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Purveyor's JournalSysco Under USDA Investigation For Horrifying Food Storage Practices
Investigations into the food storage practices of one of the country’s largest food distributors have reached the federal level, KNTV-TV reported on Monday.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) told KNTV that they have begun probing Sysco Corporation following a complaint received at the USDA’s office in Alameda, California. Members of a local meat trade association reportedly contacted the USDA after watching a July 2013 report showing Sysco employees storing perishable food in non-refrigerated outdoor sheds, then delivering them using their own cars instead of company vehicles.
That same month, the California Department of Public Health began its own investigation into what one official called “a little bit of a runaway train” of violations. Fifteen similar sheds were discovered in Ontario, Canada in September 2013, prompting a separate inquiry by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
A company spokesperson told KNTV that Sysco, which serves about 400,000 customers through its 180 facilities in the U.S., Canada and Ireland, had disposed of the outdoor sheds and was cooperating with authorities.
Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), who is based out of nearby Santa Cruz and is the ranking member of the Appropriations subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food and Drug Administration, criticized Sysco for creating mistrust around itself.
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/30/food-distributor-sysco-under-usda-investigation/
September Auto Sales: Ford, Chrysler Up, But GM, Toyota Sales Fall
By Jerry Hirsch
October 1, 2013, 7:33 a.m.
U.S. monthly auto sales declined in September for the first time in more than three years, in part because of a calendar quirk that landed Labor Day weekend sales in the August report.
Auto information company TrueCar.com estimated that by the time all of the automakers report their results Tuesday, sales will have topped 1.1 million, about a 4% decline from September last year. Ford Motor Co. said the decline may be closer to 5%.
General Motors Co. said it sold 187,195 vehicles in the U.S. last month, an 11% decrease from the same month a year earlier.
However, Ford said its September sales totaled 185,146 vehicles, a 6% increase from a year earlier.
Chrysler Group also bucked the trend, reporting sales of 143,017 vehicles in September, a 1% increase compared with the same month a year earlier and the automaker’s best September since 2007.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-september-auto-sales-chrysler-ford-20131001,0,2278625.story
September Manufacturing Activity Highest Since April 2011: ISM
Source: REUTERS
NEW YORK | Tue Oct 1, 2013 10:05am EDT
(Reuters) - The U.S. manufacturing sector last month expanded at its fastest pace in almost 2-1/2 years, an industry report showed on Tuesday, while firms added the most workers in 15 months.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity rose to 56.2 in September from 55.7 in August, marking its highest level since April, 2011.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected September's index to slip to 55. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Employment jumped to 55.4, its highest since June, 2012. It stood at 53.3 in August. The forward-looking new orders index, however, slipped to 60.5 from 63.2.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/01/us-usa-economy-manufacturing-idUSBRE9900P520131001
Shutdown Will Cost U.S. Economy $300 Million a Day, IHS Says
By Jeanna Smialek and Ian Katz - Oct 1, 2013
A partial shutdown of the federal government will cost the U.S. at least $300 million a day in lost economic output at the start, according to IHS Inc.
While that is a small fraction of the country’s $15.7 trillion economy, the daily impact of a shutdown is likely to accelerate if it continues as it depresses confidence and spending by businesses and consumers.
Lexington, Massachusetts-based IHS, a global market research firm, estimates that its forecast for 2.2 percent annualized growth in the fourth quarter will be reduced 0.2 percentage point in a weeklong shutdown. A 21-day closing like the one in 1995-96 could cut growth by 0.9 to 1.4 percentage point, according to Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia.
“Government spending touches every aspect of the economy, and disruption of spending, more than the direct loss of income, threatens to damage investor and business confidence in ways that can seriously harm economic growth,” LeBas said yesterday in an interview.
The Fed on Sept. 18 unexpectedly refrained from reducing the $85 billion pace of bond purchases intended to boost growth, saying it needs more time to assess the economy’s progress. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said last week the budget showdown in Washington is among the risks to the outlook.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-01/shutdown-would-cost-u-s-economy-300-million-a-day-ihs-says.html
Shutdown Confrontation May Rob Momentum From Debt Debate
By Mike Dorning - Oct 1, 2013
A partisan stalemate that partially shut down the U.S. government may lessen the appetite of lawmakers for risking a debt default later this month.
The potential political and economic blow from the shutdown that began today could sap the will of rank-and-file Republicans in Congress to go through with a second fiscal confrontation with President Barack Obama on the heels of this week’s fight, said Dan Meyer, chief of staff to former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and later a congressional lobbyist for President George W. Bush.
“It has the potential to make a significant difference,” Meyer said. Some Republicans “want to play a little too close to the flame here and, frankly, some of them need to get their fingers singed,” Meyer, now a lobbyist with the Duberstein Group, said. “They’ll start feeling the heat pretty quick.”
