Obama proposes new agency to make Americans' food safer

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants to create a new government agency dedicated to keeping the nation's food safe.

The proposal in the president's budget released Monday comes after outbreaks of illnesses linked to chicken, eggs, peanuts and cantaloupe in recent years. More than a dozen federal agencies oversee food safety, and consumer advocates have long called for bringing all those functions together in a single home.

Currently, the Department of Agriculture oversees the safety and inspections of meat and processed eggs and the Food and Drug Administration oversees safety of most other foods. The split oversight is often complicated — the FDA would be responsible for the safety of a frozen cheese pizza, for example, but USDA takes over part of the duties if the pizza has meat on it.

USDA inspects meat daily as it is processed, while the FDA generally conducts inspections every few years. And the two agencies share inspection duties at the border.

The budget proposes consolidating the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service and all of FDA's food safety oversight into one new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The new agency also would coordinate with state and local health departments, a job that is now mostly handled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The budget says the current system's "fractured oversight and disparate regulatory approaches" cause confusion. Consolidation "is an essential step to reforming the federal food safety system overall," Obama's budget says.

The administration said the agency would be based at HHS because food safety and foodborne outbreaks are public health concerns, which are consistent with the larger mission of the department.

The changes are likely to meet opposition on Capitol Hill. Many in the food industry have long opposed a shift, fearing increased oversight, and those companies have powerful allies in the new Republican Congress.

In 2010, Congress passed a sweeping food safety law that gave the government new powers to inspect processing plants, order recalls and impose stricter standards for imported foods. It also requires stricter food safety standards on farms and in manufacturing plants.

That law only applied to the Food and Drug Administration, which is still struggling to put the standards in place after pushback from some farmers and food companies.

The budget proposes an additional $301 million for the FDA to implement that law, though part of the money would come from user fees imposed on the food industry, an idea that has strong congressional oppsition.

The CDC estimates that there are 48 million foodborne illnesses a year from contaminated foods.

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Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MCJalonick

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Record overnight ratings, social media reach for Super Bowl

NEW YORK — New England's thrilling win over Seattle scored the highest-ever overnight television ratings for a Super Bowl and also set conversation milestones for Twitter and Facebook.

The Nielsen company said Monday the game had a 49.7 rating in the nation's largest media markets, up 4 percent over last year's game. That means nearly half of the homes in those 56 metropolitan areas were watching the game.

It's an early indication that the game may be on the way to another viewership record. Last year's contest between Seattle and Denver was seen by 111.5 million people, the annual game setting a record for the most-watched TV event in U.S. history for the fourth time in five years. Nielsen expected a viewership estimate later on Monday.

Facebook said an estimated 65 million people conversed about the game on the social media site, more than any other Super Bowl and second only to two World Cup games last year for most talked-about events. There were some 265 million individual posts, comments or "likes," Facebook said.

The moment drawing the most Facebook comments was just after the Patriots sealed the 28-24 victory, with the second being when Katy Perry soared through stadium for her "Firework" finale to the Super Bowl halftime show.

Twitter estimated there were 28.4 million tweets posted between the kickoff and 30 minutes after the game's conclusion, surpassing last year's game to be the most tweeted-about Super Bowl ever. It was second only to the 35.6 million tweets sent about last year's World Cup semifinal between Brazil and Germany.

Malcolm Butler's game-saving interception in the last minute really set the Twitter engines revving, with an estimated 395,000 tweets per minute, with 379,000 tweets per minute coming when the game actually ended, Twitter said.

Meanwhile, the digital video recorder maker TiVo reported that the top commercial played back by its users was Budweiser's "lost dog" spot. The second most played-back was the public service announcement about domestic violence involving a woman's 911 call for help.

Given the game's large audience, that indicates the ad was a real conversation-starter on the issue of domestic violence, said Tara Maitra, TiVo's senior vice president and general manager of content and media sales.

TiVo's ad ranking is also a reflection of the more serious tone taken by advertisers, she said. In the past, humorous and sometimes raunchy ads have generated the most TiVo playbacks.

