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

Refusal to Settle for $2M Costs Ace Nearly $8M in Suit by Excess Insurer

The defense team for Chubb Group’s Ace American Insurance Co. was confident that no jury would award more than $2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Mark Braswell, who died on May 16, 2014 when …

U.S. Sues Walmart Saying Pharmacies Fueled Opioid Crisis

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department sued Walmart Inc on Tuesday, accusing the world’s biggest retailer of fueling the opioid crisis in the United States, ignoring warning signs from its pharmacists and filling thousands of invalid prescriptions. In a civil …

East Africa’s Electric Motorbikes Are Fueling a Carbon-Free Future

When Rwanda’s president said last August that he wanted all of the country’s motorbikes to be electric as soon as possible, Ampersand’s waiting list exploded. The country’s first electric motorbike company now has about 7,000 drivers in line for its …

SolarWinds Adviser Warned of Lax Security Years Before Hack

A former security adviser at the IT monitoring and network management company SolarWinds Corp. said he warned management of cybersecurity risks and laid out a plan to improve it that was ultimately ignored. In a 23-page PowerPoint presentation reviewed by …

Google and Others Back Facebook Lawsuit Over Surveillance Tool

Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and other tech giants asked for permission to join Facebook Inc.’s legal fight against an Israeli company that the social media company accuses of installing malware on the phones of unsuspecting users. The companies asked the …

Confusion Reigns as Companies Try To Navigate COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

NEW YORK — U.S. companies and industry groups trying to move their workers to the front of the line for a COVID-19 vaccine remain confused about conflicting state and local guidelines on how shots will be administered and to which …

Pandemic Backlash Jeopardizes Public Health Powers, Leaders

Tisha Coleman has lived in close-knit Linn County, Kansas, for 42 years and never felt so alone. As the public health administrator, she’s struggled every day of the coronavirus pandemic to keep her rural county along the Missouri border safe. …

Volcano Erupts on Hawaii’s Big Island, Produces Steam Cloud

HONOLULU, Hawaii — The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island erupted and shot a steam cloud into the atmosphere that lasted about an hour, an official with the National Weather Service said early Monday. The eruption began late Sunday within …

Congress Set to Boost FAA Oversight of New Planes After Boeing 737 MAX Crashes

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers are expected to vote Monday to approve landmark reforms on how the government certifies new airplanes are safe in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes, according to a summary made public Monday. The …

Meatpacking Workers Get Priority for Vaccine Under CDC Guideline

Meatpacking and poultry processing workers should be among front-line workers next in line for coronavirus vaccines under guidelines approved by a U.S. Centers for Disease Control advisory committee. Outbreaks of the virus at some plants during the spring caused shutdowns …