Signe Wilkinson

Sony defect causes massive global recall of LCD televisions .

Graphic from the Associated Press
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

TOKYO, Japan - Sony Corp. says it is recalling 1.6 million LCD televisions globally because of a defect that can trigger overheating, smoke and melting parts.

Sony says has received 11 such reports in Japan, though none involved injuries or damage beyond the TVs.

What models are being recalled?

The models subject to the recall in Japan are the Bravia KDL-40X5000, KDL-40X5050, KDL-40W5000, KDL-40V5000 and KDL-40V3000.

The defective part - an inverter transformer used for LCD backlights - is also used in models sold overseas. But Sony says it has not received reports of similar problems.

The company will release local recall information for customers in each affected market.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

In The News: Hertz Suspended 34 Somali Muslims for Praying at Work

Hertz at Victory Gardens Bartram Ave. Near PHL Airport

Lawsuit: Hertz Suspended 34 Somali Muslims for Praying at Work

By Gerald W.McNeil 10/10/2011

On Friday, Seattle Teamsters Local 117 filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the Hertz car rental company after 34 Somali Muslim employees were allegedly suspended for praying on the clock. The suspensions are indefinite.

A Hertz spokesman said that the workers, who drove shuttles at Seattle-Tacoma International airport, were repeatedly told they needed to clock out. The suspensions came after the workers failed to comply.

“We felt it was reasonable for our Muslim employees who need to pray a couple times during the workday to clock in and clock out,” Rich Broome, spokesman for Hertz, told the media

But Teamsters officials said managers had agreed in negotiations that workers would not have to clock in and out. The contract itself does not address the matter, and Local 117 said it filed the complaint against Hertz for failing to notify the union in advance of what it considers a policy change.

About 70 percent of the 80 drivers at Hertz in Seattle are Muslim. They receive no health benefits, vacation or sick leave.

Muslim workers who clocked out were not suspended.