Current Events in July 2015

Nature’s Variety is recalling its Instinct Raw Chicken Formula for dogs.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date

The following products are being recalled:

• UPC# 769949611431 – Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Bites for Dogs 4 lb.; Best By 04/27/16
• UPC# 769949611448 – Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Bites for Dogs 7 lb.; Best By 04/27/16
• UPC# 769949611486 – Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Patties for Dogs 6 lb.; Best By 04/27/16

The “Best By” date is located on the back of the package below the seal.

The recalled products were sold in retail stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Consumers should discontinue use of the recalled product and should returning it in its original packaging or bring a proof of purchase back to their retailer for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact consumer relations at 888-519-7387 from 8 am to 7 pm (CT) 7 days a week or by email at cservice@naturesvariety.com.

UPPAbaby of Hingham, Mass., is recalling about 79,000 UPPAbaby 2015 CRUZ , 2015 VISTA strollers and 2015 RumbleSeats in the U.S and Canada.

The strollers’ and RumbleSeats’ bumper bar poses a choking hazard when a child bites the bumper bar and removes a piece of the foam covering.

The company has received 22 reports of children biting off a piece of the bumper bar foam. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves 2015 CRUZ and 2015 VISTA strollers and 2015 RumbleSeats. The CRUZ strollers have an aluminum alloy grey or black frame with a black fabric toddler seat with a colored fabric sunshade canopy and a black basket under the seat. The UPPAbaby name and logo are printed on the side of the canopy and “CRUZ” is printed in white lettering on the handlebars of the stroller.

The VISTA strollers have grey or black aluminum frames, colored sunshade canopy and are made to hold one, two or up to three children. VISTA is printed in white lettering on the handlebars of the stroller and UPPAbaby is printed across the bottom diagonal rail of the stroller frame next to a black, fabric basket.

The RumbleSeat is a separate seat attachment that can be attached to the stroller frame. RumbleSeats have manufacture dates stamped on the bottom of the seat from September 2014 through May 2015. It comes in various colors and allows the child to ride rear facing, forward facing or reclined. All of the strollers and RumbleSeats have a foam bumper bar across the middle of the product for the child to hold.

The CRUZ and VISTA strollers with the following model and serial numbers are included in the recall:

The 2015 VISTA strollers have model number 0101 printed on a sticker on the lower crossbar frame. They also have the following serial number printed on a sticker with a barcode below the rear axle of the stroller frame on the left:

The strollers and RumbleSeats, manufactured in China, were sold at BuyBuy Baby and other juvenile product retailers nationwide and online at Amazon.com from December 2014, through July 2015, for about $500 for the CRUZ stroller, $860 for the VISTA stroller and $170 for the RumbleSeat.

Consumers should immediately remove and stop using the bumper bar on these recalled strollers and RumbleSeats and contact the firm to receive a free bumper bar cover and warning label.

Consumers may contact UPPAbaby customer service toll-free at (844) 540-8694 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, or by email at contact@uppababy.com.

Early today, security researchers announced their discovery of six massive software vulnerabilities which leave up to 95% of all Google Android devices at major risk of being hijacked by hackers. (The 95% number is based on the estimate that there are currently 1 billion Android phones and tablets in the world, with 950 million of them at risk — any device running version 2.2 or later is vulnerable.)

Joshua Drake from Zimperium zLabs discovered the critical flaws inside the source code for AOSP, the Android Open Source Project.

Zimperium's Z Team announced the discovery in a Monday blog post:

Built on tens of gigabytes of source code from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), the leading smartphone operating system carries a scary code in its heart. Named Stagefright, it is a media library that processes several popular media formats. … [Drake] discovered what we believe to be the worst Android vulnerabilities discovered to date …. multiple remote code execution vulnerabilities that can be exploited using various methods, the worst of which requires no user-interaction.

No protection from hack

In other words: Stagefright leaves your Android device so vulnerable that hackers could (at least in theory) hijack your device without your knowledge and without any activity from you.

Most “beware of the hacker” news articles you read advise you to protect yourself by avoiding certain actions: do not download any unsolicited file attachments, do not click on strange links in emails or texts, do not return hang-up phone calls from numbers you don't recognize.

What makes Stagefright so scary is that there's no similar “Avoid this and you'll be safe” action: in order to seize control of your device, a hacker need only send you a file containing malicious code – and can then take control whether you respond to that sent file or not.

