Boston - General Motors has announced that they have agreed to sell Allison transmission to The Carlyle Group and Onex Corp for $5.6 billion.
The deal is a huge step in the direction General Motors wants to take as they are trying to completely restructure the company in such a way that they will be able to dump some assets and build on cash reserves.
They want to completely change their product line to compete with foreign-based competition.
The Allison sale will close in the third quarter as long as it gets the regulatory approval. It includes seven manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis.
GM put out a press release stating that “This is another important step to strengthen our liquidity and provide resources to support our heavy investments in new products and technology. At the same time, this sale will position Allison for growth with strong partners in Carlyle and Onex, which have well-established track records of working effectively with their management teams, unions and employees.”
GM shares rose 62 cents or 1.7%.
Boston - WWE star Chris Benoit who murdered his wife and 7-year-old son before killing himself passed a random drug test by WWE back in April.
Investigators have stated that anabolic steroids were found in the home of the grappler and his family along with many other prescriptions include HGH, human growth hormones.
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon stated on NBC’s Today mrning show though that the last test Chris Benoit took was a random test in April which was completely negative.
He did state though “That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t taking prescription medication and perhaps even steroids when this happened. We don’t know.”
“Whether or not there were other aspects involving his life that had something to do with his behavior, hopefully we can find out in some way.”
Boston - The Federal Trade Commission has stated that they have turned down net neutrality.
The FTC stated that there was no real reason to protect consumers and content providers from large telecommunications companies who wanted to charge more for faster delivery options.
FTC Chair Deborah Platt Majoras stated that in the absense of significant market failure or demonstrated consumer harm, policy makers should be particularly hesitant to enact new regulation in this area.”
The conclusion by Majoras was that the broadband internet access market was moving towards more competition, not less.
FTC Commissioner John Leibowitz stated that putting net neutrality into law may not help protect consumers.
“The report also soberly reminds us that regulation often has unintended side-effects…But it seems to me equally clear that this report shows that doing nothing may have its costs as well.”
Washington - Democrative presidential hopeful John Edwards tried to flip the attack by author Ann Coulter stating that his supporters should donate to his campaign in response to the “hateful” comments by the author.
Edwards spoke for the first time in regards to the attack by Coulter stating that she wished he would be “killed in a terrorist assassination plot.”
Edwards stated that he is encouraging his supporters to fight back by donating to the campaign. This is the second time Coulter has incidentally helped Edwards. Back in march when she called Edwards a “faggot”, Edwards used the video of the comment to raise $300,000.
Coulter made the comments on Monday on ABC’s Good Morning America. Edwards wants his supporters to defy these heinous remarks and help him reach his goal of raising $9 million in the second quarter.
Boston - The Apple iPhone is now just hours from being released on Friday at 6 p.m.
The anticipation level for the Apple revolution on the mobile phone industry has hit its peak. Aple shares have gained more than 40% since the iPhone was even announced.
John Shinal for Market Watch stated that the investing is based on momentum. Everyone is optimistic for the future of the iPhone.
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc. stated that “We’ve invented a new technology called multi touch, and it works like magic.”
By next year Apple expects to sell 10 million iPhones. They will be sold through AT&T for $499 and $599 with two different storage capacities wih a 2-year-contract.
Washington - The American bald eagle, the national symbol for the United States, may not be endangered for long.
The Interior Department is set to announce that the Bald Eagle will no longer be a part of the Endangered Species Act.
The bird has been in trouble with its population for forty years due to DDT poisoning and hunters. The eagle hit rock bottom in 1963 when it had only 417 mating pairs in all 48 states. Since then though there are now 10,000 mating pairs with at least one pair in each state.
This means that the Interior Department can now safely say that the Bald Eagle is not in trouble in any way shape or form. The recovery was concluded as a success back in 1999 but it took eight years before they wanted to safely take it off of the endangered species list.
Boston - A 23-year-old pilot by the name of Barrington Irving has become the youngest person to fly around the world alone.
The 23-year-old pilot few a single-engine plane and finished his three month trip on Wednesday. He circled the Opa-locka airport and flew along the runway for the crowd before coming in for his final landing.
Irving is an aerospace student who built his plane from $300,000 worth of donated parts.
He departed the Miami-area on March 23rd to begin his three-month trip around the world.
The plane is called “Inspiration.” Irving claims he is the first black person and youngest person ever to complete the journey around the world alone.
London - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will begin his new role as Mideast envoy starting immediately and will be going to the Middle East next month.
This is quick work as it was just yesterday that Tony Blair officially resigned as British Prime Minister leavng the door open for Gordon Brown to take over at this post.
Blair stated that this new task as the Middle East Quartet Envoy is a “huge challenge.”
He stated that he will have to prepare for negotiation with the Middle East to try and gain peace in some capacity. He stated that one key job is to prepare the Palestinians for statehood.
He confirmed he would be heading out in July and that it is an issue which cannot be delayed.
Nablus - Israel moved its attention to the West bank and imposed a curfew on downtown Nablus as they clashed with the Abbas’ Fatah movement.
Israel is supporting Abbas in the struggle against the Hamas, who they have actually been fighting over the last few days. The operation though in Nablus is different.
In Nablus, five Israeli soldiers were wounded by a set of bombs from Fatah militants whicih took place overnight. Nablus residents heard warnings in Arabic on Wednesday night not to leave their homes. This made for empty streets with the exception of army trucks Thursday morning.
Abbas made the announcement he would disarm all militants in the West bank. The Fatah though have stated they will not follow the order.
Gaza has enough food for only about two more weeks then all of this fighting will be nothing compared to the deaths from starvation and homelessness.
Jerusalem - Israeli soldiers killed at least 12 Palestinians on Wednesday including a 12-year-old boy.
Eight gunmen were killed in what was the bloodiest fighting in gaza since the Hamas took power a few weeks ago. Jamas gunmen were a major part of the fighting and were among the dead in the end. The army of Israel put their aim on trying to clear out militants from the Israeli border.
Israel moved soldiers into northern and southern Gaza according to reports. The invasion included them going into the crowded Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City.
Troops scoured for gunmen, weapons, etc. They detained dozens of Palestinians in order to question them for information. Israel has been reluctant to get involved as they have been waiting on the sidelines. Daily rockets though have edged the country back into the fight.