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Major Aluminum Maker Shuts Down; Vinyl's Resurgent Demand; Tesla Layoffs | Today in Manufacturing Ep. 74

Also on the podcast, solar umbrellas burst into flames, regulators hit Phillips 66, new tech turns whole fish into food and fireworks prices skyrocket.

Man Sets Record for Longest Tenure at a Company

His first day at the textile company was on January 17, 1938.

Thumb Master Recovered Recovered

NTSB Slams 5-Star Safety Rating Program

The rating system dates back to 1979.

Tesla Lays Off 200 Autopilot Employees

Solar Patio Umbrellas Recalled After Bursting Into Flames

Stellantis Begins Indefinite Layoff; Kellogg Splits; Musk Says Rivian, Lucid in 'Deep Trouble' | Today in Manufacturing Ep. 73

Domino's Dream of Drone-Delivered Pizza is Still Alive

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing has a new podcast brought to you by the editors of Industrial Media. In each episode, we discuss the five biggest stories in manufacturing, and the implications they have on the industry moving forward.

A vast thermal tank to store hot water is pictured in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, June 30, 2022. Power provider Vattenfall unveiled a new facility in Berlin on Thursday that turns solar and wind energy into heat, which can be stored in a vast thermal tank and released into the German capital's grid as needed, smoothing out the fluctuating supply problem of renewables.

Berlin Preps 'Huge Thermos' to Help Heat Homes This Winter

Vattenfall says the tower will help heat Berlin homes this winter even if Russian gas supplies dry up.

Brett Phaneuf, co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project, at left, stands on the deck of a tow boat as the Mayflower Autonomous Ship is guided next to the replica of the original Mayflower, Thursday, June 30, 2022, in Plymouth, Mass. The crewless robotic boat retraced the 1620 sea voyage of the Mayflower.

Crewless Robotic Mayflower Ship Reaches Plymouth Rock

The solar-powered ship's first attempt to cross the Atlantic in 2021 was beset with technical problems.

Air Ambulance Looks to Install CT Scanners in Helicopters

They are using nano technology to develop a scanner that is much lighter and with fewer moving parts that could be disrupted during flight.

Plastic bottles of shampoo are displayed at Compton's Market in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, June 17, 2022. California lawmakers approved a measure, on Thursday, June 30, 2022, requiring companies selling plastics used for single-use products like eating utensils, food containers and shampoo bottles to cut down their use of the polluting product by 25% if they want to continue selling in California starting the next decade.

California Sets Nation's Toughest Plastics Reduction Rules

Companies have 10 years to make changes.

The soft flexible device bends and stretches with the body, without the need for bulky, rigid hardware.

Dissolving Implantable Device Relieves Pain Without Drugs

The biocompatible, water-soluble device works by softly wrapping around nerves.

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Boring Company's Loop Opens First Las Vegas Passenger Station

The Resorts World Las Vegas passenger station will be the first of more than 55 stops anticipated to form the Vegas Loop.

Steam billows from a coal-fired power plant Nov. 18, 2021, in Craig, Colo. The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 30, 2022, limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming.

Supreme Court Decision May Slow Transition to Cleaner Energy

It could also change the way other agencies can regulate the power sector.

A proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration would let the state purchase power in emergencies from aging gas plants.

To Avoid Blackouts, California May Tap Fossil Fuel Plants

Critics say the method is at odds with the state's broader climate goals.

A customer pays for vegetables at the Maravillas market in Madrid, on May 12, 2022. Inflation figures for Europe will be released Friday, July 1, 2022, as Russia's war in Ukraine has worsened the worldwide surge in consumer prices. For months, inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro has risen at the fastest pace since record-keeping for the currency began.

Inflation Hits Record 8.6% for 19 Euro-Using Countries

Russia's invasion of Ukraine made things worse.

A brief patch of early morning sunlight brightens the landscape around the Greenidge Generation power plant, Oct. 15, 2021, in Dresden, N.Y. State officials on Thursday, June, 30, 2022, denied air permit renewals to a bitcoin-mining power plant in Finger Lakes that environmentalists called a threat to New York's climate goals.

New York Officials Rule Against Bitcoin-Mining Power Plant

The plant began bitcoin mining in earnest in 2020.

A Volvo XC40 electric vehicle is shown on, Dec. 13, 2021. Sweden's luxury car maker Volvo Cars will built its new European plant in Slovakia. Slovakia's Economy Minister Richard Sulik said Friday that the plant will be located in eastern Slovakia near the second largest city of Kosice.The investment is worth some 1.2 billion euros ($1.25 billion) . Volvo will receive about 20% of the investment as support from the Slovak government. The plant will make electric cars only.

Volvo to Build $1.25 Billion Electric Car Plant in Slovakia

The plant is expected to produce some 250,000 electric cars a year.