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

Connecticut High Court Nixes Workers’ Comp for Firefighter With Heart Condition

A firefighter must be shown to have worked 20 or more hours a week to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under state law, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in reversing an appeals court and state workers’ compensation officials. The …

Wisconsin School District to Pay $450K to Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit

Verona Area School District in Madison, Wisconsin will pay $450,000, raise salaries, and furnish other relief to settle a pay discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced. According to EEOC’s lawsuit, the …

Illinois Pizza Manufacturer Fined $2.8M After Worker’s Death

The operator of a specialty frozen pizza manufacturing plant in Illinois could have prevented the death of a 29-year-old sanitation worker by following proper machine safety procedures, a federal investigation has found. Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational …

Fire Kills Almost Every Animal at Florida Wildlife Center

An early morning fire on Thursday killed nearly all the animals at a wildlife center in Florida, officials said. News outlets reported the fire broke out around 3 a.m. Thursday at the Alligator and Wildlife Discovery Center in Madeira Beach, …

Heavy Rainfall Floods Homes, Businesses in East Mississippi, West Alabama

Extreme rainfall flooded roads and property in east-central Mississippi Thursday, leading authorities to rescue three people from vehicles and homes. Water pushed a car into a ditch, and the driver escaped before the car submerged, local public media and the …

New Air Bag Death Prompts ‘Do Not Drive’ Warning for 2003 Dodge Ram Pickups

Chrysler-parent Stellantis has warned 29,000 owners of 2003 Dodge Ram pickups to immediately stop driving pending repairs after one person was killed when a Takata air-bag inflator exploded. The fatality in May is the first reported involving a Takata passenger-side …

Heat Wave Baking Southwest Brings Triple Digit Temperatures and Fire Risk to California

After a historically wet winter and a cloudy spring, California`s summer was in full swing Thursday as a heat wave that`s been scorching much of the U.S. Southwest brings triple digit temperatures and an increased risk of wildfires. Blistering conditions …

Florida Sinkhole That Swallowed Sleeping Man Reopens, This Time Harmlessly

A Florida sinkhole that in 2013 fatally swallowed a man sleeping in his own house has reopened for a third time, only now it`s behind chain-link fencing and doing no harm to people or property. Hillsborough County officials said the …

Update: WHO Deems Aspartame Possible Carcinogen; Consumption Limits Unchanged

The sweetener aspartame is a “possible carcinogen” but it remains safe to consume at already-agreed levels, two groups linked to the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday. The rulings are the outcome of two separate WHO expert panels, one …

Microsoft Under Fire After Hacks of State and Commerce Departments

In late June, one of cybersecurity expert Steven Adair’s clients got an alert from Microsoft: one of the client’s employees working on human rights issues had their email account compromised. The client wanted to know if Adair could get to …