Author: completebodyneeds

California is facing a potentially multi-billion-dollar flood threat as El Niño gathers strength in the Pacific Ocean. The warming El Niño phenomenon tends to unleash powerful storms in the Pacific, including atmospheric rivers, some of which are named the “Pineapple Express” if they originate near Hawaii. The heaviest rains tend to come during the winter months. But El Niño is already wreaking havoc on some California beaches, with flood risks expected to rise in the weeks ahead. Disaster modelers at Climate X, a risk analytics firm backed by Google Ventures, estimate that El Niño could cause $2 billion to $3…

Three people who went to California’s Six Flags Magic Mountain have filed lawsuits saying they were left with traumatic brain injuries from the park’s famed X2 roller coaster that is advertised as a rite of passage for the “ultimate daredevil.” The filings are the latest against the world-famous amusement park operator and S&S Worldwide, the manufacturer of the X2 roller coaster cars. Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022. According to documents filed last week, Pamela Guillen and her family visited the park in July…

A crane that was reportedly being used to set up a termite tenting operation fell onto a Fort Lauderdale home last week, causing significant structural damage to the one-story structure. Hours later, a second crane was brought in to remove the fallen one. It too collapsed under the weight, causing further damage—and likely a costlier insurance claim—on the home in the 800 block of Southeast 8th Street, a leafy residential neighborhood in the Rio Vista neighborhood, the Miami Herald reported. Multiple news sites reported that by Friday evening, the wreckage had been successfully removed without further major damage. Crews had…

Alabama said on Friday it had reached a settlement with TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, that requires the social media platform to impose new usage limits and enhanced age-verification measures for users in the state, resolving claims that the platform endangered children and misled consumers about its safety. The agreement, which came days before a scheduled trial, calls for TikTok to implement changes for teenagers in Alabama including a two-hour daily time limit, pauses after 15 minutes of use and stricter age checks. TikTok will pay Alabama at least $100 million under the settlement, but the state’s payout…

A US jury ruled that Apple owes San Diego-based Taction more than $5.7 billion for using its patented technology to power the haptic feedback in iPhones and Apple Watches. Apple said it would appeal the country’s largest such verdict to date. The jury said on Friday that Apple’s Taptic Engine, which creates tapping vibrations, infringed two Taction patents “Apple’s Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, which Taction’s own testing of Apple’s products confirmed during trial,” Apple said in response “Apple does not use Taction’s technology, and we will appeal,” it added in a statement “We’re happy the jury…

Insurers will help maximize their return on AI investments by adopting an enterprise-wide strategy, rather than just focusing on select and segmented areas, which splits the ownership and investment, according to research from Accenture. “AI capability remains concentrated in small groups, with limited enterprise-wide upskilling across underwriting, claims, actuarial and operations,” said Accenture, the tech consulting firm, in its report titled “How insurers drive revenue by deploying AI with intent.” “AI capability remains concentrated in small groups, with limited enterprise-wide upskilling across underwriting, claims, actuarial and operations,” the report said, noting that fewer than one in four (23%) insurers have…

A judge on Wednesday dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit accusing The Des Moines Register and its former pollster of misrepresenting the state of the 2024 presidential race, rejecting the president’s claim that the newspaper’s poll coverage violated Iowa’s consumer fraud law. Calling the case extraordinary, Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie said that allowing the lawsuit and its “faulty” claims to proceed could have a chilling effect that “can discourage others from reporting on and debating public affairs.” He sided with pollster J. Ann Selzer and the newspaper in affirming that the poll and coverage of it were constitutionally protected political…

The Texas Department of Insurance this week launched a tool that allows residents to see reasons for why insurance companies decline, non-renew or cancel home and auto insurance policies. The webpage lets users review declination, non-renew and cancellations notices by choosing from a reporting period, ZIP code and policy type. The page also includes the number of active policies and the counts of nonrenewals, cancellations, and declinations reported by companies. Through June, TDI has uploaded more than 350,000 notices into the data system. This new tool puts more information directly in consumers’ hands and advances our commitment to greater transparency…

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that he has filed a civil lawsuit and an $18.5 million settlement of the civil lawsuit with Partners in Nutrition, d/b/a Partners in Quality Care (“PIN”), that resolves claims that the non-profit knowingly defrauded the State of Minnesota out of millions of dollars in federal child nutrition funds during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, in violation of the Minnesota False Claims Act. Federal child nutrition programs provide funding to ensure that children have consistent access to healthy, nutritious foods. Minnesota Department of Education (“MDE”) administers federal nutrition programs in Minnesota. Under federal program rules,…

Hunt Forest Products, L.L.C., a Ruston, Louisiana-based wood products manufacturing company, violated federal law when it terminated a laborer’s employment after learning he had a seizure while not at work, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Hunt Forest Products required the worker to undergo an examination because of a seizure he had in May 2023. The examining neurologist recommended that the worker refrain from driving or operating heavy machinery for six months. Although the worker’s duties did not involve these restricted tasks, and the worker was able to continue performing…