Space rocket has its 2nd test flight
MOJAVE, Calif. — Virgin Galactic has conducted the second rocket-powered test flight of its tourism spaceship in the skies over California.
The company says VSS Unity fired its rocket motor for 31 seconds and climbed to an altitude of 114,500 feet Tuesday, then glided to a landing at Mojave Air and Space Port.
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson was on hand to greet pilots Dave Mackay and Mark “Forger” Stucky. Unity's first powered flight was on April 5.
Whataburger sells bacon at H-E-B
After success selling Whataburger sausage at H-E-B in 2014, the San Antonio-based burger chain added 1-pound packages of bacon to its offerings available at H-E-B and Central Market stores this week.
H-E-B, also based in San Antonio, operates more than 90 stores across the Houston region.
The company stocks a variety of products from Texas suppliers.
Index of consumer confidence rises
WASHINGTON — American consumers were feeling a bit more optimistic in May after a slight decline in confidence in April.
The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 128.0 from a revised 125.6 in April. That follows March’s 127.0 and February’s 130.0, which was the highest reading since November of 2000.
Despite wild stock market swings and ongoing U.S. trade disputes, the index came in about where analysts expected. Some analysts say it bodes well for the future as unemployment remains low and Americans have more money to spend after last year’s tax cut.
Tesla in autopilot hits police SUV
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Authorities say a Tesla sedan in autopilot mode has crashed into a parked police cruiser in Southern California.
Police Sgt. Jim Cota says the officer was not in the cruiser during the crash Tuesday in Laguna Beach. He says the Tesla driver suffered minor injuries.
The police SUV ended up with its two passenger-side wheels on a sidewalk.
Tesla’s semi-autonomous autopilot mode has come under scrutiny following other recent crashes. The automaker says the function is not designed to avoid a collision and warns drivers not to rely on it entirely.
Hyundai to build plant in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Hyundai plans to invest more than $350 million to build a plant in Alabama and update an existing one there, officials said Tuesday.
The automotive manufacturer with headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, said it plans to invest $388 million to construct the 260,000-square-foot engine head manufacturing plant as well as enhance its assembly plant in Montgomery, news outlets reported.
The investment is the company’s biggest in the plant since it opened in 2005, and the new facility is scheduled to be operating by mid-2019.
The plant will create 50 new jobs with an average annual salary of $52,000, Gov. Kay Ivey said.
The company has already started fielding applications for the workers, who will begin in March.
Tronc purchases Virginia newspaper
NORFOLK, Va. — Chicagobased media company Tronc said Tuesday that it has acquired all of the VirginianPilot Media Companies, which publishes Virginia’s largest daily newspaper, for $34 million in cash.
The purchase by the company formerly known as Tribune Publishing reflects the growing trend of media corporations buying family owned newspapers.
In other news …
The Treasury Department auctioned $48 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.895 percent, the same as last week. Another $42 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 2.030 percent, down from 2.080 percent.
The Federal Reserve said that the average yield for oneyear Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, stood at 2.28 percent last Thursday, down slightly from 2.32 percent on May 17.