The federal government’s first partial shutdown in 17 years began with the new fiscal year at midnight. Legislation to fund the government stalled as congressional Republicans stuck with demands for changes in Obama’s signature 2010 Affordable Care Act. Obama and congressional Democrats refused to go along.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-01/shutdown-confrontation-may-rob-momentum-from-debt-debate.html
Americans by 72% Oppose Shutdown Tied to Health Care Cuts
By Greg Giroux - Oct 1, 2013
In a rejection of congressional Republicans’ strategy, Americans overwhelmingly oppose undermining President Barack Obama’s health-care law by shutting down the federal government or resisting an increase in the nation’s debt limit, according to a poll released today.
By 72 percent to 22 percent, Americans oppose Congress “shutting down major activities of the federal government” as a way to stop the Affordable Care Act from going into effect, the national survey from Quinnipiac University found.
By 64 percent to 27 percent, voters don’t want Congress to block an increase in the nation’s $16.7 trillion federal borrowing limit as a way to thwart implementation of the health-care law, which Obama signed into law in 2010 with a goal of insuring millions of Americans, known as “Obamacare.”
A majority of the public, 58 percent, is opposed to cutting off funding for the insurance program that begins enrollment today. Thirty-four percent support defunding it.
While objecting to tactics embraced by House Republicans to thwart the health-care law, Americans are divided on the president’s job performance and the law.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-01/americans-by-72-oppose-shutdown-tied-to-health-care-cuts.html
BP Lied About Size Of U.S. Gulf Oil Spill, Lawyers Tell Trial
NEW ORLEANS | Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:33pm EDT
(Reuters) - In the frantic days after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP lied about how much oil was leaking from its Macondo well and took too long to cap it, plaintiffs' lawyers said on Monday at the opening of the second phase of the company's trial.
A lawyer for BP told the U.S. District Court in New Orleans that the company did not misrepresent the oil flow and followed U.S. standards before and after the spill, the worst marine pollution disaster in the United States.
The British oil company is fighting to hold down fines that could hit $18 billion at the trial, which will determine damages. BP's annualized earnings, based on last quarter, are running at about $17 billion.
"BP refused to spend any time or money preparing to stop a deepwater blowout at its source," said Brian Barr, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, which include people affected by the spill, the U.S. government and Gulf states, and BP's former contractors.
"BP then made the situation worse," Barr said. "By lying about the amount of flow from the well."
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/30/us-bp-trial-idUSBRE98T13U20130930
NBC Scraps Hillary Clinton Miniseries
NBC has scrapped its controversial Hillary Clinton miniseries project.
“After reviewing and prioritizing our slate of movie/miniseries development, we’ve decided that we will no longer continue developing the Hillary Clinton miniseries,” the network said in a statement Monday.
The news comes hours after CNN Films opted to cancel its planned documentary on the former Secretary of State and First Lady after pressure from Democrats and Republicans.
NBC announced in July that it was developing a four-hour miniseries based on Clinton starring Diane Lane, with plans to air the effort before Clinton was likely to announce her candidacy for president. The project was due to be written by Frozen River's Courtney Hunt and would have recounted Clinton's life as a wife, mother, politician and cabinet member from 1998 to the present. The script would have started with Clinton living in the White House as her husband Bill Clinton is serving the second of his two terms as president and would have included her likely run for president.
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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-scraps-hillary-clinton-miniseries-639210
Conservative Radio Host Mark Levin Urges GOP TGo ‘Screw The Stock Market!’ And Shut Down Government
Conservative radio host Mark Levin recently suggested that Republicans should move forward with a government shutdown and “screw the stock market.”
On his radio show last week, Levin expressed frustration with media reports that a government shutdown could hurt the economy.
“Not once have a seen a news report on the debt in this nation!” he shouted. “We’re talking about, in addition to the continuation resolution [to fund the government] — the reason we need, quote-unquote, continuing resolution is because Harry Reid had blocked every damn budget that has been passed by the House of Representatives.”
“But this debt ceiling, there’s no talk about the debt,” he continued. “It’s all, ‘Hey, what’s the effect on the stock market?’ Screw the stock market! It goes up, it goes down.”
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/30/conservative-radio-host-urges-gop-to-screw-the-stock-market-and-shut-down-government/
Venezuela Expels 3 US Diplomats
Source: Latin American Herald Tribune
CARACAS - Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced the expulsion of 3 US diplomats during a live speech to Venezuela soldiers commemorating 200 years since the day when Atanasio Girardot died fighting for Venezuela's independence.
Maduro asked Foreign Minister Elias Jaua to expel the 3 US diplomats, giving them 48 hours to leave the country.
Maduro accused the 3 unnamed US diplomats of meeting with the country's "right wing" to plan electricity system sabotage.
“We have sufficient evidence collected of the hostile, illegal and interventionist attitude of the officials,” Maduro said. “Out of Venezuela. Yankee, go home! Enough with the abuse.”
Read more: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=1049644&CategoryId=10717
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