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Ebola vaccines testing starts in Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia — Large-scale human testing of two potential Ebola vaccines got under way in Liberia's capital Monday, part of a global effort to prevent a repeat of the epidemic that has now claimed nearly 9,000 lives in West Africa.

The studies in Liberia are taking place after smaller tests determined that the vaccines were safe for human use. By comparing them now with a dummy shot, scientists hope to learn whether they can prevent people from contracting the ghastly virus that has killed some 60 percent of those hospitalized.

Yet despite the vaccine study's promise, authorities still must combat fear and suspicion that people could become infected by taking part. Each vaccine uses a different virus to carry non-infectious Ebola genetic material into the body and spark an immune response.

On Sunday in one densely populated neighborhood of Monrovia, musicians sang songs explaining the purpose and intent of the trial in a bid to dispel fears.

B. Emmanuel Lansana, 43, a physician's assistant, was the first to receive doses on Monday. Two shots were administered at different points on his right arm. His wife had expressed apprehension about the vaccine trial, but Lansana said he still wanted to take part.

"From the counseling, all of the reservations I have were explained, my doubts were cleared," he said in a room where he was being observed for 30 minutes afterward.

Up to 600 volunteers are taking part in the first phase, and trial organizers have said eventually as many as 27,000 people could take part.

"We are targeting about 12 persons for today and hopefully the number will increase as we go along," Wissedi Sio Njoh, director of operation with the vaccination campaign, told The Associated Press.

The World Health Organization says the Ebola epidemic has infected more than 22,000 people and claimed more than 8,900 lives over the past year. Without a vaccine, officials have fought the outbreak with old-fashioned public health measures, including isolating the sick, tracking and quarantining those who had contact with them, and setting up teams to safely bury bodies.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said that both experimental vaccines showed promise in first-stage human safety tests. One was developed by the National Institutes of Health and is being manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. The other was developed by Canadian health officials and is licensed to two U.S. companies, NewLink Genetics and Merck.

The vaccine trials come as the three most affected countries — Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia — appear to be making strides against the Ebola epidemic first identified last March. The U.N. health agency said last week that the countries had reported fewer than 100 cases in the past week, for the first time since June.

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Associated Press Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard in Washington and Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

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Prosecutors recommend 3 years in jail for nut rage exec

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors on Monday recommended three years in jail for the former Korean Air executive charged with endangering flight safety during a tantrum over how she was served macadamia nuts.

Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air's chairman, has pleaded not guilty to four charges. In the final day of testimony, she defended her actions as the result of devotion to work and said cabin crew in first class had erred by not following proper procedures.

Cho ordered the chief flight attendant off a Dec. 5 flight after a heated confrontation with cabin crew, forcing the plane to return to the gate at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. She was angry at being offered nuts in a bag, instead of on a dish. Park Chang-jin, the chief attendant, told the court he and others were treated like "feudal slaves" by Cho.

Her behavior, dubbed nut rage, caused an uproar in South Korea. The incident touched a nerve in a country where the economy is dominated by family-run conglomerates known as chaebol that often act above the law.

Prosecutors are seeking a 2-year jail sentence for Yeo Woon-jin, the Korean Air executive accused of pressuring cabin crew to cover up the incident and lie to investigators from South Korea's transport ministry.

They also called for two years in jail for Kim Woon-sub, a transport ministry official and former Korean Air executive accused of leaking secrets about the ministry's investigation.

In seeking three years in jail for Cho, prosecutors said she stood atop the airline's systematic efforts to cover up the incident, compel employees to lie to government investigators and discredit and blame Park, the chief flight attendant.

The three trial judges are expected to announce their verdicts before Lunar New Year holidays later this month.

During the trial, Cho admitted using violence against one flight attendant by pushing her shoulder and throwing an object at her. A statement from one crew member described Cho as behaving like an "angry tiger."

Lawyers for Cho have not disputed the major elements of the prosecutor's account of events. Instead, they have focused on a technical rebuttal of the charges. That has included trying to demonstrate that the flight attendants didn't know proper service procedures.

On the most serious charge of changing a flight's route, they argued that events fell short of that definition because the plane was only meters (yards) from the gate when it turned back.

