Train Carrying Crude Derails Into Virginia River

Train Carrying Crude Derails Into Virginia River, A CSX Corp train carrying crude oil derailed and burst into flames in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia on Wednesday, spilling oil into the James River and forcing hundreds to evacuate.

CSX said 15 cars on a train traveling from Chicago to Virginia derailed at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Fire erupted on three cars, the company said. Photos and video from the scene showed high flames and a plume of black smoke. It was the second oil-train accident this year for CSX.

About two hours after the derailment, CSX said the fire had been extinguished. City officials said there were no injuries, but 300-350 people were evacuated from the area. Around 6:00 p.m., residents were allowed to return to their homes.

The fiery derailment a short distance from office buildings in the city of 77,000 was sure to bring more calls from environmentalists and activists for stricter regulations of the burgeoning business of shipping crude oil by rail.

Stem Cell Cloning May Be Aid Treatment For Diabetes

Stem Cell Cloning May Be Aid Treatment For Diabetes, Scientists have moved one step closer to creating and effective diabetes treatment by creating insulin-producing cells with the DNA of a diabetic woman.

The approach could someday aid treatment of the Type 1 form of the illness, which is usually diagnosed in childhood and accounts for about 5 percent of diabetes cases in the U.S. The disease kills insulin-making cells in the pancreas. People with Type 1 diabetes use shots or a small pump to supply the hormone, which is needed to control blood sugar.

The new work is a step toward providing genetically matched replacement cells for transplant, said Dieter Egli of the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute in New York. He led the research, which was reported online Monday in the journal Nature.

Doug Melton of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, who was not involved with the work, called the paper an impressive technical achievement. But he said he believed the cells would be useful as a research tool rather than a source of transplants. They could help scientists uncover what triggers Type 1 diabetes, he said, which could in turn lead to better therapies.

Scientists had previously made insulin cells that match diabetic patients by another means, so the new work gives researchers another option for comparison. Researchers are also exploring transplants of insulin-producing cells from cadavers as a potential treatment.

The latest work used a technique that partially resembles the process used to clone animals. Basically, scientists put DNA from the woman’s skin cells into donated human eggs. The eggs were grown into early embryos. From these, the scientists removed stem cells, which can grow into any cell type in the body. These stem cells were turned into the insulin-producing cells.

Jameis Winston Suspended

Jameis Winston Suspended, FSU star dual-sport athlete Jameis Winston was tripped up by off-the-field issues again Wednesday.

Winston was suspended from the FSU baseball team after the Heisman Trophy winner was cited Tuesday night for shoplifting crab legs from a Publix grocery store

Leon County Sheriff’s Office representatives said during a press conference they were dispatched to a Publix grocery store after a person left without paying for $32.72 worth of crab legs. The food may have also included crawfish.

The person was identified as Winston. A deputy went to Winston’s residence and reported Winston was cooperative, confirming he left Publix without paying for the food.

Winston told he the sheriff’s that he “forgotten” to pay, according Leon County Sheriff’s Office Major Mike Wood.

“When he got home, he realized that he had not paid, but in fact had made no effort to contact Publix or return to pay,” Wood said.

Winston released a statement Wednesday acknowledging he made a mistake.

“I realize that I am in the public spotlight and my conduct needs to be above reproach,” Winston said in the statement. “Over the last year, I’ve learned that my accomplishments on the fields can be a wonderful thing for my school, teammates, friends and family. At the same time, I must realize that my mistakes are magnified and can bring great embarrassment to all those who support me every day. I make no excuses for my actions and will learn and grow from this unfortunate situation.”

Chicago Bans Plastic Bags

Chicago Bans Plastic Bags, The Chicago City Council today voted 36-10 to ban plastic bags in most stores next year, a change that backers say will improve the city’s environment but opponents contend will harm the local economy.

The ban, proposed by Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno, 1st, was a long time in coming. Moreno’s proposal had been debated for many months, and a similar measure was first proposed seven years ago.

Moreno called the bags “relics of the past,” saying other options like reusable bags were available. “It’s for a new Chicago, a better Chicago,” Moreno said.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel supported the effort, saying it was in keeping with his efforts to improve the environment. He said he had expanded curbside recycling and was taking steps to regulate petroleum coke, which has been described as a scourge on the partly industrial Southeast Side.

“This is the right step to do,” Emanuel said, contending it won’t affect his efforts to attract grocers to so-called food deserts on the South and West Sides ¬– an issue raised by Ald. Leslie Hairston, 5th, who voted against the ban. The mayor said “it puts the city on the right path as it relates to its environmental policy.”

Chinese Train Station Explosion

Chinese Train Station Explosion, An explosion rocked a railway station in China’s restive far-western region of Xinjiang, and the state broadcaster said three people were killed and 79 people were injured. The attack Wednesday came as President Xi Jinping wrapped up a four-day visit to the area.

CCTV said assailants attacked crowds with knives and set off explosions at the same time at the Urumqi South Station. The station called in a terrorist act.

It was unclear whether Xi was still in the region at the time of the blast, which occurred at the rail station in the regional capital of Urumqi.

Train service was suspended for about two hours before it reopened under the watch of armed police, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

A woman working at a convenience store near the train station said she heard a loud explosion shortly after 7 p.m.

“The whole area now has been cordoned off by police and military police,” said the woman, who spoke by telephone and refused to give her name because of the sensitivity of the matter.

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