Author: completebodyneeds

McDonald’s has been sued in federal court in Chicago in a proposed nationwide class action alleging the fast-food company illegally coordinates menu prices across its franchises and company-owned restaurants through an AI-powered pricing system. The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 2, said McDonald’s violated US antitrust law by conspiring with independent franchisees to fix prices using algorithms trained on nonpublic data. Reuters reported last week that McDonald’s pricing engine uses machine-learning algorithms to continually analyze data from millions of daily transactions across its nearly 14,000 restaurants. The lawsuit cited the Reuters article, which said other fast-food companies are also turning to…

A new report revealed half of U.S. homeowners paid out of pocket for weather damage the past three years, and only 22% feel very financially prepared for an unexpected weather repair, according to tech-native insurance group Hippo Holdings. Hippo’s third annual “Extreme Weather Report,” based on a survey of 1,047 homeowners across the U.S., also found nearly 80% of homeowners are not financially prepared for an unexpected weather-related repair, lacking either the savings to cover the cost or the ability to complete the work themselves. Nearly 60% of respondents experienced weather-related home damage the past three years, with half paying…

Karen Clark & Co., long considered one of the more accurate catastrophe risk modeling firms, has announced its latest severe convective storm model—Version 5.0—now with a new option on roof values. “While previously, roof replacement cost was assumed to be a fixed percentage of the total building value, roof replacement value can now be entered by the user, enabling further customization” of the actual cash value endorsement, KCC said in a news release Oct. 6. The convective storm modeling is separate from hurricane modeling. KCC released its U.S. latest hurricane model, Version 5.0, last year. The severe convective storm Version…

Elon Musk’s SpaceX SPCX.O is seeking approval to build a natural gas pipeline in Florida to supply fuel for its rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, according to a state regulatory filing from September. A SpaceX subsidiary, Coastal Connect Services (CCS), has requested the Florida Public Service Commission to approve a tariff for a new 32.4-mile, 16-inch natural gas transmission pipeline in Brevard County, where Cape Canaveral is located. Here are some details: This infrastructure is expected to provide supply of natural gas, as SpaceX uses methane in liquid form as propellant in its Starship rockets. SpaceX did not immediately respond…

The two passengers aboard an air ambulance that crashed in the waters off Massachusetts over the weekend while flying from Bermuda to Boston were identified Monday as a mother from Bermuda and her son, an executive with Hamilton Re. Bermuda police said Marilyn Lavonne Bean, 66, and Sergio Wayne Lottimore, 41, both Bermudian nationals, were aboard a Gulfstream G100 along with four crew members when it went missing off Nantucket around 1 a.m. Saturday. Bermuda is about 750 to 780 miles (roughly 1,200 to 1,250 kilometers) southeast of Boston. Searchers later found a “debris field” off the coast of the…

Karen Clark & Co., long considered one of the more accurate catastrophe risk modeling firms, has announced its latest severe convective storm model—Version 5.0—now with a new option on roof values. “While previously, roof replacement cost was assumed to be …

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced that her office secured a jury conviction against Daniel Eschliman for scamming an elderly couple out of more than $42,000. Eschliman allegedly stole from the victims over the course of six months. During those six months, Eschliman allegedly repeatedly promised the victims he would complete a home addition, all while spending the money on himself. On September 29, a Jackson County jury convicted Eschliman of Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person, Stealing by Deceit, and Deceptive Business Practices. Upon finding Eschliman guilty, the jury recommended a sentence of ten years in prison. The case…

Thousands of administrative systems at wind and solar power parks in Europe are exposed to the internet, potentially giving attackers access to interfaces that can stop turbines and raising the risk of sabotage, Dutch researchers warned on Tuesday. The exposed systems included administrative and login interfaces as well as operational interfaces showing data and controls. However, one of the researchers, Soufian El Yadmani, from internet-scanning company Modat, told Reuters that researchers believed full control would have been possible in the case of around 181 sites. One turbine’s web page showed live data, “Start, Stop and Reset” buttons and the turbine’s…

A new water tower in Turkey: $3 million. Upgrades for a museum in Stamford: $400,000. A first responders appreciation barbecue in Medina County: $10,000. These are just some of the public investments data center companies have paid for across rural Texas in the past year. According to Texas Tribune analysis, data center companies have donated or invested more than $343 million across the Lone Star state for various community needs, including school programs, infrastructure repairs and emergency services. Much of that money has gone to the very communities that have fought against data center development and are seemingly an effort…

AM Best has revised the outlooks to stable from negative and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” (Good) of Buckeye State Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliate, Home and Farm Insurance Company. Both companies are domiciled in Piqua, Ohio and are referred to as Buckeye. The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Buckeye’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and marginal enterprise risk management (ERM). The revision of the outlooks to stable from negative reflects an improvement in Buckeye’s…