Pennsylvania: Hershey Foods, union settle; strike to end

Union members at Hershey Foods Corp. voted overwhelmingly Saturday to approve a new contract, ending the longest strike in the company’s history.

The April 26 walkout of 2,700 workers largely idled two chocolate plants that make up nearly a quarter of production for the largest U.S. candymaker.

Workers will begin returning to their jobs at the start of the week, company spokesman John Long said.

The main issue had been health-care costs. The agreement keeps the workers’ share of health-care costs at 6 percent in exchange for a smaller wage increase.

The average wage, now about $18 an hour, will be about $19.75 an hour at the end of the contract.

Washington, D.C.: FDA: Arthritis drug can’t make ‘safer’ claim

The Food and Drug Administration ruled that the popular arthritis drug Celebrex can’t be labeled as safer for the stomach than cheaper anti-inflammation drugs.

The drug’s manufacturer, Pharmacia Corp., had paid for a clinical trial that found Celebrex was safer than ibuprofen and diclofenac because it caused fewer ulcers and ulcer complications.

The Peapack, N.J.-based company had submitted the study to the FDA hoping to have its label reflect what it says is a superior safety profile.

A month’s supply of Celebrex costs about $80 while a month’s supply of ibuprofen is about $15.

Washington, D.C.: White House announces steel tariff exemptions

The administration is issuing the first batch of exemptions from the hefty tariffs that President Bush imposed on imported steel in March.

The Commerce Department announced late Friday that it was excluding 61 products, representing 1 percent of the 13 million metric tons of steel imports originally targeted by Bush’s action imposing tariffs of up to 30 percent.

The exemptions are granted based on a Commerce finding that the products are not made in sufficient quantity in the United States to satisfy domestic demand.

The steel tariff is threatening a full-scale trade war between the United States and the European Union and other trading partners.

Colorado: Fire forces evacuation of 4,000 residents

A fast-moving wildfire in western Colorado forced 4,000 people to evacuate as it roared to the edges of a small town Saturday, burning homes and closing a 69-mile stretch of heavily traveled Interstate 70, officials said.

The blaze had moved the the edges of Glenwood Springs, a town of 7,700 about 125 miles west of Denver.