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☆ J&J will pay $8.9 billion to settle claims cosmetic talc products caused cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Containers of Johnson's baby powder made by Johnson and Johnson are displayed on a shelf on July 13, 2018 in San Francisco, California. Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said it will pay $8.9 billion over the next 25 years to settle allegations that the company's baby powder and other talc products caused cancer. The company ended sales of its talc-based baby powder globally in 2023 after it faced thousands of lawsuits from customers claiming its talc products caused cancer due to contamination with a carcinogen called asbestos. J&J spun off subsidiary LTL management in October 2021 in a bid to reduce its losses from litigation and settlement. The company funneled its talc lawsuits to the subsidiary and declared it bankrupt.

☆ Exclusive: Johnson & Johnson considers refiling talc-liability bankruptcy after appeals-court defeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Mike Spector | Thomson Reuters | Mike Spector Is A Correspondent At Reuters Covering Corporate Crises That Span Bankruptcy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/2] A bottle of Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder is seen in a photo illustration taken in New York, February 24, 2016. In a court filing Tuesday, lawyers representing a creditors committee of talc plaintiffs said they recently became aware of discussions about a second J&J subsidiary bankruptcy. The J&J subsidiary that was to absorb liability for the talc cases, LTL Management, declared bankruptcy almost immediately after it was created. Andy Birchfield, a plaintiffs' lawyer at law firm Beasley Allen, said on Tuesday that claims “could easily be resolved if Johnson & Johnson would stop playing games and abusing the bankruptcy court process." How the J&J subsidiary might square such a move with the appeals court ruling remained unclear.

☆ Johnson & Johnson unit loses bid to stay in bankruptcy during Supreme Court appeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Johnson & Johnson FollowMarch 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. court on Friday declined to delay the dismissal of a Johnson & Johnson company's (JNJ.N) bankruptcy, directing the bankruptcy to be dismissed despite a planned U.S. Supreme Court appeal that could revive the company's effort to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products in bankruptcy. J&J maintains its consumer talc products are safe and asbestos-free. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia ruled that LTL's bankruptcy should be dismissed because neither LTL nor J&J had a legitimate need for bankruptcy protection because they were not in "financial distress." LTL asked the 3rd Circuit to delay its ruling from taking effect until the company has time to pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 3rd Circuit denied that request in a brief written order Friday, instead directing the a U.S. bankruptcy judge to close LTL's bankruptcy case.

☆ I'm an EPA worker who's responded to more than 100 toxic spills and chemical fires, and I'll never forget one that got my adrenaline going
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Kelly worked on disasters like the BP oil spill and lead drinking-water crisis in Flint, Michigan. I'm one of the 220 emergency responders that the EPA has across the country who's on call when there's a major oil spill or chemical fire, like after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. There are also smaller events, like fires at oil refineries and paper mills and hazardous waste left behind by mines. EPA on-scene coordinators sample air, water, and buildings for toxic chemicals to determine public-health risks. Brian KellyThe EPA issues an enforcement order to the companies responsible for a spill or fire to take over the cleanup.

☆ France tears down beach apartment block as rising sea bites
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Stephane Mahe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Today, the hulk of the 80-flat Le Signal apartment block perches precariously on a dune just metres from the water and local authorities are tearing it down before it tumbles. By 2010, the ocean was lapping at the dune on which Le Signal was built. "Le Signal's situation is largely symbolic for what is happening in terms of coastal erosion France," he said. He said ever-rising sea levels and increasingly violent storms made it impossible to let people live in Le Signal without costly shore protection measures that could also have negatively impacted nearby shorelines. "Le Signal is a warning for what could happen in other zones and for the need to prepare for it now," he said.

J&J maintains its talc products are safe. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan was set to preside over the hearing for the subsidiary, called LTL Management, in Trenton, New Jersey. In October 2021, J&J offloaded the tidal wave of talc lawsuits it faced onto one of its newly created units, LTL, which then declared bankruptcy. Reuters last year detailed the secret planning of Texas two-steps by Johnson & Johnson and other major firms in a series of reports exploring corporate attempts to evade lawsuits through bankruptcies. LTL declared bankruptcy while J&J avoided seeking Chapter 11 protection, with all its inherent financial and reputational wreckage.

