Confirmed cases of coronavirus globally surged past the 1 million mark this week, and now stand at more than 1,066,000, with more than 56,000 deaths. Confirmed cases in the U.S. passed 257,000, with more than 6,600 deaths.
The swindles have begun. As Americans struggle to cope with the spread of COVID-19, they will also need to brace themselves for “disaster fraud”—those cons that rely on post-catastrophe chaos to separate people from their money.
Mike Walker has just finished his lunch in the cafeteria at PCC Community Markets in the Green Lake neighborhood of Seattle. On the small table in front of him is a plastic sandwich wrapper, a potato chip bag and an energy drink can. Only one of those three is destined for a recycling bin. And even then, there’s no guarantee that the can will end up recycled.
Editor's note: Story was updated February 14. See correction at end of the story.
Polaris Industries, which boasts of being a global leader in sales of off-highway vehicles, also has the dubious distinction of being the No. 1 company for recalls, according to a new report.
With hundreds of fields reaching end of life each year, the artificial turf industry is under pressure to find a sustainable solution.
Run-ins with job safety regulators are routine for Dollar Tree, the huge discount retail chain. A FairWarning investigation found that more than 150 company stores have been cited for safety violations since December 2015, despite a settlement with OSHA in which Dollar Tree agreed to pay $825,000 in penalties and clean up its act.
Fifteen years ago, the federal government said “no” to piracetam. The agency hasn’t changed its position. But piracetam is widely available—and hugely popular—as a supplement promoted as boosting cognitive ability. Unintimidated by FDA warning letters, sellers are advertising this forbidden ingredient in online bazaars.
Without admitting liability, Toyota since 2014 has quietly settled 537 lawsuits blaming sudden unintended acceleration for crashes that caused deaths or serious injuries. Automotive safety advocates see the complaints as a sign that Toyota and federal regulators failed to properly address the root of the problem when they had the opportunity years earlier.
A new study found significant quantities of litter from vaping devices in high school parking lots, prompting environmental concerns.
Despite aggressive enforcement of wage laws by the California Labor Commissioner’s office, some workers wait years for back pay, if they get any at all.
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