News

The Blind Driving The Blind

July 2, 2010 4:38 am | by Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer | Comments

WASHINGTON (AP) — Could a blind person drive a car? Researchers are trying to make that far-fetched notion a reality. The National Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech plan to demonstrate a prototype vehicle next year equipped with technology that helps a blind person drive a car independently.

Toshiba To Build Batteries For Future Mitsubishi EVs

July 2, 2010 4:32 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | Comments

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Friday it's jumping into the battery business for electric vehicles in a development deal with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. It's the first EV battery deal with a major automaker for Toshiba, which already makes batteries for laptops and cell phones, said company spokesman Ken Shinjo.

GM: China A Better Market Than The U.S.

July 2, 2010 4:30 am | Comments

SHANGHAI (AP) — General Motors Co. says its first-half sales of vehicles in China overtook the U.S. for the first time amid a fitful recovery in American demand. The 1.21 million GM-brand vehicles sold in China in January to June — a near 50 percent gain over a year earlier — compared with 1.

Unemployment Drops, Manufacturing Pitches In

July 2, 2010 4:29 am | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | Comments

WASHINGTON (AP) — A wave of census layoffs cut the nation's payrolls in June for the first time in six months, while private employers added a modest number of jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent, its lowest level in almost a year. Employers cut 125,000 jobs last month, the most since October, the Labor Department said Friday.

Jackpot Winners Won't Quit Working For Chrysler

July 2, 2010 4:27 am | by John Seewer, Associated Press Writer | Comments

CURTICE, Ohio (AP) — A year ago, William Shanteau and his 13 co-workers at a Detroit auto plant were worried their jobs could be gone at any moment. Now they're all millionaires after winning a share of last week's $96.9 million Powerball drawing. Most of the group from the paint shop at a Chrysler plant that makes Jeep Grand Cherokees still plan to keep working, Shanteau said Thursday after working a 12-hour shift.

Indiana Manufacturer Battles Guns-At-Work Law

July 1, 2010 12:06 pm | Comments

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A northwestern Indiana steel company is disregarding a new state law that lets workers bring their guns to work, while other businesses are weighing a possible legal challenge. A memo to ArcelorMittal workers in East Chicago and Burns Harbor says that federal law pre-empts the state law and that the company will strictly enforce its firearms ban.

Indiana Manufacturer Battles Lifted Handgun Ban

July 1, 2010 12:06 pm | Comments

Seafood Supply Chains Jump 'Sideways' To Avoid Gulf

July 1, 2010 11:00 am | by Michael Hill, Associated Press Writer | Comments

GREEN ISLAND, N.Y. (AP) — At the Carioto Produce and Seafood warehouse, shrimp from India and Vietnam stock the freezer, while a refrigerated aisle is stacked with bags of clams from Rhode Island, cockles from New Zealand, a fresh 5-pound fillet of lane snapper from Nicaragua and mahi-mahi from Ecuador.

Makeup Can't Cover Manipulation In L'Oreal Case

July 1, 2010 10:59 am | by Angela Doland, Associated Press Writer | Comments

NANTERRE, France (AP) — Judges on Thursday postponed a highly awaited trial on whether a schemer manipulated France's richest woman out of euro1 billion ($1.2 billion) after secret recordings emerged suggesting the L'Oreal heiress was evading taxes by keeping millions in Swiss bank accounts. The recordings have implications that reach beyond the trial, shaking the highest echelons of power in France and embarrassing the government — in part because the wife of a leading minister worked for the company managing Liliane Bettencourt's fortune.

P & G To Make Fashionable Diapers

June 30, 2010 5:04 am | by Dan Sewell, AP Business Writer | Comments

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Procter & Gamble Co. is aiming to make disposable diapers fashionable. Popular designer Cynthia Rowley has designed 11 styles of Pampers, including pastels, stripes, madras and ruffles. P&G says they'll be offered in Target Corp. stores beginning in mid-July.

Sony Recalls 535,000 Overheating, Warping Laptops

June 30, 2010 4:57 am | Comments

TOKYO (AP) — Sony Corp. said Wednesday that it has started providing free software updates to more than half a million users worldwide to fix a glitch that could cause overheating in its popular VAIO laptops. So far, no injuries have been reported, but the Tokyo-based electronics company said it has received a total of 39 problem reports, including 26 in the U.

Boeing Acquires Combat Firm For $775 Million

June 30, 2010 4:47 am | Comments

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Boeing said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire combat engineering firm Argon ST Inc. for about $775 million in cash in a deal to expand its capabilities in intelligence gathering and warfare. Argon ST is a Fairfax, Va., company that develops a variety of systems used in surveillance, reconnaissance and combat.

Ford Repays $4 Billion Of Staggering Debt

June 30, 2010 4:28 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | Comments

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co., the only Detroit automaker to avoid bankruptcy protection, said Wednesday it will reduce its huge debt by another $4 billion as it continues to show signs of financial strength. The Dearborn, Mich., automaker will pay $3.8 billion in cash to a United Auto Workers trust fund that pays retiree health care bills, and it will pay out $255 million in dividends on preferred securities that had been deferred as the automaker worked its way through financial troubles.

Obama Visits Hard-Hit Wis. Manufacturing City

June 30, 2010 4:26 am | by Scott Bauer, Associated Press Writer | Comments

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — If President Barack Obama wants to see a community hard hit by the recession, there's not many places better in Wisconsin than where he's coming Wednesday. Obama invited the public to attend a round table discussion on the economy in Racine, a city suffering under 14.

Immigration Agents Raid Calif. Manufacturing Plant

June 30, 2010 4:25 am | Comments

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Federal immigration agents have taken 43 people into custody following a raid at a Fullerton manufacturing plant. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lori Haley says federal agents executed a search warrant Tuesday morning at Terra Universal Inc. Haley says the 43 people taken into custody are suspected of being in the country illegally.