Minnesota bans antibacterial agent in soaps

It's widely used nationwide as a germ-killing ingredient in soaps, deodorants and even toothpaste, but it's being banned in Minnesota. Gov. Mark Dayton on Friday signed a bill to make Minnesota the first state to prohibit the use of triclosan in most retail consumer hygiene products. The Minnesota House and Senate passed it earlier last week because of health and environmental concerns about the chemical. The ban isn't due to take effect until Jan. 1, 2017, but one of its lead sponsors, state Sen. John Marty, predicted Monday that the odds are good that most manufacturers will phase out triclosan by then anyway. The Roseville Democrat said other states and the federal government are likely to act, too. And he said some companies are already catching on that there's no marketing advantage to keeping triclosan in its products. He noted that Procter & Gamble's Crest toothpaste is now marketing itself as triclosan-free.

Hyundai recalls SUV over air bag flaw

Hyundai is recalling nearly 138,000 Hyundai Tucson sport utility vehicles from the 2011-14 model years because the driver's-side air bag may not have been properly attached to the steering wheel, the automaker has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to a report Hyundai posted on the NHTSA website, two bolts holding the air bag module to the steering wheel were not properly tightened. Hyundai said it was not aware of any accidents or injuries because of the defect.

Sprint fined $7.5M for do-not-call violations

Sprint will pay $7.5 million to resolve federal regulators' inquiry into its failure to honor consumers' requests that they not receive telemarketing calls or texts, the Federal Communications Commission said Monday. The agreement between Sprint and the FCC marks the largest settlement yet of do-not-call violations, the FCC said. It follows a settlement of similar allegations against the company in 2011. Under the latest accord, Sprint will have to implement a compliance plan and update regulators on its efforts over the next two years. Crystal Davis, a Sprint spokeswoman, said the settlement pertained to issues "resulting from technical and inadvertent human errors" that the company reported to the FCC. Since 2003, American consumers have been able to opt out of receiving many telemarketing calls. But companies with which consumers have established business relationships are exempt. News services