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The prospect of a fresh trial that could overturn $250 million damages against Bayer’s (BAYGn.DE) Monsanto unit lifted the German company’s shares, after an August ruling that it failed to warn users of the alleged cancer risks of its weedkillers.

The original verdict wiped 10 percent off the value of the company and marked the first such decision against Monsanto and its glyphosate-containing weedkillers Roundup and Ranger Pro.

Bayer, which bought Monsanto this year for $63 billion, faces more than 8,000 similar lawsuits in the United States.

On Wednesday, in San Francisco’s Superior Court of California, Judge Suzanne Bolanos gave a tentative ruling to grant the company’s motion for a new trial.

Such decisions are usually finalised after a second hearing with few major changes.

Continue reading “Bayer lifted by likely new trial in $250 million weedkiller case”

Federal and state courts are announcing closings before Hurricane Michael hits the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday.

If Hurricane Michael hits landfall with predicted 125-mile-an-hour winds, the storm would rival Panhandle hurricanes of 1975 and 1882 for intensity, USA Today reported on Tuesday. The Hurricane was upgraded to Category 4 on Wednesday, and made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles an hour, according to the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Federal courts in Panama City, Pensacola and Tallahassee were closing on Tuesday, according to this announcement. Meanwhile Florida state courts in 28 counties had announced closings as of 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday. The Florida Supreme Court and the state’s First District Court of Appeal were also closing.

Continue reading “Federal and state courts announce closures ahead of Hurricane Michael”

Alphabet unit Google (GOOGL.O) on Tuesday challenged a record 4.34-billion euro ($5 billion) fine imposed by European Union antitrust regulators three months ago for using its popular Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals.

“We have now filed our appeal of the EC’s Android decision at the General Court of the EU,” Google said in an email. It had previously said it would take the case to Europe’s second highest court in Luxembourg.

The company referred to arguments put forward by Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on the day of the EU ruling in July, of which the main one is that Android has created more choice for consumers, not less.

Continue reading “Google challenges record $5 billion EU antitrust fine”

The Senate narrowly confirmed Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday following a tempestuous confirmation battle in which the federal appeals judge strongly denied allegations of sexual assault.

The vote was 50-48 in favor of confirmation.

Loud shouting could be heard before and during the vote. During debate, hundreds of protesters gathered on the Supreme Court steps and rushed barricades around the Capitol, the New York Times reports. Dozens were arrested, according to Politico.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation was viewed as assured after three key senators said they would vote yes: Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The New York Times and the Washington Post covered the announcements.

Continue reading “Senate confirms Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court”

Two reports from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General released this week were highly critical of how the agency handled child and adult immigrants in custody in Texas and California.

One report report faulted DHS for poor planning and communication, violation of the law and indifference to the feelings of separated families, the Washington Post reports. The New York Times also has coverage.

In reviewing the agency’s behavior in June during unannounced visits in Texas, the IG’s report found that at least 860 minors were left in U.S. Customs and Border Protection holding cells for longer than the 72-hour maximum required by law. The holding areas are not the detention centers where immigrants are placed to await trial; they’re chain-link cells intended as temporary holding pens. They lack beds, showers and adequate food, and they’re air-conditioned to such low temperatures that Spanish-speaking immigrants call them hieleras, or “iceboxes.”

Continue reading “Major issues in carrying out family separation policy detailed in Homeland Security report”