U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough tells CNN that 12 people from the production platform are in water immersion suits as they await rescue.

Colclough told CNN there are reports the production platform is still on fire.

"We don't know what caused the rig to catch on fire," he told CNN, noting the incident is under investigation.

Asked about concerns regarding oil leaks or pollution, Colclough said "there are reports the rig was not actively producing any product, so we don't know if there's any risk of pollution."

The incident comes nearly five months after a separate explosion on a BP rig in the Gulf triggered oil leak disaster

Risks remain with Gulf well cap coming off

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The image of thick crude gushing from a blown-out oil well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico was turned off when a tightly fitting cap was secured on top a month-and-a-half ago.

Engineers weren't expecting that sight again Thursday when they planned to delicately remove the cap as a prelude to raising the massive piece of equipment underneath that failed to prevent the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

But the government wasn't offering a guarantee no more oil would leak. Plans were being made for oil collection vessels to be on standby in case of a problem.

With the cap and failed blowout preventer removed temporarily until another blowout preventer can be installed, a lot will be riding on the stability of a plug that was created when mud and cement were pumped down into the well from the top. Essentially, the pressure exerted downward served to counter the pressure coming up.

U.S. Economy: Manufacturing Expands at Faster Pace (Update1)

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded at a faster pace than forecast in August as factories added workers and cranked up production.

The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to a three-month high of 56.3 from 55.5 in July, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. Readings greater than 50 signal growth, and the figure was projected to drop to 52.8, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.

Stocks rallied as U.S. and China manufacturing figures tempered concern the global economic recovery will wane without more government stimulus. Production gains may partially compensate for a slowdown in consumer spending and sluggish housing market that are causing the world’s largest economy to cool in the second half of the year.

A parish official says a Louisiana oil spill command center is shutting down over a dispute with BP over rent and other expenses

St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro says the owner of the property that has been home to the operation since May is ordering workers to vacate by the end of the week because BP has failed to make payments.

Taffaro says the company owes millions in rent and that its policy of reviewing invoices before cutting checks has made some payments weeks overdue. BP officials did not immediately return a telephone or emailed message for comment on the amount or dispute.

Hopedale is one of three St. Bernard Parish sites where command centers were set up to deal with the BP spill that dumped more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

AA's Hidden Test to Find How Bags Get Lost, Late
Airline tracks volunteers and their bags through DFW Airport with RFID technology

American Airlines is using high-tech tracking devices to figure out how it can move passengers and their bags through the airport faster and with fewer hassles.

When Takeshi Misutake lands at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 9 a.m., a white tag attached to his backpack tracks some of his moves. He volunteered to be part of the test when he boarded Flight 176 in Tokyo.

The tag on Misutake's bag contains a tiny radio-frequency identification antenna. The airline placed another identical tag on the suitcase he checked. As the bags move through critical points in the airport, they pass under scanners that read the RFID tag, telling the airline exactly how long it took for the luggage and the traveler to move through parts of the travel process.

American is trying to find any hidden bottlenecks or points where bags are more likely to disappear.

"Where did the passenger get slowed? Was there a line? Was there a number of bags in one area waiting to get through?" AA spokeswoman Stacey Frantz said.

The RFID technology allows the company to see what actually happens to bags and travelers, without anyone from the company having to be there to personally watch.

-----------------------------------------------------
The airline is careful to point out that it is only relying on volunteers who agree to have their carry-on and checked bags tracked. The RFID tags cannot be tracked outside of the airport, American said.

"All of our customers have very willingly said, 'Yes, I would like to participate in the study' because any improvement, of course, directly impacts our customers," Frantz said.

American ran the test through Tuesday using volunteers who were connecting from international flights arriving at DFW. The airline was able to see how long it takes passengers to clear immigration and customs and retrieve their bags before traveling on.

California officials are outfitting preschoolers in Contra Costa County with tracking devices they say will save staff time and money.

The system was introduced Tuesday. When at the school, students will wear a jersey that has a small radio frequency tag. The tag will send signals to sensors that help track children's whereabouts, attendance and even whether they've eaten or not.

School officials say it will free up teachers and administrators who previously had to note on paper files when a child was absent or had eaten.

Sung Kim of the county's employment and human services department said the system could save thousands of hours of staff time and pay for itself within a year.

It cost $50,000 and was paid by a federal grant.

Consumer Confidence in U.S. Rose More Than Forecast (Update2)

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence among U.S. consumers rose more than forecast in August, a sign the biggest part of the economy may avoid a slowdown that would derail the recovery.

The Conference Board’s confidence index increased to 53.5 from a five-month low of 51 in July, figures from the New York- based private research group showed today. The median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 50.7 reading.

More confidence may help ease concern that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, will falter. To sustain the expansion, companies need to step up hiring and reduce unemployment, which Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last week said will take time.

“Even with this month’s increase, confidence is at a stunningly low level,” said Tom Porcelli, senior economist at RBC Capital Markets Corp. in New York, who had forecast the index would rise to 53.2. “We shouldn’t expect much from the consumer at this point.”

Glenn Beck's Non Political Rally Turns Political

As Tea Party activists and other conservatives began converging on Washington, D.C., today for Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally, the war of words between liberals and conservatives continued to broil.

At the National Mall, plans were under way for the rally that's expected to attract more than 100,000 people. Security was beefed up amid concerns of a clash because Beck's rally coincides with the anniversary of Martin Luther King's speech, to be commemorated by various marches and rallies.

Beck has shunned criticism from some civil rights leaders that holding his rally on this historic day tarnishes King's legacy. The conservative commentator has said the rally will be non-political, but for many attendees, it's all about politics.

Obama Administration Proposes Steps to Tighten U.S. Trade Rules

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration, vowing to crack down on countries such as China that it says help subsidize exports of cheap goods to the U.S., introduced 14 measures to toughen enforcement of trade laws.

Proposals offered yesterday include changes to make it harder for individual companies to be excused from country-wide duties, adjustments in methods of anti-dumping calculations and alterations to how labor rates are calculated when determining if products are being sold at artificially low prices.

----------------------------------------------------------
“This is a very important move on the part of the administration,” said Dan DiMicco, chief executive officer of Nucor Corp., the largest U.S. steelmaker. He said the U.S. also needs to resolve issues tied to the yuan because China’s currency is undervalued by as much as 60 percent.

“Before American manufacturers get out of bed in the morning, they’re already at a 40 to 60 percent disadvantage,” DiMicco said in a telephone interview. “As long as we continue to let them get away with it, they’ll keep doing it.”

DiMicco, a member of an administration advisory panel on manufacturing issues, said the proposals are consistent with recommendations from the group.