“These vulnerabilities are extremely dangerous because they do not require that the victim take any action to be exploited,” Drake said. “Unlike spear-phishing, where the victim needs to open a PDF file or a link sent by the attacker, this vulnerability can be triggered while you sleep. Before you wake up, the attacker will remove any signs of the device being compromised and you will continue your day as usual – with a trojaned phone.”

Complete control

If this happens, the hacker has pretty much complete control over the device, including camera and audio recording functions – which means the hackers can spy on anything in range of the device. Furthermore, Drake says, “Sophisticated attackers could also create what we call ‘elevated privileges,’ which would provide complete access to the phone’s data.”

The one bit of good news is that so far, there doesn't seem to be any evidence indicating that hackers have taken advantage of Stagefright. Drake said Zimperium has sent the necessary patch to Google.

However, given the structure of the current cell phone industry, Google itself can't really get the patch to customers who need it – the individual phone and tablet manufacturers whose devices run on Android (versions 2.2 or later) do, and as Vice's Motherboard blog noted, “it’s anyone guess when that’ll happen. Historically, some manufacturers have taken months to issue even critical patches. At times, for devices older than a year or 18 months, patches never come.”

Joshua Drake ended his Zimperium post with the suggestion that consumers “contact your device manufacturer and/or carrier to ascertain whether or not your particular device has been updated [with] the requisite patches,” and an additional plea to the makers and sellers of such devices: “If you’re part of any of the various parties that ship derivative versions of Android that might be affected, we encourage you to reach out to obtain the patches from us directly.”

Gasoline prices have begun to drift lower from their summer highs, with the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey showing the national average price has fallen more than 4 cents a gallon in the last week. Three economic trends could push them even lower in the weeks ahead.

All three trends are connected to deflation – an overall trend of falling prices. First, and perhaps most important, is that the price of crude oil has begun to fall again.

Below $50 a barrel

Crude oil prices have dropped below $50 a barrel and are projected to go even lower. Lower oil prices don't always translate directly into lower prices at the pump because there is only so much gasoline that refineries can produce. But if their price remains low, then lower crude oil prices will eventually find their way into retail gas prices.

The second trend is a strengthening dollar. The consumer's buying power increases when the currency strengthens, and that means imported commodities become cheaper.

The third trend is the growing economic weakness in China. Despite the government's best efforts, the Chinese stock market has suffered a series of declines.

China factor

Unlike in the U.S., Chinese consumers by and large have invested in stocks and reaped huge profits over the last year. But with stock prices falling, many Chinese consumers aren't spending as much money as they have been. That's expected to reduce demand for all sorts of things, including energy.

When U.S. consumers suffered from skyrocketing fuel prices several years ago, it was largely blamed on the huge demand from developing economies like China. With Chinese demand slowing, the supply of fuel available to U.S. consumers is growing.

If the law of supply and demand holds up, then prices should fall.

Refinery bottlenecks have kept prices up

In the U.S., gasoline prices have been slow to fall because of the system of refineries that produce the fuel. Delivery issues can send prices skyrocketing, as they did earlier this month in California.

At the same time, when supplies are in abundance and there are no interruptions to deliveries, prices can quickly fall. Over the weekend, Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at Gas Buddy, tweeted that three gas stations in London, Ohio were selling self-serve regular for $1.78 a gallon. The statewide average in Ohio was about $2.45 a gallon.

According to AAA, the cheapest state for gasoline is South Carolina, where the statewide average is about $2.33 a gallon. The average is well over $3 a gallon on the West Coast, in California, Washington, and Oregon.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals' new drug Odomzo has gotten a green light from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of locally advanced basal cell carcinoma that has recurred following surgery.

The drug, with the generic name sonidegib, will be used to treat patients who are not candidates for surgery or radiation therapy.

Basal cell carcinoma accounts for about 80% of non-melanoma skin cancers. It starts in the top layer of the skin and usually develops where skin has been regularly exposed to the sun and other forms of ultraviolet radiation.

Waxy bump

According to the Mayo Clinic, this form of skin cancer often appears as a waxy bump, though it can take other forms. It shows up most often on areas of the skin that are most exposed to the sun, such as your face and neck. The National Cancer Institute says the number of new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer appears to be increasing every year.

Locally advanced basal cell skin cancer refers to basal cancers that have not spread to other parts of the body, but can't be cured with local treatments, such as surgery and radiation.

This type of skin cancer grows slowly. The American Academy of Dermatology says it rarely spreads to other parts of the body. However, treatment is important because the cancer can grow wide and deep, destroying skin tissue and bone.

