In brief: NRC inspecting nuclear plant
RICHLAND – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission began a special inspection Monday at the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear power plant following a series of incidents that occurred while the plant was shut down for refueling.
The inspection centers on three events in which plant operators inadvertently drained reactor coolant from the Columbia Generating Station’s reactor vessel during a recent refueling outage, the commission said in a statement Monday.
Two other incidents at the plant operated by Energy Northwest also will be reviewed: the temporary loss of shutdown cooling due to an electrical malfunction, and the unexpected insertion of a control rod into the reactor core during a scheduled test.
Order bars refiling of abortion charge
BOISE – A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order to keep a prosecutor from refiling charges against a woman accused of having an illegal abortion.
Jennie Linn McCormack sued over Idaho’s so-called “fetal pain” law banning abortions after 20 weeks and over a law that effectively prohibits women in her region from getting a medication-induced abortion. She filed the lawsuit in federal court after Bannock County Prosecutor Mark Heideman charged her with a felony, saying she obtained an abortion drug over the Internet and administered it to herself. Those charges were later dropped without prejudice, allowing the prosecutor to refile the charge if he chose.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued a 14-day restraining order barring the prosecutor from refiling charges as McCormack’s federal lawsuit moves forward.
Truck hits bar, killing bystander
GREAT FALLS– A truck drifted off a Great Falls street and crashed into a bar over the weekend, hitting several people outside and killing one of them, authorities said.
The truck crashed into the front of the Loading Zone Bar and Casino just before 2 a.m. Sunday, leaving several people injured and pinning at least one against the building, authorities said.
Jason Rosander, 33, appeared Monday afternoon in Cascade County District Court, where he was charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence.
Foreign students on rise in Oregon
PORTLAND – Oregon’s seven universities expect the largest number of international students ever when classes begin this week.
Total enrollment at the universities will likely top 100,000, a record, the Oregonian reports. That’s 20 percent growth over four years.
The international student population jumped 45 percent in four years. There are now about 5,600 international students at Oregon universities.
Oregon draws a large number of students from China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Japan. The U.S. total for students from abroad hit 691,000 last fall.