deepwater_horizon_offshore_drilling_unit_on_fire_2010

Platform supply vessels battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. A Coast Guard MH-65C dolphin rescue helicopter and crew document the fire aboard the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, while searching for survivors. Multiple Coast Guard helicopters, planes and cutters responded to rescue the Deepwater Horizon’s 126 person crew. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.

  • Residents in Bethpage, New York filed a $500 million class-action lawsuit against Northrop Grumman Corp, alleging the company exposed them to contaminants that included arsenic and cadmium.
  • A Texas company looking to build a high-speed railroad through the state is involved in a legal battle over eminent domain with several landowners along the proposed route.
  • Cities like New York and Seattle recently raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The cities, along with San Francisco, are some of the first to regularize workers’ schedules by passing legislation that would require employers to post employee schedules well in advance.
  • Exxon Mobil will pay $12 million to settle a lawsuit over a 2011 oil spill that sent 1,500 barrels of oil into the Yellowstone River.
  • Tesla Energy is building in California what it claims is the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world. Once completed, the batteries will be used to add power to the state’s power grid and will be aimed at preventing electricity shortages and reducing the need for natural gas.
  • Environmental officials in Maryland are not expected to meet an October 1 deadline to set new hydraulic fracturing rules for the state. Maryland’s current fracking ban will run out on that same day next year.
  • The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program will end on September 30 unless Congress acts to re-authorize it. However, legislators are deciding if it should continue, and how the program should be changed to fight allegations of fraud.
  • The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its plan to restore the Gulf following the 2010 oil spill. The $238 million plan will focus on conservation and improving water quality and coastal ecosystems.