By Holli L. Estridge, The Eagle, Bryan, Texas Jun. 20--Alcoa officials said Thursday that they would temporarily lay off 250 employees at the company's Rockdale aluminum smelter and might be forced to close the plant because of an unreliable power supply.

By Joe Napsha The U.S. Department of Justice has started a criminal investigation into allegations Alcoa Inc. bribed officials in Bahrain -- as claimed in a $1 billion lawsuit filed against the company last month, court documents show.

By Joe Napsha A federal lawsuit accuses Alcoa Inc. of bribing officials of Bahrain and its government-owned aluminum company over a 14-year period, resulting in Alcoa being overpaid "hundreds of millions of dollars" for a raw material used to make aluminum. Aluminum Bahrain B.S.C.

Seven years after Alcoa Inc. absorbed Richmond-based Reynolds Metals Co., more changes appear to be on the way for the company's 1,300 local employees.