National briefs (1/17/12)
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A Seminole County firefighter foams down what is left of ?The Senator,? a 3,500-year-old cypress tree that burned Monday in Big Tree Park in Longwood, Fla. Seminole County Fire Rescue spokesman Steve Wright said the tree burned for several hours from the inside out. -
U.S. Air Force pallbearers leave Harbor Creek High School Monday carrying the casket of Air Force Senior Airman Bryan R. Bell, of Harborcreek Township, near Erie, Pa., after a funeral service. Airman Bell, 23, was one of three airmen killed Jan. 5 in Afghanistan by an improvised explosive device.
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Crews have laid a hose along a half-mile stretch of Bering Sea ice and were hoping Monday to soon begin transferring 1.3 million gallons of fuel from a Russian fuel tanker to the iced-in western Alaska city of Nome.
The offloading was set to possibly begin before sundown Monday, said Stacey Smith of Vitus Marine, the fuel supplier that arranged to have the Russian tanker Renda and its crew deliver the gasoline and diesel fuel.
Crews on Monday hooked the arctic-rated hose to a shore-side pipeline leading to storage tanks in town and were safety-testing the hose with pressurized air, Ms. Smith said. The transfer could be finished within 36 hours if everything goes smoothly, but it could take as long as five days.
The Renda is moored roughly a half-mile from Nome's harbor after a Coast Guard icebreaker cleared a path for it through hundreds of miles of a slow journey stalled by thick ice and strong ocean currents.
LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood's two main actors' unions, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, took a historic step Monday morning toward combining their unions.
Neither of the unions would publicly comment on the agreement, but people familiar with the matter said it contains a proposed constitution, governance structure and dues payment plan for what would be the largest labor group in Hollywood.
The proposed merger plan comes after nearly two years of negotiations between leaders of both groups to join forces in a bid to gain more leverage in contract negotiations with employers and to end a long history of feuding over bargaining strategy and other matters.
While SAG represents about 125,000 actors, AFTRA claims more than 70,000 members, including actors, broadcasters, disc jockeys, singers and dancers. At least 40,000 are members of both unions.
SEATTLE -- A 66-year-old snowshoer who was missing on Mount Rainier since Saturday was found alive Monday afternoon by a team of three rescuers, a national park spokeswoman said.
Yong Chun Kim, of Tacoma, Wash., was alert and conscious, and was cold but otherwise in stable condition, park spokeswoman Lee Taylor said.
Mr. Kim was leading a group on a snowshoe hike on the mountain when he slid down a slope and became separated from his party.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A Colorado man who was missing for five days was found dead in a locked movie theater restroom after workers noticed an odor and forced their way in, authorities said.
Police had searched the area around the Fort Collins theater after the family of 66-year-old George DeGrazio reported him missing on Jan. 9 and his vehicle was found nearby.
Mr. DeGrazio died of a heart attack, police said.
-- Compiled from news services
First Published January 17, 2012 12:00 am