☆ Brazil just sank its biggest warship into the Atlantic Ocean after failing to sell it for scrap metal. The ship was big enough to carry 39 aircraft — take a look.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

ANNA ZIEMINSKI/AFP via Getty ImagesIn March 2021, the Brazilian Navy sold the aircraft carrier as scrap to a shipyard in Turkey. But the ship was rejected by Turkish authorities as it had asbestos, a toxic material often found in 20th century ships. After circling along Brazil's coast for five months after it was rejected by Turkey, the warship was moved into international waters, Time reported. It was a controversial move: Several environmental rights organizations opposed the sinking of the ship because of the asbestos it contained. "The sinking of the aircraft carrier Sao Paulo throws tons of asbestos, mercury, lead and other highly toxic substances into the seabed," Greenpeace said in a statement, per Reuters.

☆ Brazil sinks rusting old aircraft carrier in the Atlantic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Brazil sank a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean off its northeast coast, the Brazilian Navy said, despite warnings from environmentalists that the rusting 1960s French-built ship would pollute the sea and the marine food chain. The 32,000-tonne carrier had been floating offshore for three months since Turkey refused it entry to be scrapped there because it was an environmental hazard and the ship was towed back to Brazil. The Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier served the French Navy for four decades as the Foch, capable of carrying 40 war planes. It then decided to sink the Sao Paulo at high sea. The company's legal representative in Brazil, Zilan Costa e Silva, said that disposal of the carrier was the Brazilian state's responsibility under the 1989 Basel Convention on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes.

☆ Belgian arms trader tangles with minister over tanks for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Yves HermanTOURNAI, Belgium, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Freddy Versluys does not like to be called an arms dealer. Tanks sold for 10-15,000 euros each are being offered for sale at 500,000 euros, despite not being operational, she has said. That would mean a unit price of 40,000 euros for 50 tanks, or some 60,600 euros for 33. The Leopard 1 is the predecessor of the Leopard 2 tanks that Germany, Poland, Finland and other countries agreed last month to send to Ukraine. He worked as an engineer in the Belgian military before going into business.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday shot down Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) attempt to offload tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products into bankruptcy court. The appeals court ruling revives those lawsuits. Monday's decision by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia dismissed the bankruptcy filed by the J&J subsidiary in 2021. The appeals court decision could force companies considering the strategy to more carefully consider its risks, two legal experts said. The Texas two-step has garnered criticism from Democratic lawmakers in Washington, and inspired proposed legislation that would severely restrict the practice.

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☆ U.S. court rejects J&J bankruptcy strategy for tens of thousands of talc lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

J&J said it will challenge the Third Circuit's ruling and continue to seek a resolution of the lawsuits in bankruptcy court. The appeals court was urged to dismiss the bankruptcy petition by plaintiffs suing over the talc products. The cancer victims asked the appeals court to overrule a New Jersey bankruptcy judge who had allowed LTL's bankruptcy to continue. LTL's bankruptcy filing automatically stopped lawsuits from proceeding against it, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan in Trenton, New Jersey ruled in February that LTL's bankruptcy should also stop talc lawsuits from proceeding against parent company J&J. Kaplan said the bankruptcy court is better equipped to handle mass tort litigation than other courts.

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☆ US court rejects J&J bankruptcy strategy for tens of thousands of talc lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

J&J said it will challenge the Third Circuit’s ruling and continue to seek a resolution of the lawsuits in bankruptcy court. The appeals court was urged to dismiss the bankruptcy petition by plaintiffs suing over the talc products. The cancer victims asked the appeals court to overrule a New Jersey bankruptcy judge who had allowed LTL’s bankruptcy to continue. LTL’s bankruptcy filing automatically stopped lawsuits from proceeding against it, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan in Trenton, New Jersey ruled in February that LTL’s bankruptcy should also stop talc lawsuits from proceeding against parent company J&J. Kaplan said the bankruptcy court is better equipped to handle mass tort litigation than other courts.

