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Fight over Wis. union law heads to court

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's administration insists a new law eliminating most collective bargaining rights for state employees has gone into effect. Other state and municipal leaders who dispute that are looking to a Tuesday court hearing for some clarity on the issue.

The latest wrangling over the collective bargaining law began Friday when the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau published the law by posting it on a website, and Walker, a Republican, said that was all that was needed for it to take effect. Typically, a law goes into effect when it's published by the secretary of state, but Democrat Doug La Follette had been prevented from taking action by a temporary restraining order.

The state had appealed that restraining order, but on Monday, the Justice Department led by Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen asked to withdraw its appeal and cancel the Tuesday hearing, saying the whole thing was moot now that the law had been published.

Walker's administration said it was moving to implement the law Republicans pushed through earlier this month despite massive protests that drew up to 85,000 people to the state Capitol and a boycott by Democratic state senators. Along with removing most of public employees' collective bargaining rights, the new law requires them to pay more for their health insurance and pensions, which amounts to an 8 percent pay cut.

Walker's top aide, Mike Huebsch, said the administration was preparing a computer program to take out the new deductions and stop the deduction of union dues on paychecks state workers will receive April 21. The Department of Administration would stop that work if a court determined the law didn't take effect Saturday, Huebsch added.

But La Follette, the head of the office that posted the law, the Madison city attorney and others maintained the law is not in effect until the secretary of state acts.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, a Democrat, filed briefs Monday evening asking the judge for just such a declaration on Tuesday. Ozanne argues the secretary of state and the reference bureau work in tandem to publish laws. The secretary of state sets the publication date and the bureau executes publication on that day, he contends.

"Mere electronic posting, absent the other steps, particularly the involvement of the secretary of state .... is itself meaningless and has no legal effect," Ozanne wrote.

Given the difference of opinions, the Wisconsin Association of School Boards told districts that are still negotiating with teachers not to take any official action until the courts resolve the dispute.

"Because we have a difference of opinion within the state administration, the safest place to be is to not enter an agreement at the present time," said Bob Butler, an attorney for the school boards association. "I'm very hesitant to tell someone to go out and do something a portion of the state is telling you not to do."

Any deals reached since Saturday could later be challenged if that turns out to have been the effective date of the law, he said.

Butler said he thought as many as 150 of the state's 424 school districts either extended their current contracts or reached new deals before Saturday. About 200 took no action, and another 75 or so were still considering what to do, including some that were close to a deal before Friday's unexpected action, he said.

At least two districts — Waunakee and Belleville — signed agreements last week, he said.

At least one school district canceled a Monday night meeting scheduled to talk about a new teacher contract, saying it didn't want to act with uncertainty reigning about the state of the law.

Port Washington-Saukville School Board President Patty Ruth said in a news release that going forward given the circumstances "would create significant risks for our district, all of which can be avoided if we cancel the meeting until the courts have rendered their decisions on the various legal questions."

Dan Thompson, executive director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, said he thought many communities that wanted to reach labor agreements before the law took effect did so before Saturday. He said others have chosen to hold on negotiating new contracts until they had a clearer sense how they would be affected under Walker's pending two-year budget plan.

Walker has proposed more than $1 billion in cuts to schools, counties and local governments in his budget that would take effect in July. He has argued union concessions are needed to help those affected make up for his proposed aid cuts.

GE continues energy M&A spate with $3.2 billion deal

General Electric Co (GE.N) reached a $3.2 billion agreement to acquire a maker of automation systems used in the oil and gas sector, marking the latest in a series of deals in the energy industry.

The largest U.S. conglomerate said its acquisition of Massy, France-based Converteam would boost its offering of high-efficiency electric devices used across the energy industry.

"This acquisition pretty much touches every aspect of our energy portfolio," said John Krenicki, a GE vice chairman who heads the company's Energy Infrastructure unit.

Converteam's products, electric motors that can replace gas-fired engines in oil and gas production, also give GE a chance to build its presence in supplying equipment to the mining and metal-producing sectors, Krenicki said.

"There's no reason that we could not have a GE Mining or GE Metals unit similar to what we have with GE Oil & Gas," he said in an interview.

With this deal, GE has reached $11 billion in takeovers over the past six months in the energy industry alone, reflecting an effort by Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt to move the company away from its former dependence on financial services and back toward its industrial core.

But the energy unit will not keep up that aggressive pace of acquisitions, Krenicki added.

"As you look forward here, our top priority is going to be making these acquisitions work for GE shareholders, not adding to the heap," he said. Asked if the company would continue its torrid pace of dealmaking, he said: "Not this pace, no."

GE said it would buy about 90 percent of Converteam from a group of shareholders that include Barclays Private Equity and LBO France. Converteam's existing management will retain a 10 percent stake in the company.

Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE has the right to buy the remaining 10 percent stake over the next two to five years for no more than $480 million, GE said.

Converteam in 2010 generated $1.5 billion in sales, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $239 million. It employs 5,300 people.

GE's shares were down 3 cents at $19.72 in trading before the market opened.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Maureen Bavdek)

First 3-D Mammography Test Cleared

FRIDAY, Feb. 11 (HealthDay News) -- The first three-dimensional mammography system has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Selenia Dimensions System produces 3-D and 2-D X-ray images of the breast to help doctors in the early detection of breast cancer. With conventional 2-D mammography systems, about 10 percent of patients require additional testing to determine if abnormalities are cancerous, the FDA said in a news release.

Nearly 40 million mammograms are done each year in the United States, the agency said. The U.S. National Cancer Institute recommends the procedure every one to two years for women 40 and older.

In clinical testing of the newly approved system, radiologists showed a 7 percent improvement in the ability to distinguish cancerous and non-cancerous abnormalities, compared with conventional mammography systems, the FDA said.

