Toyota is recalling about 70,000 Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles in North America to replace air bag inflators that could explode and hurl shrapnel at drivers and passengers. The recall covers the 2003 to 2005 Corolla, the 2002 to 2005 Sequoia, the 2003 to 2005 Tundra and the 2002 to 2005 Lexus SC. Takata uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion and inflate the bags. But it can deteriorate and burn too fast, blowing apart a metal canister. Get More

From suggestions of "political synergy" and offers of business deals to contact with more than a dozen people in then-candidate Donald Trump's orbit, Russian outreach to the Trump campaign has a familiar and alarming pattern to experts in the intelligence field. The attempts by Russians to establish contact, which were laid out in the latest court filings by special counsel Robert Mueller, were persistent, apparently targeted and more frequent than would be expected during a typical presidential campaign, former officials said after reviewing the documents. "This pattern is what the Russians do everywhere else in the world," said Steven Hall, a former CIA official. "It's standard intelligence tradecraft." Get More

A clash of seasonings is looming in federal court, as Maryland's Old Bay seeks to protect its trademark in a lawsuit against another spice blend, New Bae. Get More

A New York woman whose photo was used in an ad campaign promoting the rights of HIV-positive people without her knowledge has been awarded $125,000 in damages, NBC News reported. Avril Nolan — who does not have HIV — sued the state's Division of Human Rights, alleging it had improperly used her photo in a 2013 ad that included the words "I AM POSITIVE" and "I HAVE RIGHTS." Nolan had posed for the picture for a "street-style" magazine piece in 2011. The picture was later sold to Getty Images, which licensed it to DHR for the ad. In a ruling made public Tuesday, Justice Thomas Scuccimarra wrote that the ad didn't contain a disclaimer clarifying the person depicted is a model. "Ms. Nolan did not give permission for the use of her photograph, taken in an entirely different context, and apparently thereafter sold," Judge Scuccimarra wrote. The ad ran in four print publications and three online publications. Get More

It’s been an overall pretty rough year for the United States, if 2018’s top Google searches are anything to go by. The county’s top searches this year covered everything from destructive hurricanes to celebrity deaths to mass shootings. Many of this year’s most googled topics in the United States were also reflected in the year’s most searched topics globally. Get More

Dozens of retired state and federal judges called Wednesday on U.S. immigration officials to stop making arrests at courthouses of people suspected of being in the country illegally, saying immigrants should be free to visit halls of justice without fearing they will be detained. Nearly 70 former judges from 23 states — including federal judges and state supreme court justices — said in a letter sent to Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Ronald Vitiello that courthouse arrests are disrupting the criminal justice system. Get More

The explosion in online shopping has led to porch pirates and stoop surfers swiping holiday packages from unsuspecting residents. The cops in one New Jersey city are trying to catch the thieves with some trickery of their own. Police in Jersey City, across the Hudson River from New York, are teaming up with Amazon to install doorbell cameras and plant dummy boxes with GPS tracking devices at homes around the city. They didn't have to wait long Tuesday for someone to take the bait. Get More

Former Obama housing chief Julian Castro says he's taking a step toward a possible White House campaign in 2020 by forming a presidential exploratory committee. The Texas Democrat tells The Associated Press that he will announce a decision Jan. 12. The move Wednesday gives the 44-year-old former San Antonio mayor an early start to what's shaping up as a crowded Democratic field without a clear front-runner to challenge President Donald Trump. Castro indicated in an AP interview that his mind was all but made up. "I know where I'm leaning, for sure," said Castro, who has said for weeks that it was likely he would seek the nomination. Get More

A Miami Beach cop has been reassigned and an internal affairs investigation is underway after the officer was caught on camera cold-cocking a suspect earlier this month. The incident happened the night of Dec. 3 at the Pelican Hotel at 826 Ocean Drive, after officers responded to a report of a man causing a disturbance, according to an arrest report. Get More

First responders on Wednesday rescued a trespasser — possibly a burglar — who was reportedly trapped for about two days in a grimy vent at a vacant restaurant in San Lorenzo, according to officials. The man, seen caked in grease as he was stuck in the narrow passageway, was freed from the vent and taken into custody, Alameda County Sheriff's officials said. Get More

A new brick-and-mortar toy store in Maryland opened by a former Toys R Us manager is seeing success thanks to the diversity of its dolls and toys. Glendon Warner said he worked for Toys R Us when it went bankrupt. He decided to stock all he learned there into something new. Toys, Babies and More in Hyattsville has been open for about two months and has found a customer base during a time when brick-and-mortar stores struggle to compete with Amazon and other online shopping options. Get More