A small plane collided with a New York City sightseeing helicopter carrying Italian tourists on Saturday around noon. The accident scattered debris in the water and forced people on the New Jersey waterfront to head for cover. Authorities believe all nine people aboard the two aircraft were killed.
The Department of Transportations inspector general sharply criticized the Federal Aviation Administration in the report for providing significantly weaker safety oversight of the “on-demand” flight industry - companies hired to fly aircraft, both helicopters and planes, that seat less than 30 people - than it does of the commercial airline industry.
National Transportation Safety - - - - >

Four of the United States five soda ash producers are located above the Wyomings vast trona reserves, which were formed by an evaporating lake 50 million years ago. Soda ash, or sodium carbonate, has been an anchor of the region since the 1940s, but these days, the industry is facing a confluence of difficult challenges.
The economic recession, including weak demand for glass in the auto and construction sectors, contributed to a 24 percent drop in U.S. soda ash production between the last three months of 2008 and the first quarter of this year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
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Chinese officials have complained for years that steel companies paid too much for foreign iron ore, failing to translate Chinas position as the worlds biggest steel producer into clout at the bargaining table. A state-sanctioned industry group was brought in to fix that by taking over price talks. But the China Iron & Steel Association was tripped up, Chinese state media say, because its bottom line was leaked to Rio.
“The arrest of the Rio Tinto employees earlier this month appears to be the latest salvo in an ongoing battle between CISA and the major Chinese steel mills,” the Chinese newspaper - - - - >

The marketing and consulting companys closely watched annual study of vehicle quality found Monday that Ford, General Motors and Chrysler made strides last year but still lag behind their foreign competitors.
At a time when Detroit is desperate to start turning out cars and trucks that people want to buy, the top two brands in the J.D. Power study were foreign cars: Lexus, Toyotas luxury line, and the Porsche. GMs Cadillac finished third.
The survey measures mechanical and design problems that show up in the first 90 days of ownership. The 2009 models turned out by the Detroit Three improved by an - - - - >

The bus money, like many other programs in the $787 billion stimulus plan, is having the less glamorous and harder-to-quantify effect of keeping workers employed, providing a slight buffer from the recession to some in the auto industry.
At the White House, where saving jobs always was as much a priority as creating jobs, the bus industry is a success story. But it also shows how hard it is to account for that success, especially in an industry that keeps shedding jobs despite the stimulus.
“The stimulus has been a plus, but its just, how do you do the math?” said Patrick - - - - >

The Senate is debating legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to control ingredients going into tobacco products, restrict marketing and ads aimed at young people, and ban words such as “light” or “low tar” that may mislead people about the health risks of smoking.
The legislation, said Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, is “by far the strongest bill to reduce tobacco use that this nation has ever seriously considered.”
Myers and other supporters, such as the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, say the stars may finally be aligned for decisive action on - - - - >

The central government intends to combine the nations 14 largest automakers into 10 by 2011 as part of plans to curb competition and create larger players able to invest in developing more sophisticated vehicles. Consolidation will only be possible if local authorities are prepared to endanger jobs and taxes by surrendering control of carmakers set up under Communist reforms dating back to the 1950s.
“The provincial governments are a tremendous obstacle for industry consolidation,” said Michael Dunne, managing director of JD Power & Associates China, an automotive - - - - >

Obama said in an interview broadcast Saturday on C-SPAN that the beleaguered automakers should aim to have product lines that appeal to consumers - and that means fuel efficient and high-performance vehicles that Americans hunger for.
He defended government intervention in the industry, saying the administration could not let either company simply dissolve.
“Our auto industry is the foundation for economies all across the Midwest,” Obama said, “and ultimately, for the country as a whole. And had we allowed GM or Chrysler simply to liquidate that would have been a huge anti-stimulus on the economy as a whole, - - - - >

In a letter sent today to the National Alliance for Mental Illness, based in Arlington, Virginia, Grassley asked the nonprofit group to disclose any financial backing from drug companies or from foundations created by the industry.
The Iowa Republican, in a series of hearings and investigations, has focused on financial ties between the drug industry, doctors and academic institutions. His efforts have led New York-based Pfizer Inc. to begin disclosing consulting payments to U.S. doctors, and Harvard Medical School in Boston to reexamine its conflict-of-interest policies. Now - - - - >

“Its the age-old Wall Street vs. Main Street smackdown again,” said Brian Fredline, president of UAW Local 602 at a plant near Lansing. “You have all kinds of funding available to banks that are apparently too big to fail, but theyre also too big to be responsible.”
“But when it comes to auto manufacturing and middle-class jobs and people that dont matter on Wall Street, there are certainly different standards that we have to meet - higher standards - than the financials. That is a double standard that exists and its unfair,” Fredline said.
Many workers - not generally known for their - - - - >