Cho, who has been in custody since Dec. 30, said she did not realize the chief flight attendant has law enforcement authority during the flight and that ordering him off the plane was consequently a risk to safety. The "final call" about returning to the gate was made by the captain, she said.

"I think this case happened because of devotion to my work and because I could not be considerate to other people," Cho said.

Last week, cabin crew told the court they were pressured by Korean Air executives to cover up the incident and lie to investigators.

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US factories grew last month at slowest pace in a year

WASHINGTON — US factories expanded last month at the slowest pace in a year, as orders, production, and hiring all declined.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, says its manufacturing index fell to 53.5 in January from 55.1 in December. That is the third straight drop and lowest since January 2014. Any reading above 50 signals expansion.

Several trends are slowing factory output: Overseas economies are faltering and the dollar has increased in value, cutting export demand. And the sharp drop in oil prices since last June has driven U.S. oil and gas drillers to order less drilling equipment and machinery.

New orders are still growing, but at the slowest pace in a year, the survey found. Factories added jobs, but at the weakest pace since June.

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Super Bowl ratings hit all-time high with Patriots' win on NBC

Nielsen will issue total-viewer estimates later today, but early indications are that Sunday's Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks has broken U.S. television records.

In the metered-market overnights, the Patriots' 28-24 victory earned a 49.7 household rating/72 share, eclipsing the previous high of 48.1/71 set two years ago when Baltimore defeated San Francisco on CBS; that game ended up averaging 108.41 million viewers in the nationals.

NBC's Super Bowl XLIX overnight topped a 50 rating in each half hour from 8 p.m. ET to the game's conclusion, peaking with a 52.9/73 from 10 to 10:15 p.m. ET.

The Super Bowl has set ratings highs in six of the last seven years, peaking with 112.19 million for the Seahawks' demolition of the Denver Broncos a year ago on Fox. Last year's game did a 47.6/70 in the overnights.

Sunday's game was a nail-biter, with the Patriots rallying from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to go ahead in the closing minutes. The Seahawks had a chance to win but were intercepted at the New England goal line with 20 seconds to play.

Not only was it a great matchup, pitting the best team from each conference during the regular season, but Sunday's game also benefited from lead-up conversation surrounding allegations that the Patriots purposely deflated the footballs they used in their 45-7 rout of the Indianapolis Colts last month. The NFL is conducting an investigation, but had not made any ruling prior to the Super Bowl.

Following NBC's post-game coverage, a special episode of second-year drama "The Blacklist" averaged series-best 13.5 household rating/24 share in Nielsen's metered-market overnights. This is up 9% from last year's "New Girl" on Fox (12.4/21) and 13% higher than "Elementary" on CBS in 2013 (12.0/21), the latter of which was hampered by a very late start time of 11:11 p.m. ET.

In social media, more than 65 million people joined the conversation on Facebook worldwide during Super Bowl XLIV, with over 265 million interactions (posts, comments and likes). Last year's game saw 50 million unique people talking about the event.

The states with the highest level of conversation on Facebook about the Super Bowl were New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts and Washington.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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US stocks little changed after weak factory, spending data

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are barely moving Monday morning after disappointing reports on factory output and consumer spending. European markets were stable after France endorsed Greece's efforts to ease the terms of its financial rescue program.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,184 as of 11:09 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose five points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,000. The Nasdaq composite was flat at 4,637.

FACTORY FUNK: U.S. manufacturing expanded last month at the slowest pace in a year as orders, production and hiring all declined. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said its manufacturing index fell to 53.5 in January from 55.1 in December. It was the third straight drop. Any reading above 50 signals expansion.

Manufacturers are facing weak demand for their exports as overseas economies falter and the dollar increases in value, making U.S. goods more expensive. The sharp drop in oil prices has hurt, too. U.S. oil and gas drillers are ordering less drilling equipment and machinery.

DROP IN SHOPPING: U.S. consumer spending edged lower in December as vehicle sales slowed and more Americans chose to save rather than spend. The Commerce Department said spending fell 0.3 percent last month after rising 0.5 percent in November.

