Monthly Archives: <span>April 2019</span>

Chemical Disaster Zone Remains No-Go Zone Two Weeks After Blaze

Two weeks after a chemical storage complex near Houston erupted in flames and menaced tens of thousands of people with dangerous fumes, the site remains too hazardous for investigators to approach. Intercontinental Terminal Co. is still trying to drain millions …

Wall Street Embraces Weather Risk in New Era of Storms, Drought

Every uptick in wind speed along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline is of enormous interest to Mike Eilts. Eilts, senior vice president for weather at DTN, a Minnesota-based analytics firm, knows that an unexpected cold front in Louisiana, nudged southward …

Firefighters at Houston Chemical Disaster Scrambled for Foam

Firefighters confronted with the worst Gulf Coast industrial disaster in 14 years had to call on outside sources to augment their supply of the special foam required to extinguish chemical blazes. Intercontinental Terminal Co. confirmed it appealed to other companies …

9-1-1 System to Increase State and Local Fees in Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Legislation that would increase state and local 9-1-1 fees in Maryland — part of the Next Generation 9-1-1 initiative that would allow faster communication with emergency responders via text, photos and videos — passed both the House …

More than 1 Million Acres of U.S. Cropland Ravaged by Floods

CHICAGO/COLUMBUS, Neb. — At least 1 million acres of U.S. farmland were flooded after the “bomb cyclone” storm left wide swaths of nine major grain producing states under water this month, satellite data analyzed by Gro Intelligence for Reuters showed. …

Busy Week Brings 3 Guilty Pleas, 2 Arrests for Insurance Fraud

Three Washington state residents pleaded guilty to charges after investigations by state fraud investigators last week, while two other people were charged with filing false claims. Stephanie Pepper Snider, 42, of Renton, pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court to …

New Insurer Patents Optimize Commute Routes and Sniff out Road Rage

As the world awaits the fifth generation of cellular technology, U.S. insurers are investing in telematics to track their policyholders while offering customers new services that also control losses and collect data for underwriters. The Hartford Fire Insurance Co. on …

Teva Wins Patent Case Related to Orexo Opioid-Treatment Drug

A U.S. jury on Friday rejected a claim by Sweden’s Orexo AB that two generic opioid-addiction treatments created by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. infringed a patent for Orexo’s biggest drug, Zubsolv. A Teva unit had created copies of the drugs …