NATION

NATION
U.S. upgrades probeinto brake light failure
WASHINGTON -- The government has moved closer to recalling more than 1.2 million General Motors Corp. sport utility vehicles because their brake lights could fail.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it is upgrading an investigation into brake light failures on 2002-04 Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada SUVs as well as the 2004 Buick Rainier. Such upgrades often precede vehicle recalls.
GM and NHTSA have received 687 complaints that rear brake lights didn't come on when the driver pressed the brake pedal. No injuries related to the defect have been reported, and GM has corrected the condition in vehicles made after October 2003. NHTSA said the company also alerted customers that dealers would replace their bulbs for free if they noticed they weren't working, but there has been no official recall.
OSHA fines Disneyover death of employee
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Walt Disney Entertainment has been fined $6,300 for the death of a worker dressed as Pluto who was run over and killed by a float as it entered a Magic Kingdom parade.
The right foot of Javier Cruz, 38, became caught between the second and third sections of a three-part float, and he fell and was run over by the third section of the vehicle.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration categorized the citation "serious" because employees were exposed to the hazard of being struck by motorized vehicles, according to OSHA.
Disney has 15 days to contest the citation or request a hearing before an administrative judge.
Federal budget deficithits record $395.8 billion
WASHINGTON -- With two months still to go in the government's budget year, the federal deficit has hit a record $395.8 billion.
The monthly accounting of spending and revenue showed that the July deficit totaled $69.2 billion, up 27.5 percent from the $54.2 billion shortfall in July 2003, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.
The $395.8 billion deficit through the first 10 months of the government's fiscal year was up 22 percent from the same period a year earlier and now has passed the record deficit of $374.3 billion for all of last year.
The Bush administration is projecting that the deficit for all of the 2004 budget year, which ends Sept. 30, will be $445 billion. This year will mark the third consecutive budget deficit after four straight years of surpluses that reflected the economic boom of the 1990s.
Associated Press