River in Colorado reopens; plume reaches Lake Powell

River in Colorado reopens; plume reaches Lake Powell

SALT LAKE CITY

A river in Colorado that was turned sickly yellow by a mine-waste spill reopened Friday after the now-diluted toxic plume passed through and reached Lake Powell – a huge reservoir 300 miles downstream that feeds the Colorado River and supplies water to the Southwest.

Water officials, however, said the plume that includes lead, arsenic and other heavy metals now presents little danger to users beyond Lake Powell – such as the city of Las Vegas – because the contaminants will further settle out and be diluted in the reservoir along the Utah-Arizona border.

Islamic State leader raped American hostage, US finds

WASHINGTON

American hostage Kayla Mueller was repeatedly forced to have sex with Abu Bakr Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group, U.S. intelligence officials told her family in June.

“They told us that he married her, and we all understand what that means,” Carl Mueller, Kayla’s father, told The Associated Press on Friday, which would have been his daughter’s 27th birthday. Her death was reported in February.

Her mother, Marsha Mueller, added, “Kayla did not marry this man. He took her to his room and he abused her, and she came back crying.”

Arkansas ending Medicaid payments to organization

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

Arkansas is ending its Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Friday, despite warnings federal officials have given other states that such a move could violate the law.

Hutchinson ordered the Arkansas Department of Human Services to terminate its Medicaid provider contract with the organization in 30 days. The move came in response to secretly recorded videos released by an anti-abortion group showing Planned Parenthood officials describing how they provide fetal tissue from abortions for medical research.

Firefighter rescued from blast zone

TIANJIN, China

Rescuers pulled out a firefighter who was trapped for 32 hours after responding to a fire and huge explosions in the Chinese port city of Tianjin as authorities dealt Friday with a fire still smoldering amid potentially dangerous chemicals.

A rapid succession of explosions late Wednesday – one equal to 21 tons of TNT – killed at least 85 people, injured more than 720 and left several firefighters missing.

Series of explosions rocks Texas oil field chemical supplier

CONROE, Texas

A series of explosions rocked an oil field chemical supply company north of Houston on Friday, setting off a fire that sent a broad, dense column of thick, black smoke towering into the otherwise blue skies.

DrillChem said no one was in the plant on the eastern fringe of Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston, at the time of the explosions. Authorities said they knew of no one who was injured in the explosions or blaze that erupted about 4:30 p.m. Firefighters took about two hours to bring the fire under control.

“The facility was empty at the time of the fire, and we are thankful that no injuries have been reported,” said DrillChem CEO Brandon Hayes in a statement.

Associated Press