NATION IN BRIEF: State e-mails target Obama

Alaska officials are investigating racist jokes about President-elect Barack Obama that have been circulating on state government e-mail accounts. Three racist messages were confirmed by the state’s information technology division, Administration Commissioner Annette Kreitzer said Wednesday. “It’s embarrassing to the state,” she said. Bill McAllister, spokesman for Gov. Sarah Palin, said the matter concerned individual actions by a handful of state employees. “The Department of Administration is following up on this with the individuals who took action to forward the offensive e-mails,” he said. It appeared the original e-mails were sent to state employees from outside the state system, but some state employees forwarded them.

Budget cuts to delay inspections

Kentucky won’t increase mine safety inspections next year because of budget woes, delaying a reform approved after a series of fatal mining disasters. The state’s two-year, $19 billion budget is expected to be $456 million short by June 30. Budget cuts to make up the shortfall will prevent inspectors from examining each state mine six times as required by the 2007 law, officials said Wednesday.

Emissions result in $6.1 million fine

Exxon Mobil Corp. has agreed to pay a $6.1 million penalty for failing to live up to an agreement to cut pollution at four refineries in Beaumont and Baytown, Texas; Torrance, Calif., and Baton Rouge, La. The Justice Department said Wednesday it imposed the fine because Exxon Mobil violated a 2005 consent agreement by not adequately controlling smokestack sulfur emissions.

Center ordered shut before fire

A fire injured three children and two adults Wednesday at a day care center that had been shut down by Tennessee regulators. Among those hurt was an off-duty policeman who spotted the fire and helped rescue the children from the Heavenly Angels day care in Alamo, about 70 miles northeast of Memphis. Two of the children and both adults were in good condition and the other child was in fair condition, Jackson-Madison County General Hospital said. It wasn’t clear how many children were at the center when the fire broke out. The center had been shut down by the state after a 10-month-old child died there Oct. 1, the Tennessee Department of Human Services said.

Tunnel collapse lawsuit settled

Prosecutors will drop a manslaughter charge against the only company charged in Boston’s fatal Big Dig tunnel collapse after the epoxy maker agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit. Under the deal, Brewster, N.Y.-based Powers Fasteners agreed to recall its “fast-set” epoxy used in the tunnel and to notify customers that the epoxy failed certain tests and is not recommended for sustained loads. The company also is prohibited from doing business with state and local governments until 2012. Powers was indicted after the July 2006 death of Milena Del Valle for providing the epoxy blamed in the ceiling collapse.