Thursday, May 22

  • Tinker Bell wands recalled  (UPI / 12:24PM EDT on 05/22) WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of Tinker Bell Wands, due to excessive lead paint.
  • Disney store sleeping bags recalled  (UPI / 11:54AM EDT on 05/22) WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of Pirates of the Caribbean sleeping bags, due to excessive lead paint.
  • Shaker Guiro instruments recalled  (UPI / 11:34AM EDT on 05/22) WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of West Music Shaker Guiro instruments, due to a excessive lead paint.
  • Canada's March retail trade near-flat  (UPI / 10:34AM EDT on 05/22) OTTAWA, May 22 (UPI) -- Retail sales in Canada in March were nearly flat, with just a 0.1 percent monthly gain to $35.5 billion, the Statistics Canada agency reported Thursday.
  • Crude oil prices shoot upward Thursday  (UPI / 8:14AM EDT on 05/22) NEW YORK, D.C., May 22 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices climbed dramatically overnight, gaining more than $4 per barrel and peaking higher than $135 in electronic trading Thursday in New York.

    Wednesday, May 21

  • American Plans to Add Fees While Cutting Flights, Jobs  (AP / 8:34PM EDT on 05/21) DALLAS -- American Airlines Wednesday said it will slash its domestic flying by 11 to 12 percent in the fourth quarter, eliminate thousands of jobs and begin charging passengers $15 each way to check their first bag.
  • House farm bill veto override questioned  (UPI / 7:14PM EDT on 05/21) WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to override President George Bush's veto of a $307 billion farm bill, but the vote could be reconsidered.
  • Bush signs bar to genetic discrimination  (UPI / 6:24PM EDT on 05/21) WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush Wednesday signed a bill barring employers and insurers from discriminating against people genetically predisposed to disease.
  • Grain trading influenced by oil Wednesday  (UPI / 6:05PM EDT on 05/21) CHICAGO, May 21 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices, sharply higher Wednesday, continued to exert it influence on grain trading on the Chicago Board of Trade.
  • HHS buys ads to promote hospital Web site  (UPI / 5:44PM EDT on 05/21) WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is placing ads in 58 daily U.S. newspapers to alert consumers to its Web site comparing hospitals.
  • Oil prices punch up near $132  (UPI / 4:14PM EDT on 05/21) NEW YORK, May 21 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices, up more than $40 per barrel since February, charged up $2.93 Wednesday, closing in on the $132-per-barrel mark in New York.
  • Questions arise in casino money-laundering  (UPI / 3:14PM EDT on 05/21) TORONTO, May 21 (UPI) -- An undercover and deliberately suspicious Canadian broadcaster's investigation of Ontario casino pay-outs found loopholes for possible money-laundering.
  • U.S. closes abusive slaughterhouses  (UPI / 8:34AM EDT on 05/21) WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. food safety inspectors ordered a brief closure of 34 U.S. livestock slaughterhouses because of inhumane treatment of animals, officials said Wednesday.
  • Teenager charged for 149 mph driving  (UPI / 8:04AM EDT on 05/21) BARRIE, Ontario, May 21 (UPI) -- A teenager clocked by police radar driving 149 mph will face insurance premiums of more than $22,000 if convicted, insurance officials said.
  • Argentina: Striking farmers agree to talk  (UPI / 7:24AM EDT on 05/21) BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (UPI) -- Argentine farmers have agreed to call off their weeks-long strike and meet federal officials for talks, government officials said.

    Tuesday, May 20

  • Poland eyes new GMO rules  (UPI / 9:05PM EDT on 05/20) WARSAW, Poland, May 20 (UPI) -- Poland's Environment Ministry says it has authored a bill that would keep genetically modified organisms out of some Polish regions.
  • Grains rally Tuesday  (UPI / 8:34PM EDT on 05/20) CHICAGO, May 20 (UPI) -- Grains were sharply higher on the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday as crop conditions indicated possible yield declines for 2008.
  • Oil prices rising on demand, Pickens says  (UPI / 4:14PM EDT on 05/20) NEW YORK, May 20 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices rose to a record in New York Tuesday after Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens said prices were being pushed by inadequate supplies.
  • Gas leak blamed for San Diego blast  (UPI / 11:24AM EDT on 05/20) SAN DIEGO, May 20 (UPI) -- A natural gas leak caused an explosion in a hotel under construction in downtown San Diego, not an act of terrorism as some feared, investigators said.
  • U.S. demand for foreign oil drops  (UPI / 9:34AM EDT on 05/20) WASHINGTON, May 20 (UPI) -- Foreign oil imports fell in the United States in the first quarter of 2008, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.
  • BOJ says Japan's economy slowing  (UPI / 7:54AM EDT on 05/20) TOKYO, May 20 (UPI) -- Japan's central bank said Tuesday the country's economy has been slowing but bankers said they were upbeat on the housing market since its slump last year.
  • Boeing Says 787 Will Fly This Year: Company Shows Off Dreamliner Progress, Talks About Problems  (AP / John Gillie, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. / 7:34AM EDT on 05/20) May 20--Had Boeing's dreams for its game-changing 787 jetliner fulfilled their original promise, media worldwide would have been gathered at Everett this week to witness the delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner to All-Nippon Airways.

