Texas oil refinery blast hurts 37 people
HOUSTON -- An explosion and fire at an Exxon Mobil oil refinery in Texas on Wednesday left 37 people with minor injuries, in the latest of a series of petrochemical industry blazes this year in the Houston area.
The fire began after an explosion shortly after 11 a.m. at the plant in Baytown, about 25 miles east of Houston. The facility processes light hydrocarbons including propane and propylene, materials used to make plastic and industrial products.
Jason Duncan, the plant manager, said many of those hurt suffered minor burns and that all were being treated at a local clinic. All employees at the plant had been accounted for, officials said.
Right after the explosion, the fire sent plumes of black smoke into the sky. By Wednesday afternoon, the smoke had lessened. Duncan said the fire had been isolated and contained but had not been extinguished as of Wednesday afternoon.
The cause of the explosion and fire was still being investigated, Duncan said.
Three Houston-area petrochemical facilities have experienced fires this year, including one at another facility on Exxon Mobil's 3,400-acre Baytown refinery complex.
Navy jet crashes in desert; pilot missing
CHINA LAKE, Calif. -- A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet jet crashed Wednesday in the California desert, and a search-and-rescue operation was underway for the pilot, officials said.
The single-seat warplane went down at 9:50 a.m. during a routine training mission north of the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake, a remote expanse of the Mojave Desert, said Lt. Cmdr. Lydia Bock, spokesman for Naval Air Station Lemoore in California's Central Valley. China Lake is about 120 miles north of Los Angeles.
The crash occurred in Death Valley National Park near Father Crowley Vista Point, an area often referred to as "Star Wars Canyon." Authorities said seven people were injured on the ground.
"We're still trying to figure things out on our end," said Bock. "We have a search-and-rescue that has been dispatched out of China Lake and search-and-rescue out of Naval Station Lemoore with a medic on board."
The jet was from strike fighter squadron VFA-151 stationed at Lemoore. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine warplane designed to fly from either aircraft carriers or ground bases.
Judge: Epstein trial likely a year away
NEW YORK -- Jeffrey Epstein listened passively in court Wednesday as a judge said he won't face trial on sex-trafficking charges before June 2020, and more likely a few months afterward.
There was no mention at the Manhattan federal court appearance or any visible sign of injuries after the 66-year-old financier was found on the floor of his cell last week with neck bruises.
Epstein's lawyer, Martin Weinberg, refused after the court hearing to say what happened to his client.
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said a trial projected to last four to six weeks could tentatively begin June 8, but he'll likely defer to defense lawyers' needs if they are not ready for trial at that time.
Epstein, arrested July 6, is accused of arranging to have sex with girls as young as age 14. He has pleaded innocent to sex-trafficking charges that carry the potential penalty of up to 45 years in prison.
Epstein is being held at the Metropolitan Correction Center in Manhattan. Berman refused bail after concluding that Epstein is a danger to the community and a flight risk.
Senate confirms Craft as envoy to U.N.
WASHINGTON -- The Senate has confirmed Kelly Craft to become the next U.S. envoy to the United Nations despite Democratic concerns about her inexperience and potential conflicts of interest.
Craft, a longtime GOP activist from Kentucky, is currently U.S. ambassador to Canada. She was confirmed 56-34, ending a more than seven-month vacancy in the key diplomatic position.
She and her husband, Joe Craft, have donated millions of dollars to Republican political candidates, and she will be the first major political donor to occupy the top U.N. post for any administration. Joe Craft is the chief executive of Alliance Resource Partners, one of the largest coal producers in the country.
In her confirmation hearing, Craft vowed to continue the efforts of President Donald Trump's first ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, to push for changes at the world body, and to fight against anti-Israel resolutions and actions by the U.N. and its affiliated agencies.
Trump nominated Craft to replace Haley after his first choice for the job, former State Department spokesman Heather Nauert, withdrew from consideration.
A Section on 08/01/2019