The FBI issued an alert looking for a 21-year-old man in connection with the planting of 18 pipe bombs from Iowa to Colorado, and most recently in Texas, news services reported.

The U.S. employment picture brightened slightly with a drop in the number filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week, as reported by the Labor Department, coupled with a separate report of a drop in the number of announced job cuts in April.

Both consumer confidence and manufacturing activity slipped slightly in April, but both remained on the positive side of the ledger, according to reports released Monday.

The U.S. Senate passed its version of the much debated energy bill Thursday night, setting up a potentially contentious round of negotiation with leaders in the House of Representatives over several issues that affect the trucking industry.

In its regular report on the state of the U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it sees "signs of improvement" in nearly all regions of the United States, although some areas of the country report weakness.

Political flare-ups in South America and the Middle East are combining to push oil prices higher, and could keep prices rising throughout the spring and summer driving months, news services said.

The ouster of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez by his country’s army on Thursday may curtail the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ ability to keep the price of oil high, news services reported.

Security breaches and flight delays have dogged the Transportation Security Administration since it has assumed authority of airport security, USA Today reported Wednesday.

With two diesel fuel surcharge bills working their way through the Congress, trucking groups are beginning to support the version in the Senate, fuel analyst OPISNet reported Thursday.

Consumers are feeling better about the U.S. economy than they have in a very long time, a University of Michigan survey said Thursday. Also Thursday, an industry group said that manufacturing activity in the Midwest rose for the second straight month.