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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chrysler recalling Jeeps over air bag malfunction

From Wire Reports

DETROIT – Chrysler Group is recalling about 750,000 Jeep sport utility vehicles in the U.S. because the air bags can inflate without warning.

The recall includes model year 2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty vehicles and 2002 through 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees.

The recall includes an additional 170,000 of the vehicles globally.

Chrysler said a component in the air bag control module can fail and cause the front air bags, side curtain air bags and seat-belt pretensioners to deploy while the vehicle is being operated.

That’s happened more than 200 times, causing 81 injuries but no reported crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In most cases, the air bags deploy only partially rather than with the full force that occurs when they are triggered by a crash.

Britax child car seats recalled

WASHINGTON – The government is alerting consumers to a safety recall announced by Britax Child Safety Inc., involving 55,455 convertible car seats sold in the United States.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Britax, of Charlotte, N.C., has received reports of children biting and gagging on pieces of the HUGS pads connected to the seat’s harness straps.

The recall involves models Boulevard 70-G3, Advocate 70-G3, and Pavilion 70-G3 manufactured from June 2012 through August 2012. To address the issue, Britax is providing consumers with a kit containing more durable replacement pads that can be installed on the harness straps. Owners of affected car seats are encouraged to remove the HUGS pad until a replacement pad is received.

For more information, contact Britax Child Safety Inc. at (888) 427-4829 or at www.britaxusa.com/ support/safety-notices.

Pilots, American reach deal

NEW YORK – The pilots union for American Airlines said it and the company have reached an agreement in principle for a new contract.

The agreement means pilots could vote to ratify the contract within three weeks. If approved, the contract would help pave the way for the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline to exit bankruptcy. AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, filed for Chapter 11 protection last November. It has reached labor agreements with all of its unions except for the pilots.

The airline has about 7,500 active pilots.

Cuba to rent out restaurants

HAVANA – Cuban authorities have announced that the government will begin renting out state-owned restaurants to workers who want to run them independently.

It’s a trial program set to begin in December in three provinces as part of President Raul Castro’s economic reform package.

Interior Commerce Vice Minister Ada Chavez Oviedo calls it a “new system of economic management” and says it will have a gradual rollout.

Chavez said initially it will apply to restaurants that have one to five employees.

Feds sue former trader

WASHINGTON – The U.S. government has filed civil fraud charges against a former Goldman Sachs trader for hiding a trade that cost his employer more than $118 million.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Matthew Marshall Taylor in federal court Thursday. The agency said he failed to disclose an $8.3 billion position on a futures contract that came back to hurt the company in December 2007.

The CFTC was seeking unspecified penalties against Taylor.

J.C. Penney posts huge loss

NEW YORK – J.C. Penney Co. is hoping it has hit rock bottom.

The bad news keeps getting worse for the struggling department-store chain that on Friday reported a wider third-quarter loss than Wall Street expected on a nearly 27 percent drop in revenue. That marks the third consecutive quarter of big losses and sales declines as customers continue to show that they’re unhappy with Penney’s decision this year to ditch hundreds of coupons and annual sales in favor of everyday low pricing.

During the third quarter, revenue at stores open at least a year plummeted 26.1 percent. That’s higher than the 17.6 percent drop analysts had been expecting. Meanwhile, the number of customers coming into the stores dropped 12 percent from the year-ago period.