Current Events

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has ordered the second recall in two months in order to install software that protects against computer hackers.

The recall ordered Friday will update software in about 7,810 of its new 2015 Jeep Renegade that have 6.5-inch touchscreens. Since the Renegade is a new model, about half the affected vehicles are still in the hands of dealers. The system involved in the latest recall is different that than the infotainment system that was the subject of a recall of 1.4 million vehicles in July, the automaker says.

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;Amazon and the University of Pennsylvania are being sued by the family of a student who killed herself two years ago with cyanide she allegedly purchased without a problem from the online retailer.

The suit says the school ignored Arya Singh’s claims of a sexual assault — leading to a two-year downward spiral culminating in her cyanide suicide.

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There was a time when getting your daily dose of caffeine meant a simple cup of coffee or tea.

Poured into a ceramic mug, the steaming liquid tended to be enough to give most people that extra burst of energy to get out the door. Back then, you'd have to drink a heck of a lot -- 81 cups of brewed coffee, or 317 cups of black tea, for the average 195-pound U.S. male -- to reach a lethal dose.

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Serious questions are being raised about a medical device implanted in thousands of Americans at risk for blood clots — including whether the manufacturer told all it knew about potentially fatal flaws.

At least 27 deaths have been associated with the Recovery filter — a spider-shaped apparatus that is inserted into the largest vein in the body — over the course of a decade, an NBC News investigation has found.

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On Sunday night, while the rest of the entertainment world was focused on the MTV Video Music Awards, Kim Kardashian West took to social media for another reason: to belatedly acknowledge the side effects of a controversial morning-sickness drug she endorses.

The posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter carried the hashtag #CorrectiveAd. They followed an Aug. 7 warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to drugmaker Duchesnay saying that Kardashian's original paid endorsement omitted important safety information.

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WASHINGTON — A new video by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration helps consumers understand the importance of their car or truck's Vehicle Identification Number and whether their vehicle is subject to a safety recall.

"Your VIN: A Key to Vehicle Safety" illustrates the federal safety agency's commitment to aiding consumers in an era of record recalls.

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WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it had sent warning letters to five producers of pure powdered caffeine, in what consumer advocates said was a long overdue move against the product and the industry that makes it.

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The family of an 82-year-old Mount Prospect woman who died after being infected with a  deadly "superbug" during a 2013 outbreak at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital is suing the Park Ridge hospital for wrongful death.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued some very early traffic fatality stats for 2015, and we hate to break it to you, but they don't look so good. In fact, they're pretty darned depressing. 

Official numbers for 2015 won't be available for a while -- likely, the end of 2016, after data has gathered from every corner of the country and sorted for accuracy. But as you can see from the chart above, preliminary figures for the first three months of 2015 show around 7,500 deaths, significantly higher than last year's estimated 6,850. (Final numbers from 2014 should be published around December.)

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Ten of the world’s largest carmakers were sued over claims that keyless ignitions lacking an automatic shut-off endanger drivers and passengers with deadly carbon monoxide fumes.

Manufacturers including Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. have long known of the risks and failed to fix the defect even as 13 people have died, consumers said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced late Monday that it will open a preliminary investigation into 408,000 2014–2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs, after receiving several complaints about the vehicles rolling away after being shifted into park.

The Detroit News reports that NHTSA has received 14 complaints describing incidents where a Grand Cherokee has rolled away when the gearshift indicated Park. NHTSA’s Preliminary Evaluation paperwork indicates that five crashes and three injuries have been associated with the complaints. Rollaway incidents have occurred both with the engine running and turned off.