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☆ Unusual blood cancer cases among US troops who manned nuclear missile silos at a base in Montana are raising new questions for the military
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US military officers who worked at a nuclear missile base have developed cancer in recent years. An Air Force spokesperson told Insider that leadership is "aware of the concerns." "Senior leaders are aware of the concerns raised about the possible association of cancer related to missile combat crew members at Malmstrom AFB," Rose Riley, an Air Force spokesperson, told Insider. "The information in the briefing has been shared with the Department of the Air Force Surgeon General and our medical professionals are working to gather data and understand more." A spokesperson at Malmstrom Air Force Base confirmed to Insider that the base is aware of the situation but had no further information on the matter.

Koch unit Georgia-Pacific used a corporate bankruptcy maneuver known as the Texas two-step, forming a new Texas subsidiary, Bestwall, that took on the company's asbestos liability. The latest court documents, filed on Wednesday, provide new detail about how Koch has benefited from the case. Koch has received more than $5 billion since Bestwall filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Representatives for New Georgia-Pacific and Koch Industries did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. New Georgia-Pacific's shareholder equity is forecast to be about $27.8 billion after accounting for the Koch dividends, according to the Wednesday court filing.

☆ J&J's consumer health unit Kenvue files for IPO, moving closer to spin-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) consumer health unit Kenvue on Wednesday filed to be listed as an independent company, bringing the healthcare conglomerate a step closer to completing the biggest shakeup in its 135-year history. The filing, for Kenvue to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "KVUE", comes more than a year after Johnson & Johnson announced its plan to break up into two companies. J&J's pharmaceutical and medical equipment units, which make cancer treatments and surgical tools, had recorded nearly $80 billion in sales in 2021, far ahead of its consumer products revenues. General Electric's (GE.N) spun-off healthcare unit, GE HealthCare Technologies , debuted as an independent company on Nasdaq on Wednesday. Kenvue said J&J will continue to own at least 80.1% of the voting power of the company's shares upon completion of the offering.

☆ How personal injury lawyers took over your TV
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Drive down any highway in America or turn on the TV for 10 minutes and you’ll probably see an advertisement for a personal injury lawyer. Call this lawyer to get compensated now,” a typical ad for a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney goes. Many personal injury lawyers advertise aggressively because of competition and the unusual business model many practices have adopted. John Morgan runs Morgan & Morgan, the largest personal injury law firm in America. Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee, so they get paid only if they negotiate a settlement for a client or win a case at trial.

☆ Police in Canada say remains of 2 slain Indigenous women are likely in landfill — but they won't search site
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Police in Canada are facing scrutiny after saying they believe they know where the bodies of two Indigenous women allegedly slain by a suspected serial killer are buried — but that they won't be searching the area due to difficult conditions. In May, the Winnipeg Police Department announced that partial remains of one of the victims, Rebecca Contois, 24, had been found in a landfill. In a tweet Tuesday, Niki Ashton, a Member of Parliament with Canada's New Democratic Party, said: "We remember the Indigenous women who have been targeted and killed because they are Indigenous women. "These deaths must not be ignored, nor the reality that they represent the ongoing generational harms and trauma that are rooted in violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit people," the statement said. Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday that he believed all levels of government have failed Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit people for centuries, CBC News reported.

☆ What to watch for as J&J gets ready to split into two separate companies next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

During Monday's "Morning Meeting" for members, Jim Cramer said that J & J has the "best balance sheet in America." According to projections from J & J and rival Medtronic (MDT), the robotics market captures a low 2% to 3% of global procedures. In an economic slowdown, J & J is a solid name to own that can outperform the broader market. We also like that J & J has consistently raised its dividend. We rate J & J a 1 for the Club , meaning we would buy the stock at current levels given it aligns with our strategy.

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Companies Honeywell International Inc FollowNov 18 (Reuters) - Honeywell International Inc (HON.O) will pay $1.3 billion to end asbestos-related claims stemming from its former unit, the industrial giant said on Friday, helping it reduce its environmental liabilities. Honeywell said the one-time, lump sum payment will have 'limited obligations' to the trust following the completion of the deal. The company's former unit, North American Refractories Company (NARCO), had filed for bankruptcy in 2002 after facing lawsuits over asbestos-related illnesses. Following the bankruptcy, Honeywell set up the compensation trust to resolve billions of dollars worth of asbestos claims. Additionally, the North Carolina-based company reaffirmed its previously announced full-year and fourth-quarter outlook.

