Declarations
“We don’t see a sign of fossil fuel emissions peaking in 2024.”
— Said Pierre Friedlingstein, a climate scientist at the University of Exeter and lead author of The Global Carbon Budget report. The study, published during the U.N.’s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, shows that global carbon dioxide emissions, including those from burning fossil fuels, are set to hit a record high this year, pulling the world further off course from averting more destructive climate extremes. The report by more than 80 institutions was led by the University of Exeter in Britain.
“Our teams are taking steps to assess and mitigate the issue. This includes taking some systems offline to help protect them. This issue and subsequent mitigating actions have affected certain Ahold Delhaize USA brands and services including a number of pharmacies and certain e-commerce operations.”
— Stated the Dutch company that owns Stop & Shop and Hannaford grocery stores across New England, regarding a cyberattack that has disrupted online shopping, product deliveries and pharmacy services at some locations.
“Our service has matured quickly and our riders are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving.”
— Said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO, Waymo, in a statement about its autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo One, which is now available to everyone in Los Angeles. The company said nearly 300,000 people had joined its waitlist after it started commercial operations in the city earlier this year, signaling strong demand. Mountain View, California-based Waymo started its first U.S. driverless taxi service in 2020.
“The unfair and deceptive trade practices committed by defendants caused plaintiffs’ damages.”
— States a lawsuit filed by a group of Allstate subsidiaries against Hyundai and Kia to get back costs paid to insureds for damages when their cars suddenly erupted in flames. The lawsuit alleges Hyundai and Kia “purposefully and knowingly failed to recall millions of their defective vehicles containing potentially deadly defects, thereby putting countless lives at risk from 2006 to date.” It claims Hyundai and Kia have issued 17 recalls to date but some of the fixes were not adequate.
“Social inflation, including the impact of nuclear verdicts, has been a large contributor to increased loss severity.”
— Said Christopher Graham, senior industry analyst, Industry Research and Analytics, AM Best, regarding a new AM Best report showing further deterioration of the U.S. commercial auto insurance segment in the first half of 2024 after the segment sustained a $5 billion net loss in 2023. Despite targeted underwriting initiatives, including raising premiums, commercial auto continues to lag in comparison to other property/casualty lines when it comes to profitability, the report says.
“Now is not the time to burn leaves. Now is not the time to go outside and light a fire out back and sit around. … My ask to the public is that you do everything you can to minimize the risks.”
— Urged Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey as the state remained under a red flag warning due to due to high winds and severe drought conditions. Officials said most of the fires already burning across the state have been caused by humans, including by a failure to fully extinguish campfires. State parks have imposed burn bans as have numerous communities along with water use restrictions.