Current Events

Bitter, tearful testimony by children and health care providers who lost parents and patients to mold- infected medication compounded by a former Framingham drug manufacturer gave federal prosecutors one of their most powerful days yet in the rare medical murder case.

“This is the 21st century. It’s just hard to understand how this could happen in America,” Dr. Kiumarce Kashi of Maryland, his eyes red from crying, said outside U.S.
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General Motors is recalling 214 2016- and 2017-model year Chevrolet Suburban HD SUVs because they were assembled with a convex right-hand outside mirror instead of a non-convex (flat) right-hand outside mirror.

The vehicles fail to comply with all federal safety standards as a result of the problem, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Chemicals that have been associated with cancer and other health problems have been found in some fast-food packaging, according to a new study. Researchers found the substances, which can leach into food, in sandwich and dessert wrappers and paperboard containers.

“We have more than one reason to try to eat more fresh food, and to reduce our consumption of fast food,” said Laurel Schaider, one of the study’s authors, and a research scientist for the Silent Spring Institute. “This is another reason.”

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Volkswagen has agreed to pay more than $20 billion to settle civil and criminal suits in the United States over its diesel emissions scandal, affecting almost 600,000 cars. This is what that could mean for vehicle owners:

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Invisible toxic chemicals similar to those contaminating groundwater south of Colorado Springs also are showing up in fast-food wrappers, according to a scientific study done with help from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Environmental Working Group study, peer-reviewed and published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters, found the perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in grease-resistant wrappers -– including pizza box liners, sandwich and pastry packaging — from chains including Starbucks, Jimmy Johns, Taco Time, Chipotle and Quiznos. The chemicals can leach into food, potentially reaching consumers, the study authors said, urging companies to find safe alternative packaging.

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Rigorous cleaning practices don’t ensure that medical scopes are free of contamination, and many of these reusable devices have scratches and dents that could harbor blood, tissue and bacteria, a new study found.

The seven-month study, published Tuesday in the American Journal of Infection Control, found that 12 of 20 gastroscopes and colonoscopes examined tested positive for bacterial growth, even after being disinfected using the current guidelines or additional measures.

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More than 1,700 residents of Flint, Michigan who say the Environmental Protection Agency mismanaged the water crisis that exposed thousands of children to lead poisoning have sued the U.S. government, seeking class action status for their claims.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S.
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Volkswagen has recalled nearly 600,000 vehicles from its luxury brand, Audi, for two separate issues.

A recall affecting 2013-2017 model year A5, A5 Cabriolet and Q5 SUVs comes due to the risk of an electric coolant pump becoming blocked, causing it to overheat and start a fire. This recall includes 342,867 vehicles.

"Audi has developed software which deactivates the power supply to the coolant pump, if the pump becomes blocked with debris," the automaker says in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents. "The driver will be notified of the blocked coolant pump through the illumination of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL).
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A lawsuit filed Monday accused three makers of insulin of conspiring to drive up the prices of their lifesaving drugs, harming patients who were being asked to pay for a growing share of their drug bills.

The price of insulin has skyrocketed in recent years, with the three manufacturers — Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly — raising the list prices of their products in near lock step, prompting outcry from patient groups and doctors who have pointed out that the rising prices appear to have little to do with increased production costs.

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Toyota Motor North America is recalling approximately 73,000 2016- and 2017-model year Toyota Tundra pickup trucks in the U.S. so dealers can fix faulty bumper steps, according to the automaker.

The recalled vehicles are equipped with resin rear-step bumpers and resin reinforcement brackets at each corner. But an impact to the corner of the bumper might damage the resin bracket — without the problem being visibly obvious.
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A former technician at the New England Compounding Center testified Thursday about falsified cleaning logs, routine cleaning that was routinely missed and a dark, oil-leak stain that leaked from a hood in the Framingham compounding pharmacy’s supposedly sterile clean room.

“The priority was to get the drug made and sent out,” Nicholas Booth said on the stand. “That’s what we were told by (supervisory pharmacist Glenn) Chinn.”

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