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California Man Sickened by Nacho Cheese in Botulism Outbreak Dies

One of at least 10 people apparently sickened by nacho-cheese dip sold at a California gas station has died, health officials said Monday. The San Francisco County coroner’s office identified the victim as Martin Galindo-Larios Jr., 37. An online fundraising …

Massive Slide Covers Stretch of Iconic California Coastal Highway

A massive new landslide along California’s iconic coastal Highway 1 has buried the road under a 40-foot layer of rock and dirt, the latest hit in winter of crippling slides and flooding. A swath of the hillside gave way in …

More Than 6,300 Stoves Recalled Following Plumber’s Electrocution Death

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the voluntary recall of 6,300 electric stoves in connection with the electrocution death of a plumber last year. The recall is for Blomberg and Summit electric ranges, which the commission says can …

South Highest, Northeast Lowest for Child Auto Fatalities

The number of motor vehicle fatalities involving children under age 15 varies widely by state, but occurrences are more common in the South, and are most often associated with improperly or unused restraints and crashes on rural roads, a new …

Zurich Uses Robots for Personal Injury Claims Document Review

Zurich Insurance is deploying artificial intelligence in deciding personal injury claims after trials cut the processing time from an hour to just seconds, its chairman said. “We recently introduced AI claims handling … and saved 40,000 work hours, while speeding …

Fyre Music Fest Suits Says it Was More Like ‘Hunger Games’ Than Coachella

Litigation is piling up like bonfire kindling against organizers of the Fyre Festival that flamed out in a fiasco. Angry participants had lashed out on social media with the hashtag (hash)fyrefraud as the music festival fell apart on an island …

Researchers Warn Hawaii Coastal Areas Threatened by ‘King Tides’

Scientists have issued a warning that Hawaii faces the threat of serious coastal flooding this week and in June because a rare convergence of rising sea levels and some of the highest tides of this year. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported …

Iowa Drivers Can Download Licenses on Smartphones in 2018

Iowa residents should be able to start downloading their driver’s licenses onto their smartphones by late next year, according to state officials. The Iowa Department of Transportation conducted a pilot program with about 100 state employees who used state-issued iPhones …

High Court Ruling Favors Companies Defending Patents

The Supreme Court is making it easier for companies to defend themselves against patent infringement lawsuits. The justices ruled unanimously on Monday that such lawsuits can be filed only in states where defendants are incorporated. The issue is important to …

Florida’s Dry While Rest of U.S. is Wet

Spring dumped so much rain on the U.S. that most of the country is drought-free for the first time in decades. But in parched Florida and Georgia, wildfires have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of forests and pastureland. There’s …

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