BEIJING, China - Chinese police are investigating telephone threats that led to the grounding of five flights around the country. The Civil Aviation Administration said no planes were in actual danger Wednesday but gave no details on the specific threats. The flights were operated by Shenzhen Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Juneyao Airlines and originated in the cities of Shanghai, Lanzhou and Nanjing. The official Xinhua News Agency said three of the flights were cut short following the threats that began at 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) and the others delayed.

Bicycle helmets may prevent head injuries, but a newly published study has found there's no evidence that mandatory helmet laws do the same thing. "It is a bit counterintuitive that we don't see an effect of helmet laws on head injuries," said University of Toronto researcher Jessica Dennis, whose work was published Tuesday in the journal of the British Medical Association. "But there's so many other things going on at the same time a helmet law is passed that it's really hard to say that helmet law was the reason head injuries decrease."

DETROIT - Three Ohio drivers are suing Ford Motor Co., claiming the company's six-cylinder EcoBoost engine is defective. The lawsuit says the 3.5-litre V6 EcoBoost engine can shudder, shake and rapidly lose power while drivers are trying to accelerate. It says more than 100 drivers have complained about the engine to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ford has been selling vehicles equipped with the V6 EcoBoost since 2009. The engine is used on the F-150 pickup, Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedans and the Explorer, Flex and Lincoln MKT utilities.

On July 12, Bonhams will auction off John Lennon's very first car, a Ferrari 330GT Coupé, during the Festival of Speed in Goodwood, England. The sports car is expected to fetch between £180,000 and £220,000 (US$275,000-338,000).