WASHINGTON — The government has upgraded a safety investigation into nearly 500,000 Volkswagen Passats amid reports of engine fires.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it's received 14 complaints of engine fires in that include the 2001-2007 models and 2006-2007 versions of the Passat Wagon.

The safety agency says on its website that it received reports of vehicles that hesitated or lost power, and the dashboard's check engine lights turned on.

WASHINGTON — The nation's largest tax preparation company, H&R Block, agreed Monday to improve its services for deaf people.The Justice Department announced that H&R Block had agreed to a nationwide settlement.“The agreement will ensure that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing have equal access to tax preparation services at more than 11,000 offices nationwide,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Transportation Security Administration said it will not hire private contractors to screen airline passengers, despite calls from a powerful Florida congressman to do so and passenger complaints about federal screeners.TSA Administrator John Pistole said in a memo to his employees late Friday that the federal agency will keep private contractors at 16 U.S. airports, but will not use them anywhere else unless a clear advantage emerges.