In contrast, melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. The Skin Cancer Foundation says melanoma develops when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells triggers mutations. Melanoma kills an estimated 10,000 people in the U.S. each year.

Once a day pill

In order to treat basal cell carcinoma, Novrtis has developed Odomzo as a pill that can be taken once a day. It works by inhibiting a molecular pathway, called the Hedgehog pathway, which is active in basal cell cancers. By suppressing this pathway, Odomzo may stop or reduce the growth of cancerous lesions.

“Our increasing understanding of molecular pathways involved in cancer has led to approvals of many oncology drugs in difficult-to-treat diseases for which few therapeutic options previously existed,” said Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Thanks to a better understanding of the Hedgehog pathway, the FDA has now approved 2 drugs for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma just in the last three years.”

Erivedge, with the generic name vismodegib, was one such drug that was approved in 2012 to treat locally advanced and metastatic basal cell carcinoma.

Unfortunately, this new treatment will not be available to pregnant women. Odomzo will carry a Boxed Warning alerting healthcare professionals that the drug may cause death or severe birth defects in a developing fetus. Pregnancy status should be verified prior to the start of Odomzo treatment, and both male and female patients should be warned about these risks and advised to use effective contraception.

Odomzo won FDA appoval after a multi-center, double-blind clinical trial involving 66 patients.

Results showed that 58% of patients treated with Odomzo had their tumors shrink or disappear.

At a family gathering over the weekend, one of my cousins arrived a few hours late after driving from Lincoln, Neb. He was still seething at some of the drivers on I-64 who were navigating through extensive road construction.

What set my cousin off was a practice that probably irritates most drivers. There were ample signs warning that the left lane was blocked ahead and drivers should stay to the right, but dozens of cars ignored the signs and whizzed past him in the left lane, pulling in far ahead of him and slowing his, and all the other considerate drivers' progress to a crawl.

That led to a discussion about other inconsiderate driver behaviors – like drivers who realize too late that they are supposed to be in the left turn lane and partially nose their way in, with the rest of their vehicle blocking the through lane.

Left turns

Left turns tend to be a real sore spot. There were complaints voiced about drivers attempting to make a left turn onto a busy highway, causing a back-up of vehicles behind them.

Then there are drivers who cut you off, turn without signaling, and sit though half a green light because they're too busy sending a text to notice the light has changed.

There really isn't any way to deal with these drivers, which no doubt can lead to road rage incidents that can turn violent.

A couple of entrepreneurs in New Jersey had a pet peeve about people who pull into a crowded parking lot and manage to place their cars straddling two parking spaces. They say that they've developed a product that can give frustrated drivers a confrontation-free outlet.

Jackass Parking Chalk

Jackass Parking Chalk, what the entrepreneurs call "emotional expression utensils," is touted as a product and platform for frustrated drivers to take on this all-too-common social crime.

The product is a simple box of chalk that can be kept in the glove box. When a driver encounters an inconsiderate parking job, he or she can write a message on the pavement in front of the inconsiderately parked car, telling the car's driver – and the rest of the people in the parking lot – what a poor, inconsiderate job of parking it is.

The public shaming doesn't stop there. The company has a social media platform called Chalkyou.com. It is a platform for irritated parkers to upload photographs of inconsiderate parking jobs and post a rant about it if they're really ticked off.

In order to maximize awareness, the company says each photo submitted via the website is automatically hash tagged with #ChalkYou and is then shared across the Jackass Parking Chalk Social Media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

The company cautions that users of Jackass Parking Chalk should not be offensive or use chalk somewhere that it isn't allowed. It's also probably a good idea not to use it to write a rude message if the inconsiderate parker is anywhere close by.

Otherwise, it might cause a parking rage incident that could get ugly.

The Kroger Co. is recalling Kroger Ground Cinnamon, Kroger Garlic Powder, Kroger Coarse Ground Black Pepper and Kroger Bac'n Buds sold in its retail stores.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with these products.

Stores under the following names in the 31 states where Kroger operates are included in this recall: Kroger, Ralphs, Food 4 Less, Foods Co., Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Soopers, City Market, Smith's, Dillons, Baker's, Gerbes, Jay C, Ruler Foods, Pay Less, Owen's, and Scott's.

The following items are being recalled:

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them and should return them to a store for a full refund or replacement.

Customers with questions may contact Kroger at 1-800-KROGERS.

