In order to control large crowds during peak travel hours, MTBA General Manager Dan Grabauskas has announced a new pilot program that will create special high-capacity cars armed to accommodate more commuters.

The “Big Red” car can hold up to 200 riders and has little to no seats. Signs will be posted at the entrance doors so that commuters know what to expect before they hop on.

Starting Monday, the pilot train with high capacity cars will operate during rush hour service, Monday through Friday.

Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x1009155535/MBTA-strips-out-the-seats-from-some-Red-Line-trains

*******************

Employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession.

As companies throttled back hiring, the unemployment rate bolted from 6.5 percent in October to 6.7 percent last month, a 15-year high.

Source: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/12/05/employers_shedding_jobs_as_recession_deepens/

*********************

Hong Kong authorities have found the toxic chemical melamine in another Chinese brand of eggs, dampening hopes of any end to the tainting scandal.

The eggs came from a farm in Dehui City in China's northeastern Jilin province.

More than a quarter of a million children in China have been made ill by food tainted with melamine, and six babies have died.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7762187.stm