US – Thursday, March 18
National
Congress passes job-creation bill
A package of tax breaks and highway spending cleared Congress yesterday, the first of what Democrats hope will be several efforts to bring down the 9.7 percent unemployment rate.
 
International
Pakistan charges U.S. 5 with terror
A Pakistani court formally charged five young Americans of plotting terrorism in the country yesterday, their lawyer said, in a case that has raised alarm over the danger posed by militants using the Internet.
 
The Word
Bullock gets ‘Blind Side’d by alleged affair
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Music
‘The age of the freak is almost here’
For the past few years the tourist shops near where the SXSW Music Conference takes place have been selling goods emblazoned with the axiom “Keep Austin Weird.” And if the first night of live music was any indication, visitors, revelers and performers are taking the sentiment to heart. Here are a few of the highlights from Wednesday
 
Business
‘Free’ ad leads to fraud suit
NEW YORK. A Wisconsin college student is suing credit firm Experian — the brains behind the ubiquitous FreeCreditReport.com jingles — for fraudulent advertising after she inadvertently signed up for a monthly $14.95 monitoring service.
 
My Travel
The key to Kyoto
Kyoto’s temples and Geisha culture are legendary, but this city is no slouch when it comes to mixing in a large slice of contemporary, too.
 
Published 23:36, February the 8th, 2010
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Construction at the power plant was 95 percent complete. Construction at the power plant was 95 percent complete.
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
 

Plant blast under investigation

Federal investigators headed to Connecticut yesterday to determine the cause of an explosion at an unfinished power plant that killed at least five workers and hospitalized dozens of others.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is sending seven officials to the privately-owned Kleen Energy Systems LLC plant in Middletown, which was in the final stages of construction when the blast occurred on Sunday.

Local authorities suspect a natural gas leak.

Investigators will examine what was happening at the time of the accident, including initial media reports that gas purging had occurred before the blast, said lead investigator Don Holstrom, who works out of the board’s Denver office.

The agency is charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents.

Last week, it issued urgent recommendations that fuel gas codes be changed to improve safety when gas pipes are being purged, or cleared of air, during maintenance or installation.

REUTERS