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Johnson & Johnson agrees to $5.5 billion talc settlement

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to tie up remaining lawsuits that claim its talc products caused ovarian cancer. The drugmaker, which has been fighting talc-related lawsuits for more than a decade, said that the settlement is conditioned on at least 95% of remaining claimants participating. A U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied a $9 billion settlement proposed by company subsidiary Red River Talc last year that would have been one of the biggest mass tort settlements in history. Johnson & Johnson decided not to appeal that ruling and instead fight on in court. A ...

Cracker Barrel CEO steps down a year after logo debacle

Cracker Barrel’s CEO is stepping down nearly a year after an attempted rebrand of the chain led to a fierce customer backlash. Cracker Barrel said Monday that CEO Julie Masino will step down next month but remain with the company until Oct. 9 in an advisory capacity. David Deno will succeed Masino on Aug. 10 as CEO. Deno served as the CEO of Bloomin’ Brands, which owns Outback Steakhouse and other chains, from 2019 until he retired in 2024. He has also held executive roles as Best Buy and Yum Brands, which is the parent company of KFC and Taco Bell. Lebanon, Tennessee-based ...

Fuel costs unchanged across Northeast Ohio

Staff report Gas prices are stable in Northeast Ohio this week at $3.917 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report on Monday. A year ago, average prices in the region were $3.143 per gallon. The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline Monday in Niles was $3.882 per gallon and $3.90 in Youngstown. According to GasBuddy.Com, motorists reported the following prices Monday afternoon involving Sheetz convenience stores: Austintown — North Canfield-Niles Road, $3.85, and Mahoning Avenue, $3.89; Boardman — Boardman-Poland Road, $3.73; Calcutta — St. ...

Calling for backup

DETROIT — Winter Storm Uri, the multiday freeze that slammed Texas in February 2021 and pummeled the state’s power grid, has been on Kenneth Kovar’s mind ever since. Though the resident of New Braunfels, northeast of San Antonio, didn’t lose power at the time, he wasn’t able to run ...

Center creates pathways for student collaboration, industry experience

A new initiative at Youngstown State University is bringing together students, faculty and industry partners to tackle real-world challenges while giving participants valuable hands-on experience outside the classroom. The Youngstown Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center was created to connect students from a variety of disciplines with opportunities in applied research, product development and manufacturing projects. Led by Bharat Yelamanchi, assistant professor and program coordinator of industrial and systems engineering at YSU, the center is designed to foster ...

Business briefs

PARTNERSHIP FORMED: Cincinnati-based Mercy Health and Northeast Ohio Medical University recently formed a strategic partnership aimed at expanding workforce development initiatives and building a strong pipeline of physicians to serve communities statewide. Mercy Health operates the largest number of hospitals in Ohio. NEOMED students now have increased access to Mercy Health’s hospitals and clinical sites in the Youngstown, Lorain and Cincinnati regions, where they are gaining real-world experience caring for a broad range of patient populations. The expanded rotations are expected ...