Rhine Rises After Rain, but Low Levels Continue to Hinder Shipping

Water levels on the Rhine in Germany have risen after rain in the south and are forecast to rise further in the coming days, the country’s inland navigation agency said on Friday, though shallow water continues to hinder shipping and …

New York Sues 3M, DuPont, Other Firms for Funding of PFAS Cleanup

New York’s attorney general sued several large chemical and agricultural companies on Thursday, alleging they knowingly sold harmful so-called forever chemicals used in cosmetics, non-stick cookware and other products. The lawsuit against 3M, DuPont de Nemours, The Chemours Company and …

Coca-Cola Suspends Fairlife Operations After Cyberattack

The Coca-Cola Co. said it had temporarily suspended production operations of its Fairlife milk in the US after an unauthorized third party gained access to some of its systems. The cyberattack was connected to a ransomware event, Coca-Cola said in …

West Hartford to Pay $20 Million to Settle Suit Over Kindergartener’s Death

The West Hartford Town Council voted unanimously on July 14 to approve a $20 million settlement of a lawsuit over the death of 5-year-old kindergartener Romeo D. Pierre Louis, who collapsed during recess at Charter Oak International Academy in 2022. …

Kentucky Jury Awards $104M Verdict Against Online ‘Ghost Gun’ Maker

A Kentucky jury has ordered the maker of a gun-building kit to pay $104 million in damages to the family of an 18-year-old who used a “ghost gun” to commit suicide in 2023. It was said to be the largest …

US, Iran Each Attack Infrastructure in Risky Escalation of Conflict

The United States struck bridges and an airport in Iran on Friday and Tehran responded by hitting a power and desalination plant in Kuwait, as the warring foes risked further escalation by expanding their targets to include infrastructure. In the …

Taco Bell Lettuce From California Farm Supplier Linked to Cyclosporiasis Outbreak

Shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Yum Brands’ Taco Bell restaurants by California-based supplier Taylor Farms has been identified by investigators as a potential source of contamination in the cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people in the U.S., the …

Global Energy Security at Risk if Strait of Hormuz Does Not Open in Weeks: IEA Chief

If the U.S. and Iran do not increase oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz soon, the world should worry about energy security, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Thursday. “Oil security is still a critical issue,” …

London Broker Howden Plots Giant Capital Raise on IPO Path

Howden Group, the London-based insurance broker that’s chasing an initial public offering by 2030, is in talks to raise several billion pounds in new private capital as it seeks to maintain its breakneck expansion. The group, which is already backed …

Man Charged With Arson for Fire at Philadelphia Islamic Center

A Philadelphia man has been arrested and charged with arson related a fire at a mosque in the city last week. U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced that Vincent Lang was arrested and criminally charged with maliciously damaging or destroying by …

Wife of Ryanair Passenger Partially Sucked Out of Plane Window Recalls Incident

Svetlana Maksimovic and her husband Ljubisa Karovic had just settled into a Ryanair flight last week when a loud bang pierced the hum of engines. Within seconds, she saw her 61-year-old husband being sucked through a dislodged cabin window. In …

Drones, AI and White Paint: Europe Races to Protect Infrastructure From Heat

As Europe’s railways buckle under record heat, roads melt and power grids strain, countries are turning to an array of fixes for aging infrastructure, from drones inspecting tracks and AI-powered sensors to a surprisingly simple tool: white paint. At Norway’s …

Viewpoint: The AI Ransomware That Couldn’t Get Paid

On July 1st, security researchers at Sysdig published something they had never documented before. A ransomware attack that ran from start to finish without a single human directing it, an AI agent alone at every stage. If you work in …

US Aims to Set Guardrails for Autonomous Vehicle Behavior

The Trump administration is working to develop new safety requirements governing how autonomous vehicles behave on the road as the industry contends with a series of safety mishaps. Officials aim to finalize the new requirements before the end of President …

White House Unveils AI Clearinghouse for Cybersecurity Risks

The Trump administration is moving to strengthen coordination on artificial intelligence cybersecurity through a new industry clearinghouse to improve the detection and patching of network vulnerabilities, especially in open-source software. The clearinghouse, named Gold Eagle, was rolled out earlier this …

