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The Latest Headlines:

• California Pushes for Truck-Stopping Device
• XM Satellite's Net Loss Widens
• Iteris Earns $1 Million in Fiscal 1Q

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California Pushes for Truck-Stopping Device

As concerns grow about terrorist attacks in the United States using truck bombs, authorities in California are again looking at an invention designed to disable hijacked trucks, the New York Times reported.

Dwight Helmick, commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, said he expected to submit a proposal to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that would make it a federal requirement for trucks to be equipped with the stopping device, the Times said.

The device was developed in October 2001 based on a rough schematic by Dr. Bill Wattenburg. The mechanism, mounted at the rear of a truck and not easily removed, activates the emergency brakes when triggered by taps from a pursuing vehicle's bumper or by a remote control signal, the Times said.

However, Stephanie Williams, senior vice president of the California Trucking Association, said the invention was well intentioned but also makes it easy for anyone to stop a truck as a prank, the Times said.

There have been several efforts to require the device on vehicles in California that haul fuel, toxic waste and other hazardous materials, but strong opposition from the California trucking and oil industries killed the legislation, the article said. Transport Topics

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XM Satellite's Net Loss Widens

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. said its second-quarter net loss was $166.1 million or 84 cents a share, compared with $161.9 million or $1.38 a year earlier.

XM said its total operating expenses rose 23% to $165.9 million as it spent more on advertising and marketing. Sales nearly tripled to $53 million as XM added 418,449 subscribers to end the quarter with 2.1 million.

The company said it now expects to have 3.1 million customers by year-end, higher than its earlier projection of 2.8 million. Transport Topics

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Iteris Earns $1 Million in Fiscal 1Q

Iteris Holdings Inc. said its net income for the fiscal 2005 first quarter ended June 30 was $1 million or 4 cents per share, compared wth a net loss of $2 million or 13 cents a year earlier.

Iteris Holdings is the majority shareholder of Iteris Inc., a provider of traffic and safety technology including its AutoVue lane departure warning system.

The company said in a statement the current results include a $949,000 gain related to a settlement with the Michigan Department of Transportation. Net sales and contract revenues totaled $11.4 million, compared with $11.5 million a year ago, the company said.

Revenues from its AutoVue system increased 176.1% from a year earlier, and was being field-tested on about 25 North American commercial fleets with 45,000 heavy-duty trucks in operation, the company said. Transport Topics

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