Court to hear veterans who say they were denied aid

A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments involving U.S. veterans who say they were denied disability benefits after becoming ill from radiation exposure while responding to a 1966 accident involving American hydrogen bombs in Spain.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is scheduled to hear the case Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Radioactive plutonium was released near Palomares, Spain, in January

1966, after a U.S. B-52 bomber and refueling plane crashed. Four hydrogen bombs crashed to the ground, but didn’t explode.

BLADENBORO, N.C. — Thousands of coastal residents remained on edge Sunday, told they may need to leave their homes because rivers are still rising more than a week after Hurricane Florence slammed into the Carolinas.

About 6,000 to 8,000 people in Georgetown County, South Carolina, were alerted to be prepared to evacuate ahead of a “record event” of up to 10 feet of flooding expected from heavy rains dumped by Florence, county spokeswoman Jackie Broach-akers said. She said flooding is expected to begin Tuesday near parts of the Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers and that people in potential flood zones should plan to leave their homes Monday.

The county’s emergency management director, Sam Hodge, said in a video message posted online that authorities are watching river gauges and law enforcement would be going door to door in any threatened areas.

“From boots on the ground to technology that we have, we are trying to be able to get the message out,” Hodge said in the video feed, advising people they shouldn’t await an official order to evacuate should they begin to feel unsafe.

In North Carolina, five river gauges were still at major flood stage, and five others were at moderate flood stage, according to National Weather Service. The Cape Fear River was expected to crest and remain at flood stage through the early part of the week, and parts of Interstates 95 and 40 are expected to remain underwater for another week or more.

Parts of Interstate 95 had been expected to be underwater for days, but North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Sunday night that the major highway had reopened to all traffic, as floodwaters had withdrawn faster than expected.

Floodwaters receding on a stretch of Interstate 40 left thousands of rotting fish. Video showed firefighters blasting the dead fish off the highway with a fire hose in Pender County in eastern North Carolina.