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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is driving ahead with a dramatic reduction in sulfur in gasoline and tailpipe emissions, declaring that cleaner air will save thousands of lives per year at little cost to consumers.

Public health groups and automakers cheered the new rules, finalized Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency, with some insisting they could prove to be President Barack Obama's signature environmental accomplishment in his second term. The oil and gas industry, meanwhile, panned the move, calling it gratuitous and accusing the government of grossly underestimating the increased cost at the pump.

"The benefits far outweigh the costs," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, calling it a win for both consumers and automakers. "These standards will reduce pollution, they'll clean the air we breathe and protect the health of American families."

In the works for years, the rules require refineries to cut sulfur levels in the gasoline by about two-thirds by 2017. Less sulfur in gasoline makes it easier for a car's pollution controls to effectively filter out emissions, resulting in cleaner air, the EPA says. For car manufacturers, stricter limits on tailpipe emissions will require engineering changes so that cars weed out more pollution.

More than 2,000 premature deaths and about 50,000 cases of kids with respiratory problems will be avoided by 2030 if the rules go into effect, the EPA said.

The cost to consumers: Less than a penny per gallon of gas, McCarthy said. The EPA also projects the rules will raise the average cost of buying a vehicle by $72 in 2025.

But not everyone agrees.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry, pointed to studies it has commissioned estimating that the limits would add 6 cents to 9 cents a gallon to refiners' manufacturing costs while requiring $10 billion in capital costs. American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, a trade group, called it "the most recent example of the agency's propensity for illogical and counterproductive rulemaking."

"This rule is all pain and no gain," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich. "This winter's cold snap underscores just how vulnerable American families and businesses are to any increases in energy costs, and yet the administration is moving forward to raise prices at the pump."

Pushing back on those charges, McCarthy said that API's study constituted an "outdated estimate" that didn't account for changes the EPA made to the rules after receiving public comment — such as a phasing-in that gives some refineries more flexibility to come into compliance.

"We stand behind our estimate," said Bob Greco, API's downstream group director.

The political wrangling over the latest round of regulations to hit the energy industry offered a familiar reprise of a long-running debate over Obama's attempts to use his regulatory power to clean up the nation's sources of fuel.

With just a few years left in his term and no appetite in Congress for major environmental legislation, Obama has vowed to take action unilaterally to tackle climate change and other pollution. Energy advocates have staunchly opposed Obama's proposed emissions limits on new and existing power plants, and accuse him of dallying on approval for the Keystone XL pipeline. The issue promises to play a prominent role in the 2014 midterm elections, as Democrats from energy-dependent states find themselves squeezed between economic and environmental concerns.

Tellingly, there was little pushback from the auto industry, with major automakers like Ford, Toyota and Honda praising the EPA for setting one standard for emissions that will apply nation-wide. California already uses the new sulfur standard, and while the U.S. has tightened sulfur limits twice before, it still lags behind many other countries.

"The EPA has effectively harmonized the federal and state emissions requirements, and that's a big deal for us," said Mike Robinson, a vice president at General Motors Co. "It allows us to engineer, build and calibrate vehicles on a national basis."

Breathing the pollutants that come out of a car's tailpipe leads to coughing and shortness of breath for healthy adults, but for those with underlying conditions like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, the implications can be grave: asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes and ultimately death, said Paul Billings, the American Lung Association's vice president.

The Obama administration already has moved to clean up motor vehicles by adopting rules that will increase fuel efficiency and putting in place standards to reduce the pollution from cars and trucks blamed for global warming.

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett says the economy continues the steady improvement that began in fall of 2009 and he remains optimistic despite Russia's advance into Ukraine.

Buffett appeared on the business cable channel CNBC Monday morning after releasing an upbeat annual letter to his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders over the weekend. Buffett is chairman and CEO of the Omaha, Neb., conglomerate.

Buffett said the reports he gets from Berkshire's 80-odd subsidiaries in a variety of industries show that the economy is growing at a moderate rate, despite swings in investors' mood.

"The American economy for five years has been moving at a fairly steady rate upwards —not as fast as people would like — but I think that absolutely continues now," he said.

But Buffett said he doesn't make investment decisions based on the economy or world events, and Berkshire continued buying an unnamed stock in the United Kingdom Monday. He said he focuses on the prospects of the business in which he's investing, and the price.

The Russian military advance into part of Ukraine over the weekend shouldn't prompt investors to sell stocks in good businesses in the United States, Buffett said.

"People react too much to short-term things in the stock market whereas they behave quite rationally when they get into other investments," he said.

Buffett addressed a variety of topics in the three-hour long television interview.

