was too far out and I knew good and well I couldn’t swim that good,” added Pruett.
Mississippi
Man from Fruitdale killed in Mississippi bar shooting | WKRG.com
WAYNE COUNTY, Miss. (WKRG) — A man from Washington County, Alabama is dead after a shooting at a Mississippi bar.
The coroner in Wayne County, Mississippi confirms 24-year-old Brandon Cartwright, from Fruitdale, was shot and killed at High Noon Lounge and Karaoke in Waynesboro at about 2 Saturday morning.
Waynesboro Police are also investigating and believe the suspect may have driven away in a tan SUV.
A post from the bar says “The entire High Noon family prays that Heaven comforts both the victim and his entire family for this tragic loss of life this past Saturday morning. Lately, our community has been victimized by a group of ruthless criminals and we are committed to assisting law enforcement in bringing the responsible parties to justice.”
Family members have already set up a GoFundMe account for funeral expenses. Tributes online say Cartwright was a young father.
Mississippi
Ranking the six easiest games on Mississippi State football’s 2024 schedule
Mississippi State football faces a daunting schedule in 2024. Going into the year they have six games in which earning a win would mean pulling off a big upset. But there are winnable games on the schedule to give them a chance at earning bowl-eligibility. Here are the six easiest games on the schedule…
State gets to ease into the 2024 season with their FCS opponent. Eastern Kentucky has played a few competitive games with FBS teams in recent years, including providing a momentary scare against Kentucky last season. But it’s still a FCS team coming off a losing season. State should roll.
UMass might as well be a FCS team, and honestly there’s a chance EKU is actually better. But the shades of 2016 and 2017 when State found themselves in struggles with the Minutemen has them as merely second-easiest. But this is a truly bad team that’s a long ways away from competitiveness.
Jason Candle has done a great job at Toledo. The Rockets are a perennial MAC contender and can challenge power conference teams. But they just lost nearly everyone from last season’s 11-win team, and a clear step back is likely in store. They’ll still be solid, but assuming State doesn’t overlook them, they should be fine.
Kenny Dillingham inherited a mess at his alma mater, but even in last year’s 3-9 campaign, he at least made them competitive. The Sun Devils are going to rely on several transfers to improve this season, and they could take a step forward. This game might be tricky on the road, but overall, State’s still got quite a bit more talent.
I’d wager that last year’s 7-3 final score in this game won’t be replicated. Sam Pittman is relying (probably unwillingly) on a familiar face in Fayetteville to save his job. Bobby Petrino should get the Hogs scoring more, but that’s not saying much. State has owned Arkansas since they originally fired Petrino. We’ll see if his return changes the direction of the series, but the Bulldogs should have the edge at home.
Billy Napier is the coach everyone assumes will be fired by the end of 2024 given the combination of poor early results and an almost unbelievable gauntlet of a schedule. But it’s possible the Gators are actually ok this year. There’s some nice pieces on offense, but their defense will have to make big improvements if Napier’s going to survive. Both teams need this game badly for a positive season.
-
News1 week ago
Tracking a Single Day at the National Domestic Violence Hotline
-
World7 days ago
Israel accepts bilateral meeting with EU, but with conditions
-
World1 week ago
Is Israel’s Smotrich fulfilling his dream of annexing the West Bank?
-
News1 week ago
Supreme Court upholds law barring domestic abusers from owning guns in major Second Amendment ruling | CNN Politics
-
News1 week ago
A Florida family is suing NASA after a piece of space debris crashed through their home
-
Politics1 week ago
Supreme Court upholds federal gun ban for those under domestic violence restraining orders
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump classified docs judge to weigh alleged 'unlawful' appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith
-
World1 week ago
New Caledonia independence activists sent to France for detention