Americans Are Angry About Data Centers and Politicians Are Feeling the Pressure

From Michigan Avenue, Saline Township looks like any other farming community, with its corn and soybean fields, silos and grain elevators. Just down the road, though, cranes reach above towering fences at the site of a $16 billion project — …

New York Approves 22% Workers’ Compensation Cost Reduction

New York has approved a 21.9% reduction in workers’ compensation insurance premium rates, which the state says represents an estimated savings of more than $1 billion for businesses or an average of $1,779 per employer in the state. The loss …

People Moves: Gabbay Elected to CopperPoint Board of Directors

CopperPoint Insurance Company elected Steve Gabbay to the CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Holding Company board of directors. Since 2009, Gabbay has been the chief operating officer of YAM Worldwide, which operates more than a dozen companies across a variety of industries. …

California Rivals Have Starkly Different Plans to Remake Home Insurance

As high temperatures bake California and strong winds make it more susceptible to fire, voters in the state are being wooed by political candidates with divergent visions for how to protect homes from stepped-up climate risks. California has the nation’s …

Texas Contractor Fined $343K Following Excavation Collapse

A U.S. Department of Labor investigation concluded that a Houston utility construction company exposed employees to safety hazards after an excavation collapse hospitalized a worker. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an investigation into Blazey Construction Services LLC …

Northeast Texas Counties Work to Form Groundwater District

More than a dozen East Texas counties are working to create a groundwater conservation district that would prevent over-pumping water from the aquifer below their communities. On Tuesday, Gregg County Commissioners voted to approve a resolution adding the county to …

In Michigan, 100K Live Downstream of Old, Decrepit Dams

Jonathan Korbecki was relaxing at home on the Thornapple River one rainy February night when the fire marshal knocked on his door, warning the nearby Labarge Dam may fail and send a wall of water his way. Hundreds of yards …

Despite 2024 Ruling, Appeals Court Won’t Budge in Golden Corral COVID Case

The North Carolina Supreme Court in 2024 famously bucked the trend on COVID-19 business-interruption coverage, finding that an insurer owed coverage to a restaurant that was forced to close during the pandemic. But that ruling is not enough to overturn …

People Moves: IMT Adds Hanraads and Cook to Global Risk & Benefits Practice

IMA Financial Group has expanded its Global Risk & Benefits leadership team with the appointment of two national practice leaders, strengthening the firm’s ability to support multinational organizations seeking coordinated strategies to address risk, employee benefits and compliance across international …

Michigan AI Data Center Project Sparks Debate Over Farmland Protection

From Michigan Avenue, Saline Township looks like any other farming community, with its corn and soybean fields, silos and grain elevators. Just down the road, though, cranes reach above towering fences at the site of a $16 billion project — …

China Sends Robots Into the World to Learn How to Be Human

In an industrial park on the outskirts of Beijing, a humanoid arm picks up a bag of Lay’s potato chips and places it neatly along a row of snacks on a shelf. Nearby, a worker films himself grabbing cushions off …

In a Shifting Digital-Risk Landscape, Is Your GL Policy Leaving You Exposed?

The Shifting Landscape of Digital Risk: For years, many businesses have operated under the assumption that their general liability (GL) policy might offer a safety net for the physical consequences of a cyber event. However, since 2014 the ground beneath …

Iran, US Step Up Attacks, Though Release of American May Signal Path to Climbdown

Iran and the United States exchanged intensified fire on Thursday in a week-long escalation that has all but torn up last month’s truce, though Iran’s release of a U.S. citizen pointed towards a path to avert the resumption of all-out …

New Cases Slow in New York City Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak

A Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in a New York City neighborhood now counts 60 cases, but new diagnoses are slowing, health officials said Tuesday. They reported progress on inspections for the disease-causing bacteria — finding traces in dozens of buildings including …

Palm Beach Rejects Data Center Near Mar-a-Lago After Backlash

Palm Beach County commissioners rejected a proposal late Wednesday to build a digital infrastructure hub to house AI data centers and warehouses, voting in line with the ardent opposition from local residents. The facility, known as Project Tango, would have …