Buffett said it's clear that railroad tank cars carrying crude oil need to be updated because oil from certain regions is more dangerous than originally thought.

Berkshire Hathaway owns the BNSF railroad and a manufacturer of tank cars.

"There will be changes made and there should be changes made," Buffett said. "We have found in the last year that it's more dangerous to move certain types of crude certainly than was thought previously."

Buffett said the crude oil from the Bakken oil field in North Dakota and Montana and the Eagle Ford oil field in south Texas has proven more volatile than anticipated.

That volatility may have contributed to several fiery derailments in the past year, including one in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, last summer that killed 47 people.

Buffett reiterated Monday that he thinks it's a good idea to build the proposed Keystone XL pipeline TransCanada wants to construct to carry Canadian oil south across the Great Plains to connect to Gulf Coast refineries.

He said he doesn't expect that pipeline to reduce the amount of oil railroads are hauling significantly.

Berkshire's insurance and reinsurance companies often have to pay significant claims when natural disasters strike. But Buffett said the rate of disasters that Berkshire's insurance and reinsurance companies see hasn't changed because of extreme weather or climate change.

"I calculate the probabilities of catastrophes no different than a few years ago," he said.

Strong insurance results helped Berkshire earn $19.48 billion last year on $182.15 billion revenue. That's up from earnings of $14.82 billion on $162.46 billion revenue in 2012.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owns roughly 80 subsidiaries, including railroad, clothing, furniture and jewelry firms. Its insurance and utility businesses typically account for more than half of the company's net income. The company also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co., IBM and Wells Fargo & Co.

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Follow Josh Funk online at www.twitter.com/funkwrite

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Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: www.berkshirehathaway.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Friday marks the end of the two-week period within which U.S. Sen. Bob Corker promised Volkswagen would announce another line at its factory in Tennessee if workers there rejected representation by the United Auto Workers union.

So far, there's little sign of any pending announcement.

Workers at the Chattanooga plant ended up voting 712-626 against the UAW, in an election the union claims was tainted by threats and intimidation from Republicans like Corker, Gov. Bill Haslam and state lawmakers.

The UAW last week filed a challenge with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking to have results voided and a new election to be held.

The appeal cited warnings from GOP lawmakers that a pro-union vote would endanger key state incentives to secure the new line at the plant, and Corker's statements that a vote against the union would be followed in short order an expansion announcement.

"If the UAW is voted down they're going to come here immediately, within a two week period, and affirm they're going to build a line here," Corker told The Associated Press the day before the conclusion of the three-day vote.

The Senator also dismissed the repeated claim by Volkswagen that a decision about whether to build a new SUV either in Chattanooga or at a plant in Mexico was unrelated to the union vote.

"There is no way I'd put out statement like I put out unless I was 1,000 percent that it was accurate in every way," Corker said at the time.

In its appeal, the UAW criticized the statements from Corker and other GOP politicians during the election.

"This resonates as a classic 'fist inside the velvet glove' threat," the UAW appeal said. "If you vote against the union you will be rewarded, but if you go the other way you will be punished.

"Senator Corker knew exactly what he was doing," according to the filing.

Corker blamed the UAW appeal — and the resulting delay in certifying the results of the union election — for putting a hold on expansion talks at the plant.

"Unfortunately, I have to assume that today's action may slow down Volkswagen's final discussions on the new SUV line," he said at the time.

Volkswagen has remained silent on Corker's latest assertions as well as the UAW appeal.

The company did not immediately respond to messages seeking a comment Thursday.

The NLRB has given the UAW an extension until March 7 to present its evidence to support the case.

Corker, a former Chattanooga mayor who played a large role in courting Volkswagen to build the plant in Chattanooga, calls the UAW complaint an effort to "try to muzzle or keep a United States Senator, a governor or a state legislator from being able to express their views."

Corker and fellow Republicans said they worried that a UAW foothold with its first foreign automaker in the South would have hurt the region's ability to attract suppliers and other manufacturing plants.

But the anti-union campaign left a sour taste among labor officials at Volkswagen, which is embarking on a $7 billion investment spree in North America over the next five years.

Volkswagen had declared its neutrality on the UAW vote, but has been a proponent of creating a German-style "works council" at the plant, which would represent both blue collar and salaried employees. The company has said U.S. law would require the establishment of an independent union in order to create a works council.

Bernd Osterloh, a Volkswagen board member and head of the company's global works council, raised concerns about the "massive anti-union atmosphere" fostered by conservatives surrounding the Chattanooga vote, and warned that the company could look toward building future plants outside the South if efforts to create works council are thwarted in Tennessee.

