Kia Motors to boost U.S. business

South Korea's Kia Motors aims to boost its U.S. production capacity by one fifth next year, to meet soaring demand for new models such as the Optima sedan in the world's second-biggest auto market.


Kia said on Thursday it will invest $100 million to boost capacity.

The annual capacity of Kia's Georgia plant will increase to 360,000 vehicles starting in 2012, from the current 300,000, the carmaker said.  Kia has hired nearly 1,000 workers in preparation for the addition of a third shift - which begins later this month.

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Your Next Car Could Be Made From Coal Waste

Nikhil Gupta, a professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University in Brooklyn, has figured out how to manufacture car parts out of fly ash, a ceramic-based byproduct of coal production--and China's largest source of solid industrial waste.

The waste product, which usually ends up in landfills (or in accident-prone storage facilities), can be mixed with metals like magnesium and aluminum to create a lightweight substance that is just as strong as the metals by themselves.

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$700M in new 'Race' for schools

$700 million in education funds will be available to states for early learning programs and to reward education reforms this year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Wednesday.

A new $500 million competitive grant program, the “Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge,” will reward states for steps taken to increase quality and access to programs, particularly for poor and minority students, as well as states that strengthen teacher training and create effective evaluation systems.

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