In brief: Honda, government confirm 8th death from Takata air bags

DETROIT – A woman who died in a Los Angeles-area car crash last September is the eighth person killed by exploding air bags made by Takata Corp. of Japan, U.S. safety regulators and Honda Motor Co. confirmed Friday.

The woman was identified in a lawsuit as Jewel Brangman, 26, who died from neck and head injuries when the driver’s air bag in her rented 2001 Honda Civic inflated with too much force and spewed metal shrapnel.

Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration each said Friday that they had determined the air bag caused her death. She is the seventh victim in the U.S. and eighth worldwide, including a woman in Malaysia.

Takata uses ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion and quickly inflate air bags. But the chemical can become unstable when exposed to moisture, burning too fast and blowing apart a metal canister designed to contain the explosion.

PETA whale campaign uses virtual reality

ORLANDO, Fla. – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is paying a visit to Orlando with the latest tool in its arsenal of weapons against SeaWorld’s public image: virtual reality.

The animal rights group kicked off an eight-day “I, Orca” Orlando tour this week. It is standing on street corners giving people the chance to don virtual-reality goggles that give them the feeling of swimming with a mother orca in a computer-animated ocean. Actress Edie Falco provides the voice of the mother whale mourning the capture of her son decades ago. “SeaWorld has him,” she says.

“It’s designed to be an approachable way to get people thinking,” said Alex Blount, administrator for the tour.

Thursday, a few passers-by tried the goggles during lunch hour. They bobbed their heads, which allowed them to virtually move forward toward the mother orca. They turned around so they could get the full sensation of being in the ocean.

PETA wants SeaWorld’s killer whales released to sea pens.

Stake sale ends eBay, Craigslist legal fray

SAN JOSE, Calif. – E-commerce company eBay has sold its 28.4 percent stake in Craigslist back to the online classified advertising site, ending years of legal wrangling between the two companies.

The move announced Friday comes as eBay prepares to split with its online payments system PayPal.

EBay, which is based in San Jose, California, bought a stake in Craigslist in 2004. But the two companies have tussled in the legal arena. Craigslist has long accused eBay of using confidential information to start its own classifieds site in the U.S. in 2007.

EBay said with the repurchase, all litigation between eBay and Craigslist will be dismissed

Office Depot sale to Staples gets OK

NEW YORK – Office Depot shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the company’s $6.3 billion acquisition by onetime rival Staples.

The deal, announced in February, is part of a rapid consolidation in the office supply sector that has been hammered by technological changes in the workplace and by competition from Amazon.com and other online retailers.

Staples Inc. has closed dozens of stores in preparation.

Office Depot said Friday that 99.5 percent of the votes cast were in favor of the deal.

Office Depot shareholders will receive $7.25 in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples Inc. for each share at closing.