Trending
Henrietta Lacks' family settles lawsuit with a biotech company
BALTIMORE (AP) -- More than 70 years after doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took Henrietta Lacks' cervical cells without her knowledge, a lawyer for her descendants said they have reached a settlement with a biotechnology company that they accused of reaping billions of dollars from a racist medical system. Tissue taken from the Black woman's tumor before she died of cervical cancer became the first human cells to continuously grow and reproduce in lab dishes. HeLa cells went on to become a cornerstone of modern medicine, enabling countless scientific and medical innovations, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 vaccines.
GM recalls nearly 900 vehicles with Takata air bag inflators
DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors is recalling nearly 900 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada with Takata air bag inflators that could explode and hurl shrapnel in a crash. The recall covers certain Chevrolet Camaro, Sonic and Volt vehicles as well as the Buick Verano, all from the 2013 model year. Some 2013 Chevrolet Trax versions in Canada also are included. The company says in documents posted Tuesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the driver's front air bag inflator can explode in a crash due to a manufacturing defect.
Pulled out to sea by current, swimmer is rescued after treading water for 5 hours
NEW YORK (AP) -- A swimmer who got swept out to sea by a powerful current was rescued off New York's Long Island after treading water for five hours, police said. Dan Ho, 63, went swimming at a beach in Babylon at around 5 a.m. Monday and was pulled out by the current, Suffolk County police said in a news release. After treading water with no flotation device for five hours, Ho found a broken fishing pole and tied his shirt to it to try to flag down a passing boat, police said. Two men in a fishing boat spotted Ho about 2 1/2 miles south of where he had entered the water, police said.
US opens safety probe into complaints from Tesla drivers
DETROIT (AP) -- U.S. auto safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into safety problems with Tesla vehicles. This time the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into a dozen complaints about loss of steering control or loss of power steering in the 2023 Models 3 and Y electric vehicles. The probe covers an estimated 280,000 vehicles. Five drivers alleged in complaints they couldn't steer the vehicles at all. Seven more cited a loss of power steering that required increased steering effort.
NASA hears signal from Voyager 2 spacecraft after mistakenly cutting contact
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- After days of silence, NASA has heard from Voyager 2 in interstellar space billions of miles away. Flight controllers accidentally sent a wrong command nearly two weeks ago that tilted the spacecraft's antenna away from Earth and severed contact. NASA's Deep Space Network, giant radio antennas across the globe, picked up a "heartbeat signal," meaning the 46-year-old craft is alive and operating, project manager Suzanne Dodd said in an email Tuesday. The news "buoyed our spirits," Dodd said. Flight controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will now try to turn Voyager 2's antenna back toward Earth.