Current Events

As Memorial Day passes and we honor the great sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces who protect our life ,liberty and pursuit of happiness we face the grim reality of Corporate America which day after day needlessly endangers the safety of consumers. GM and other car makers place safety at the very bottom of their priorities. How many lives and injuries are enough sacrifice before this Corporate misconduct stops? GM seeks to hide behind the bankruptcy laws to avoid responsibility for deaths and injuries that occurred before the bankruptcy. The faulty ignition switch which was the source of the defect in their cars was known and ignored by GM's corporate managers and engineers for years. GM chose recklessness over safety and gambled like Russian roulette with the lives and safety of its consumers. Now 10 years later after public disclosure of this corporate fraud GM seeks recalls of millions of cars that have safety defects. When will the public finally wake up and demand that GM and others be held criminally and civilly responsible for this carnage. A 35 million dollar fine by the DOT is nothing but a parking ticket. Enough is truly enough. Please send your comments.

Since January, General Motors Co. has issued 29 separate recalls covering 36 different models and 15.8 million vehicles—a total that is likely to rise as the auto maker applies a more rigorous review to customer complaints.

In all those recalls, one family of vehicles stands out for its frequent appearance. And it isn't the Chevrolet Cobalt, a compact last produced in 2010 that has become notorious for its place in a scandal over defective ignition switches.

Click here to read more.

WASHINGTON — In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement between the White House and Congress on a major national security issue, the House passed legislation on Thursday that aims to end the National Security Agency’s bulk phone records program that had prompted intense domestic debate about privacy and civil liberties.

Click here to read more.

General Motors is recalling a total of 2.42 million vehicles in four separate actions to fix safety flaws.

The total nearly matches the 2.6 million cars GM recalled in three stages earlier this year for a deadly ignition switch flaw. The biggest recent recall day, however, was last Thursday, when GM announced five recalls that totaled 3 million vehicles.

Click here to read more.

MONDAY, May 19, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Removal of vaginal mesh -- a device implanted to help support a woman's pelvic organs -- won't necessarily improve side effects such as pain and incontinence related to the device, suggests the mixed results from a pair of new studies.

The findings, reported Monday at the American Urological Association's annual meeting, come at a time of growing safety concerns over vaginal mesh devices. Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it will require stricter oversight of the products -- specifically, as they are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse. The FDA now classifies these devices as "high-risk."

Click here to read more.

DETROIT (AP) -- Hyundai Motor Co. is recalling 137,500 Tucson SUVs because the air bags aren't correctly mounted to the steering wheel.

The recall involves 2011-2014 model years. The affected vehicles were built between Jan. 3, 2011, and Dec. 23, 2013.

Hyundai says the air bag assembly in the steering wheel may come loose from its mounting. That increases the risk of injury in a crash.

The company discovered the issue through warranty claims. It has no reports of injuries or accidents related to the issue.

Hyundai dealers will repair the air bag assembly for free starting next month. Hyundai will notify owners.

Information on this post was found here.

Electrolux has agreed to pay a $750,000 civil penalty to settle federal regulators’ claim that it knowingly failed to immediately report defects that sent flames shooting out of wall ovens, causing singed hair and facial burns for customers.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the settlement Wednesday in a press release. It said the Swedish appliance maker, which has its North American headquarters in Charlotte, knew of 22 reports of flames shooting out of Kenmore wall ovens when the broiler was on.

Click here to read more.

WASHINGTON — In 2009 and early 2010, a telephone company raised questions about the legality of the then-secret National Security Agency program that is systematically collecting records of Americans’ calling habits, according to court documents declassified on Wednesday.

The disclosure reveals for the first time that a phone company pushed back against the bulk collection of its customers’ calling records, adding a new chapter in public understanding of the secret history of the program.

Click here to read more.

The parents of a Georgia woman who died in a 2010 crash — and who settled a lawsuit with General Motors Co. last year — have filed a new lawsuit against GM. They claim the automaker fraudulently concealed evidence and says its corporate representative committed perjury in the original case.

An attorney said Monday he hopes to depose GM CEO Mary Barra in the new suit, plus Jim Federico, GM’s recently retired executive director of global vehicle integration who has taken a high-level job at Harley-Davidson. Attorney Lance Cooper of the Cooper Firm in Marietta, Ga., said he also wants to re-depose most of the dozen or so GM engineers who testified as part the lawsuit.

Click here to read more.

CLEVELAND, Ohio-- The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that the weight loss supplement Asset Bee Pollen, sold as a natural "energy booster,"  actually contains a dangerous weight loss drug that was withdrawn from the market for safety reasons.

Asset Bee Pollen is sold online at various web sites, and in some retail stores. The FDA is advising consumers not to buy or use the product, after agency testing revealed the presence of the weight loss drug sibutramine.

Click here to read more.

Three Long Island doctors selected to lead a committee that recommends the drugs two Suffolk hospitals stock for patients accepted tens of thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical companies while serving on the advisory panel.

The doctors -- affiliated with John T. Mather Memorial and St. Charles hospitals in Port Jefferson -- accepted about $125,000 from drugmakers between 2009 and 2013, company records show.

Click here to read more.