NATIONAL BRIEFING
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman, left, was named Amtrak's interim chief executive.
(By Mark Duncan -- Associated Press)
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BANKING
FDIC's Troubled Bank List Grows
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said that the list of banks it considers to be in trouble shot up by 46 percent, to 171, during the third quarter.
Total assets held by troubled institutions climbed from $78.3 billion to $115.6 billion -- a figure that suggests that the nation's top 20 banks aren't on the list, even though they also are getting slammed by the ongoing credit crisis. The FDIC does not reveal the names of institutions it deems troubled.
On average, about 13 percent of institutions on the FDIC's list end up failing.
Nine banks failed during the third quarter, decreasing the FDIC's deposit insurance fund to $34.6 billion from $45.2 billion in the second quarter.
CONSUMER SAFETY
Melamine Found in Baby Formula
The industrial chemical melamine has been found in infant formula made in the United States but in low amounts that pose no health concern, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The finding was expected because of the chemical's use in can liners and manufacturing, said Stephanie Kwisnek, an FDA spokeswoman.
Melamine-tainted milk products have sickened more than 50,000 children in China since September, and several died. Products from China that contain milk products are being blocked at U.S. ports until tests show they aren't tainted with melamine, the FDA said earlier this month.
Banned Chemical Turns Up in Toys
Washington advocacy group U.S. PIRG said it found toys for sale that contained as much as 400 times the amount of phthalates allowed under a new federal law that takes effect early next year. The group, which released its annual toy safety report yesterday, joined several lawmakers in protesting a recent Consumer Product Safety Commission decision to apply the ban only to products made after Feb. 10.
CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said the policy is based on the way the law was written and only Congress can change it.
ENTERTAINMENT
