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After Years of Fiery Hell, California Gets Less of a Scorching in 2019

Mother Nature has given a bit of a break to California during the 2019 wildfire season, but firefighters say the threat remains in force. Only about 163,000 acres have burned this year, a fraction of the 632,000 or so scorched …

Vaping-Lung Deaths Rise Again as Culprit Remains Elusive

The number of people killed or sickened by lung injuries linked to vaping increased again in the past week, with public-health officials still unable to clearly identify the root cause of a nationwide outbreak. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control …

J&J to Pay $117 Million in Nationwide Pact Over Vaginal Mesh

Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $117 million to settle 41 states’ claims that it misrepresented the risks of vaginal-mesh products used to bolster sagging organs and treat incontinence in women. A group of state attorneys general argued after an …

Intel Says It Will Share Pay Data Most Companies Keep Secret

Intel Corp. says it will publicly release employee pay data, broken down by race and gender later this year. For the first time, every company with more than 100 employees is required to report the same to the Equal Employment …

SmileDirect Claims California Dentist Conspiracy Harmed Business

SmileDirectClub Inc., which sells clear orthodontic aligners, alleges dentists who serve on a regulatory board in California conspired to hurt the company’s business to protect their own practices. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court, SmileDirect alleges the Dental …

J&J Recalls Lot of Baby Powder After Asbestos Trace Found

Johnson & Johnson is recalling one lot of its Johnson’s Baby Powder after tiny amounts of asbestos contamination were found in samples from a single bottle purchased online. J&J is voluntarily recalling the lot, #22318RB, and encouraging people who bought …

WCRI Report Shows Wide Variety in How States Control Work Comp Medical Costs

Workers’ compensation medical costs vary widely among the states both in terms of price and how often services are used. The differences appear to relate closely to which cost-drivers each state legislature tried to control and which were overlooked, according …

Western Governors Want Nuclear Testing Compensation Expanded

BOISE, Idaho — Atmospheric nuclear weapons testing exposed more states and more people to radiation fallout and resulting cancers and other diseases than the federal government currently recognizes, Western governors said. The Western Governors’ Association on Friday sent letters to …

Earthquake Probed As Possible Cause of California Fuel Fire

CROCKETT, Calif. — Officials were trying to determine Wednesday if a 4.5 magnitude earthquake triggered an explosion at a fuel storage facility in the San Francisco Bay Area that started a fire and trapped thousands in their homes for hours …

Boeing 737 Max Victims’ Lawyers to Subpoena Southwest, American Airlines

CHICAGO — Lawyers representing families of passengers killed in a Boeing 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia in March are set to issue subpoenas to Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, the two biggest U.S. operators of the jet, according to documents …

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