Government
BPI To Pay EPA Fine For 2007 Waterloo Accident
April 24, 2013 1:23 pm | News | CommentsBeef Products Inc. has agreed to pay a $450,000 civil penalty to settle alleged violations of Clean Air Act regulations from a 2007 incident at a now-closed Waterloo packing plant which killed a worker and injured another. In the accident more than 1,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia was released into an area occupied by workers and two became trapped.
FDA Device Will Screen For Fake Medicines Overseas
April 24, 2013 1:20 pm | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsMore than a third of malaria-fighting pills used in Africa and Asia are either fake or bad quality, according to a study released last year. Rampant drug counterfeiting has undermined efforts to fight the mosquito-borne disease, which causes fever, chills and flu-like illness.
New Deadline Ordered For FDA Food Safety Reforms
April 24, 2013 8:32 am | News | CommentsA federal judge is siding with two California advocacy groups in ruling that the Food and Drug Administration must set a new timetable to implement delayed food safety reforms. U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton in Oakland, Calif. handed down the decision on Monday.
Obama Administration Had Advance Warning On Fisker
April 24, 2013 2:26 am | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | CommentsDespite that warning, Fisker continued to receive money until June 2011, when the DOE halted further funding. The agency did so after Fisker presented new information that called into question whether key milestones — including launch of the company's signature, $100,000 Karma hybrid — had been achieved.
UN Climate Chief: 2015 Talks Won't Fail
April 23, 2013 2:33 pm | by Michael Casey, Associated Press | News | CommentsSpeaking ahead of a climate meeting in Bonn next week, Christiana Figueres told reporters in a teleconference that much had changed, giving her optimism that a global climate pact can be reached in Paris in 2015. Figueres says climate change is worsening and governments have already committed to reaching a deal.
U.S. Seeks Voluntary Limits On Car Touch Screens
April 23, 2013 1:56 pm | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsU.S. traffic safety regulators are asking automakers to put stronger limits on how long drivers can use in-car touch screens in an effort to curb distracted driving. The voluntary guidelines unveiled Tuesday would restrict the amount of time it takes to perform a single function on the car's audio/visual systems to two seconds.
U.S. Immigration Bill Could Slow Indian Outsourcers
April 23, 2013 8:02 am | by Kay Johnson, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe proposed changes are in line with President Barack Obama's vows to make it tougher for U.S. companies to replace American workers with cheaper labor abroad, either by opening factories overseas or subcontracting their work to outsourcing companies.
DOE Seizes $21M From Electric Car Maker
April 23, 2013 7:25 am | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Obama administration has seized $21 million from troubled automaker Fisker Automotive Inc. just weeks after the company laid off three-fourths of its workers amid continuing financial and production problems. Fisker had received $192 million in federal loans before a series of problems led U.S. officials to freeze the loan in 2011.
NTSB Probes Safety Testing Of Boeing 787 Batteries
April 23, 2013 3:14 am | by Joan Lowy, Associated Press | News | CommentsAs airlines prepare to begin flying Boeing's beleaguered 787 Dreamliners again, federal investigators are looking at how regulators and the company tested and approved the plane's cutting-edge battery system, and whether the government cedes too much authority to aircraft makers for safety testing.
Survey Shows China Manufacturing Weakening
April 22, 2013 10:32 pm | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsChina reported an unexpected decline in economic growth to 7.7 percent in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter's 7.9 percent. Private sector economists and the World Bank have reduced their outlook for annual growth, though to a still-robust level of about 8 percent.
Fla. Gov. Making Strong Push For Tax Break
April 22, 2013 2:38 pm | by Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Republican governor is meeting one on one with lawmakers to pitch his idea of boosting Florida's manufacturing sector by giving manufacturers a blanket exemption from paying the 6 percent sales tax on equipment purchases, two of his key allies on the issue said Monday.
Drop In Gas Prices Benefits Drivers, Economy
April 22, 2013 2:13 pm | by Jonathan Fahey, AP Energy Writer | News | CommentsThe price of oil is being driven lower by rising global supplies and lower-than-expected demand in the world's two largest economies, the United States and China. As oil and gasoline become more affordable, the economy benefits because goods become less expensive to transport.
