New Jersey Train Crash Leads to Chemical Spill

A bridge in Paulsboro, New Jersey gave out Friday when a train carrying toxic chemicals crossed its tracks.

The freight train crashed into the creek and had one tanker that has leaked vinyl chloride into the waters.

This gas can cause breathing problems and dizziness if exposed at high levels.

Schools that are near the creek have been put on lockdown and residents in the immediate exposure area have been evacuated.

There have been no injuries reported at this time.

There were at least 40 people that were taken to the Underwood-Memorial Hospital for treatment of chemical exposure.

A Paulsboro spokesman says that the bridge is very old and has a number of trains that cross it each day.

The crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Board.

CNN Article

Huffington Post Article

British Company's Creation Could Surpass Jet Engine

The British company Reaction Engines Limited is developing a jet engine that they say will make any destination on Earth a four hour trip.

The company received an endorsement for their Sabre engine from the European Space Agency after passing key tests.

Reaction Engines says that their engine would behave like a jet engine in the atmosphere and a rocket while in space.

They have developed a heat exchanger that rapidly cools air from a temperature of near two thousands degrees Fahrenheit to negative 238 degrees.

The plane that they’ve developed in design is called Skylon.

It is theorized by Reaction Engines that Skylon will be able to travel at about double the speed of current jet engines.

If their theory holds true, that would mean that passengers aboard the Skylon would travel over one thousand 300 meters per second.



National Post Article

MSNBC Article

Reuters Article

Boy Killed As Bus Swerves into His Bedroom

As six-year-old David Granados and his brother were preparing for bed Tuesday night, a bus crashed through their bedroom, killing David.

He was taken to a hospital after being pinned to the wall by debris and was pronounced dead one hour after arrival.

ABC News reports that a public bus was trying to dodge a jaywalking pedestrian when it swerved into the Hempstead, New York home.

A police official said that the bus driver was driving at the proper speed, tried to alert the pedestrian, and still ended up hitting him.

David’s brother, the bus passengers, and the pedestrian were sent to different hospitals to treat their non-lethal injuries.

ABC News Article

CBS News

New York Daily News Article

Remains of Palestinian Leader are Removed From Grave

The remains of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were removed from his grave on Tuesday.

The removal of his remains comes as a part of an investigation into allegations that his death may have been a result of poisoning.

Samples of his remains were given to French, Russian, and French experts for separate examinations.

These experts will be examining the samples in their home countries to disclose if poisoning was the cause of Arafat’s death.

Arafat passed away in a French hospital in 2004 due to a stroke.

It was discovered this past summer in a Swiss lab that lethal radioactive substances were found on his clothing.

Al Jazeera reports that the remains have since been reburied and will take months for the test results to return.

NBC Article

Huffington Post Article

Al Jazeera Article

Veteran Crew Selected for International Space Station Flight

Forty-eight-year-old Scott Kelley and 58-year-old Mikhail Kornienko will be sent to the International Space Station in 2015.

Kelly is a captain in the United States Navy and has had three previous spaceflight experiences since joining NASA in 1996.

Kornienko comes from Russia as a cosmonaut since 1998 and has previously spent more than 176 days as an engineer aboard two spacecrafts. 

Both Kelly and Kornienko have history together as members of the Expedition 23 and 24 spaceflights. 

The team will be sent on a yearlong trip aboard the space station in 2015 for a study being done by NASA.

NASA hopes to understand how the body adapts to lengthy trips in space including those to the moon and Mars. 


MSNBC Article

Red Orbit Article

More than 100 Die in Fire at Bangladesh Factory

A clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh was engulfed in flames early Saturday, taking the lives of more than 100 people.

Local officials reported that the building had 2,000 people when the fire began and it is unclear as to how many escaped.

A fire department official in Dhaka reported that 12 people had injuries from jumping from the factory windows trying to escape the fire.

They were taken to hospitals where they later died due to the seriousness of the injuries.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

New York Times Article

CNN Articles

CBS Article