No bodies found in Miss Ally
WOODS HARBOUR, Nova Scotia, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A search of the capsized Miss Alley Saturday turned up no sign of the Canadian commercial fishing boat's five missing crew members, searchers said.
The Yarmouth County Vanguard reported the captain of the private fishing vessel Slave Driver told the crew of the Canadian coast guard vessel the Sir William Alexander about 6 p.m. local time that its divers visually confirmed no wheelhouse or sleeping quarters were attached to Miss Ally's hull and no bodies were located.
The HMCS Glace Bay was expected to arrive at the scene overnight and will conduct a remotely operated underwater vehicle assessment of the Miss Ally Sunday morning in an effort to gather more information and photos from the overturned vessel.
The Miss Ally is located 129 nautical miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, about 25 nautical miles northwest of the boat's last emergency position indicating radio beacon signal.
The crew of the Miss Ally was comprised of Katlin Nickerson, Joel Hopkins, Stephen Cole Nickerson, Tyson Townsend and Billy Jack Hatfield, all in their early 20s to early 30s, the newspaper said.
The fishing boat capsized in a Feb. 17 storm that produced more than 30-foot waves and hurricane-force winds.
More nuclear waste leaking in Washington
SEATTLE, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says six tanks of radioactive waste have now been determined to be leaking and it could take five years to remedy the situation.
Inslee, who was given the update by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and other top DOE officials Friday, said there could be more leaks of what he called a "witches' brew" among the 149 single-shell tanks at the Hanford nuclear site in eastern Washington, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
"Secretary Chu advised me we have six leaking single-shell tanks at the Hanford site, not just one as was previously reported," Inslee said. "The amount of leakage varies from tank to tank.
"There may be more."
Inslee said a new strategy needs to be developed to deal with the radioactive waste being kept at the decades-old, 560-square-mile site that once held 53 million gallons of radioactive waste, the
The first tank confirmed to be leaking, first constructed in 1943-44, still contains more than 440,000 gallons of radioactive sludge.
"We will have to have a system for removing the waste in the most expeditious way possible," Inslee said. "That could take five years or more than five years."
2 scuba divers drown off California coast
CARMEL, Calif., Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Two scuba divers drowned while diving in the Pacific Ocean near Carmel, Calif., authorities said.
The victims were taken to a hospital, but couldn't be revived, KION-TV, Monterey, reported Saturday. The names of the husband and wife had not been released.
The drownings occurred Friday afternoon at Whalers Cove at Point Lobos State Park. Capt. Carlos Aguilera of Cal Fire told the TV station it's a popular area for scuba diving with frequent accidents every year.
"There's lot of scuba divers that do launch from here," Aguilera said.
"Even though this is a very beautiful place to be at, we want to be cautious. The tides, along with the weather patterns, can change and affect the tide pattern."
U.S. eyes sanctions for Chinese hacking
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The Obama administration is weighing economic sanctions for countries that hack into American companies to steal trade secrets, security officials said.
Though a report released last week didn't specify China as the target, numerous reports of Chinese hackers targeting American businesses and government agencies make them the most obvious target, The Hill reported Saturday. The administration said it may use "trade policy tools" to punish foreign businesses that have benefited from hacking American interests.
U.S. military officials have identified a Chinese military-run hacker group as targeting nearly 150 American businesses to steal secrets and pass them along to Chinese manufacturers. Beijing has denied the allegation.
Security experts said the shift to economic sanctions is a significant one in the escalating tensions between the two nations over cyberattacks.
"We don't hack into a Chinese company and steal their [intellectual property] and give it to Google or Apple or Ford," said Mike McNerney, a cybersecurity consultant and former Pentagon official. "We view that as out of bounds."
A security analysis ordered by the Pentagon found 141 American companies across the economic spectrum have been targeted by Chinese hackers.
