UI student will create Columbia treaty model

A University of Idaho student has received a U.S. Department of Energy research fellowship to develop a computer model related to the Columbia River Treaty.

Mark Cecchini-Beaver’s computer model will describe legal, technical and physical constraints of the Columbia River, which will be used to inform upcoming talks between the U.S. and Canadian authorities about the future of the treaty.

The 1964 treaty governs power generation and flood control along the 1,200-mile river. Though it doesn’t have an expiration date, either country can cancel most of the treaty’s provisions after September 2024, with a 10-year minimum notice. If either the U.S. or Canada wants changes, treaty discussions could begin as early as 2014.

Cecchini-Beaver is part of UI’s Waters of the West program, where he is jointly working on a law degree and master’s degree in science.

Becky Kramer

Facebook IPO facing delays in approval

SAN FRANCISCO –

Facebook Inc.’s expected May 18 debut as a public company is not a foregone conclusion because of a delay in regulatory approval, according to a media report Friday.

Facebook is still awaiting the approval of the company’s latest S-1 registration filing by the Securities and Exchange Commission, business network CNBC said.

Separately, Morningstar said the buzz around Facebook’s IPO makes sense given the company’s potential, but its analysts pointed out that investors may be underestimating the business challenges.

Facebook is expected to sell 180 million shares with a proposed range of $28 to $35 a share in a deal that values the company at up to $96 billion. Insiders and other stakeholders are expected to sell more than 157 million shares.

MarketWatch

Postal Service won’t ship lithium batteries

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Postal Service is banning international shipments of electronics with lithium batteries such as smartphones, laptops and iPads, citing the risk of fire.

Beginning Wednesday, consumers may no longer make the shipments, including to Army and diplomatic post offices. That means friends and family will have to use more expensive private companies such as UPS and FedEx to ship electronics to U.S. troops abroad.

Officials expect that U.S. consumers can resume shipments in most cases after Jan. 1, once the agency develops a new policy “consistent with international standards.”

Lithium batteries are believed to have caused at least two fires on cargo planes since 2006.

Associated Press

American Airlines will consider mergers

DALLAS – American Airlines says it is agreeing with creditors to consider potential mergers while it is still under bankruptcy protection.

American parent AMR Corp. says that the company and its bankruptcy creditors agreed to develop “potential consolidation scenarios,” but that didn’t mean it would pursue a deal with any particular party. Still, Friday’s announcement suggested that events could be moving faster than AMR had expected since US Airways turned up the pressure for merger talks.

AMR CEO Thomas Horton has said for months that he wanted American, the nation’s third-biggest airline, to emerge from bankruptcy protection as an independent company.

US Airways is a smaller competitor but a profitable one. US Airways has lobbied AMR’s creditors and lined up support from American’s three unions for a takeover.

Associated Press