News In Brief

NEXT TIME I'LL SAY 'HELLO'

It seemed an innocent enough greeting. But when an acquaintance said "Hi, Jack!" to the copilot of a corporate jet, that's not what came across. A microphone happened to be open in the cockpit, and - you can see where this is going, right? - control tower officials at a suburban Detroit airport misread the intent. The plane was ordered grounded and within minutes the FBI and a police SWAT team were summoned. All ended peacefully. But, said one cop: "They'll probably pass a rule that no one named Jack can ever be hired in aviation again."

NOT PLANNING TO PAY, ARE WE?

Near Frankfurt, Germany, a store detective caught a shoplifter with a bottle of pesticide worth only a few dollars. So what, you say? The suspect was a police chief - in uniform, no less, reports said. Make that ... ex-chief. Although he commanded a force of 300, he's now suspended.

Ranking the nation's largest black-owned businesses

The 10 largest companies with majority-black ownership employed more than 13,600 people and racked up sales of $2.5 billion, based on 1998 figures, according to an annual ranking by Black Enterprise magazine. The list excludes brokerages, law firms, real estate agencies, and others that provide professional services. The companies and their sales (in millions):

1. Coca-Cola Bottling Co, Philadelphia $389.0

2. Johnson Publishing Co., Chicago 371.9

3. TLC Beatrice International Holdings, New York 322.0

4. Active Transportation, Louisville, Ky. 250.0

5. The Bing Group, Detroit 232.0

6. World Wide Technology Inc., St. Louis 201.0

7. Fuci Metals USA, Northbrook, Ill. 200.0

8. Granite Broadcasting Corp., New York 193.9

9. H.J. Russell & Co., Atlanta 184.4

10. BET Holdings Inc. Washington 178.0

- Business Wire

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