Japanese firm fined $70M over exploding air bags

DETROIT - U.S. auto safety regulators fined Japan's Takata Corp. $70 million Tuesday for concealing evidence for years that its air bags are prone to explode - a defect linked to eight deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide.Under an agreement with the government, Takata will phase out manufacture of air bag inflators that use ammonium nitrate, the propellant blamed for the explosions. It also agreed to a schedule over the next two years for replacing many of the devices already in use.The company admitted that it knew for years that the inflators were defective but that it fended off recalls by failing to tell the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.Under the five-year pact, NHTSA can increase the penalty to a record $200 million if the company fails to abide by the terms.Takata's inflators can rupture and hurl shrapnel in a crash. So far, about 23.4 million driver's and passenger-side inflators have been recalled on 19.2 million U.S. vehicles sold by 12 automakers.Cargo plane crashes in South SudanJUBA, South Sudan - A cargo plane that was reportedly overloaded crashed along the banks of the Nile River after taking off from the South Sudan's capital, killing at least 25 people.An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw bodies. Parts of the plane were scattered in a bushy area on banks of the Nile. The white tail section protruded from the brush.Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said the plane had been bound for the Paloich oil fields in Upper Nile state.The Antonov plane crashed shortly after taking off, Ateny said. He gave no more details.France ends ban on gay male blood donorsPARIS - France will end its ban on blood donations by gay men, its health minister said Wednesday.Health Minister Marisol Touraine said beginning in the spring of 2016, no blood donors can be refused based on their sexual orientation.The policy shift comes after a European Court of Justice ruling in April found that government bans must follow strict conditions. Many governments had imposed lifetime bans on gay men because they are more likely than other groups to have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.Touraine said lifting the blood donation ban will proceed in stages, to allow the government to study whether and how the risks change. Lesbians were not covered by the French ban.In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed ending its lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men.-- The Associated Press