HELENA, Mont. — A federal jury on Monday said Warren Buffett’s BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago when tainted mining material was shipped through a Montana town where thousands have been sickened. The jury awarded $4 million each in compensatory damages to the estates of … Read more
GENEVA — The U.N. labor organization warned Monday that over 70% of the world’s workforce is likely to be exposed to excessive heat during their careers, citing increased concern about exposure to sunlight. It also warned of air pollution, pesticides and other hazards that could lead to health problems including cancer. In a new report, … Read more
HELENA, Mont. — BNSF Railway attorneys told a Montana jury Friday that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of an asbestos-contaminated Montana town, one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program. Attorneys for the company say the corporate predecessors of the railroad, … Read more
PARIS — In Paris’ outskirts, a bright-eyed young girl is eager for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to end. That’s because the swimming club where 10-year-old Lyla Kebbi trains will inherit an Olympic pool. It will be dismantled after the Games and trucked from the Olympic race venue in Paris’ high-rise business district to Sevran, … Read more
LIBBY, Mont. — Paul Resch remembers playing baseball as a kid on a field constructed from asbestos-tainted vermiculite, mere yards from railroad tracks where trains kicked up clouds of dust as they hauled the contaminated material from a mountaintop mine through the northwestern Montana town of Libby. He liked to sneak into vermiculite-filled storage bins … Read more
A poultry facility in Michigan and egg producer in Texas both reported outbreaks of avian flu this week. The latest developments on the virus also include infected dairy cows and the first known instance of a human catching bird flu from a mammal. Although health officials say the risk to the public remains low, there … Read more
Karen Nickel has been dealing with lupus and other illnesses for years, illnesses she blames on childhood exposure to a suburban St. Louis creek where Cold War-era nuclear waste was dumped decades ago. It’s time, she said Friday, for the federal government to start making amends. “People have died and are still dying,” Nickel, co-founder … Read more
MILAN — Day-trippers to the fabled canal city of Venice who fail to pay 5 euros ($5.43) to enter the lagoon city’s historic center during a time-limited pilot program launching later this month will face fines starting at 10 times the entrance fee, officials said Thursday. Venice announced last year it would launch the long-discussed … Read more
The aftermath of last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio doesn’t qualify as a public health emergency because widespread health problems and ongoing chemical exposures haven’t been documented, federal officials said. The Environmental Protection Agency never approved that designation after the February 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment even though the disaster forced the evacuation of … Read more
NEW YORK — Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg are among the diverse group of political, business and philanthropic leaders Global Citizen will convene in New York on May 1 and 2, the nonprofit announced on Thursday. The Global Citizen NOW summit will seek support for workable solutions … Read more
