business news stories

Need a Practical High School Graduation Gift?

We’ve got you covered. If you know a recent high school graduate, you should find out if they have a simple estate plan to allow their parents or guardians to make medical and financial decisions if they are incapacitated.

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With high school graduation season in full swing, it is essential to remember that at age 18, parents no longer have the right to make medical and financial decisions for their child, something should happen.

We always recommend that 18-year-olds have simple estate planning documents in place, in the event of incapacity.

If your child goes away to school and has an accident, you want to be able to speak to doctors and medical personnel regarding their care.

Unfortunately, sometimes accidents happen. It is better to be prepared and not need these documents, than to be scrambling and asking a judge for the ability to be involved in your adult child’s medical care.

What documents should an 18-year-old have in place? We typically recommend that they have:

  • A medical durable power of attorney,
  • A HIPAA release,
  • A financial durable power of attorney, and
  • A simple will.

This will make things easier, in the event your child cannot speak on their own behalf.

Having these documents at the ready can eliminate potential issues, there should be an unforeseen incident.

Also, having these fundamental documents in place is a great foundation for future estate planning.

Let us know if you need basic estate planning documents in place for your high school senior or for yourself.

As always, contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan.

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Can You Prevent a Whistleblower Lawsuit?

When a whistleblower suit is brought against a company or practice, there are usually many warnings that were ignored or not dealt with appropriately. Many times, wrongdoings are brought to light internally first and properly addressing concerns can prevent a lawsuit.

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Often, the employee who becomes the whistleblower tries to raise the issue internally before going outside the company.

There are also fears of retaliation by many whistleblowers. Fear of retaliation can lead an employee to report wrongdoing to an outside board or entity.

So how do you avoid a whistleblower issue?

While it’s impossible to ensure that you will never have a whistleblower suit on your hands, you can take steps to make sure your employees’ concerns are acknowledged.

First, make sure your employees have a variety of ways to raise their concerns, including an anonymous option.

As part of your regular compliance training, make sure your employees know all the ways to raise issues and let them know that you are want them to come forward with concerns. If your employees bring their concerns forward, it can help you improve your practice, patient care and working relationships.

Let employees know that you take concerns seriously and will fully investigate, and where necessary, remediate concerns.

When we work with practices and companies on their compliance plans, policies and procedures, or employee handbooks, we make sure to put in place robust internal reporting methods.

Stress the importance of open communication to your employees and then follow through. You can’t expect your employees to believe you, if you don’t take the time to actually listen and address concerns.

Busy practices will often have an attorney investigate and address employee concerns, to have impartiality and attorney client privilege. This also lets your employees know you take their concerns seriously, when an outsider is brought in to investigate.

Having open communication with your employees will lead to better working relationships and a better overall company.

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Fast Retailing, Trading Houses Lift Japan’s Nikkei to 33-Year High

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei index extended its climb to a near 33-year high on Tuesday, with trading houses and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing leading the gains on technical support for heavyweight shares ahead of the fixing of special quotation prices.

The Nikkei recovered from early losses to close nearly 1% higher at 32,506.78. The index ended at its highest level since July 1990.

The broader Topix rose 0.74% to 2,236.28.

Ahead of the June 9 setting of special quotation prices used to set values ​​on index options and futures, “stocks with a large contribution to the index were speculatively bought, supporting the market,” said Takashi Nakamura, a senior strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute .

Shares of Fast Retailing climbed 1.73%, contributing the most to the Nikkei’s advance, while trading company Mitsui & Co jumped 3.86%.

Mizuho Financial Group slipped 0.49%, leading the losses among lenders on reports the US regulators may have tougher capital requirements following recent bank failures. Advantest slid 2.18% after chip-related peers declined in US trading.

The Nikkei has surged 15% in the past three months, outpacing major global indexes. A technical indicator, known as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI), for the gauge stood at 79, above the 70-mark indicating an overheated market.

“The last few days feel like generally broader buying compared to the last couple of weeks of May,” said Mio Kato, the founder of LightStream Research. “Maybe investors are more familiar with are Japan rotating a little out of the AI ​​theme, for example, to get broader exposure.”

Trading houses and mining companies led to gains among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, rising 2.5%. Banks led losses, sagging 0.78%.

Nitto Denko, a maker of protective films that supplies Apple, climbed 0.9% after the iPhone maker unveiled a costly new augmented-reality headset.

(Reporting by Rocky Swift and Nobuyo Saito in Tokyo; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.

Why Shouldn’t I Use an Online Will?

Online will often do more harm than good. Many people look to the internet when preparing estate planning documents, like wills and trusts, but this can set you up for disaster.

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Online will often ‘one size fits all’ documents that don’t account for your particular situation. Sometimes, they don’t account for the current laws in your state.