Noting that the Selenia system exposed women to about double the amount of radiation of a conventional mammogram, the agency said fewer women had to be re-tested with the new system, sparing them exposure to additional radiation.

The Selenia system is produced by Holgoic Inc., based in Bedford, Mass.

More information

The FDA has more about this approval.

Low profile suits Stricker in Riviera defense

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Defending champion or not, Steve Stricker is happy to keep a low profile coming into the 6.5 million-dollar Northern Trust Open that starts Thursday at Riviera Country Club.

"I really don't feel like I'm the guy to beat by any means," Stricker said. "I just try to fly in under the radar a little bit and try and do my own thing."

Stricker has two top-10 finishes in two US PGA Tour starts this year and a tie for 45th in his first foray to the Qatar Masters earlier this month.

Stricker said he enjoyed the trip, although it gave him a new appreciation for players who routinely traverse the globe.

"I found it very hard to go over there and concentrate and play well," he said. "I can see when these guys travel across from Europe to here how difficult it has got to be for them."

While Stricker is back in his comfort zone, he has had little of the kind of practice he prefers as his native Wisconsin remains in the grip of winter weather that prohibits playing golf.

"I'm a little rusty," Stricker said. "This time of the year I never know really what to expect from my game."

Stricker was encouraged by his play in Wednesday's pro-am, but noted that early rain already had the 7,325-yard, par-71 Riviera course playing longer with more rain forecast for Friday and Saturday.

"It's going to make it more difficult," he said.

Masters champion Phil Mickelson is the last player to win back-to-back US PGA Tour titles at Riviera, a historic course tucked into the hills in Pacific Palisades west of Los Angeles.

Mickelson won here in 2007-08 and the American reiterated Wednesday that he believes he is playing well, even though he has yet to claim a title in 2011.

"I've got just a slight hurdle to get over where I've got to get the scores down to how I feel I'm playing," said Mickelson, who was runner-up at Torrey Pines in January and finished tied for ninth at Pebble Beach last week.

"Some of that will be course management, some of that will just be getting a couple putts to drop.

"But I feel like I'm right on the cusp of playing some really good golf."

Bubba Watson, who edged Mickelson by one stroke at Torrey Pines, is in the field, as is Venezuelan rookie Jhonattan Vegas, the surprise winner of the Bob Hope Classic in January.

Mickelson will tee off alongside England's Luke Donald, who came on strong in the final round to finish runner-up to Stricker here last year, and Paul Casey.

The field also includes British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, who will be playing a US tour event for the first time as a tour member, plus three-time major champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland and, once again, Japanese teen Ryo Ishikawa.

Ishikawa, always a big draw in Los Angeles, will play alongside compatriots Ryuji Imada and Yuta Ikeda in the first two rounds.

Stricker will play with Dustin Johnson, who led the first two rounds here last year, and D.A. Points, who won at Pebble Beach on Sunday.

While none of the world's top three -- Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Tiger Woods -- are present, five of the world's top 10 are on hand as the golf world gears up for the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship in Arizona next week.

That will be followed a fortnight later by another elite WGC event at Doral as the countdown toward the Masters in April continues.

Toyota shares gain as US report clears electronics

TOKYO – Toyota shares jumped more than 5 percent to a nine-month high in Tokyo on Wednesday, following a U.S. government report that ruled out electronic flaws in runaway Toyota vehicles.

The world's biggest automaker welcomed the findings as confirming the reliability of its cars.

Toyota Motor Corp. stock finished at 3,670 yen ($45) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, its highest close since April 30, buoyed by the results of the 10-month investigation. Overnight on Wall Street, Toyota gained by more than 4 percent to close at $88.57.

Also a perk for the shares was Toyota's announcement Tuesday that it had raised its full-year earnings and sales forecasts because of booming sales in China and other high-growth markets.

After recalling more than 12 million vehicles around the world for a range of defects since late 2009, the big lingering question was whether there was a problem with the electronic systems in Toyota cars.

That would signal a huge problem, possibly resulting in additional massive recalls, as such systems are in every Toyota vehicle. It would further shatter the once sterling image for quality production that Toyota had boasted for decades.

"We believe that the results of the U.S. Department of Transportation's investigation confirms the reliability of our electronic throttle control systems," Toyota said in a statement. "We intend to continue to listen to our customers even closer and to offer not only safe vehicles but vehicles that provide peace of mind."

Toyota executives have repeatedly said they have tested the vehicles many times, trying to find possible electronic problems, and have never found any.

In Washington, the Department of Transportation said its investigation with NASA found that electronic flaws weren't to blame for the reports of sudden unintended acceleration that led to massive Toyota recalls.

Some of the cases could have been caused by mechanical defects — sticking accelerator pedals and gas pedals that can become trapped in floor mats — that have been dealt with in recalls, it said.

Some of the cases may have been caused by driver errors, such as hitting on the gas when they meant to brake, it said.

"We feel that Toyota vehicles are safe to drive," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Toyota has promised to beef up quality controls and be quicker in responding to consumer complaints. But analysts say it is likely to take some years before Toyota can hope to fully win back the trust of American buyers.

Toyota may still be held liable in class-action lawsuits in the U.S. because accidents could have been caused by the mechanical problems that the study has found, and doubts can continue to be raised about electronic problems.

Toyota paid the U.S. government a record $48.8 million in fines for its handling of three recalls.

Still, Toyota is on a roll in markets outside the U.S. like Asia, South America and Africa, where the number of vehicles sold is still relatively small but growth potential is huge.

Toyota raised its projection for global vehicle sales Tuesday to 7.48 million vehicles in the year through March, up from an earlier forecast of 7.1 million vehicles, and marking a 3 percent increase from 7.24 million in the previous fiscal year.

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Associated Press writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.