Safety

President Obama will nominate Anne Ferro, president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association, to head the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the White House announced last week.

Despite the lack of a new, long-promised federal stopping-distance rule for heavy-duty trucks, brake companies are making — and original equipment manufacturers are offering — a growing array of electronic systems designed to help truckers stop faster and maintain more control.

Instead of buying only asphalt and steel, several states will spend federal stimulus dollars on “smart road” projects that use information technology to reduce congestion, according to a survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

I find it very odd that when Washington needs something from the people, they talk about family, but when the people need something from the government, they talk about business. This kind of duality of conflicting agendas contradicts reason and confuses everyone. Even if it is unintentional, it smacks of doublespeak.

First-quarter U.S. worker productivity improved at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter, twice the level originally reported, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Initial jobless claims dipped 4,000 last week, while the number of Americans collecting continuing jobless benefits fell for the first time in five months, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The U.S. economy’s service sector improved last month with its highest reading in seven months but still showed contraction, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday.

A rule requiring U.S. residents to show a passport or other high-tech document to re-enter the country from Canada or Mexico took effect Monday, the Associated Press reported.