Monthly Archives: <span>January 2020</span>

Everyone’s Favorite Climate Solution Has a Fire Problem

The explosion ruptured the dusk settling over the desert in Surprise, Arizona. For hours, smoke had poured from a metal shed packed with lithium-ion batteries at a small electric substation. The batteries were tied to the electric grid, and somehow …

Saudi Arabia Outsources Cyber Arsenal, Buys Spyware, Experts Say

If it turns out that Saudi Arabia hacked into the phone of Amazon.com Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, as investigators have alleged, the oil rich nation likely utilized its preferred method of cyber espionage: outsourcing. While countries like Russia, China …

Judge Finds Ransomware Damage to Computer a ‘Direct Physical Loss’

State Auto Property and Casualty Insurance Co. is liable for the cost of replacing a computer server that was damaged and perhaps permanently compromised by a ransomware attack despite the carrier’s argument that the business owner did not suffer a …

Hawaii Considers Ways to Combat Traffic-Related Deaths

HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers have proposed initiatives to help reduce the number of traffic-related fatalities after transportation officials confirmed more than 100 deaths in the last year. Those initiatives include installing traffic cameras to capture drivers running red lights and …

Two Killed, 20 Injured When Warehouse Explosion Shakes Houston

HOUSTON — A massive explosion Friday leveled a warehouse in Houston, killing two workers, damaging nearby buildings and homes and rousing frightened residents from their sleep miles away, authorities said. The explosion happened about 4:30 a.m. inside a building at …

McKesson Board Agrees to $175 Million Accord in Opioid Case

McKesson Corp.’s board reached a $175 million settlement with investors who claimed directors failed to maintain adequate internal systems for spotting suspicious opioid shipments, as the U.S.’s largest drug distributor continues to grapple with claims it helped fuel a public-health …

Travelers Sets Aside ‘Modest’ Funds for Child Sex-Abuse Claims

Travelers Companies Inc has set aside a “modest” amount of additional money to cover its possible exposure to child sex-abuse claims, the insurer’s finance chief, Daniel Frey, told analysts during an earnings call on Thursday. Two analysts asked about Travelers’ …

DirecTV Satellite in Danger of Exploding and Must Be Moved

A satellite operated by AT&T Inc.’s DirecTV unit is in danger of exploding and needs to be moved away from an orbital zone occupied by other big communications satellites. There’s “a significant risk” that battery cells aboard Spaceway-1 could burst, …

Google’s ‘Wi-Spy’ Accord Gives Consumers Nothing, States Say

Attorneys general from nine states urged a federal judge to toss out Google’s $13 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit blaming its Street View mapping technology for a massive violation of consumer privacy. The proposed accord in a debacle that …

How Parametric Cover Complements Traditional Insurance, Streamlines Claims

Although parametric solutions have been generally available since the late 1990s, they have more recently found their way into corporate insurance. Parametric insurance solutions offer a means to guarantee direct payout after a qualifying event and protect against unpredictable but …