Scott Sonner

Associated Press
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How to Calculate Capacity Utilization: A Manufacturer’s Guide
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How to Calculate Capacity Utilization: A Manufacturer’s Guide
June 9, 2026
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, May 22, 2026.
By the Numbers: The SpaceX IPO
June 11, 2026
Stellantis Solid State Battery
Stellantis Tests Solid-State Battery in Dodge Charger Daytona
June 11, 2026
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Micron Picks Construction Partner for Country's Largest Semiconductor Factory
June 11, 2026
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More from Scott Sonner
The Today in Manufacturing Podcast from Manufacturing.net
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The Today in Manufacturing Podcast from Manufacturing.net
Each week, our editors discuss the five biggest stories in manufacturing and their implications for the industry. 
March 31, 2026
This photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity shows a Tiehm's buckwheat plant near the site of a proposed lithium mine in Nevada, May 22, 2020.
Operations
U.S. Advances Review of Nevada Lithium Mine Amid Concerns Over Endangered Wildflower
It could become the third lithium mine in the U.S.
April 23, 2024
In this undated photo provided by NASA, a satellite captures the Railroad Valley (RRV), a dry lakebed in Nevada, for conducting ground-based calibration of Earth-observing satellite instruments.
Product Development
NASA Opposes Lithium Mining in Nevada
The site is used to calibrate razor-sharp measurements of hundreds of satellites orbiting overhead.
June 23, 2023
Melissa Boerst, a Lithium Nevada Corp. geologist, points to an area of future exploration from a drill site at the Thacker Pass Project in Humboldt County, Nev., Sept. 13, 2018.
Supply Chain
Judge Affirms Stricter Interpretation of Federal Mining Law
The new ruling blocks a metals mine in Nevada.
April 13, 2023
Exploration drilling continues for Permitting Lithium Nevada Corp.'s Thacker Pass Project on the site between Orovada and Kings Valley, in Humboldt County, Nev., shown beyond a driller's shovels in the distance, Sept. 13, 2018.
Regulation
Court Denies Emergency Bid to Stop Nevada Lithium Mine
Opponents say the government illegally approved it in a rush to produce raw materials for electric vehicle batteries.
March 2, 2023
In this photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity, is a laydown area for drilling operations within Tiehm's buckwheat critical habitat in Esmeralda County, Nev., Dec. 26, 2022.
Regulation
Lithium Miner Cited for Violating Endangered Flower Habitat
Five days after the U.S. Energy Department announced a $700 million conditional loan to the company, federal land managers cited it for trespassing.
January 20, 2023
This photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity taken in June 2019, in the Silver Peak Range of western Nevada about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas shows Tiehm's buckwheat growing in the high desert where a lithium mine is planned.
Regulation
Feds Launching Review of Mine at Site of Endangered Flower
Federal land managers are reviewing new plans the developer says will allow the mine and flower to co-exist.
December 22, 2022
In this photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity, Tiehm's buckwheat grows in the high desert in the Silver Peak Range of western Nevada about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, in June 2019, where a lithium mine is planned.
Regulation
Nevada Flower Listed as Endangered at Lithium Mine Site
It's the only place the flower is known to exist.
December 15, 2022
A pair of work pants, possibly made by or for Levi Strauss, from the S.S. Central America are seen in a warehouse in Sparks, Nev., on May 4, 2022.
Product Development
Pricey Work Pants from 1857 Go for $114,000, Raise Levi's Questions
There's disagreement about whether they have any ties to the father of modern-day blue jeans, Levi Strauss.
December 14, 2022
In this photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity is a bleached sandhill skipper in the meadows at Baltazor Hot Spring in Humboldt County, Nevada, taken on Sept 13, 2021. Conservationists who are already suing to block a geothermal power plant where an endangered toad lives in western Nevada are now seeking U.S. protection for the rare butterfly at another geothermal project the developer plans near the Oregon line.
Regulation
Protection Sought for Rare Butterflies at Geothermal Plant Site
First it was an endangered toad, now it's a butterfly.
August 17, 2022
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed designating the high-desert range halfway between Reno and Las Vegas as critical habitat for the Tiehm's buckwheat. It is also the site of a proposed lithium mine by the Australian-based Ioneer USA Corp.
Regulation
U.S. Backs Rare Flower Habitat Amid Nevada Lithium Mine Fight
The mine would help produce lithium batteries for electric vehicles.
February 4, 2022
In this Oct. 13, 2018, file photo, a sign marks the entrance to the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nev. A Russian citizen has pleaded guilty to offering a Tesla employee $1 million to get malware into the electric car company's plant in Nevada and enable a ransomware attack. Attorneys representing Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov did not immediately respond Friday, March 19, 2021, to messages about his Thursday plea in U.S. District Court in Reno.
Operations
Russian Pleads Guilty to Tesla Ransomware Plot
He offered a Tesla employee $1 million to cripple the electric car company’s massive electric battery plant in Nevada.
March 19, 2021
In this June 11, 2020 file photo Wynn Whitmeyer of the Idaho Falls Fire Department uses a drip can to ignite cheat grass and tumbleweeds during a controlled burn east of Idaho Falls, Idaho. Environmentalists have filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S government to block plans to build up to 11,000 miles (17,700 kilometers) of fuel breaks they claim would violate the Endangered Species Act in a misguided effort to slow the advance of wildfires in six Western states.
Regulation
Group Moves to Sue US Gov't Over Fuel Break Plan
Fuel breaks involve clearing stretches of vegetation to slow the progress of fires.
January 14, 2021
Exterior view of the Tesla factory in Fremont, California.
Software
Russian Pleads Not Guilty in Foiled Tesla Ransomware Plot
He's accused of offering a Tesla employee $1 million to enable a ransomware attack at the company's plant.
September 25, 2020
Gold I Stock 482074765
Operations
Big Nevada Gold Mine Expansion On Hold
Environmentalists say the expansion could prove catastrophic to wildlife, cultural resources and nearby high-desert springs.
August 10, 2020