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

Heat, Winds Fuel Destructive Northwest Wildfires

SALEM, Ore. — Strong winds and high temperatures continued to fuel catastrophic fires in many parts of Oregon on Wednesday, forcing thousands of people to flee from their homes. Huge wildfires also continued to grow in neighboring Washington state. Oregon …

How California’s Wildfires Could Spark a Financial Crisis

Wildfires across the U.S. West are among the sparks from climate change that could ignite a U.S. financial crisis by damaging home values, state tourism and local government budgets, an advisory panel to a U.S. markets regulator found. Those effects …

Claims Business: Sedgwick, Justpoint, One Inc.

Sedgwick Acquires Nationwide Appraisals Sedgwick has acquired Nationwide Appraisals, a national auto damage appraiser based inElgin, Illinois. Sedgwick said the Nationwide Appraisals purchase brings a nationwide network of claims professionals that will “optimize the appraiser dispatch process.” Nationwide uses technology …

An Activist Investor Crusades Against Forced Arbitration at Tesla

When Tesla Inc.’s shareholders gather September 22 for their annual meeting, Kristin Hull will have roughly three minutes to make the case against the company’s use of mandatory arbitration for employee sexual harassment and racial discrimination claims. Hull is the …

Judge Voids Trump ‘Joint Employer’ Rule That U.S. States Called Anti-Labor

NEW YORK — A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a Trump administration rule that narrowed the definition of “joint employer,” and which the attorneys general of 17 states and Washington, D.C. said would eliminate important labor protections for workers. …

Start Of School in Hartford Delayed by Ransomware Attack

HARTFORD, Conn. — One the worst cyberattacks yet against Connecticut’s capital city forced officials to postpone the first day of school Tuesday, disrupting the day for thousands of families as city computer experts rushed to restore systems vital for school …

Hurricane-Force Winds Kick Up Pacific Northwest Wildfires

PORTLAND, Ore. — Hurricane-force winds and high temperatures kicked up wildfires across parts of the Pacific Northwest over the Labor Day weekend, burning hundreds of thousands of acres and mostly destroying the small town of Malden in eastern Washington. “Today …

Most Alaska Wildland Fire Crews Fighting Blazes Beyond State

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Most of Alaska’s wildland fire crews are helping fight fires in the continental U.S., including western blazes that have triggered evacuations of thousands of people, officials said. U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said 450 …

As California Burns, the Winds Arrive and the Lights Go Out

SHAVER LAKE, Calif. — Wildfires churned through bone-dry California on Tuesday after a scorching Labor Day weekend that saw a dramatic airlift of more than 200 people trapped by flames and ended with the state’s largest utility turning off power …

Appellate Court Revives Medicare Secondary Payer Act Suits by Collection Agents

A federal appellate panel’s ruling opens the floodgates for hundreds of lawsuits filed by collection agents that are seeking billions of dollars in double damages from insurance carriers that are accused of failing to pay for care that ended up …