Health Care

___ US job growth eases but tops 200K for a 6th month WASHINGTON (AP) — A sixth straight month of solid 200,000-plus job growth in July reinforced growing evidence that the U.S. economy is accelerating after five years of sluggish expansion.

The Obama administration is overhauling poultry plant inspections for the first time in more than 50 years, a move it says could result in 5,000 fewer foodborne illnesses each year.

Already China's biggest restaurant operator with 4,600 outlets, KFC is pursuing Chinese consumers so avidly it opens two more every day.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new long-acting inhaler drug from Boehringer Ingelheim to treat people with chronic lung disease.

French drug maker Sanofi said Thursday its earnings soared in the second quarter thanks to lower accounting charges than a year earlier, and the company lifted it full-year profit forecast.

An Orange County packaged-food company is voluntarily recalling several products over fears of possible botulism contamination.

A Texas lawyer has sued General Motors on behalf of 658 people injured or killed in crashes allegedly caused by faulty ignition switches.

The four-door Mini Cooper Countryman was the only one of 12 cars to earn a top rating of "good" in new frontal crash tests.

Hyundai is recalling its popular Sonata midsize sedan to fix problems with the gear shift levers.

The flagship of the Jeep line — the five-passenger Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle — is both a grand and high-mileage traveler for 2014.

Chrysler is recalling just under 30,000 Fiat 500L small cars in the U.S. and Canada to fix a problem with air bags that protect knees in a crash.

About 11,000 Kawasaki off-road vehicles are being recalled because debris can cut through the foot rest area and hurt riders' legs.

McDonald's in Japan is increasing its checks on chicken from suppliers in China and Thailand after allegations a Chinese supplier sold expired chicken.

Three reporters for a food safety publication have been subpoenaed in the $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC related to the network's coverage of a meat product derided as "pink slime." Court records show that the writers for the online Food Safety News have been asked to supply all communication they had with ABC in 2012.

Nissan is recalling more than 226,000 additional vehicles over a defective air bag that has affected much of the global auto industry.

The U.S. government's highway safety agency is checking into a complaint that some Chevrolet Impala front passenger air bags may not inflate in a crash.

U.S. safety regulators are investigating whether an electrical problem can knock out the air bags on some older Hyundai Sonatas.

General Motors Co. and its main Chinese partner are recalling nearly 20,000 imported Cadillac SRX sport utility vehicles and Chevrolet Camaros to replace defective seat bolts.

Ignition switches have presented General Motors with significant safety issues this year.

General Motors says second-quarter profit fell 85 percent as recall costs chopped $1.5 billion from the bottom line.