Current Events

WOLFSBURG, Germany — The chief executive of Volkswagen said on Thursday that he personally apologized to President Obama this week for cheating on vehicle emissions tests, speaking up for its work force as the German carmaker negotiates penalties with United States officials.

Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models to get software adjustment after crashes and injuries reported

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's investigation into the Monostable gear shifter used by a number of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles is turning into a recall; FCA will recall approximately 1.1 million vehicles worldwide to modify the operation of the shifter that has now caused 121 accidents and 41 injuries.

The issue itself is not a fault of engineering but rather design, as the shifter returns to the default center position without giving the driver sufficient feedback as to the selected gear.

As a result, a number of owners have exited their vehicles thinking that they had put the vehicle into Park, while in reality it remained in Drive or Reverse position. The NHTSA has called the operation of the shifter "unintuitive" and had opened an investigation into the issue months ago.

For the second time in about a decade, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. faces a scandal that poses an existential threat.

The Japanese automaker has improperly tested the fuel economy of its cars for the past quarter century, widening the scope of misconduct that executives initially said dated back to 2002. The Mitsubishi Motors board formed a panel of three ex-prosecutors to investigate for about three months. Until then, customers, investors and minicar partner Nissan Motor Co.
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FRANKFURT — A PowerPoint presentation was prepared by a top technology executive at Volkswagen in 2006, laying out in detail how the automaker could cheat on emissions tests in the United States.

The presentation has been discovered as part of the continuing investigations into Volkswagen, according to two people who have seen the document and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the legal action against the company. It provides the most direct link yet to the genesis of the deception at Volkswagen, which admitted late last year that 11 million vehicles worldwide were equipped with software to cheat on tests that measured pollution in emissions.

In the year since Amtrak Train 188 careened off the tracks near Frankford Junction, killing eight people and injuring hundreds of others, the rail company has spent $4.5 million on medical care for hurt passengers and settled at least 19 claims.

While in court earlier this month, Amtrak's attorney David Cook said the 19 settlements reached so far have been for amounts less than $50,000, according to an Inquirer report.

Amtrak has at least another 100 lawsuits to deal with, and those already settled will impact the remaining cases. A $295 million damages cap, set by law, could eventually pit victims and their families against one another as they vie for a piece of the compensation.
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A government watchdog urged the Department of Transportation on Monday to ramp-up its cybersecurity efforts as the automobile industry continues to roll out computer-assisted cars that pose the possibility of being hacked.

The 61-page report published by the Government Accountability Office states that while the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has taken steps towards addressing cybersecurity issues raised by modern automobiles, the agency has stalled with respect to ensuring the nation is able to reel back from a hypothetical hack attack.

Computer programs that control features ranging from cruise control and climate to acceleration and brakes are increasingly apparent in modern automobiles, and it’s not rare for modern luxury cars to be powered with software consisting of more than 100 million lines of code, the GAO wrote in its report.

Fiat Chrysler said on Friday that it was recalling 1.1 million vehicles that can roll away unexpectedly and cause injuries when the transmission is not used properly, adding to a spate of recent safety actions by carmakers.

Safety recalls in the United States have continued to mount this year as automakers react to tougher enforcement efforts by regulators.

This year’s total is unlikely to match the record of more than 60 million vehicles set in 2014 after General Motors recalled millions of small cars with faulty ignitions that were ultimately linked to 124 deaths. But over all, the pace of recalls so far in 2016 exceeds the number in a typical year before the G.

Organic by Nature brand frozen sweet peas are the implicated food this time, following Costco’s April 15 recall of Nature’s Touch brand organic berry cherry blend. The frozen organic fruit is linked to a Hepatitis A outbreak that has sickened at least 13, according to Canadian health officials.

Costco’s recall of the Organic by Nature frozen peas from locations in British Colombia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan comes a day after CRF Frozen Foods of Pasco, WA, recalled 15 frozen vegetable products in the U.

Americans are taking more prescription medications. They also are taking more supplements — everything from vitamin and mineral pills to fish and flax seed oils. The natural result: More are combining drugs and supplements. That may be riskier than many consumers realize.

Some are risking dangerous internal bleeding by combining certain supplements with blood-thinning drugs.