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State briefs: Smyrna Nissan plant to close for 2 weeks due to chip shortage




Smyrna Nissan plant to close for 2 weeks due to chip shortage

DETROIT — Nissan says its huge factory in Smyrna will close for two weeks starting Monday due to computer chip shortages brought on by a coronavirus outbreak in Malaysia.

The shutdown is among the longest at any U.S. auto plant of this size since the semiconductor shortage, which has hobbled auto production worldwide, started to hit late last year.

Nissan said Tuesday it ran short of chips due to a COVID-19 outbreak at a chip factory in Malaysia. It expects production to resume Aug. 30.

The 6 million-square-foot Smyrna factory employs 6,700 people and makes six Nissan models, including the Rogue small SUV, the company’s top-selling U.S. vehicle.

Analysts say the closure of the large Nissan factory for two weeks is a sign that the semiconductor shortage may not be coming to an end late this year as many auto executives had hoped.

— Associated Press

Alabama officers seek

information on men

missing from Tennessee

CLANTON, Ala. — Alabama authorities seeking answers about three people who were found dead inside a burned vehicle last month are asking for help locating men reported missing in Tennessee.

The Chilton County Sheriff’s Office released photos Tuesday of a group of men it said were headed to Alabama for a job and may have been traveling in a white 2007 Chevrolet Suburban or a 2018 black Chevrolet Silverado, both with Tennessee license plates. It wasn’t clear whether they were traveling together or by themselves, a statement said, and the men weren’t identified as victims or suspects.

Investigators believe the men and vehicles are “key pieces of evidence” after the discovery of three bodies on a rural logging road in late July, said the statement. The agency said the men may have information about the bodies, the agency told WIAT-TV.

The car was found July 29 after a call from someone who spotted it, authorities said, and it didn’t appear the bodies had been there long. No one has been arrested, and it’s unclear whether authorities have determined the identities of the dead.

— Associated Press

TSU clearing returning

students’ balances

Tennessee State University is clearing the account balances of students returning to study this fall, the school said.

The account balance forgiveness applies only to returning students enrolled in spring 2020, fall 2020 and spring 2021. It also covers summer 2020 and 2021, the school said in a news release.

“We are keenly aware that the number one reason that students do not return to college is lack of funds,” university President Glenda Glover said. “Paying off account balances for our students will relieve some of the financial stress that they have and allow them to focus on studying and completing their degrees.”

The funds to pay off the balances will come from federal COVID-19 economic relief, said Douglas R. Allen II, TSU’s vice president for business and finance.

The university will be fully operational for the fall semester and expects its largest freshman class in five years, the news release said. Students are moving in this week.

— Associated Press

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