Free Republic

Workers at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant construction site in the UK have reported a significant rat infestation, raising health and safety concerns. The rat problem is causing disruption to the major energy project and prompting calls for immediate action from trade unions to address the issue. ... The U.K. has ambitious nuclear power plans and is developing several small- and large-scale projects. While opposition, high costs, and other factors have slowed development in the past, EDF has been facing another problem at its Hinkley Point C construction – a rat infestation. In early April, the Unite and...

General Motors (GM) plans to expand production at one of its plants in Indiana thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign-made cars. On Wednesday evening, Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on all foreign-made cars to protect the nation’s auto industry from unfair trade competition. GM executives said they will be increasing production of light-duty trucks at the automaker’s Fort Wayne Assembly Plant in Indiana, according to an exclusive report by Reuters on Thursday.

The controversial Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California’s Mojave desert is going to close 14 years early despite $1.6 billion in loan guarantees from the Department of Energy under President Barack Obama. The Ivanpah facility works by using mirrors that concentrate sunlight on a central boiling tower, which then heats water to move turbines. It has been criticized for incinerating birds and other animals within the reflecting zone. Ivanpah has become a familiar sight on the road between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and in the airspace above, with its blinding light visible for miles.

TEMPLE, Texas — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks to classify a Central Texas plant formerly believed to be extinct as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.... Big red sage, commonly found along streams and ravines in Central Texas, was presumed extinct until it was rediscovered in 1980....

MOSS LANDING, Calif. — A fire has been confirmed at the Vistra Power Plant in Moss Landing on Thursday which is forcing evacuations and closing roads in the area. The fire was reported shortly after 3 p.m. The building was evacuated when the fire started. The county of Monterey sent the following message to residents in the area: "North County Fire Department is currently responding to a fire at Moss Landing Power Plant. Out of an abundance of caution, the fire department urges residents in Zones MRY-B047 and MRY-B053 to close windows and doors and shut off air systems until...

This is from the New York Times:Original: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/us/palisades-fire-cause-ignition-point-site.htmlArchive: https://archive.ph/Fv8d4This Is Where the Palisades Fire StartedIn the hills above Pacific Palisades, there is crime scene tape and scattered debris, clues to what may have caused the initial fire that eventually raged through thousands of structures.By Thomas Fuller, Mike Baker, Blacki Migliozzi, K.K. Rebecca Lai, and Jonathan WolfeJanuary 13, 2025Along the trail near where the Palisades fire began, The Times found bits of power-line debris, including what appeared to be part of a lightning arrester device. But the nearest overhead power line was about a third of a mile to the north....

Just when you think California’s stupidity, piss-poor management, and unicorn politics can’t possibly get any more absurd, a story like this drops—and your eyes practically roll out of your head. As Los Angeles burns to the ground, the insurance industry crumbles, and water evaporates faster than you can say “H2O,” what’s the top priority in the land of fruits and nuts? Not the people losing their homes, of course—it’s a random herb called Braunton’s Milkvetch, a wild pea plant. Yes, you read that right. This plant is apparently so precious that an entire fire safety program was scrapped and reworked...

Workers at a Tennessee battery plant have voted to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) — marking a significant victory in the union’s ongoing campaign to organize both the Southeast and the electric vehicle (EV) industry. “Southern workers are ready to stand up and win our fair share by winning our unions. And when we have a free and fair choice, we will win every time,” Trudy Lindahl, a worker at the Ultium plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., said in a statement. General Motors (GM), the Detroit-based automaker that runs the plant as a cooperative venture with South Korea-based LG...

One of the great mysteries about the January 6, 2021, events is the lack of curiosity by the FBI about who planted the pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC headquarters. Amid all of the available CCTV video and surveillance technology exploited by the justice department, their transparent unwillingness to identify the pipe bomber has always been a dog that did not bark.The Occam’s Razor explanation for why DC and federal law enforcement have been incurious, points to law enforcement actually planting the bombs. New CCTV video seems to show exactly that.Shortly after 12:51pm a DC police SUV appears next...

The largest employer in Perry, Iowa, has shut down, and the decision to do so has significantly impacted the entire town. The Tyson Foods meat processing plant is not modern enough, and upgrades to the facility would bring a hefty bill. Therefore, it has closed up shop, CBS News reported Monday. “The Tyson plant employed about 25% of Perry’s working-age residents before it shuttered, according to city and county officials. Accounting for workers’ families and businesses directly related to the plant, about 60% of the town is affected by the closure,” the outlet said.

