Monthly Archives: <span>February 2016</span>

Though CDC Probe Over, Chipotle Faces Criminal Investigation

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc said a federal criminal probe linked to a food safety incident at a California restaurant has widened into a national investigation, sending its shares down 7 percent in extended trading on Tuesday. The burrito chain also …

P/C Insurer Profitability Up, Combined Ratio Down in First Nine Months of 2015

Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes grew to $44.0 billion in the first nine months of 2015 from $37.8 billion in nine-months 2014, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus …

GM, Plaintiff Lawyers Want Judge to Reject Bid to Halt Switch Settlement

General Motors Co has asked a judge to reject efforts by a lawyer who first publicly exposed a faulty ignition switch in GM vehicles to undo a settlement fund resolving 1,380 death and injury lawsuits. In a separate filing, the …

Review Reveals Farm Workers Aren’t Being Protected From Pesticides

Dozens of farmworkers looked up at the little yellow plane buzzing over the Florida radish field, a mist of pesticide falling from its wings. Farmworkers are supposed to be protected by government rules regulating exposure to toxic farm chemicals. But …

Underwater Landslides Caused Destructive 1964 Alaska Tsunami

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey have solved a 50-year natural science mystery: the undersea source of tsunami waves that devastated a remote Alaska village following the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. Underwater landslides at depths of 820 to 1,150 feet …

The Parable of the Crippled Mare: Loss-Of-Use Now Recoverable in Texas Total Loss Auto Cases

Many years ago, a lawyer argued that the long-standing Texas rule prohibiting recovery of damages for loss of use of personal property, unless the property was a total loss or destroyed, was unfair. City of Canadian v. Guthrie, 87 S.W.2d …

Company Fined More Than $1M After Washington Plant Blast

Zodiac Cabin & Structures Support LLC has been fined $1,316,000 for workplace safety and health violations following an explosion at its carbon fiber production plant north of Spokane. Seventeen workers were injured in the oven explosion at the Newport, Wash., …

New Federal Coal Mine Dust Rules Now in Effect

Underground coal mines will ramp up testing for the dust that causes breathing problems and leads to black lung disease under a new federal rule taking effect Monday. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is requiring coal operators to …

Small Group of Chicago Cops Cost $34M in Misconduct Settlements

A group of 124 Chicago police officers has cost the city $34 million in misconduct settlements since 2009, according to a newspaper report. While the officers represent a fraction of the police force’s roughly 12,000 officers, they are identified in …

Amtrak Engineer Says he Opened Throttle Before Fatal Philadelphia Crash

The last thing Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian remembers before last May’s fatal crash in Philadelphia is pushing the throttle forward to pick up speed and then braking when he felt the train going too fast into a sharp curve, according …