Nissan is recalling 51,100 of its Cube hatchbacks in the United States and Canada because of possible problems with fuel spilling during rear end collisions.

In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nissan Motor said Monday tests conducted by NHTSA safety regulators found more fuel spilled than federal standards allow. The spillage occurred during rear end crash tests at 50 miles per hour where the vehicle also spun onto its side.

Nissan said its own earlier tests did not show any fuel leakage, but it will issue a voluntary recall. It notified dealers last week and will contact owners on Aug. 30. Dealers will attach a special protector to prevent leaks.

FULL STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-07-26-nissan-cube-recall_N.htm

More than 70,000 children and teens go to the emergency room each year for injuries and complications from medical devices, and contact lenses are the leading culprit, the first detailed national estimate suggests.

About one-fourth of the problems were things like infections and eye abrasions in contact lens wearers. These are sometimes preventable and can result from wearing contact lenses too long without cleaning them.

Other common problems found by researchers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration include puncture wounds from hypodermic needles breaking off in the skin while injecting medicine or illegal drugs; infections in young children with ear tubes; and skin tears from pelvic devices used during gynecological exams in teen girls.

Malfunction and misuse are among possible reasons; the researchers are working to determine how and why the injuries occurred and also are examining the prevalence in adults. Those efforts might result in FDA device warnings, depending on what they find, said study co-author Dr. Brock Hefflin.

The most serious problems involved implanted devices such as brain shunts for kids with hydrocephalus (water on the brain); chest catheters for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at home; and insulin pumps for diabetics. Infections and overdoses are among problems associated with these devices. Only 6 percent of patients overall had to be hospitalized.

FULL STORY: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Medical-device-problems-hurt-apf-3931024443.html?x=0

ap Nanny baby recliners — hailed by parents nationwide as a salvation from sleepless nights for infants with reflux, colic and other issues — are being recalled after a 4-month-old Michigan girl was found dead in one, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Baby Matters, which makes Nap Nanny, said 30,000 of the recliners/sleep positioners are subject to the recall. The recalled recliners — made in China and the U.S. — were sold nationwide for about $130.

For years safety advocates pushed for the idea of easy-to-use product registration cards for durable infant and toddler products to help notify consumers when a recall was issued. That day has finally arrived and two of the leaders of that effort for well over a decade got to be part of the bittersweet announcement today.

University of Chicago professors Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar created the now-influential child safety advocacy group Kids In Danger after their son Danny (pictured right) was killed in 1998 in a portable crib at a daycare center. The owners and even a state inspector who had examined the center just prior to his death did not know about the recall. Danny was the fifth child to die in a Playskool Travel Lite portable crib.

Three pet-product manufacturers — Feline’s Pride, Merrick Pet Care and United Pet Group — have recently issued or expanded voluntary recalls of some of their products over concerns about possible salmonella contamination.

Feline’s Pride, a New York-based company that makes raw cat food, has recalled 2.5-pound containers of its Natural Chicken Formula cat and kitten food produced on June 10 and 21.

Merrick Pet Care, based in Texas with distributors around the country, has recalled 86 cases of its Beef Filet Squares for Dogs treats. Affected products are 10-ounce bags with a best-by date of March 24, 2012, and bearing the lot number 10084TL7.

FULL STORY: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/21/health/la-he-pet-food-recall-syndicate

Natural disasters–such as a flood, hurricane, or blizzard–often come without warning. Stocking non-perishable food items ahead of time (and choosing wisely what you include) will help you weather the storm with less stress.

By: Vanessa DiMaggio

Fueling your body during an emergency is very different from your everyday diet. Because you’ll probably expend more energy than you normally would, you should eat high-energy, high-protein foods. And because you have a limited supply, the higher-quality foods you eat–and the less of them–the better. “In a disaster or an emergency you want those calories,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University . “You want some nutrients and some fiber—something to keep your diet normal.”

Related: 24 Delicious and Tasty Snacks

But that doesn’t mean you have to eat like a pauper. “In an emergency, generally you tend to think of meeting more basic needs than preferences and flavors,” says Elizabeth Andress, professor and food safety specialist at the University of Georgia . “But if you plan right, you can have a great variety of foods and nutrients.” Here, Andress and Swanson weigh in on what items you should include.

Related: The Best Hot Dogs

FULL STORY: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/the-top-foods-you-should-keep-in-case-of-an-emergency-2046609/

USA TODAY

Technology is emerging that could solve a growing menace on the nation’s highways: texting while driving.

A Georgia company today announces a partnership with an Irving, Texas, firm to provide software to government agencies and businesses that disables the texting, e-mailing and Web-browsing functions of a wireless phone in moving vehicles. Manage Mobility, an Alpharetta-based management and logistics firm, will provide technology developed by WebSafety Inc.

“We are being asked by our customers what to do on this sort of thing, especially since October … when President Obama issued the federal order banning federal employees from texting while operating government-owned vehicles,” says Stacy Chisum, Manage Mobility’s vice president of sales.

FULL STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-07-21-1Atexting21_ST_N.htm

Perdue Farms Inc. is recalling about 91,872 pounds of frozen chicken nugget products that may contain foreign materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced.

They were all shipped to Wal-Mart, a Perdue spokesman said.

The recall involves the producer’s 1-pound, 13-ounce bag of “GREAT VALUE Fully Cooked Chicken Nuggets.” Each bag bears the establishment number “P-33944″ as well as a case code of “89008 A0160″ on the backside of the packaging. There is also a “BEST IF USED BY” date of June 9, 2011.

SOURCE: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-perdue-recall-chicken-nuggets,0,2119424.story

For kids across America the family car is perhaps the most potentially lethal item found at home — more dangerous than any toy or children’s product.

Deaths of children from hyperthermia (heat stroke) are soaring. So far this year two dozen children across the country have died after being left or getting stuck in hot cars, according to a study by a meteorologist who teaches at San Francisco State University.

Meteorologist Jan Null has been tracking these deaths since 2001 since being questioned about how hot cars can get after a California infant died. Really hot — about 20 degrees hotter than the outside air temperature within an hour, he said, enough to quickly overheat a small child. On a hot sunny day, a car interior’s temperature can surpass 180 degrees.

Feline’s Pride has expanded its July 1 recall to include another batch of raw cat food because of a possible salmonella contamination.

Neither the Buffalo, N.Y. company nor the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have had reports of salmonella infection from the product. A Salmonella infection in humans can cause nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, fever and headache. In pets the symptoms are similar including lethargy, diarrhea, fever and vomiting, says the FDA. Feline’s Pride is working with the FDA to determine the source.