OIL: U.S. benchmark crude edged down 10 cents to $48.14 a barrel. The price jumped Friday on signs American oil production is slowing. U.S. companies are under pressure to curtail drilling as prices fall to a level that makes some production unprofitable. Prices have fallen nearly 60 percent since June as global supplies grew faster than demand.

EXXON BEATS: Exxon Mobil rose 95 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $88.42 after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that were lower but still beat analysts' forecasts. The sharp drop in oil prices helped push earnings per share down 21 percent. Earnings would have dropped more if not for lower taxes, a favorable ruling in a dispute with Venezuela and strength in the company's chemical business. The energy giant is the second-largest company in the S&P 500 index after Apple.

ENERGY BOOST: Energy companies rose 1 percent, the biggest gain among the 10 sectors in the S&P 500. Eight of the 10 sectors were higher.

EUROPE: Germany's DAX edged up 0.5 percent, France's CAC-40 and Britain's FTSE 100 each rose 0.1 percent.

CHINESE MANUFACTURING: Two reports suggested manufacturing weakened in the world's second-largest economy in January. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers' index fell to a 28-month low. A separate index by HSBC edged up but still indicated manufacturing was contracting.

Both reports blamed weak demand in China and abroad. Analysts said they expect Beijing to inject more credit into the country's economy or launch other stimulus measures.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index gave up 2.6 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was off 0.7 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1 percent. Seoul's Kospi added 0.2 percent.

GREEK DEBT: European traders were focused on Greece's debt issues after the country's new finance minister won initial support from Paris for his effort to renegotiate the terms of the country's financial bailout. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said Sunday that while his government wouldn't support canceling the debt, it was willing to consider a new time frame or terms. That, for now, is easing worries that Greece's new government might eventually leave the euro currency block.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 117.32 yen from Friday's 117.43 yen. The euro strengthened to $1.1346 from $1.1285.

BONDS: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.69 percent.

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AP Business Writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.

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Developer releases plans for new South End hotel

National Development today unveiled plans for a 200-room AC Hotel by Marriott in Boston's South End, next to its Ink Block development where Whole Foods recently opened.

The Newton developer hopes to start construction later this year on the Albany Street select-service hotel, which will be built on the former FW Webb and Independent Taxi sites adjacent to Interstate 93. Under that schedule, the hotel would open in early 2017.

The scale and exterior design of the hotel will create a contemporary feel that works well with National Development's four adjacent buildings on the former long-time Boston Herald site, the company said. AC Hotels feature sleek, contemporary European-inspired designs.

The brand started in Europe in 1998 before forming a joint venture with Marriott in 2011. There currently is just one AC Hotel in the United States in New Orleans, with others set to open this year in Washington, D.C., Miami Beach and Kansas City.

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Obama says budget must balance economic, national security

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama warned congressional Republicans Monday that he won't accept a spending plan that boosts national security at the expense of domestic programs for the middle class. He also called on them not to saddle legislation that pays for homeland security operations with contentious provisions on immigration.

"I will not accept a budget that severs the vital links between our national security and our economic security," Obama said. "Those two things go hand in hand."

Obama addressed the budget he released Monday and the financing of the Homeland Security Department during a visit to the department's headquarters.

Obama is proposing higher taxes on wealthier Americans and corporations, and an ambitious $478 billion public works program for highway, bridge and transit upgrades. He also wants a 7 percent increase in defense and domestic spending that restores some automatic cuts triggered by a 2011 budget deal.

Obama called those cuts "mindless austerity."

The president also said every American has an interest in making sure the Homeland Security Department has what it needs to achieve its mission. He wants Congress to pass a funding bill for the department without rolling back his executive actions on immigration.

"The men and women of America's homeland security apparatus do important work to protect us, and Republicans and Democrats in Congress should not be playing politics with them," Obama said.

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Massachusetts gas prices down another 2 cents per gallon

BOSTON — Massachusetts gas prices continue to fall, but not at the double-digit pace they had been tumbling.

AAA Northeast reports Monday that the average price of a gallon of self-serve, regular has fallen another 2 cents to an average of $2.06, the same as the national average.

In-state prices are now 30 cents lower than a month ago and $1.28 lower than a year ago.

AAA found self-serve, regular selling for as low as $1.87 and as high of $2.49.

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