The American subsidiary of a major British drug maker, GlaxoSmithKline LLC, has agreed to pay more than $40 million to 37 states and Washington, D.C., to settle complaints alleging manufacturing process issues at a now-shuttered plant in Puerto Rico, the company and states' attorneys general said Thursday.

The attorneys general say the company engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in making and distributing the drugs. North Carolina will receive $1.2 million, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper's office said.

In a statement Thursday, GlaxoSmithKline says it settled the state claims "to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation and trial." The drug maker is not admitting to wrongdoing under any of the states' consumer protection laws, the statement said. The state complaints come after GlaxoSmithKline agreed last year to pay $750 million in civil and criminal penalties to settle federal claims related to faulty manufacturing processes at its plant in Cidra, Puerto Rico. Part of that money went to states to cover false claims submitted to Medicaid and other health care programs. Associated Press

Man pleads guilty in AT&T hacking

A California man pleaded guilty to hacking into AT&T Inc.'s computer servers to steal email addresses and personal data about Apple Inc. iPad users, federal prosecutors in New Jersey said.

Daniel Spitler, 26, of San Francisco pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers and to identity theft, said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey. Spitler and Andrew Auernheimer of Fayetteville, Ark., were charged in January with breaches that occurred last year. Charges are pending against Auernheimer. Prosecutors in Newark, N.J., said in January that both men were associated with Goatse Security, "a loose association" of hackers and so-called trolls, or people who disrupt Internet service. Bloomberg News

In other news...

Facebook Inc., the world's largest social-networking website, appointed Netflix Inc. Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings to its board, adding expertise in the distribution of digital entertainment. Hastings becomes the sixth director at Facebook. Bloomberg News

The Campbell Soup Co. on Thursday formally named Denise Morrison as its next president and CEO. The 57-year-old Campbell executive will become the first woman to run the soup maker. AP