N.Y.: NO MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT FROM STEAM BLAST
YORK» An aging steam NEW pipe containing cancercausing asbestos exploded beneath Fifth Avenue in Manhattan early Thursday, spewing a geyser of white vapor 10 stories high and forcing an evacuation of 49 buildings, but city officials said there was no major public health threat.
Five people, including three civilians, suffered minor injuries from the 6:40 a.m. blast on 21st Street, and officials warned people who may have gotten material on them to bag their clothes and shower immediately as a precaution.
Eight dead after tourist boat accident.
BRANSON,
A tourist boat apparently capsized on a lake Thursday night, leaving at least eight people dead and several others hospitalized, a sheriff said.
The Springfield NewsLeader reported that Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said a Ride the Ducks tourist boat reportedly sank on Table Rock Lake with more than 30 people on board. He said weather was believed to have caused the boat to capsize. High winds had hit the area, according to weather reports.
Israeli parliament passes contentious Jewish nation bill.
JERUSALEM» Israel’s parliament approved a controversial piece of leg- islation Thursday that defines the country as the nation-state of the Jewish people but which critics warn sidelines minorities.
The government says the bill, passed in the early morning hours, will merely enshrine into law Israel’s existing character.
Turmoil slows rebuilding of Puerto Rico’s power grid.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO
Ten months after Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s electric grid, the local agency responsible for rebuilding it is in chaos and more than $1 billion in federal funds meant to strengthen the rickety system has gone unspent, according to contractors and U.S. officials who are anxious to make progress before the next hurricane.
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority has seen two chief executive officers and four board members resign in less than a week in a messy fight over how much the bankrupt agency should pay its CEO. The agency’s fourth CEO since the hurricane lasted less than 24 hours on the job last week before resigning amid public outrage over his $750,000 salary.
University of California lowers tuition for first time in nearly two decades.
SAN FRANCISCO
» University of California regents on Thursday approved the first cut in tuition in nearly two decades. Regents approved an $8.7 billion spending plan for 2018-19 that includes a $60 decrease in tuition — the result of eliminating a surcharge added in 2007 to pay for legal bills. The action lowered base tuition and fees to $12,570 annually.