ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The National Toy Hall of Fame has narrowed the nominees for its class of 2013.

This year’s finalists are: Bubbles, chess, the board game Clue, Fisher-Price Little People, little green Army men, the Magic 8 Ball, My Little Pony, Nerf toys, the Pac-Man video game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the scooter and the rubber duck.

The museum announced the 12 finalists Tuesday, two of which will be enshrined alongside Barbie, the hula hoop, Lionel trains and dozens of other famous playthings next month.

A national selection committee will vote on which two will follow last year’s winners, dominoes and “Star Wars” action figures, into the 15-year-old hall, located inside The Strong museum in Rochester.

U.S. manufacturing continues to expandWASHINGTON — U.S. factory activity expanded last month at the fastest pace in 2½ years, an encouraging sign that manufacturing could lift economic growth and hiring in the coming months.The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said its manufacturing index rose in September to 56.2, the highest since April 2011. That’s up from 55.7 in August and the fourth straight increase in the index.Manufacturers added jobs last month at the fastest pace in more than a year and ramped up production, the survey showed.