Automobiles

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Newark's Liberty International Airport has been approved for Boeing's new 747 airplane.

The popularity of car sharing programs is on the rise.

The Transportation Security Administration says it found a man with guns and knives at an upstate New York airport.

Maryland's Transportation secretary is under fire.

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin (D) is sharply criticizing a decision by China to charge higher import taxes on American automobiles that are sold there.

Levin said responded Wednesday to reports that China planned to increase duties on American automobiles by 22 percent by urging the Obama administration to press the World Trade Organization to put the brakes on the Chinese plan.

“China’s unjustified actions today have nothing to do with economics or law and everything to do with its continued desire to circumvent international trade law," who chairs the Senate Auto Caucus, said in a statement.

"Instead of ending its unlawful trade practices, China is choosing to take further steps that are unauthorized by world trade rules," he continued. "The livelihoods of American families and the integrity of global trade law are at stake."

The National Transportation Safety Board wants states to pass a ban, but Rep. Carolyn McCarthy said Congress should act instead.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The airport most checked-in on Facebook is Los Angeles International.

The most expensive airport in the world to fly out of is Memphis International.

Japanese auto manufacturer Mitsubishi has delivered its first electric car in North America.

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved airlines' replacing paper books and charts with iPads.

The cellphone industry said Tuesday that it supported the National Transportation Safety Board's call for a ban on "manual texting," but its support did not go as far as the NTSB's proposal to ban everything but GPS units behind the wheel.

The NTSB called on Tuesday for a complete ban on "portable electronic devices" in cars, saying that only electronics "used for the driving task" should be allowed.

The Washington, D.C.-based CTIA-The Wireless Association, limited its support Tuesday to texting by hand, however, meaning it might oppose bans on technologies such as voice recognition and built-in onboard computers in newer cars.

"Manual texting while driving is clearly incompatible with safety, which is why we have historically supported a ban on texting while driving," CTIA President Steve Largent said in a statement released on the organization's blog. 

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday recommended a nationwide ban on portable electronic devices in cars. 

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that texting was a factor in a Missouri crash that involved a school bus.

The Department of Transportation has given Georgia a grant to study high-speed rail between Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C.

The Transportation Security Administration found a loaded gun on a 76-year-old man.

A police officer accidentally fired a gun at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and a pair of other Republicans is accusing the Obama administration of hiding problems with the batteries of Chevrolet's Volt because they favored electric cars.

Issa and Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) wrote a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week asking for documents related to the agency's inspection of the Chevy Volt.

The electric car's battery has reportedly been catching on fire, according to recent reports, which the lawmakers said NHTSA covered up because the Obama administration was pushing higher fuel efficiency standards.

“As you are aware, the proposed [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] regulations rely heavily on the commercial deployment of electric vehicle technology, and provide manufacturers significant incentives to produce electric vehicles," the lawmakers wrote Wednedsay to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood learned about former FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt's arrest for drunk driving from a press release.

The FAA is investigating an accident involving a model walking into an airplane propeller last weekend.

The brakes have been hit on Swedish automaker Saab's attempts to avoid bankruptcy.

Sales of General Motors car are on the rise in China.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is defending the Chevy Volt as being safe after fires caused by the electric car's battery.

A Sikh man was stabbed at Fresno, Calif.'s Yosemite International Airport in a suspected hate crime.

Actor Alec Baldwin was kicked off a plane at Los Angeles International Airport.

A poll shows a majority of California would vote no now on a proposed high-speed railway there.