Briggs & Stratton of Wauwatosa, Wis., is recalling about 2,800 Simplicity riding mowers, garden tractors and mower decks.

The chute deflector can fail to prevent projectiles from being expelled, posing a risk of injury to consumers.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

This recall involves orange Simplicity brand zero turn riding mowers, mower deck attachments and garden tractors. Mower deck sizes range from 44 to 54 inches. The Simplicity logo is on the side of the mower or garden tractor.

Mowers and garden tractors with the following model and serial numbers are being recalled:

The model and serial numbers are located on the frame near the front tires or on the frame rail below the seat.

The lawn equipment, manufactured in the U.S., was sold at Briggs & Stratton dealers nationwide from August 2014, through May 2015, for between $3,600 and $16,000.

Consumers should stop using the recalled products immediately and contact a Briggs & Stratton dealer to schedule a free repair.

Consumers may contact Briggs & Stratton at (800) 227-3798 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday.

Polaris Industries of Medina, Minn., is recalling about 4,300 Polaris Youth RZR recreational off-highway vehicles.

The vehicle’s fuel pump can leak, posing a fire hazard.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Model Year 2015 Polaris Youth RZR 170 EFI recreational off-highway vehicles with model number R15YAV17AA/AF and VINs between RF3YAV170FT000076 and RF3YAV17XFT005141. The VIN is on the left-hand front frame tube.

They were sold in both blue and red. The blue models have a “170 EFI” decal on the right and left side of the hood and an “RZR” decal on the right and left front fenders. The red models have a “170 EFI” decal on the right and left front fenders and a “RZR” decal on the right and left rear fenders.

The vehicles, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold at Polaris dealers nationwide from October 2014, through June 2015, for about $4,600.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled vehicles and contact their local Polaris dealer to schedule a free repair. Polaris is contacting its customers directly and sending a recall letter to each registered owner of an affected product.

Consumers may contact Polaris toll-free at (888) 704-5290, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday.

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling 667,406 model year 2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks manufactured June 20, 2012, to January 26, 2015.

The side impact sensor calibrations may be overly sensitive, and as a result, the side air bag inflatable curtains and seat air bags may deploy unexpectedly and the seat belt pre-tensioners may activate. Air bags that deploy unexpectedly increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will update the Occupant Restraint Control module calibration, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is R23.

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling 1,060,531 model year 2012-2014 Ram 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 trucks manufactured January 18, 2011, to October 7, 2014, and equipped with the Electronic Vehicle Information Center option.

The vehicles have a steering wheel wiring harness that may rub against the driver air bag module retainer spring. This abrasion could result in an electrical short that could cause driver's frontal air bag to unexpectedly deploy. Inadvertent deployment of the air bag may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, repair as necessary, and secure the steering wheel wiring harness. Additionally, protective caps will be added to the air bag retainer spring ends. These repairs will be done free of charge. The recall is expected to begin September 19, 2015.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is R36.

The Alzheimer's Association International Conference, an annual event held in Washington, DC, is usually marked by cautious optimism as pharmaceutical companies and health researchers report on their latest efforts to treat the memory-robbing disease.

This year has been no exception. While there have been no breakthroughs reported, there are a number of hopeful advances.

Solanezumab

Drug company Eli Lily reported that its new drug, solanezumab, might be able to slow the onset of Alzheimer's in the early stages of the disease. According to researchers, the drug can slow down the disease by about 33%.

Solanezumab works by attacking amyloid that builds up in the brain, which is believed to be a major contributor to Alzheimer's. Eli Lily says it plans to launch a new trial of the drug early next year. That trial, it says, should yield more information about the drug's efficacy.

Nuedexta

In another development, Avanir Pharmaceuticals disclosed its findings from the dementia/Alzheimer's disease cohort of the PRISM II study, a phase IV study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of Nuedexta in treating Alzheimer's paients.

Specifically, it treats pseudobulbar affect (PBA) in patients with dementia, as well as stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). PBA is a condition characterized by sudden and uncontrollable outbursts of laughing and/or crying resulting from certain neurologic diseases or brain injury.

The study concluded that a patient taking Nuedexta had no loss of effectiveness if they were also taking any anti-depressants.

Non-drug intervention

Researchers also reported positive results of three new randomized controlled trials of aerobic exercise in Alzheimer's disease, vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

The results provide hope that there may soon be a way that people with dementia can prolong their independence and improve their quality of life. The researchers said they found regular physical activity can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, and maybe even reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

It reflects similar findings that lifestyle changes can not only help people improve their physical health, but their mental health too.

