One Dead, Several Injured After Gas Pipe Explodes in Shelby County
Smoke billows from a gas explosion near McCalla. The Colonial Pipeline pipe is now shut down until further notice.
UPDATE: 2:55 p.m.
Officials have restarted one of two gas pipelines after an explosion yesterday near McCalla. The blast killed one and injured a half-dozen others. The other line, which distributes gas to consumers, remains closed.
The blast site was in a rural area of Grey Hill Rd. — residents nearby heard two loud booms and saw flames shooting more than 50 feet high. A fire burned more than 30 acres of drought-stricken terrain.
Officials say a crew was digging near the pipe with heavy machinery and struck the line, which sparked the explosion. This is the second incident for Colonial Pipeline in the last two months.
The same line was found leaking in September, which led to a shutdown that caused a spike in gas prices from the southeast to the mid-Atlantic. Colonial says this latest closure could last for several days and lead to more fuel shortages.
Governor Robert Bentley yesterday ordered all residents within a three mile radius of the blast site to evacuate. It’s not known how many residents this order affects.
DHS ends Temporary Protected Status for thousands from Nicaragua and Honduras
Some 76,000 people from Nicaragua and Honduras were covered by TPS, which provides protection from deportation and grants work permits to people from certain nations affected by war or natural disasters.
BRICS nations push back as Trump warns of tariffs
Leaders of the BRICS group of emerging economies meeting for their annual summit had hoped to downplay any differences with the U.S. But even a toned down group proclamation drew the ire of President Trump.
DOJ says no evidence Jeffrey Epstein had a ‘client list’ or blackmailed associates
The two-page memo outlines the "exhaustive review" the department conducted of the Epstein files in its possession, and also reiterates that Epstein died by suicide, contrary to some conspiracy theories.
Floods are getting more dangerous around the country, not just in Texas
The deadly floods in Central Texas were caused by extremely heavy rain. Climate change is causing even more rain to fall during the heaviest storms.
Near old Montana mine, special clinic for asbestos-related illness fights to survive
The Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Montana, closed in May after a court judgment. The clinic's federal funding is also threatened. Patients with scarred lungs worry about what's next.
4 things to know about the deadly Texas floods and ongoing search efforts
Search efforts continue for the dozens of people still missing after Friday's floods, as questions swirl over what went wrong. Here's what we know so far.
