Current Events

Honda has issued a recall for more than 24,000 of certain CR-V models due to the risk of the fuel supply pipe leaking or disconnecting leading to a fire.

The recall includes certain AWD and 2WD models of Honda's 2017 CR-V crossover, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents. Dealers were notified of the issue on July 14, and owners should be tipped off by Aug. 25.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Daiichi Sankyo on Tuesday said it has agreed to pay up to $300 million to settle some 2,300 U.S. cases accusing the Japanese drugmaker of failing to warn that its blood pressure medication Benicar can cause gastrointestinal illness.

The settlement will become finalized if at least 95 percent of all claimants agree, or opt in, Daiichi Sankyo said in a statement. The company said the settlement fund was capped at $300 million.
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Several months ago I developed a stomachache after taking an over-the-counter medication for symptoms suggesting acid reflux.

When I told the doctor about my reaction, she said the medication, which she had prescribed, should not have caused my stomachache.

But the Food and Drug Administration lists stomach pain and upset stomach as among the drug’s possible side effects. The episode reminded me that physicians rarely counsel me on side effects when they tell me to take a medication.

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Reuters Health - The United States needs to curb excessive opioid prescribing and improve access to pain management techniques, suggests a new government study.

Researchers found that more than one third of U.S. adults were prescribed the medications in 2015 and many also misused the drugs.

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The physician running the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stunned tobacco companies when he said the agency had plans for rules to slash cigarettes’ nicotine content. Maybe they should have seen something like that coming.

Scott Gottlieb has shaken things up in his 81 days on the job.
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July 31 (Reuters) - A new lawsuit accuses Wells Fargo & Co of racketeering violations and fraud after the bank admitted to charging several hundred thousand borrowers for auto insurance they did not ask for or need, causing many delinquencies.

The proposed class action filed on Sunday in San Francisco federal court deepens the fallout from the latest bad practice at Wells Fargo.

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A U.S. appeals court has revived a lawsuit claiming Johnson & Johnson's DePuy Orthopaedics Inc unit marketed defective hip-replacement devices to unsuspecting doctors who sought government reimbursement for the products.

The 1st U.S.
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More than 800,000 people who took out car loans from Wells Fargo were charged for auto insurance they did not need, and some of them are still paying for it, according to an internal report prepared for the bank’s executives.

The expense of the unneeded insurance, which covered collision damage, pushed roughly 274,000 Wells Fargo customers into delinquency and resulted in almost 25,000 wrongful vehicle repossessions, according to the 60-page report, which was obtained by The New York Times. Among the Wells Fargo customers hurt by the practice were military service members on active duty.

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(Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) said U.S. federal prosecutors served a subpoena, seeking information related to a suspected norovirus outbreak at a restaurant in Sterling, Virginia that it briefly closed last week.

The burrito chain's shares were down 1.
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“The doctor will see you now.” It’s a common phrase, but no longer true. Even in the exam room, you’re unlikely to make more than fleeting eye contact with your doctor.

That’s because federal laws and regulations have turned doctors into robotic clerks. Your doctor has to stay glued to the computer screen, clicking boxes, following prompts and posing questions the federal government wants asked, never mind your reasons for being there.
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(Reuters) - Takata Corp's bankruptcy filing last month was meant to draw a line under the auto industry's biggest safety recall, but last week's announcement of more air bag inflator recalls suggests automakers could face fresh liabilities in the future.

In late-2015, U.S. regulators gave Takata until the end of 2019 to prove that its air bag inflators - which now have a drying agent to combat moisture that can degrade the ammonium nitrate compound in its inflators, with potentially lethal results - are also safe.

If Takata fails that test - and some industry consultants, explosives experts and former employees question whether the workaround guarantees safety over the long-term - it may have to recall all its ammonium nitrate-based inflators.
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