Monthly Archives: <span>October 2018</span>

Hurricane Willa Becomes a Record Third Category 5 Storm off Mexico

Pushed on by warm water, Hurricane Willa exploded from a tropical depression to a Category 5 hurricane in 54 hours, making it the third such storm in the eastern Pacific this year, tying records set in 1994 and 2002, said …

Head of Connecticut Crumbling Foundations Fund Says $1B Needed

The superintendent of a new captive insurance company charged with distributing millions of dollars to Connecticut homeowners with crumbling foundations is warning he doesn’t have nearly enough money to address the problem. Michael Marglaras said he hopes to secure more …

States Continue Crackdown on Distracted Driving

Like many diligent public servants, Georgia state Representative Ed Setzler enjoys crowing about a nice, tidy highway project. In a Sept. 8 Facebook video, the Republican appeared to be doing just that from behind the wheel of a car. This …

Lawmakers Want Kia, Hyundai to Testify on Reports of Vehicle Fires

A Senate committee is asking executives of auto makers Kia and Hyundai to testify next month about fire risk in their vehicles. The request comes as a safety group demands the recall of 2.9 million Kia and Hyundai cars and …

New Mexico Appeals Court Says Employee Owed Workers’ Comp

An employee that tripped and fell at work is owed workers’ compensation benefits despite his employer’s argument that the accident didn’t arise our of and in the course of his work, according to a recent ruling by the New Mexico …

NTSB Hasn’t Been Able to Fully Examine Limo in Fatal Crash

Federal safety investigators have been unable to conduct a full examination of the limousine involved in a crash that killed 20 people nearly two weeks ago in upstate New York because local prosecutors are probing it as part of their …

West Coast Earthquake Warning System Operational, But Limited

Automated alerts from the fledgling West Coast earthquake early warning system are ready to be used broadly by businesses, utilities, schools and other entities but not for mass public notification, officials said Wednesday. “We’re making a large change from a …

Japan Orders Fix for Questionable Quake Shock Absorbers

The Japanese government on Friday ordered a company that falsified quality data for earthquake “shock absorbers” used in hundreds of buildings to speed up an investigation and fix any problems quickly. KYB Corp. said this week that it and a …

Mild Winter Expected in Northern and Eastern U.S.

The 2018-19 winter forecast shows below-normal temperatures for the southwestern United States, the Central Rockies, Northern California, and Southern Oregon, with above-normal temperatures in the remainder of the country, including the northern and eastern U.S. The winter precipitation forecast shows …

NTSB Recommends Black Box Upgrades to Aid in Air Crash Investigations

The ubiquitous black boxes on airliners – designed to capture the sometimes gruesome words and sounds leading up to crashes – need an upgrade, U.S. accident investigators say. In too many cases, the current two hours of sound on the …