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

Texas Officials Prepare for Hurricane Season as Pandemic Threat Continues

More hurricanes and tropical storms than usual could make landfall in the United States this summer, forecasters predict. That is sending Texans and officials who are increasingly facing severe weather events scrambling to prepare for another natural disaster while they …

Global Restrictions Substantially Slowed Coronavirus Spread, Research Says

New research shows that the restrictive measures taken around the world to slow the spread of the coronavirus have delivered considerable health benefits. Public health measures including social distancing and lockdowns have prevented more than 500 million additional coronavirus infections …

The Case of the $50,000 Table

Furniture styles have been around from, at least, the beginning of recorded history. From stone “chairs” dating back to the Neolithic Period, early ancient civilizations like Egypt and Greece through modern times, differing materials, and different styles have reflected their …

Army Corps Has $4.6B Plan to Protect Miami From Flooding

The federal government is proposing a $4.6 billion plan to protect the low-lying Miami area from the effects of climate change, including the construction of miles of sea walls. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a draft plan last …

Business News: Guy Carpenter and Synthetik, Jopari, Sapiens and Clara Analytics

Guy Carpenter Using Synthetik to Model Terrorism Risk Guy Carpenter & Co. says it has entered into “an exclusive multi-year agreement” with Synthetik Applied Technologies to enhance its proprietary terrorism modeling product, Sunstone. Synthetik is an Austin-based engineering company that …

Autonomous Vehicle Firms Dispute Insurance Study’s Low Estimate of Crash Prevention

Companies working on self-driving vehicles have criticized an insurance industry study suggesting that only a third of all U.S. road crashes could be prevented by driverless cars, arguing that the study has underestimated the technology’s capabilities. The study by the …

Grand Rapids Pegs Property Damage from Protests at $448,000

Officials in a western Michigan city are estimating $448,000 in damage was caused during protests over the death of George Floyd that turned violent last weekend. The estimate by Grand Rapids is preliminary and is for damage to public and …

Coronavirus Lockdowns Substantially Slowed the Pandemic, Research Says

New research shows that the restrictive measures taken around the world to slow the spread of the coronavirus have delivered considerable health benefits. Public health measures including social distancing and lockdowns have prevented more than 500 million additional coronavirus infections …

Lawsuit Alleges $100M Katrina Aid Fraud by New Orleans Universities, Archdiocese

Two New Orleans universities, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans and a government contractor are defendants in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging fraud involving more than $100 million in Hurricane Katrina aid. The 2016 federal lawsuit was unsealed Wednesday by …

Iowa Supreme Court Finds Gross Negligence Not Always an Intentional Act

The Iowa Supreme Court cleared the way for a federal lawsuit against an amusement park to proceed, reversing a district court ruling that a ride operator’s fatal actions were so reckless that they amounted to an intentional act. If Stephen …