Shocking photos captured smoke billowing out of a Russia-controlled nuclear power plant in Ukraine — a “reckless” attack that risked a major “nuclear accident,” according to the head of the international nuclear watchdog. Thick, black smoke was seen Sunday exiting the top of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that Russia captured shortly after launching its full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022. The massive fire followed multiple explosions hitting the vast, six-reactor facility, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, which has staff there. “These reckless attacks endanger nuclear safety at the plant and increase the risk of...

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine accused each other of starting a fire at the dormant Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Sunday, but both sides reported no sign of elevated radiation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog said its staff had seen thick, dark smoke coming from the northern part of the vast six-reactor plant in southern Ukraine, currently in "cold shutdown", after multiple blasts. "These reckless attacks endanger nuclear safety at the plant and increase the risk of a nuclear accident. They must stop now," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned in a separate...

Tupperware Brands announced it will be closing its South Carolina factory — the company’s last remaining plant in the US — and laying off more than 100 workers. The iconic plastic food container company will shift all of its manufacturing operations to Mexico, where many of its products sold in the US and Canada are already made. The shuttering of the facility in the small town of Hemingway will result in the layoffs of 148 employees, according to the company, which is headquartered in Orlando. Layoffs are set to begin in September with a closure date scheduled for January 14,...

It looks like the ‘strongest’ legal case against Trump is based on yet another set of lies from corrupt federal agencies.On May 7, Florida Judge Aileen Cannon postponed former President Donald Trump’s classified documents trial after explosive information dropped late Friday afternoon. Several new pieces of evidence indicate it’s even possible federal employees planted classified documents to frame Trump. Even if what happened isn’t that nefarious — although exactly that scenario has already been deployed against Trump several times — not only could the case be thrown out of court, but some federal lawyers may have risked their licenses for...

The unionization vote at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee has been certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), according to a Tuesday announcement from the manufacturer and the United Auto Workers (UAW). Workers at the Chattanooga plant voted two weeks ago, with 73 percent, or 2,628 staffers, in favor of unionization, and 27 percent against, representing 985 employees. “Volkswagen and union workers around the world have a long history of successfully building vehicles together, and we are jointly committed to a strong and successful future at Volkswagen Chattanooga with the UAW,” the automaker and UAW said in a joint...

The Quaker Oats Company announced Wednesday it is permanently closing its factory in Danville, Illinois, with upwards of 500 employees to be impacted. The News-Gazette reports Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. confirmed the news to the wider community, with city officials saying: Today, we learned that after 65 years of production in Danville, Pepsico will close Quaker Oats effective June 8, 2024. The business has already ceased production but will continue to pay their employees through that time. While this shocks and saddens us, we will unite as a community to help those who have lost their employment. Williams said he...

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley on Thursday blamed a “Democrat plant” for a question about what caused the Civil War. The presidential candidate neglected to include “slavery” in her list of reasons. During a town hall on Wednesday, a member of the audience asked the former South Carolina governor what caused the Civil War. She gave an unclear word-salad response. “I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run. The freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” she said. “I think it always comes down to the role of...

The sole power plant in Gaza officially ran out of fuel on Wednesday amid fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and was shut down. Israel cut off supplies — including food, water, fuel and medicine — to the area after Hamas, who controls the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack over the weekend. The access point into Egypt was also closed on Tuesday as a result of airstrikes. Counterattacks from Israel have destroyed neighborhoods in Gaza — home to more than 2.3 million Palestinians. At least 2,200 have been killed on both sides, officials said.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s military intelligence has claimed, without offering evidence, that Russia is plotting a “large-scale provocation” at a nuclear power plant it occupies in the southeast of the country with the aim of disrupting a looming Ukrainian counteroffensive. A statement released Friday by the intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry claimed that Russian forces would strike the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, and then report a radioactive leak in order to trigger an international probe that would pause the hostilities and give the Russian forces the respite they need to regroup ahead of the...

A woman who is suspected of participating in the January 6, 2021 Capitol siege has been identified after her ex-boyfriend spotted her wearing a pink beret in a photo posted by the FBI on Twitter. Law enforcement were finally able to identify Jennifer Inzuza Vargas of Los Angeles after a man who used to date the a woman recognized her as being his ex-girlfriend who he had dumped for reading Hitler's manifesto, Mein Kampf. The man asked to remain anonymous over concerns him snitching could result in harassment and threats against him. He gave details to the FBI about her...