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Business Briefs

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DEARBORN, Mich. — Cultivating the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles, the Obama administration said Tuesday it would lend $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Co. and about $2.1 billion to Nissan Motor Co. and Tesla Motors Inc. in a government-industry partnership to build green cars. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the three automakers would be the first beneficiaries of a $25 billion fund to develop fuel-efficient vehicles. The loans to Ford will help the company upgrade factories in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio to produce 13 fuel-efficient vehicles. Nissan will receive loans of $1.6 billion to retool its plant in Smyrna, Tenn., to build electric vehicles and construct a battery manufacturing plant. Tesla will get $465 million in loans to build electric vehicles and electric-drive powertrains in California.

Broccoli-snake head case goes unsolved in N.Y.

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — The case of the severed snake head in a dish of a broccoli at an upstate New York restaurant may go unsolved. A diner said he found the snake head on May 3 while eating at a T.G.I. Friday’s in Clifton Park, north of Albany. Laboratory tests showed the head hadn’t been cooked, indicating it was added to the broccoli at the restaurant. The Carrollton,

Texas-based company asked New York State Police to investigate. State police say they can’t determine how the snake wound up in the dish and that the investigation has been closed.

Intel, Nokia join forces in technology race

Intel Corp. and Nokia Corp. said Tuesday they’re joining forces to build better technology for smart phones and other mobile Internet devices. The deal will help Intel penetrate the smart phone market, an area Intel sees as crucial for growth.

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