Monthly Archives: <span>August 2023</span>

Hurricane Idalia Strikes Florida With Powerful Category 3 Winds

Hurricane Idalia came ashore on Florida’s west coast with destructive Category 3 winds, triggering blackouts and unleashing flooding rains and dangerous storm surge. Idalia’s maximum sustained winds reached 125 miles (201 kilometers) per hour Wednesday as it slammed into the …

Massive Wildfire in Greece Persists Despite European Firefighting Efforts

A massive wildfire was burning unabated in northeastern Greece for the 11th day Tuesday despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and a fleet of water-dropping aircraft. After burning across vast tracts of land, the blaze in the Alexandroupolis and …

California Jury Awards $3.75 Million to Protester Shot by Hard-Foam Projectiles

A jury awarded $3.75 million in damages this week to a protester shot twice with hard-foam projectiles fired by Los Angeles police during demonstrations in 2020. Jurors on Wednesday ruled that the LA Police Department was negligent when one or …

Hawaii Electric Takes Responsibility for First Fire on Maui, But Faults Firefighters

Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the …

Fifth Circuit Nixes Its Own ‘Flawed’ Limit on Title VII Employee Discrimination Claims

A federal appeals court has discarded its own long-time precedent and expanded the scope of discrimination claims that employees can bring against their employers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In so ruling, the Fifth Circuit of Appeals, …

Insurers to Pay $50M in Settlement Over Abuse at West Virginia Boarding School

A second lawsuit that alleged widespread sexual, physical and mental abuse at a now-closed West Virginia boarding school for troubled youths has been settled for about $50 million, to be paid by insurance carriers. Attorneys for 32 plaintiffs described what …

U.S. Workers Exposed to Extreme Heat Have No Consistent Protection

Santos Brizuela spent more than two decades laboring outdoors, persisting despite a bout of heatstroke while cutting sugarcane in Mexico and chronic laryngitis from repeated exposure to the hot sun while on various other jobs. But last summer, while on …

McDonald’s Must Face Antitrust Claims Over Worker ‘Poaching,’ Court Rules

A U.S. appeals court has revived claims that McDonald’s Corp violated federal antitrust law by requiring franchisees to agree not to hire away each other’s employees. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on Friday said the judge …

3M Agrees to Pay $6 Billion in Earplug Lawsuit Settlement

3M said on Tuesday it had agreed to pay $6 billion to settle nearly 260,000 lawsuits accusing it of selling defective combat earplugs that caused hearing loss in hundreds of thousands of current and former U.S. military service members. “This …

Hurricane Idalia Intensifies as It Churns Toward Florida

Hurricane Idalia is gathering force in advance of a landfall on Florida’s west coast, where it could drive a deadly wall of water into the shoreline, snap trees and cause widespread power outages. Idalia’s winds topped 85 miles (137 kilometers) …