"RALEIGH, N.C. -- A nuclear power partnership of General Electric Co. and Tokyo-based Hitachi Ltd. received federal approval Tuesday to build the first plant to enrich uranium for use in commercial reactors using a classified laser technology."

The political and public relations artifact that is the "nuclear renaissance" may be slowed by the industry's and the government's inability to deal with nuclear waste.

"Three Mile Island plant, scene of the worst nuclear power accident in the US, shut down automatically after failure of a coolant pump. Officials say the Three Mile Island shutdown poses no threat."

"Rising seawater temperatures forced an unprecedented shutdown last month of a nuclear reactor on the Connecticut coast."

"TOKYO -- The Japanese government has decided to phase out nuclear power by sometime in the 2030s and shift the country in the direction of renewables, energy conservation and natural gas."

"In a letter submitted Friday afternoon to internal investigators at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a whistleblower engineer within the agency accused regulators of deliberately covering up information relating to the vulnerability of U.S. nuclear power facilities that sit downstream from large dams and reservoirs."

"The letter also accuses the agency of failing to act to correct these vulnerabilities despite being aware of the risks for years.

"After Edison submits a plan to restart one reactor at San Onofre, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to take months to review it."

"YORK, PA -- Roughly 50 workers at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station were exposed to low levels of radiation early Tuesday after a discharge of contaminated steam."

Land contamination may be as important as the direct radiation dose to humans in setting safety standards for nuclear plants, the disaster at Japan's Fukushima site suggests.

"Nearly two years before peace activists broke into a U.S. nuclear weapons facility in late July, government investigators warned in classified reports of lax security at the complex where the nation's largest concentration of weapons-grade uranium is stored."