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WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s safety rating system has been improved but is still not ready to return to public view, said the Department of Transportation’s inspector general.

Package delivery firm DHL said Thursday it acquired a 49% stake Polar Air Cargo Express, a unit of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, to expand its business in the Asia-Pacific region.

FedEx Express said Thursday it has made its next-business-day service available to customers throughout China.

We have had many examples of questionable DOT inspections — including two we had last month in Idaho on the same owner-operator’s tractor-trailer that were clean, but not Level 1s, which are the most thorough standardized inspections.

A convoy of 100 diesel trucks motored slowly along the Harbor Freeway from South Los Angeles to the Port of Long Beach Wednesday as part of a push for cleaner air and better working conditions for drivers, television station KTLA reported on its Web site.

Department of °®¶¹´«Ã½land Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said DHS will consider allowing use of secure driver’s licenses as a means of identification at the U.S. border, the Associated Press reported.

Federal officials ordered a recall of tires made in China after their U.S. distribution company disclosed that the Chinese manufacturer had stopped including a safety feature that prevented tire treads from separating, the New York Times reported.