Author: completebodyneeds

A federal safety agency recommended the development of written policies and procedures for flushing gas valves a year after a blast at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh killed two workers. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board issued a final report into the August 2025 blast at Clairton Coke Works, which also injured 11 others, including contractors. U.S. Steel has said the explosion happened when workers were flushing a gas valve with pressurized water in preparation for routine planned maintenance at the sprawling riverside industrial facility, the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The valve ruptured…

Almost four years after he pleaded guilty, the top associate to convicted briber, insurance entrepreneur and fraudster Greg Lindberg has been sentenced to two years in prison. Christopher Herwig, who was chief investment officer for Lindberg’s Eli Global and other companies, also must forfeit $842,000, the federal judge in the Western District of North Carolina ordered on Wednesday. Lindberg, convicted of attempting to bribe North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey in 2018, was also convicted of skimming more than $2 billion in reserves from his life insurance and reinsurance companies and using the proceeds to fund other projects and to…

NFP, a subsidiary of Aon, the international insurance broker, announced it has acquired the retail cannabis business of Frontier Risk Group, a specialty insurance company that has focused on the marijuana industry. Frontier is based in Norwalk, Connecticut. Eric Scheider, senior vice president at Frontier, will join NFP with the same title and will report to Scott Foster, healthcare and life sciences practice leader for NFP, the company said in a news release. “Frontier Risk’s cannabis business is a natural fit for our Life Sciences practice,” said Foster. “Their specialized expertise in the cannabis sector expands our ability to serve…

Cargo theft incidents were down 26% in the second quarter 2026 compared with the same time a year ago but it turns out that thieves stole expensive items as losses reached over $300 million. According to a report from Verisk’s CargoNet business, the severity of thefts totaling $304.6 million, is more than double the $135.7 million in goods stolen in Q2 2025. Metal and high-end technology remain high-value targets. Copper was the most targeted metal while thieves looked to take computer and networking equipment, components, and cryptocurrency mining hardware when it came to technology. Food and beverage thefts declined in…

The El Niño building in the Pacific Ocean is increasingly expected to reach a strength not seen in 76 years of record keeping. “During the October-December 2026 season, there is a 69% chance of a historic event that would exceed the strength of previous El Niño events dating back to 1950,” the US Climate Prediction Center said in a forecast Thursday. The El Niño has “a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2026-27.” The agency noted that temperatures in July across the Pacific rivaled only those of 1997, which was…

Three years ago, nearly every major US company explicitly considered diversity when choosing new directors. Now, most don’t. In all, 61 S&P 100 companies have dumped explicit diversity criteria for future board members since 2023, according to an ESGAUGE analysis of filings and governance documents for Bloomberg News. The findings show the extent of the retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion into corporate boardrooms. Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have all eliminated diversity provisions for directors in the last three years. A conservative activist investor had previously identified companies including Goldman Sachs…

A New Jersey public school district has been found not liable for the fatal shooting of a 10-year old boy at a high school football game where security did not include metal detectors to screen attendees. The boy’s mother and estate sought to invoke the “state-created danger” theory to hold the Pleasantville Board of Education (PBOE) civilly liable for violating the boy’s rights under the New Jersey Civil Rights Act and Constitution by not protecting him. They alleged that the PBOE and school officials were negligent in their security in what was acknowledged to be a high crime area. New…

Severe weather cut power to more than half a million people in the Chicago area and northwestern Indiana as perilous thunderstorms and tornadoes pummeled the region Tuesday, causing widespread damage and bringing lightning that injured people at an Ohio prison. Tornado warning sirens howled as the skies darkened. All flights were temporarily stopped at Chicago’s two major airports, and officials warned of delays as the backlog was cleared. In Ohio, power outages swept the state capital region, and at least one death was reported. Sixteen incarcerated people were hospitalized, including one who was transported by helicopter, after lightning struck at…

Tornado Bus Company, Inc. and El Expreso Group, LLC, two affiliated Dallas-based bus companies that operate numerous international bus routes between the United States and Mexico, agreed to pay $3.9 million to resolve allegations that the companies violated the False Claims Act by applying for and receiving loans that they were not eligible for in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould. Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency loans to small…

Reservoirs have rebounded, but the fight over water isn’t over in Corpus Christi. The City Council has ordered a public referendum on a citizen-led petition that would sharply increase the price of water for industrial facilities during drought. The proposal is expected to face a litany of legal challenges before November’s election. It would add millions of dollars in fees to the region’s largest water users, including ExxonMobil, Occidental Chemical and Valero, the next time reservoir levels are below 30 percent full, like they were for 29 months until early August. Community and environmental groups gathered nearly 13,000 signatures of…