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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
BAE Systems Closes Tenn. Plant, Cuts 173 Jobs
February 5, 2010 5:04 am | CommentsKNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Defense contractor BAE Systems said it is permanently closing its manufacturingplant in East Tennessee in a move that will eliminate 173 jobs. The plant in Grainger County made body armor for the military. Joe Coltman, vice president of personnel protection systems, said in a statement provided to the Knoxville News Sentinel that the permanent closure would be effective Friday.
Toy Company Fined $200K For Leaded Winnie The Pooh
February 5, 2010 3:54 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. company has agreed to pay a $200,000 penalty to settle allegations it violated U.S. law when it imported Thomas and Friends, Curious George and Winnie the Pooh toys with high levels of lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission alleged that Schylling Associates Inc.
Prius Recall Highlights Dangers Of Electronic Car Controls
February 5, 2010 3:41 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Your most expensive piece of electronics probably is not your flat panel TV or your computer. More likely, it's your car, which can pack 50 microprocessors to control everything from the fuel mix to the rearview mirrors. The recalls and other technical problems besetting Toyota in the last few weeks highlight the risks of relying on electronics instead of the mechanical rods and cables that controlled vehicles for most of the 20th century.
January Unemployment Drops To 9.7 Percent
February 5, 2010 3:34 am | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly in January to 9.7 percent, while employers shed 20,000 jobs, according to a report that offered hope the economy will add jobs soon. The unemployment rate dropped from 10 percent because a survey of households found the number of employed Americans rose by 541,000, the Labor Department said Friday.
Air Products Offers $5.1B For Airgas, Willing To Get Hostile
February 5, 2010 3:28 am | CommentsLEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (AP) — Industrial gas supplier Air Products and Chemicals Inc. said Friday that it made an unsolicited cash bid of about $5.1 billion for smaller rival Airgas Inc. and is willing to make a hostile offer if necessary. Airgas said its board will review the offer with financial and legal advisors and recommended that its stockholders not take any action yet.
Body Armor CEO Spent $353,000 On Pens
February 5, 2010 3:22 am | CommentsCENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A federal prosecutor says a former chief executive had lavish spending habits — including $353,000 worth of pens, some made of gold or silver. The evidence was presented Thursday at the Central Islip (EYE'-slip), N.Y., trial of David H. Brooks. He founded DHB Industries, Inc.
Feds Adopt Safety Revisions After Slim Jim Explosion
February 5, 2010 3:20 am | by Mike Baker, Associated Press Writer | CommentsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal officials voted Thursday night to adopt urgent safety recommendations in response to last year's deadly explosion at a Slim Jim snack factory in North Carolina. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board approved the recommendations Thursday night by a 2-1 vote taken following a public hearing in Raleigh.
Joojoo Web Tablet To Reach Consumers By Month's End
February 4, 2010 4:49 am | by Jessica Mintz, AP Technology Writer | CommentsSEATTLE (AP) — The Joojoo, a Web-browsing tablet device that's the subject of a high-profile Silicon Valley legal dispute, appears on track to reach early buyers at the end of February. The flat touch-screen computer was known until December as the CrunchPad, after the technology blog TechCrunch.
Civil Lawsuit Reopened Over Stinky Hogs
February 4, 2010 3:45 am | by Bill Draper, Associated Press Writer | CommentsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Fourteen rural northwest Missouri residents who received $100,000 apiece in a 1999 lawsuit against a major hog producer have asked a Jackson County jury to give them more money for what they say are intolerable smells coming from its 80,000-head hog confinement in Gentry County.
Deadly Slim Jim Blast Prompts New Rules
February 4, 2010 3:35 am | CommentsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal officials are scheduled to vote Thursday evening on urgent safety recommendations in response to a deadly explosion at a Slim Jim snack factory in North Carolina last year. The proposal before the U.S. Chemical Safety Board recommends that national and international safety codes be changed to more strongly control gas-line purging.
Cincinnati Couple Sue Toyota Over Fraud, Negligence
February 3, 2010 9:02 am | by Lisa Cornwell, Associated Press Writer | CommentsCINCINNATI (AP) — A Cincinnati couple represented by a veteran civil action attorney has filed a lawsuitagainst Toyota charging fraud and negligence over a safety issue involving gas pedals that has caused a massive auto recall. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, seeks class-action status on behalf of all Ohio residents who have bought or leased vehicles Toyota-manufactured vehicles subject to the recall.
Report: U.S. Unlikely To Meet Congressional Biofuel Goals
February 3, 2010 8:58 am | by Philip Elliott, The Associated Press | CommentsWASHINGTON — A presidential task force recommended spending more money to make biofuels like ethanol, saying the U.S. is likely to fall short of mandates for more environmentally friendly energy. An energy task force was ready to present President Barack Obama with a report outlining how the United States' production of fuel from plants or animals was unlikely to meet the goal Congress has demanded.
Cadmium Found On 'Cancer Awareness' Jewelry
February 3, 2010 3:51 am | by Justin Pritchard, Associated Press Writer | CommentsLOS ANGELES (AP) — Concern about the heavy metal cadmium in jewelry grew Tuesday as a California environmental group said new testing of adult necklaces and bracelets bought at three leading retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Aeropostale, detected high levels of the toxic material — as much as 75 percent by weight.
Obama Continues Jobs Campaign: Clean Coal, Biofuels
February 3, 2010 3:43 am | by Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is meeting with governors from coal-producing states, hoping to earn their support for a languishing energy bill and to bolster his image as a leader willing to work with Republicans as well as Democrats. Obama planned to announce on Wednesday new steps to increase the role of biofuels in powering the nation and to release a report detailing how Washington could increase investments in green technologies, an administration official said.
Lawmaker Demands Tech Firms Hand Over Chinese Practices
February 3, 2010 3:33 am | by Joelle Tessler, AP Technology Writer | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — A top Senate Democrat is asking 30 leading technology, Internet and communications companies to provide detailed descriptions of their operations and human rights practices in China. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois sent letters on Tuesday to technology companies including Apple Inc.
