National News

Court Nixes Insurers’ $65 Million Payment Linked to Stanford Ponzi Scheme

A federal appeals court on Monday threw out a settlement requiring insurers to pay $65 million to a court-appointed receiver for companies once run by Allen Stanford, the Texas financier serving a 110-year prison term for running a large Ponzi …

Rain Leaves Veggie Farmers Struggling with No Aid in Sight

DES MOINES, Iowa — Like farmers throughout the Midwest, this spring’s torrential rains turned Andrew Dunham’s land into sticky muck that set him back nearly a month in planting his crops. Unlike other farmers, though, Dunham won’t get a piece …

Hail Storms Are Getting More Expensive, and No One Is Sure Why

In 2008, the year the stock market crashed and Barack Obama won the presidency, the U.S. was hit with a weather phenomenon little noted by anyone beyond the insurance industry. The country’s losses from hail breached $19 billion in inflation-adjusted …

Dairy Industry Wants You to Know Vegan ‘Butter’ Isn’t Actual Butter

Miyoko Schinner is a perfect illustration of the American dream. To the U.S. dairy industry, however, she is something altogether different. A Japanese immigrant, Schinner started a small company that blossomed into a wildly successful vegan cheese maker, one with …

Federal Lawsuit Charges Amazon’s Alexa Violates Children’s Privacy

If Big Brother isn’t watching, maybe his little sister is listening. An international law firm has filed a federal lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc., alleging that the company’s Alexa virtual assistant product violated privacy laws in Massachusetts and seven other states …

Lawyers Pitch Plan to Include Entire U.S. in Opioid Settlement Talks

Lawyers representing county and municipal governments accusing drug manufacturers and distributors of fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic proposed a novel plan on Friday that would allow every community nationally to participate in negotiating billions of dollars in settlements. The proposal …

Crime App Citizen Draws 1 Million New Yorkers and Some Controversy

One afternoon in late October 2017, hundreds of students from the elite Avenues private school in Manhattan were loaded onto buses, ready to head home. Suddenly, school principal Abby Brody got a disturbing smartphone alert. The crime-tracking app Citizen buzzed …

Musicians Lament Reported Loss of Records in Universal Fire

LOS ANGELES — Several big-name musicians voiced dismay on Wednesday that some of their recordings may have been among thousands of original masters that The New York Times Magazine reported were lost in the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot fire of …

Cult Economist Jailed for Hiding Rare Coins Says They’re His Now

The 58 rare coins at the center of two federal lawsuits are exceptionally valuable. Now a bankrupt company’s receiver wants them. And an antique dealer wants them. And so does Martin Armstrong, a self-taught economist with a cult following who …

State Farm Moves Auto Telematics into ‘Real Time’

The nation’s largest insurer has stepped up its investment in telematics, announcing this week an upgrade to its usage-based insurance program that allows policyholders to check on their driving habits trip-by-trip instead of waiting for a periodic score card. State …

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