The latest research suggests physical exercise can improve cognition while reducing symptoms in people with Alzheimer's by positively impacting the physical changes in the brain caused by the disease. Maria Carrillo, Alzheimer's Association Chief Science Officer, says this research is important because it highlights the potential value of non-drug therapies for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

“It reminds us that research ought to adamantly pursue combination and multi-modal approaches to Alzheimer's therapy and prevention," she said.

FCA US LLA -- Chrysler, in other words -- is recalling about 1.4 million vehicles to fix a flaw in their Uconnect softeware that makes it possible for hackers to remotely seize control of a car if they know its IP address.

Customers affected by the recall will receive a USB stick to upgrade their. Alternately, customers may visit http://www.driveuconnect.com/software-update/ to input their Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) and determine if their vehicles are included in the recall.

Affected models

The recall affects models with 8.4-inch touchscreens, including: 

• 2013-2015 MY Dodge Viper specialty vehicles

• 2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups

• 2013-2015 Ram 3500, 4500, 5500 Chassis Cabs

• 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee SUVs

• 2014-2015 Dodge Durango SUVs

• 2015 MY Chrysler 200, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans

• 2015 Dodge Challenger sports coupes

Flaw revealed

The flaw was revealed earlier this week when cyber-security researchers Charlie Miller of IOActive and Chris Valasek (formerly with the NSA) went public with news of the security vulnerability, which they had discovered nine months earlier.

Miller and Valasek told Chrysler of the problem, then kept quiet about it for nine months while Chrysler figured out how to fix it.

On July 16, FCA made its first (thickly veiled) public reference to the problem, when it published an eye-glazing press release headlined “FCA US LLC Releases Software Update to Improve Vehicle Electronic Security and Communications System Enhancements.”

The announcement that followed made absolutely no mention of “security flaws” or “hackable exploits” or anything negative; instead, it boasted of a new “software update” which “offers customers improved vehicle electronic security and communications system enhancements” at absolutely “no cost to customers.”

Three days after that, on July 24, FCA published another statement which said that the number of affected vehicles is actually closer to 1.4 million. That, at least, is the number of vehicles subject to the “voluntary safety recall” FCA said it is conducting in order to apply a software update, aligning with “an ongoing software distribution that insulates connected vehicles from remote manipulation, which, if unauthorized, constitutes criminal action.”

IKEA North America and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are implementing a repair program that includes a free wall anchoring kit, for their MALM 3- and 4-drawer chests and two styles of MALM 6- drawer chests, and other chests and dressers.

The chests and dressers can pose a tip-over hazard if not securely anchored to the wall.

IKEA has received reports of 2 children who died after MALM chests tipped over and fell on them.

Fatalities and injuries

In February 2014, a 2-year-old boy from West Chester, Pa., died after a MALM 6-drawer chest (48 3/8 inches high) tipped over and fatally pinned him against his bed. Then, in June 2014, a 23-month old child from Snohomish, Wash., died after he became trapped beneath a 3-drawer (30 ¾ inches high) MALM chest that tipped over. Neither chest had been secured to the wall.

IKEA and CPSC have also received 14 reports of tip-over incidents involving MALM chests, resulting in 4 injuries. Since 1989, IKEA is aware of 3 additional reports of deaths from tip-overs involving other models of IKEA chests and dressers.

A child dies every 2 weeks and a child is injured every 24 minutes in the U.S. from furniture or TVs tipping over, according to CPSC data.

Anchor repair kits offered

IKEA is offering U.S. consumers a wall anchoring repair kit free of charge for use with the MALM chests, IKEA children’s chests and dressers taller than 23 ½ inches, and IKEA adult chests and dressers taller than 29 ½ inches.

The kit contains replacement tip-over restraints for use by any consumer who has not secured their IKEA chest or dresser to the wall. The kit also includes complete wall anchoring hardware, instructions and warning labels to be affixed to the furniture.

The MALM chests that are part of the repair program were sold starting in 2002. The price of the chests range from about $80 to $200.

Consumers can receive a free wall anchoring kit at any IKEA retail store, or by calling (888) 966-4532.

CPSC and IKEA urge consumers to inspect their IKEA chests and dressers to ensure that they are securely anchored to the wall. Unanchored chests and dressers should be moved into storage or other areas where they cannot be accessed by children until the chests and dressers are properly anchored to the wall.