☆ How Russia Pays for War
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Lazaro Gamio | Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Invasion –84% Imports from Russia –20% Germany Current total trade $4.8 billion Since invasion –3% Exports to Russia Avg. Invasion –51% Imports from Russia +38% The Netherlands Current total trade $2 billion Since invasion +32% Exports to Russia Avg. Invasion –52% Imports from Russia +74% China Current total trade $15 billion Since invasion +64% Exports to Russia Avg. Invasion +24% Imports from Russia +98% India Current total trade $3.3 billion Since invasion +310% Exports to Russia Avg. Invasion –19% Imports from Russia +430% Turkey Current total trade $6.2 billion Since invasion +198% Exports to Russia Avg.

☆ The US never banned asbestos. These workers are paying the price.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Kathleen Mcgrory | Neil Bedi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +39 min

But protocols failed to match reality at the Niagara Falls plant, according to more than a dozen workers. In addition to those signature diseases, which are rare even among asbestos workers, the tiny strands can harm the body in other ways. In the 15 years that followed, congressional attempts to ban asbestos would continue to fall short. OSHA declined to make an official available for an on-the-record interview or comment on ProPublica's findings at the Niagara Falls plant. At the OxyChem plant in Wichita, union president Keith Peacock said he was comfortable with the way asbestos was handled.

☆ Philadelphia apologizes for decades of medical experiments on Black inmates that involved a component of Agent Orange
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

PHILADELPHIA — The city of Philadelphia issued an apology Thursday for the unethical medical experiments performed on mostly Black inmates at its Holmesburg Prison from the 1950s through the 1970s. The move comes after community activists and families of some of those inmates raised the need for a formal apology. Many of the former inmates would have lifelong scars and health issues from the experiments. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in the apology that the experiments exploited a vulnerable population and the impact of that medical racism has extended for generations. Last year, the University of Pennsylvania issued a formal apology and took Kligman’s name off some honorifics like an annual lecture series and professorship.

☆ J&J names consumer health business Kenvue ahead of spin-off
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) named its consumer business Kenvue on Wednesday, moving ahead with its plans to spin-off the unit in what would be the biggest shake-up in the healthcare conglomerate's 135-year history. The business also houses Band-Aid bandages and Tylenol medicines and generated revenue of $14.6 billion in 2021. Kenvue is a combination of "ken", an English word for knowledge primarily used in Scotland, and "vue" a reference to sight. Usage of the new company logo and corporate brand identity will be effective upon completion of the planned separation, which Johnson & Johnson last year said will be completed by November 2023. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cancer victims urge court to end J&J bankruptcy roadblock to lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Johnson & Johnson logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 29, 2019. But J&J countered bankruptcy court allows all current and future talc lawsuits to be settled together, which it says is the fastest and fairest way. The cancer victims are asking the appeals court to overrule a New Jersey bankruptcy judge who allowed LTL's bankruptcy to continue. LTL's bankruptcy filing automatically stopped lawsuits from proceeding against it, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan in Trenton, New Jersey ruled in February that LTL's bankruptcy should also stop talc lawsuits from proceeding against parent company J&J. In refusing to dismiss the case, Kaplan said the bankruptcy court is better equipped to handle mass tort litigation than other courts.

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Johnson & Johnson has said it would provide a fair amount of money to the subsidiary to pay claims. Johnson & Johnson, valued at more than $450 billion, had about $31 billion in cash and marketable securities on hand at the end of the third quarter, securities filings show. One would absorb all the talc liability; the other would carry on the business free from the threat of billion-dollar judgments. Levesque replied that the “technical aspect” of the subsidiary bankruptcy wasn’t likely to cause concern about J&J’s creditworthiness. Is that what you're saying?” asked Jeffrey Jonas, a Brown Rudnick lawyer representing a creditors committee comprising talc plaintiffs.

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