    Monday, May 19

  • One-bedroom home fails to fetch $2 million  (UPI / 8:34PM EDT on 05/19) PHILADELPHIA, May 19 (UPI) -- The Esherick House, a private residence in Philadelphia designed by 20th century architect Louis Kahn, failed to sell at auction.
  • Poll: Motorists admit distracted driving  (UPI / 8:04PM EDT on 05/19) COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 19 (UPI) -- A vast majority of U.S. drivers admit to engaging in not-so-safe driving habits, even though 98 percent of them claim to be safe drivers, a poll indicates.
  • Weather presses on grain prices Monday  (UPI / 6:05PM EDT on 05/19) CHICAGO, May 19 (UPI) -- Weather concerns pressured U.S. grain prices Monday, including a report of continued dry weather in Australia's province New South Wales.
  • Corn planting remains slow in U.S.  (UPI / 5:05PM EDT on 05/19) WASHINGTON, May 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. corn belt is behind its five-year average in planting and emergence, the U.S. Agriculture Department reported Monday.
  • Gas prices continue climbing Monday  (UPI / 4:14PM EDT on 05/19) NEW YORK, May 19 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices climbed Monday in New York, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it wouldn't increase production through the summer.
  • Agency: Millions of Somalis need food aid  (UPI / 3:54PM EDT on 05/19) UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., May 19 (UPI) -- Somalis need food assistance because of soaring food prices, a weak currency and the worsening drought, a U.N. humanitarian program said.
  • American Axle union vote starts  (UPI / 3:54PM EDT on 05/19) DETROIT, May 19 (UPI) -- Striking American Axle and Holding Inc. employees are voting on a contract calling for a $10 hourly cut in pay for most workers, union officials said Monday.
  • Arrest made in disappearance of N.C. woman  (UPI / 2:14PM EDT on 05/19) CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 19 (UPI) -- Police in North Carolina say they have arrested an insurance agent in the disappearance of a state insurance investigator.
  • Afghan reporter appeals death sentence  (UPI / 11:05AM EDT on 05/19) JALALABAD, Afghanistan, May 19 (UPI) -- An Afghan journalist sentenced to death for downloading and distributing an article questioning Islam says his confession was extracted by torture.
  • Blame spread around for food crisis  (UPI / 7:44AM EDT on 05/19) PALO ALTO, Calif., May 19 (UPI) -- Decades of neglect by international food and agricultural organizations have left many countries with less food to feed their people, a U.S. analyst says.
  • 10th victim of bank robbery dies  (UPI / 2:44AM EDT on 05/19) CABUYAO, Philippines, May 19 (UPI) -- The only survivor of a deadly bank robbery in the Philippines died Sunday bringing the number of victims to 10, authorities said.

    Sunday, May 18

  • Metal sheet falls from construction site  (UPI / 9:05PM EDT on 05/18) NEW YORK, May 18 (UPI) -- A metal sheet plummeted from the 18th story of a New York building and landed where children were playing a Little League baseball game, officials said.
  • Loss of Filipino rice crops was stoppable  (UPI / 7:05PM EDT on 05/18) CALAMBA CITY, Philippines, May 18 (UPI) -- The ongoing loss of rice crops throughout the Philippines at the hands of a growing insect horde could have been prevented, researchers say.
  • Bush backs Karzai's aid appeal  (UPI / 11:44AM EDT on 05/18) SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, May 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush in Egypt Sunday said he backed a request by Afghan President Hamid Karzai for $50 billion in foreign aid.
  • American Mechanics Reject Contract  (AP / 2:34AM EDT on 05/18) Members of the Transport Workers Union have rejected a

