Monthly Archives: <span>August 2015</span>

Hurricane Hunter Plane to Investigate Tropical Storm Erika in Atlantic

A “Hurricane Hunter” reconnaissance plane headed out Tuesday to investigate Tropical Storm Erika, a disorganized system on a path yet to be pinned down. Erika touched off tropical storm watches on some of the Leeward Islands, which are about 730 …

Building Industrial Robots That Don’t Kill Humans

In June this year a robot crushed a man to death in a Volkswagen factory in Germany. The 22-year-old maintenance worker became trapped between a large robotic arm and a metal plate, in an area usually off-bounds to humans. The …

IRC: Auto Insurance Costs Becoming More Affordable for All Income Levels

Personal auto insurance has become more affordable over time for all income groups, including low-to-moderate income (LMI) groups, according to a new report from the Insurance Research Council (IRC). In addition to documenting that auto insurance has become more affordable …

Pot-Impaired Drivers Involved in Deadly Crashes Rising in Washington

More marijuana-using drivers are getting into fatal crashes in Washington, according to new data from the state Traffic Safety Commission. Data released Wednesday show that the number of Washington drivers involved in deadly crashes who tested positive for active marijuana …

Study Predicts More Wildlife Deaths and Bigger Wildfires if Drought Lasts

The carcasses of salmon, trout and more than a dozen other newly extinct native species lie in dry streambeds around California. Exhausted firefighters in the Sierra Nevada battle some of the biggest wildfires they’ve ever seen. And in Central Valley …

New FEMA Maps Could Force Central Texas Residents to Buy Flood Insurance

Hundreds of Central Texas residents could be forced to buy flood insurance or face stricter building regulations for new structures nearly three months after deadly flooding, according to new Federal Emergency Management Agency advisory maps made public Friday. The maps, …

Even When Deleted, Online Information Isn’t Gone

The Ashley Madison hack is a big reminder to all Web users: If you submit private data online, chances are it will never fully be deleted. The hackers, who stole the data about a month ago and then posted it …

Auto Safety Agency Declines to Probe Toyota’s Unintended Acceleration

U.S. safety regulators have rejected an electrical engineer’s request to investigate low-speed unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus cars. The petition was the latest in a string of claims that Toyota vehicles can accelerate on their own dating to 2009. …

NICB Looks Back on Hurricane Katrina, Birth of VinCheck

While Katrina impacted parts of Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, its most widespread destruction occurred in Louisiana in and around New Orleans. After making landfall on August 29, 2005, Katrina’s heavy rainfall and significant storm surge caused breaches in a number …

Far Away Cities Benefit From BP Settlement Money

Clusters of landlocked municipalities more than 100 miles from the Gulf Coast have secured millions of dollars in BP money through settlements designed to compensate local governments for lost tourism dollars and other economic damage from the company’s 2010 oil …