In Other News: Mail fraud suspect named Speedy Gonzalez arrested in Georgia; companies seek to limit legal liability for virus infections

Published 1:31 pm Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Editor’s note: “In Other News” is a list of state, national and global headlines compiled by Daily Citizen-News staff from Associated Press stories. Click on the headlines below to read the full stories.

Mail fraud suspect named Speedy Gonzalez arrested in Georgia

LAWRENCEVILLE — After months on the run, a mail fraud suspect who lived up to his legal name — Speedy Gonzalez — has been arrested in Georgia. The 35-year-old Buford man — who shares a name with the fast-running cartoon mouse — was taken into custody Saturday during a traffic stop in Gwinnett County, authorities said. Authorities began looking for Gonzalez after a victim reported in January that multiple checks were stolen from his mailbox in Suwanee, Gwinnett County police said in a statement.

Invisible virus, invisible fear: How to navigate the unseen?

Back in the early 20th century, the baseball pitcher Walter Johnson confounded opposing batters by throwing the fastest fastball they’d ever seen. “You can’t hit what you can’t see,” they would say. A century later, it’s an apt saying for those navigating this unusual moment. The surreptitious and the invisible are defining the human landscape during these weeks in ways we are only barely beginning to understand. There is, of course, a fast-moving and elusive new virus. But the attitudes and fears that have emerged in the battle against it can be equally unsettling.

Companies seek to limit legal liability for virus infections

As companies start planning their reopenings, business groups are pushing Congress to limit liability from potential lawsuits filed by workers and customers infected by the coronavirus. They appear to have the White House’s ear. President Donald Trump has floated shielding businesses from lawsuits. His top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CNBC last week that businesses shouldn’t be held liable to trial lawyers “putting on false lawsuits that will probably be thrown out of court.” He said the issue could require legislation, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that the issue would be a priority when lawmakers return.

How some companies survive, even thrive, in viral crisis

WASHINGTON — When the coronavirus struck the United States hard last month, 22-year-old entrepreneur David Zamarin knew his company needed a Plan B — fast. As the economy essentially shut down, demand for his stain-resistant coatings was sure to drop. So Zamarin decided to retool his company, DetraPel, in Framingham, Massachusetts, to start making disinfectants to help fight the virus’s spread. Within weeks, “we completely changed our whole system.” Sales of the DetraPel ecoCleaner & Disinfectant have been strong, he said, and Zamarin expects to produce the cleaner even after the health crisis has passed.