    Saturday, May 17

  • Parsons adds fuel to Time Warner reports  (UPI / 5:05PM EDT on 05/17) ATLANTA, May 17 (UPI) -- Time Warner could soon have a new chairman as current Chairman Richard Parsons indicated at the company's annual meeting in Atlanta he is about to leave.
  • Porsche eyeing 2,100 new German jobs  (UPI / 4:05PM EDT on 05/17) BERLIN, May 17 (UPI) -- The German luxury automobile manufacturer Porsche will soon create as many as 2,700 jobs in Europe thanks to a new model, a company official says.
  • Alleged loan-fraud scam leads to arrests  (UPI / 3:05PM EDT on 05/17) BOSTON, May 17 (UPI) -- Two Boston lawyers and seven mortgage brokers were among 11 people arrested in connection with an alleged $10.6 million loan-fraud scam, officials say.
  • Drought, high food prices slam Somalia  (UPI / 11:44AM EDT on 05/17) MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 17 (UPI) -- Villagers in Somalia say spiking food costs, coupled with a drought that is killing vital livestock, are producing a famine that has killed hundreds so far.
  • FAO Schwarz to open Macy's outlets  (UPI / 10:14AM EDT on 05/17) CHICAGO, May 17 (UPI) -- FAO Schwarz and Macy's department stores plan to implement a new agreement in which the toy retailer will open outlets in 700 Macy's stores.
  • Tough times hit food show exhibitors  (UPI / 10:05AM EDT on 05/17) CHICAGO, May 17 (UPI) -- Some of the food industry's biggest players say they have reduced their participation at Saturday's National Restaurant Association trade show in Chicago.
  • UAW, American Axle reach agreement  (UPI / 9:14AM EDT on 05/17) DETROIT, May 17 (UPI) -- The United Auto Workers and American Axle were optimistic Saturday they have struck a deal to end a nearly 12-week walkout at the Detroit manufacturer.

    Friday, May 16

  • Canadian autoworkers reach labor deals  (UPI / 8:14PM EDT on 05/16) DETROIT, May 16 (UPI) -- New contracts between the Canadian Auto Workers and U.S. automakers might threaten the future of Canada's auto industry, analysts say.
  • GM reaches pact with union in Delta strike  (UPI / 7:44PM EDT on 05/16) DETROIT, May 16 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. has reached a tentative agreement with a United Auto Workers local that has been on strike for more than a month, the U.S. automaker said.
  • Most don't understand healthcare coverage  (UPI / 6:44PM EDT on 05/16) NEW YORK, May 16 (UPI) -- Gender may play a role in how people understand paying for healthcare but workers of both sexes generally do not understand coverage, a U.S. survey indicates.
  • FAA: Planned Boston tower too tall  (UPI / 5:14PM EDT on 05/16) BOSTON, May 16 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration told Boston officials that a planned 1,000-foot tower could cause an obstruction to aircraft.
  • Oil prices surge Friday  (UPI / 4:05PM EDT on 05/16) NEW YORK, May 16 (UPI) -- A week of falling crude oil prices ended abruptly Friday as speculator interest caused prices to surge on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
  • Armyworms destroying Kenyan crops  (UPI / 1:14PM EDT on 05/16) NAIROBI, Kenya, May 16 (UPI) -- An infestation of armyworms has destroyed a significant portion of food crops in Kenya's Eastern Province, Red Cross officials say.

    Thursday, May 15

  • Senate sends farm bill to president  (UPI / 10:14PM EDT on 05/15) WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate passed a $307 billion farm bill Thursday in a veto-proof 81-15 vote.
  • Grains open low, but corn and wheat rally  (UPI / 5:54PM EDT on 05/15) CHICAGO, May 15 (UPI) -- Grains opened lower on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday, but corn and wheat rallied, while soybeans traded lower at the close.
  • Taxpayers get wrong stimulus checks  (UPI / 4:54PM EDT on 05/15) MELVILLE, N.Y., May 15 (UPI) -- Thousands of U.S. taxpayers' economic stimulus checks have been directly deposited into the wrong accounts by mistake, federal officials said.
  • Crude oil prices drop Thursday  (UPI / 4:05PM EDT on 05/15) NEW YORK, May 15 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices receded Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the U.S. Senate passed a bill to limit speculative energy purchases.
  • Housing crunch hurting wallboard business  (UPI / 3:05PM EDT on 05/15) CHICAGO, May 15 (UPI) -- Gypsum wallboard producer USG Corp. of East Chicago, Ill, has cut production by 75 percent in the wake of a construction slowdown, the company said.
  • GM reaches agreement to end one strike  (UPI / 3:05PM EDT on 05/15) LANSING, Mich., May 15 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. said Thursday it had reached a tentative agreement with workers at its Lansing, Mich., Delta Township Assembly plant.
  • U.S. industrial production slowed in April  (UPI / 12:40PM EDT on 05/15) WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- U.S. industrial production slowed in April after a marginal rise in March, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Thursday.
  • May manufacturing flat in New York  (UPI / 12:10PM EDT on 05/15) NEW YORK, May 15 (UPI) -- Manufacturing activity in New York state declined slightly in May, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday.
  • Hispanic jobless rate shows vulnerability  (UPI / 11:00AM EDT on 05/15) WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- Unemployment among U.S. Hispanics has risen faster than other groups, underscoring their vulnerability in the U.S. economy, analysts said.