Detroit

GM recalls 1.5 million vehicles for power steering problem

General Motors Corp. is recalling about 1.5 million vehicles to repair a power steering problem that has led to at least 15 accidents.

The recall involves 1997-98 models of the Pontiac Grand Prix and 1996-98 models of the Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac Sunfire, Chevrolet Lumina, Chevrolet Venture, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Transport. About 1.2 million of the vehicles are in the United States and about 240,000 are in Canada.

The lower pinion bearing in the power steering gear can separate, which could cause the driver to lose power steering when making left turns. GM said there had been 15 reports of crashes and three injuries related to the problem but no deaths.

GM will begin notifying owners of the recalled vehicles in January. Dealers will install a new lower pinion bearing or, if necessary, replace the steering gear assembly at no cost to the owner.

Washington, D.C.

Biotech officials face jail

Officials at a biotechnology company face a possible one-year jail term if the government finds they broke laws when genetically engineered corn contaminated two soybean crops, the Agriculture Department said Thursday.

The department has been meeting with attorneys for ProdiGene Inc., of College Station, Tex., to discuss possible penalties for the incidents in Iowa and Nebraska, said Cindy Smith, deputy administrator for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

ProdiGene may have violated the Plant Protection Act, which regulates the transportation and planting of genetically engineered plants. Federal inspectors found a soybean crop in Iowa and another in Nebraska were contaminated with experimental corn and took steps to ensure it did not taint the food supply.

The government ordered ProdiGene to burn 155 acres of the contaminated crop in September in Iowa after inspectors found stray biotech corn plants growing in the field. A similar incident occurred in October in Nebraska.

Florida

Jury orders gun distributor to pay $1.2 million to widow

A jury ordered a weapons distributor Thursday to pay $1.2 million to the widow of a teacher gunned down by a 13-year-old student, largely sparing the company from blame in the closely watched case.

Jurors found Valor Corp. to be 5 percent responsible for the slaying of Barry Grunow, who was shot two years ago at a Lake Worth, Fla., middle school.

The jury said Valor didn’t sell the gun with a safety feature, such as a lock, that could have prevented Nathaniel Brazill from pulling the trigger. But the $24 million verdict placed 95 percent of the blame on the Palm Beach County School Board and the gun’s owner.

Neither were named as defendants, and attorneys in the case said they would not be expected to pay anything to Pam Grunow and her children, 7-year-old Samuel and 3-year-old Lee-Anne.

Attorneys for Grunow said the verdict marked the first time a gun distributor had been found liable in a shooting death.