Tough new EPA rules would force coal-fired power plants to capture emissions or shut down

WASHINGTON — Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency. New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are the Biden administration’s most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the power sector, the nation’s … Read more

Weedkiller manufacturer seeks lawmakers’ help to squelch claims it failed to warn about cancer

DES MOINES, Iowa — Stung by paying billions of dollars for settlements and trials, chemical giant Bayer has been lobbying lawmakers in three states to pass bills providing it a legal shield from lawsuits that claim its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Nearly identical bills introduced in Iowa, Missouri and Idaho this year — with … Read more

Victims of Montana asbestos pollution that killed hundreds take Warren Buffet’s railroad to court

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

Japanese authorities raid a factory making health supplements linked to 5 deaths

TOKYO — Japanese government health officials raided a factory Saturday producing health supplements that they say have killed at least five people and hospitalized more than 100 others. About a dozen people wearing dark suits solemnly walked into the Osaka plant of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. in the raid shown widely on Japanese TV news, including … Read more

AP finds grueling conditions in Indian shrimp industry that report calls ‘dangerous and abusive’

SAN FRANCISCO — Noriko Kuwabara was excited to try a new recipe she’d seen on social media for crispy shrimp spring rolls, so she and her husband headed to Costco’s frozen foods aisle. But when she grabbed a bag of farm-raised shrimp from the freezer and saw “Product of India,” she wrinkled her nose. “I … Read more

Gerald Levin, the former Time Warner CEO who engineered a disastrous mega-merger, is dead at 84

SAN FRANCISO — Gerald Levin, who led Time Warner Media into a disastrous $182 billion merger with the internet provider America Online, died Wednesday at the age of 84, according to media reports. Levin had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, although his cause of death was not immediately reported. The former executive’s grandchild, Jake Maia … Read more

Booth where Tony Soprano may – or may not – have been whacked sells for a cool $82K to mystery buyer

BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — The ice cream parlor booth where Tony Soprano may or may not have been whacked has sold for more than $82,000. As Tony would say, Madone! An anonymous buyer bid $82,600 Monday night in an online auction for the piece of memorabilia that occupies an outsize role in the lore of the … Read more

Robitussin maker recalls several lots of cough syrup due to possible high levels of yeast

WASHINGTON — The maker of Robitussin cough syrup is recalling several lots of products containing honey due to contamination that could pose a serious risk to people with weakened immune systems. Haleon’s recall covers eight lots of Robitussin Honey CF Max Day Adult and Robitussin Honey CF Max Nighttime Adult, which were distributed to stores … Read more

The Baltimore Sun is returning to local ownership — with a buyer who has made his politics clear

A local buyer taking over a struggling newspaper in the 21st century is normally cause for some celebration. But The Baltimore Sun’s newly announced owner has a very specific political background, and some are concerned about what the 187-year-old publication could become. David D. Smith, executive chairman of the Sinclair broadcasting chain and an active … Read more

FDA says fake Ozempic shots are being sold through some legitimate sources

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it has seized “thousands of units” of counterfeit Ozempic, the diabetes drug widely used for weight loss, that had been distributed through legitimate drug supply sources. The FDA and the drug’s maker, Novo Nordisk, are testing the shots. They do not yet have information about the drugs’ identity, … Read more