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- Viewpoint: Storm Resilience Must Account for the Assets That Do Not Stay Put
Hurricanes, wildfires and other major weather events often dominate attention, but severe convective storms remain one of the most frequent and costly weather threats facing businesses. In 2025, there were a total of 23 billion-dollar disasters; 21 were severe storms. … [TheTopNews] Read More.12 hours ago - Did the eclipse damage your eyes?
An eye surgeon says that fewer people have been seeking treatment for eye damage than after the UK's last total solar eclipse in 1999. [TheTopNews] Read More.12 hours ago - Hawaii Faces More Tropical Threats From El Niño-Charged PacificA powerful patch of thunderstorms and wind is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Lala by Thursday before taking aim Hawaii this weekend. The weather system was 935 miles (1,500 kilometers) east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, with top winds of 35 … [TheTopNews] Read More.12 hours ago
- Secret Service escalates war on credit card skimmers
But the devices remain stubbornly hard to stop By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs August 13, 2026 Secret Service agents found 35 skimmers during a three-day New York City sweep in June, estimating they prevented $36.5 million in potential fraud.The devices can be installed in seconds, closely imitate legitimate terminals, and transmit stolen card data wirelessly.Skimming persists partly because most benefit cards still rely on vulnerable magnetic stripes instead of fraud-resistant chips.The U.S. Secret Service is intensifying a nationwide campaign against payment-card skimming, conducting coordinated sweeps of stores, ATMs, and fuel pumps as increasingly discreet devices threaten consumers and recipients of government benefits.In one of its largest recent operations, 14 teams inspected 3,935 payment terminals at 1,010 businesses across New York City from June 23 through June 25. Agents and local authorities removed 35 illegal skimmers 15 in Brooklyn, 10 in Queens, nine in the Bronx, and one in Manhattan preventing an estimated $36.5 million in potential losses, according to the Secret Services account of the operation.The sweep, conducted with the New York Police Department, the city Department of Investigation, and the Agriculture Departments inspector general, was the fourth major skimming operation in the city. Together, those efforts have uncovered 133 devices and prevented an estimated $139 million in losses.The New York crackdown follows a broad expansion of the Secret Services anti-skimming work. During 2025, the agency led 22 outreach operations, examined roughly 60,000 terminals at more than 9,000 businesses and removed 411 devices. It estimated the interventions prevented more than $428 million in fraud. Agents have continued conducting operations in cities including Dallas, Houston, and communities in Northern California this year.A device that hides in plain sightA skimmer captures information from a cards magnetic strip. Criminals may combine it with a false keypad or miniature camera that records a customers PIN, then encode the stolen information onto another card and use it to withdraw cash or make purchases.Some skimmers are installed inside fuel pumps, where customers cannot see them. Others are molded overlays that fit so precisely over a point-of-sale terminal that they can pass a casual inspection.The devices also require remarkably little time to deploy. Criminals can attach one in seconds, sometimes while an accomplice distracts a cashier. Once installed, a skimmer may store account information for later collection or transmit it wirelessly in real time, according to the FBIs skimming guidance.That combination speed, concealment, and remote data… [TheTopNews] Read More.12 hours ago - Thoma Bravo to Take Accelerant Private in $4 Billion DealAccelerant said on Thursday that private equity firm Thoma Bravo will take the insurance marketplace platform private in an all-cash deal worth more than $4 billion, just over a year after its New York listing. Shareholders of Atlanta-based Accelerant will … [TheTopNews] Read More.13 hours ago
- UnitedHealth Investor Suit Alleges Security, Governance LapsesUnitedHealth Group Inc. board members ignored a raft of governance and oversight risks for years before catastrophic failures triggered billions in losses for investors, a shareholder lawsuit alleges. An amended complaint filed Aug. 7 in a Minnesota federal court reveals … [TheTopNews] Read More.13 hours ago
- Cyclospora outbreak drives down lettuce demand as search for other sources conti...Parsley and cilantro may also be possible sources of illnesses By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs August 13, 2026 The CDC has recorded 13,895 laboratory-confirmed, domestically acquired Cyclospora infections since May 1, including 740 hospitalizations and two deaths.U.S. lettuce prices plunged 16.4% in July, while salad chain Sweetgreen said the scare cut roughly six percentage points from its July comparable sales.Investigators are examining parsley and cilantro as possible sources of illnesses not explained by the lettuce outbreak, but neither food has been confirmed.One statistic stood out in the release of the July Consumer Price Index. While most food prices continued to edge higher or remained flat, the price of lettuce plunged more than 16%.The largest identified cluster in this summers extraordinary surge of Cyclospora infections remains tied to iceberg lettuce, but federal and state health authorities are still trying to explain thousands of additional illnesses and the uncertainty is taking a widening toll on lettuce and salad sales.As of Aug. 10, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had received reports of 13,895 laboratory-confirmed infections acquired in the United States since May 1. At least 740 patients were hospitalized and two died.The CDC is also reviewing at least 10,455 additional cases that either lack laboratory confirmation or require more investigation. By comparison, only 1,180 domestic cases were reported during the comparable 2025 surveillance season.Not just lettuceOf the confirmed cases, 6,358 have been assigned to the multistate outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and processed by Taylor Farms de Mexico. That outbreak has produced at least 278 hospitalizations and two deaths across 15 states, according to the most recent outbreak-specific update, dated Aug. 5. Illnesses began between June 22 and July 31.Taylor Farms recalled the implicated lettuce on July 17 after epidemiological interviews and supply-chain tracing converged on the companys Mexican operation. The recall covered iceberg lettuce sold to restaurants and food-service customers, along with Marketside-branded iceberg salad and shredded lettuce sold at select Walmart stores.The recalled products best-by dates have now passed, and officials say they should no longer be on store or restaurant shelves. The investigation remains open, however, partly because it can take as long as six weeks to connect a reported illness to the outbreak.Observing the changesThe commercial repercussions have extended beyond the recalled products. The Labor Departments lettuce price index fell a seasonally adjusted 16.4% in July from June, an unusually steep… [TheTopNews] Read More.13 hours ago
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