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Wisconsin Basement Bijou Halts Tours Amid Safety Concerns

No one denies that Fred Hermes’ basement is a spectacle. The 91-year-old Caledonia man has received national attention for his Basement Bijou, a nostalgic nod to 1920s-era cinema featuring a massive 1926 Wurlitzer organ, the biggest ever built by the …

Hackers Drawn to Oil and Gas Industry’s Lack of Sensors, Controls

Oil and gas companies, including some of the most celebrated industry names in the Houston area, are facing increasingly sophisticated hackers seeking to steal trade secrets and disrupt operations, according to a newspaper investigation. A stretch of the Gulf Coast …

Dutch Court Holds Energy Firm Liable for Emotional Suffering

A Dutch court ruled Wednesday that an energy company jointly owned by Shell and ExxonMobil is liable for the psychological suffering of residents in the north of the country whose homes have been damaged by small earthquakes caused by gas …

Progressive’s Flo to Help Gain Customers as Distracted Drivers Lead to ‘Rate Shock’

Progressive Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. auto insurer, boosted spending on marketing this year to win customers after scaling back in the second half of 2016 when increased costs from car accidents threatened the company’s profit goals. “We’re excited to be …

California Oroville Dam Power Plant Restarted

Crews began restarting a power plant Friday at the base of Oroville Dam, allowing them to release water from the Northern California lake without having to send it over a badly damaged spillway, officials said. The move is a major …

U.S. and Canadian Scientists to Study Cross-Border Flooding

U.S. and Canadian scientists are planning to spend the next five years studying flooding on Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River, which drains the lake north into Quebec, and whether methods can be developed to control future flooding. Besides studying …

New Jersey Doctor Faces Strict Liability Charge in Deadly Sale of Pain Pill Scripts

A New Jersey doctor was indicted Thursday on charges that he sold prescriptions for addictive opioid painkillers to people who had no medical need for them, including one man who died from an overdose. Dr. Byung Kang, of Little Falls, …

Texas Seismic Study Continues Amid Earthquakes

The state of Texas wants to stick a seismometer on Terry Hill’s ranch, right next to his deer blind. The Houston Chronicle reports Hill, a fourth generation Texan born and raised in this Rio Grande outpost, understands the significance. He …

Dry Conditions in Kansas’ Spur Wildfire Concerns

Fire officials worry this year’s potential for an outbreak in Kansas could be worse than last year, when the state saw its biggest known wildfire. As a volunteer fire department chief based out of Marquette, Jim Unruh helped fight last …

Alaska Intentional Firearm Injuries on the Rise

There has been a significant increase in the number of intentional firearm injuries in recent years, marking a shift from when accidental shootings were more common in Alaska, state officials said. Dr. Frank Sacco, chairman of the Alaska Trauma System …

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