Rockets, Robots As Obama Hosts Science Fair
April 22, 2013 1:55 pm | News | CommentsPresident Barack Obama is holding his third science fair to highlight projects by student winners of science, technology, engineering and math competitions from around the country. The White House says Monday's event is part of the president's effort to inspire more girls and boys to excel in so-called STEM subjects.
Japan Defends Monetary Policy, Weak Yen
April 22, 2013 11:34 am | News | CommentsJapan's finance minister is pushing back against criticism that the low value of the yen is giving its manufacturers an unfair advantage. Taro Aso told reporters Friday that over the past year, Japan has suffered trade deficits, so it's unfair to say the yen is unreasonably low.
High Court Rejects Tobacco Marketing Appeal
April 22, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsThe Supreme Court has rejected a First Amendment challenge by tobacco companies to a 2009 law that restricts how they can market their products. The justices on Monday left in place a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati that upheld the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that, for the first time, gave the federal government authority to regulate tobacco.
Fla. Compounding Pharmacy Recalls Sterile Drugs
April 22, 2013 8:41 am | News | CommentsA Florida-based compounding pharmacy is voluntarily recalling all lots of its sterile non-expired drug products sold nationwide over concerns the products are not sterile and may contain bacteria, Food and Drug Administration officials said Sunday.
Cement Maker Fined, To Cut Emissions At CO Plant
April 22, 2013 8:19 am | News | CommentsA cement manufacturer in Lyons has agreed to pay a $1 million fine and to install controls to decrease its emissions of the pollutant nitrogen oxide, the U.S. Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday.
Safety Rules Limited For Small Fertilizer Plants
April 22, 2013 8:05 am | by Jack Gillum and Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Associated Press | News | CommentsSmall fertilizer plants nationwide fall under the purview of several government agencies, each with a specific concern and none required to coordinate with others on what they have found. The small distributors — there are as many of 1,150 in Texas alone — are part of a regulatory system that focuses on large installations and industries.
IAEA: Japan Nuke Cleanup May Take Over 40 Years
April 22, 2013 7:37 am | by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. have predicted the cleanup would take up to 40 years. They still have to develop technology and equipment that can operate under fatally high radiation levels to locate and remove melted fuel. The reactors must be kept cool and the plant must stay safe and stable.
Survey: Fiscal Cliff Has Been 'Eh,' Not Armageddon
April 22, 2013 12:04 am | News | CommentsNinety-three percent of respondents said the political developments had no effect on employment levels in the first quarter, and 95 percent said they had no impact on capital spending plans. The NABE did caution, however, that businesses might have already accounted for the higher taxes and lower government spending in the fourth quarter.
Court Denies Beechcraft Contract Challenge
April 21, 2013 8:45 pm | News | CommentsKansas airplane maker Beechcraft has lost a legal battle to halt work on a high-stakes Air Force contract awarded to rival Sierra Nevada Corp. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Friday denied Beechcraft's request for a temporary injunction. The contract for 20 planes for use in Afghanistan is worth more than $427 million. It could be worth as much as $1 billion, depending on future orders.
FAA To Approve Resumption Of Boeing 787 Flights
April 19, 2013 2:23 pm | by Joan Lowy, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Federal Aviation Administration has accepted Boeing's revamped battery system for its beleaguered 787 Dreamliners and agreed to lift its grounding order, according to a congressional official.The order gives Boeing the go ahead to begin retrofitting planes with an enhanced lithium ion battery system.
Miss. Becomes 3rd State To Sue BP For Oil Spill
April 19, 2013 2:20 pm | by Jeff Amy, Associated Press | News | CommentsAttorney General Jim Hood announced Friday that Mississippi had filed suits in federal and state court. The move comes one day before the three-year statute of limitations expires for claims related to the April 20, 2010 explosion and subsequent spill.
Unemployment Rates Fall In 26 States In March
April 19, 2013 2:17 pm | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsUnemployment rates fell in more than half the U.S. states in March even though job growth slowed. Rates fell largely because many of those out of work stopped looking for jobs and were no longer counted as unemployed. Unemployment rates fell in 26 states, rose in seven and were unchanged in 17.
Beer Makers, DOJ Reach Deal
April 19, 2013 12:03 pm | by Sarah Skidmore, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsAnheuser-Busch InBev reached a final agreement with the Department of Justice, settling a dispute over its $20.1 billion acquisition of the Mexican brewer, Grupo Modelo. The world's largest brewer has been trying since June to buy the half of Grupo Modelo that it doesn't already own.