Worker representatives make up half of the supervisory board at the Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker, giving them the power to block management initiatives.

Republican state Sen. Bo Watson, who took a lead on warning of negative consequences for Volkswagen investments if the union was approved, said Thursday that state lawmakers won't put their evaluation of a new package on hold while the UAW appeal is pending.

"That's a process that's out of my control," Watson said. "My perspective is that the workers made their decision. You work under the assumption that the decision has been made, and you move forward from that."

ATLANTA (AP) — Economists expect solid job growth in Georgia during the rest of 2014, with help from the housing market and the state's manufacturing and technology industries.

Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University, says economic growth may be slightly slower than in 2013. However, he said that prospects for this year have brightened a bit in recent months with a congressional compromise on the federal budget.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Dhawan issued the center's quarterly outlook on Wednesday.

He said that a surge of technology jobs means a higher proportion of new positions will pay well.

Dhawan also predicted that Georgia's unemployment rate — now at 7.4 percent — will continue to drop, averaging 6.7 percent this year and 6 percent in two year.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com

ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines is making fundamental changes to its frequent flier program and will reward those who buy its priciest tickets, as opposed to those who fly the most miles.

It will be the first major carrier to make such a change and other airlines will certainly be watching to see how travelers react to the change.

Delta said Wednesday that the 2015 SkyMiles program will better recognize frequent business travelers and leisure customers who buy premium fares.

It's a bid to lure the much-sought-after business traveler, but it will affect everyone who flies with the carrier and uses the program.

Delta had been moving in the direction of a revenue-based program. In January 2013 the company said that its 2014 frequent fliers would need to spend at least $2,500 to qualify for the lowest level of elite status. Previously, they could qualify on miles alone.

A revenue-based program generally rewards business travelers. Those fliers are critical to airlines because they book flights on short notice and buy more expensive tickets, versus the typical leisure traveler that plans a trip well in advance and hunts for the cheapest fares.

JetBlue Airways Corp.'s "True Blue" frequent flier program already awards points based on dollars spent, not on miles. And in 2011 Southwest Airlines Co. changed its frequent flier program to reward more-expensive tickets.

But the change by a carrier that has the reach of Delta could signal a more definitive shift in catering more to those sitting in the front of the plane, rather than the back-seaters.

Delta Air Lines Inc., based in Atlanta, says it's making the announcement about changes to its SkyMiles program 10 months in advance so customers have ample time to make travel plans. The new program goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2015.

Delta said that other program updates will include a new mileage redemption structure that will improve Award seat availability at the lowest mileage requirement levels; offering One-Way Awards at half the price of round-trip and providing additional Miles + Cash Award options.

ATLANTA (AP) — State transportation officials say an initiative to recover money to pay for damage to state property in traffic accidents has netted the agency more than $1 million.

GDOT officials say annual damages to state property — such as signs, guardrails, bridge supports and more — can add up to more than $10 million. Deputy GDOT Commissioner Todd Long says he's pleased with collections results he's seen through a partnership with Claims Management Resources, Inc. The company negotiates with drivers and their insurance companies.

Long says the department is on track to recover between $3 and $4 million in the first year of the partnership.

The price of oil edged above $102 a barrel Wednesday as investors tried to assess the strength of U.S. demand with the approach of warmer weather.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery was up 62 cents to $102.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract fell 99 cents to close at $101.83.

Investors are waiting for a weekly fuel inventories report due later Wednesday from the U.S. Energy Department for clues about the strength of demand. The industry-sponsored American Petroleum Agency said late Tuesday that crude supplies rose 822,000 barrels last week, though stocks at Cushing, Okla., the settlement point for the Nymex contract, fell 1.1 million barrels.

"Market participants will be paying close attention to the flows through Cushing and for any increases in refinery rates which remained subdued in last week's report," said analyst Kash Kamal at Sucden Financial Research in London.

An especially harsh U.S. winter this year has boosted energy demand but that impulse will fade as warmer weather starts to prevail.

The world has already grown jittery lately about a possible economic slowdown in China. The economy is still expanding at faster rates than Western nations but may be losing momentum, which would have significant effect on energy demand.

However, production and exports snags in Libya and Iraq as well as sometime-violent street protests in Venezuela, which is a major supplier of crude to the U.S., have helped keep prices supported.

Brent crude, which is used to set prices for international varieties of crude, was down 19 cents to $109.32 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex:

— Wholesale gasoline was almost unchanged at $2.9714 per gallon.

— Heating was also little changed at $3.0352 a gallon.

— Natural gas dropped 26.6 cents to $4.83 per 1,000 cubic feet.