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As Strikes Wane, Caterpillar Workers Hold the Line

Credit Joseph P. Meier / Sun-Times Media Photo

Striking workers picket outside a Caterpillar plant in Joliet, Ill. The work stoppage is now entering its third month.

By David Schaper

Originally published on Mon July 2, 2012 4:35 pm

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Whenever a car or truck turns off busy Channahon Road onto the long drive to the Caterpillar plant in Joliet, Ill., a handful of union workers on a picket line scream, "Scab! Scab!!"

As strikers try shaming the few workers and managers who cross the line, even a clearly marked sandwich delivery car gets shouted down.

Approximately 800 workers at this plant, which makes hydraulic systems for Caterpillar's heavy construction and mining equipment, are about to enter their third month on strike.

Negotiations Fail

2:25 pm

Mon July 2, 2012

Tech Week Ahead: Another Nail In Kodak's Coffin

By editor

Originally published on Mon July 2, 2012 4:35 pm

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Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block and it's time now for All Tech Considered.

(SOUNDBITE OF THEME MUSIC)

BLOCK: In this week's Look Ahead with NPR's Laura Sydell, another nail in the coffin for Kodak.

LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE: You know, I feel like you should bring on the violins for that one.

BLOCK: Cue the sad music.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SYDELL: Today begins this very sad process. It's really the end of an era.

1:58 pm

Mon July 2, 2012

Do You Live In A City? Hm. Let's Find Out

By editor

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 9:37 am

Urban life is multifaceted and complex. But, sometimes you need to just go with the flow and this chart may (or may not) show you if you're really an urbanite.

NPR Cities: Urban Life In The 21st Century

1:58 pm

Mon July 2, 2012

At Work And At Play, How Cities Stack Up

By editor

Originally published on Mon July 2, 2012 2:50 pm

There is increasing awareness of cities as a defining trait of humanity and their importance to our health, economy and the environment. Here, some basic nuts and bolts about cities and the people who live, drive, work and play in them

It's All Politics

1:35 pm

Mon July 2, 2012

Romney Adviser Seems To Undercut GOP Health Care Tax Argument

By Frank James

Originally published on Tue July 3, 2012 9:35 am

There apparently isn't a unified Republican message on whether President Obama has introduced a big new tax through the Affordable Care Act.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a top aide to Mitt Romney, said Monday that the Republican presidential candidate's position is that the penalty under the new law — the one for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but don't — is not a tax.

The Supreme Court last week upheld the health care law's individual mandate on the grounds that it is a permissible tax, in a 5-4 opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts.

1:12 pm

Mon July 2, 2012

Lack Of Electricity Dims Afghan Economic Prospects

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Credit Jawad Jalali / EPA/Landov

Afghanistan produces about half the power it currently uses and imports the other half from neighboring countries. But that total still doesn't meet the country's demands. This photo shows Kabul at night in January.

Credit Bay Ismoyo / AFP/Getty Images

Only about one-third of Afghans have access to a reliable power supply.

Credit Sean Carberry / NPR

The Omid Plastic Making Factory in Kabul manufactures plastic bags. Even though the industrial park where it's located was supposed to guarantee full power, the factory often relies on a generator. "There is no industrial power for us. We are using the same power as normal people," says factory manager Abdul Qadida Sozai.

Credit Sean Carberry / NPR

This welding shop in Kabul relies on a generator because the city power supply isn't reliable or powerful enough for the equipment.

By editor

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 3:38 pm

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Afghanistan desperately needs to jump-start its economy if it hopes to stand on its own after NATO's drawdown in 2014. But there's a major constraint for a country trying to build a modern economy: electricity shortages.

Afghanistan ranks among the countries with the lowest electricity production per capita in the world. Despite billions of dollars in projects over the past decade, at best one-third of the population has access to regular power.

1:06 pm

Mon July 2, 2012

Judge Rules Twitter Must Turn Over Occupy Protester's Messages

By Eyder Peralta

An interesting technological case has emerged from the Occupy Wall Street protests of last fall. At issue is whether prosectors can simply subpoena the tweets of Malcom Harris, one of about 700 protesters arrested last year while walking on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Matthew A. Sciarrino Jr. had already ruled on this once before saying Harris had no jurisdiction to challenge the subpoena because his tweets belonged to Twitter.

11:49 am

Mon July 2, 2012

European Giant Airbus Set To Open First American Plant In Alabama

Credit Dave Martin / AP

Airbus President & CEO Fabrice Bregier, second from left, shakes hands with Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley as they pose with a model of the A320 Airbus.

By editor

Originally published on Mon July 2, 2012 1:51 pm

Airbus, the European aviation giant, announced that it was opening its first assembly plant in the United States.

The AP reports this is a significant and symbolic step in its rivalry with the American Boeing.

The AP adds:

"The French-based company said the Alabama plant is expected to cost $600 million to build and will employ 1,000 people when it reaches full production, likely to be four planes a month by 2017.

11:18 am

Mon July 2, 2012

Gatorade And Cheetos: Blackout In Small-Town West Virginia

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Credit Alan Greenblatt / NPR

Members of the Williamsburg Volunteer Fire Department were unable to find fuel at a station in Crawley, W.Va. Elsewhere, people waited in line for hours for the chance to fill up.

Credit Alan Greenblatt / NPR

Trucking company owner Tod Moss, who lives in the town of Beckley, drove 40 miles to Crawley to bring a few gallons of gas to his employees. "You could get beat up and killed for 5 gallons of gas," he says.

Credit Alan Greenblatt / NPR

The weekend storms tore up a tree across the street from the West Virginia DOT division facility in Crawley.

By Alan Greenblatt

Originally published on Mon July 2, 2012 1:28 pm

People who show up at the Shell station in Crawley, W.Va., hoping to find ice, water or a working bathroom are out of luck. With no power to work the pumps, there's no hope of buying gas, either.

Still, a steady stream of customers arrived at the station Sunday evening, picking up snack cakes and 12-packs of Bud Light. A couple of women left the food store with little kids in tow holding Gatorade and Cheetos, which seems like a suitable supper when the food in your home freezer has started to go bad.

10:59 am

Mon July 2, 2012

Glaxo To Plead Guilty To 3 Charges In Sweeping Health Settlement

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images

GlaxoSmithKline's mishandling of information on safety problems with diabetes drug Avandia is just one of the violations cited in a settlement with the government.

By editor

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 7:15 am

If you've grown numb to the federal fraud charges settled by drugmakers one after another, shake it off and take note of today's huge settlement by GlaxoSmithKline.

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