Solus Industrial Innovations Explosion at California factory

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – An explosion at a manufacturing plant that killed two people and injured two other employees working the night shift inside is believed to have been caused by an industrial process water heater, offiicials said.
The explosion rocked an industrial part of the city Thursday night, cracking the concrete walls of the building and waking up firefighters from a station across the street.
Firefighters from station 45 at first believed a truck had crashed into a building because of the commotion, said Capt. Greg McKeown of the Orange County Fire Authority.
The firefighters ran outside just after 11:30 p.m. and saw that an explosion had occurred at Solus Industrial Innovatoion, 30152 Aventura Ave., McKeown said.
"They heard the explosion, came out of the station, immediately went into action," McKeown said.
The blast damaged the industrial building, including its façade and back wall, which bulged out from the force of the explosion. The blast from the water heater, located in the rear of the building where six employees were working that night, pushed equipment into the walls of the building.
Four employees were outside of the building when firefighters approached. They said that two people were still inside the plant, McKeown said.
"There was no fire," McKeown said. "There's a lot of damage to the building."
Firefighters went inside the building and found two people dead, he said.
Two employees were taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo to be treated for minor injuries. Two other workers refused medical treatment.
Authorities are currently at the scene investigating the cause of the blast, but it is believed it was caused by a large industrial process electric water heater, McKeown said.
The blast was strong enough to make two holes in the ceiling.
McKeown said the two people killed appeared to have suffered severe trauma and no burns. When firefighters went inside, they found roofing material scattered on the ground, insulation hanging and several broken pipes.
"There's a lot of damage inside," he said.
The force broke several fire sprinkler pipes as well, igniting the fire alarm.
Firefighters with the OCFA's Hazmat team searched the area, but found no hazardous materials that would be of an immediate concern, McKeown said.
Deputies have blocked traffic in the area on Aventura Avenue for both sides of traffic, said Lt. Ted Boyne of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Traffic is blocked from Gilberto to Tomas.
According to an online profile, the company makes conveyor chains and sprockets.

Uss Hartford Collision in Strait of Hormuz

DUBAI (Reuters) - A nuclear-powered U.S. submarine and another U.S. vessel collided on Friday in the Strait of Hormuz but there was no damage to the atomic propulsion unit, the U.S. Navy said.
Fifteen sailors were slightly injured in the collision between the submarine USS Hartford and an amphibious vessel, USS New Orleans, it said in a statement.
"There is no damage to the nuclear propulsion plant of the Hartford," U.S. Navy spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Christensen told Reuters.

Tennis Player Sarah Gronert and Her Gender Controversy

Sarah Gronert, a 22-year-old pro from Germany, finds herself under scrutiny from her opponents and their coaches, who believe that a unique gender issue from birth should make her ineligible for the woman's tour.
Three years ago, those issues almost caused Gronert, ranked No. 619 in the world, to abandon her career. Though she has since returned to competitive tennis, the dialogue that continues to surround her relates not to her ability, but to her biology.
Gronert was born with male and female genitalia. After undergoing surgery, she's now medically certified as a woman. That's not good enough for some, though.
"There is no girl who can hit serves like that, not even Venus Williams," said Schlomo Tzoref, the coach of Julia Glushko, who Gronert recently beat on her way to winning the Raanana tournament in Israel in early March. "When I heard her story, I was in shock. I don't know if it's fair that she can compete or not. She does have an advantage, but if this is what the WTA have decided, they probably know best. If she begins to play continuously, within six months she will be within the Top 50."
It's tough to piece together the details of Gronert's story. Her story has yet to really reach American shores, so facts have to be parsed together from various foreign language websites. Yet Tzoref isn't the only one who sees the potential for Gronert to climb the ranks of the women's tour, which will surely lead to more conversation -- and infamy -- around the world regarding her standing on the tour.
We do know that, at 19, the harsh words and treatment from peers almost led Gronert to retire. Instead, she underwent surgery to remove the male genitalia and, after a struggle with the WTA that needed a petition and special committee to resolve, was allowed to compete again.
Gronert has appeared in nine tournaments in the last three years, winning two -- the Raanana tournament on March 2 and the German Kaarst tournament on January 19 -- this year. The purse for both titles was $10,000 each. Her competitors feel she had an unfair advantage towards winning those purses which will lead her to continue to rise in the sport unfairly. The longer Gronert competes, the more fevered the conversation grows (her Wikipedia page was deleted due to constant abuse by users).