These documents may not even be legitimate and can lead to issues and misunderstandings among family members, tax losses, expensive probate proceedings, and disputes that last years after death.

By their nature, wills have to go through the probate system. This is costly and does not guarantee that your wishes will be followed.

Meeting with expert estate planners is the only way to protect your interests and have the best documents tailored to your needs.

Online estate planning may not even offer the correct document or documents. A website may direct you to use the wrong documents, or may not offer an extensive package of the complete documents you need for your situation.

Online documents are also often limited in their scope. This means that you can’t adequately plan for your needs.

When your future is at stake, you need to have the correct documents in place to protect your wishes. Your powers of attorney need to be complete and accurate.

If you have children, it is essential that you have appointed their guardian and planned for their future.

Online estate planning can have a preset language that is in opposition to your wishes.

If you’ve utilized online estate planning, contact our office today so that we can revise your documents and make sure that your family, assets, and wishes are planned for and protected.

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan.

We publish vital information every Wednesday and Friday. To get this important information delivered directly to your mailbox,

Contact us today with your legal needs!

China shuts 100,000 fake news social media accounts, ramps up content cleanup | US & World

By Bernard Orr and Eduardo Baptista

(Reuters) – China has intensified efforts to clean up the internet from false news and rumours, closing more than 100,000 online accounts over the past month that misrepresented news anchors and media agencies, its cyberspace regulator said.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a special campaign to clean up online information, focusing on social media accounts that disseminate “fake news” and impersonate state-controlled media.

The regulator said it had wiped 107,000 accounts of counterfeit news units and news anchors and 835,000 pieces of fake news information since April 6.

The cleanup comes as China and countries across the globe grapple with an onslaught of fake news coverage online, with many implementing laws to punish culprits.

News dissemination on Chinese social media, however, is already heavily controlled, with platforms like the Twitter-like Weibo favoring topic hashtags produced by state media, while censoring hashtags on issues or incidents considered sensitive by Beijing, even if they go viral.

The CAC said its review found accounts that had disguised themselves as authoritative news media by falsifying news studio scenes and imitating professional news presenters, using artificial intelligence (AI) to create anchors to mislead the public.

Fake news identified as covering hot topics such as social incidents and international current affairs, according to a statement the CAC posted on Monday on its website.

“(The CAC) will guide online platforms … to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the majority of internet users to obtain authoritative and real news,” the regulator said, adding it encouraged users to provide leads on counterfeit news and anchors.

China’s government has regularly ordered sweeping measures to scrub the internet of material and language that deems inappropriate, offensive and a threat to the public and businesses.

Recently, the CAC vowed to crack down on malicious online comments that damage the reputation of businesses and entrepreneurs.

Nascent generative AI technology like ChatGPT has introduced another layer of caution. China recently arrested a man in Gansu province for allegedly using ChatGPT to generate a fake story about a train crash.

(Reporting by Bernard Orr; additional reporting by Ethan Wang; Editing by Jamie Freed)

Howard Kurtz Says It Has Been A Rough Week For Fox News In Dominion Case

Fox News anchor Howard Kurtz said Sunday it had been a “very rough week” for the conservative network in its defense against Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trial on Tuesday.

“I can assure you that I will provide fair and down the middle coverage of this $1.6 billion suit about coverage of false election fraud claims in 2020, despite the fact that I work here,” Kurtz told “MediaBuzz” viewers. “And with that, it’s been a very rough week for Fox.”

Kurtz explained to viewers that the judge overseeing the case, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, had sanctioned Fox News last week and launched an investigation into potential legal misconduct. The dispute revolves around Rupert Murdoch’s role at Fox News and its parent corporation, which Fox lawyers were accused of misrepresenting to the court.

Kurtz also discussed leaked audio tapes of Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, telling Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that he did not have evidence to back up his false claims about election rigging by Dominion in the 2020 election. Fox News was sanctioned by the judge on Wednesday for failing to hand those recordings over to Dominion’s lawyers during discovery.

“That’s not all,” Kurtz said. “In other pretrial rulings, Judge Davis undercut part of Fox’s defense. The judge said Fox News could not argue that it carried false allegations of election fraud by Trump allies because they would be newsworthy. Judge Davis said just because someone is newsworthy doesn’t mean you can defame someone.”

At the time of Kurtz’s remarks, the Dominion trial was expected to begin Monday. However, Davis announced late Sunday that the trial had been delayed until Tuesday. The judge did not give a reason; however, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fox News had made a late push to settle the dispute out of court.

In February, Kurtz said the network had prohibited him from reporting on the lawsuit, noting that he “strongly disagreed” with that decision.

Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox over allegations the network damaged the voting software company’s reputation by repeatedly amplifying claims that the company helped rig the 2020 election against Trump, despite knowing those claims to be false.

What is the Cost of a Data Breach?

A recent study found that the total average cost of a healthcare breach is $10.10 million. Can your healthcare practice afford a breach?

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Can your healthcare practice afford a breach? Most healthcare entities cannot.

Since 2020, healthcare breach costs have risen by 42%.

As we know healthcare breaches are incessant, it is important to understand trends.

The trends that have emerged over the past few years are:

  1. Repeat attacks. Many healthcare entities have seen repeat attacks. Organizations with automated security systems were able to shorten the breach lifecycle and mitigate the damage caused by the breach.
  2. Consistent causes. The most common cause of data breaches were stolen credentials. Ransomware also continues to plague healthcare entities, with ransomware increasing by 41% in the last year.
  3. Consistent place. The most common place for data breaches to occur is in the cloud.

While data breaches can be threatening, there are also good trends that have emerged over the past few years. These include:

  1. Automated security shortens breach lifecycles. When possible, make sure that your updates are automated and all security patches are up to date. Having sufficient security measures in place is your first line of defense for a cyber attack or breach.
  2. Shorter breach lifecycles mean lower costs. The quicker your practice is being able to audit the damage and get up and running after a breach, the less money the breach will cost.
  3. Having appropriate policies and procedures with well-trained employees leads to shorter lifecycles. When your staff knows how to handle a breach, they can act quickly and mitigate the damage caused by the breach. This is essential when trying to get your practice back online and keep your patients’ protected health information unaffected.

So how can you protect your practice?

  1. Work with your healthcare attorney to ensure that your HIPAA risk assessment is up to date and your security measures are sufficient.
  2. Test your breach readiness plan often.
  3. Make sure your policies and procedures clearly detail how to proceed in the event of a breach.
  4. Train your employees. We help our clients train their employees to know what to look for and what steps to take to respond to a breach right away.

If you have questions or need help with your healthcare breach readiness and response or HIPAA risk assessment, contact Rickard & Associates today.

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Do you need help updating your Business Associate Agreement or negotiating contracts with third-party vendors? We can help. To contact us about your Business Associate Agreement, your vendor contracts or your other legal needs, call us today.

Tesla gets Justice Department subpoena for self-driving cars – Business News

The US Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla Inc. related to its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” features, according to a regulatory filing.

“To our knowledge no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred,” Tesla said in the filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Austin, Texas-based electric vehicle maker cautioned that if the government decides to pursue an enforcement action, it could possibly have a material adverse impact on its business.

A message was left Tuesday seeking comment from the Justice Department.

Tesla is already facing multiple investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for problems with its two driver-assist systems, Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving.”

Despite their names, Tesla still says on its website that the cars can’t drive themselves. Teslas using “Full Self-Driving” can navigate roads in many cases, but experts say the system can make mistakes, which even CEO Elon Musk admits. “We’re not saying it’s quite ready to have no one behind the wheel,” CEO Musk said in October.

The systems have been under investigation by NHTSA since June of 2016 when a driver using Autopilot was killed after his Tesla went under a tractor-trailer crossing its path in Florida. A separate probe into Teslas that were using Autopilot when they crashed into emergency vehicles started in August 2021. At least 14 Teslas that have crashed into emergency vehicles while using the Autopilot system.

Including the Florida crash, NHTSA has sent investigators to 35 Tesla crashes in which automated systems are suspected of being used. Nineteen people have died in those crashes, including two motorcyclists.

“Full Self-Driving” went on sale late in 2015, and Musk has used the name ever since. It currently costs $15,000 to activate the system. That year, Musk said the company will have full autonomy in about three years.

In 2019 he promised a fleet of autonomous robotaxis by 2020, and he said in early 2022 that the cars would be autonomous that year.

Since 2021, Tesla has been beta-testing “Full Self-Driving” using owners who haven’t been trained on the system but are actively monitored by the company. Tesla said this month that 400,000 owners are participating.

Auto safety advocates and government investigators have long criticized Tesla’s monitoring system as inadequate. Three years ago the National Transportation Safety Board listed poor monitoring as a contributing factor in a 2018 fatal Tesla crash in California. The board recommended a better system, but said Tesla was not responsive.

NHTSA has noted in documents that numerous Tesla crashes have occurred in which drivers had their hands on the wheel but still weren’t paying attention. The agency has said that Autopilot is being used in areas where its capabilities are limited and that many drivers aren’t taking action to avoid crashes despite warnings from the vehicle.

In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board determined in 2020 that Tesla’s system to make sure drivers are paying attention is not adequate, and it should be limited to areas where it can operate safely.

In premarket trading, Tesla shares slipped 1.3%.