Monthly Archives: <span>April 2022</span>

Judge Rules Amazon Must Reinstate Fired Warehouse Worker

A judge has ruled Amazon must reinstate a former warehouse employee who was fired in the early days of the pandemic, saying the company “unlawfully” terminated the worker who led a protest calling for Amazon to do more to protect …

South Africa Launches Relief for Durban Flooding; 443 Dead

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Declaring a national state of disaster, South Africa has allocated $67 million to help those hit by floods that have killed at least 443 people in the eastern city of Durban and the surrounding KwaZulu-Natal province. Nearly …

California Gives Rivers More Room to Flow to Stem Flood Risk

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — Between vast almond orchards and dairy pastures in the heart of California’s farm country sits a property being redesigned to look like it did 150 years ago, before levees restricted the flow of rivers that weave …

Three Black Churches Rebuilding in Louisiana After 2019 Arson

OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) — Three years after an arsonist torched three small Black Baptist churches in rural Louisiana, rebuilding is well under way. Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas is months from reopening, with visible progress at St. Mary Baptist …

Tesla Autopilot Stirs US Alarm as ‘Disaster Waiting to Happen’

Derrick Monet and his wife, Jenna, were driving on an Indiana interstate in 2019 when their Tesla Model 3 sedan operating on Autopilot crashed into a parked fire truck. Derrick, then 25, sustained spine, neck, shoulder, rib and leg fractures. …

‘Deceptive’ Denial Letter Costs Insurer Treble Damages After Appeal to 4th Circuit

The insurer first said it would pay to repair a breezeway at a student housing complex that partially collapsed during a Saturday night student party. Then it said it wouldn’t, and sent the policyholder a “confusing” and “deceptive” denial letter …

US Businesses Get Hit With Record Numbers of Disability Lawsuits

U.S. small businesses have been battling soaring inflation, labor shortages and supply-chain snarls during the pandemic. Now many are hit by another unexpected challenge: disability lawsuits. Industry associations and business owners say serial plaintiffs filing dozens or hundreds of cases …

Tesla Moves to Pause California Agency’s Race Bias Lawsuit

Tesla Inc. has asked a California judge to pause a state agency’s lawsuit that accuses the electric car maker of widespread race discrimination at its flagship assembly plant, saying the state must further investigate the claims and allow a chance …

Travelers’ Profit Beats Estimates on Lower Catastrophe Losses

Property and casualty insurer Travelers Companies Inc. reported a 48% jump in quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates on Tuesday, as lower catastrophe-related claims cushioned a hit from investment losses. The company’s core income rose to $1.04 billion, or $4.22 …

Gulf Coast, Mississippi River Cities Eager for Flood Funding

ST. LOUIS (AP) — When Hurricane Ida hit last summer, a storm surge overwhelmed a levee and gushed into Ted Falgout’s coastal Louisiana home, destroying his furniture and the beloved framed photos of his twin sons kissing him on their …