Japanese Nuclear Crisis Threatens Skating World Championships

Figure skating’s world championships may be canceled because of the threat of a meltdown at a Japanese nuclear power plant that was crippled by the country’s biggest earthquake.

The championships are scheduled to begin March 21 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, 135 miles (217 kilometers) from the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi atomic complex. An explosion is possible at a second reactor building after the plant’s cooling system failed, officials said today.