Author: completebodyneeds

Florida gubernatorial candidate Paul Renner, a former speaker of the Florida House, wants to eliminate the premium tax on residential property, part of his plan to reduce homeowners’ insurance costs. The plan, which also includes tweaks to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, could cut HO premiums by as much as 20% if insurer savings are passed on to consumers, Renner said this week. Renner in the House in 2022. (AP Photo/Phil Sears) “When insurers’ costs decline, they must adjust their rates, resulting in lower insurance premiums, reduced pressure for annual rate increases, and a more stable insurance market,” Renner’s campaign…

A deadly cattle parasite was confirmed in the US for the first time in nearly a decade, posing the latest threat to a US herd already at its lowest level in 75 years. The US Department of Agriculture confirmed late Wednesday that a suspected case from South Texas tested positive for the New World screwworm. The affected animal, a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, is the only case that the agency is tracking right now, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on a call with reporters. The agency is implementing quarantines, movement controls and surveillance in a 20-kilometer (12-mile) zone around…

A bitterly divided Corpus Christi City Council voted early Wednesday morning to delay a decision on reviving an almost billion-dollar water plant it had rejected nine months earlier. The 7-2 vote came at 2:20 a.m., almost 15 hours into a meeting that drew extensive interest from residents who argued for and against building a desalination plant that council members voted down last year over environmental and cost concerns. The proposed plant is not expected to begin delivering water until late 2029, but supporters fear that without long-term supplies, the city’s economy will freeze, driving away residents and businesses and crippling…

While US farmers brace for higher fertilizer and chemical bills tied to turmoil in the Middle East, another expense is already taking a bite out of razor-thin margins: diesel fuel. Prices for the fuel that powers tractors, combines and grain trucks have surged as the war in Iran disrupted global oil flows, catching many producers who expected lower energy costs this year off guard. In Illinois, the top US soybean-producing state, farm diesel averaged a record $5.41 a gallon at the start of May, nearly double the price a year earlier. Marty Richardson speaks with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins at…

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing a Mahoning Valley contractor who allegedly performed substandard home-improvement work or failed to complete the upgrades after accepting large down payments from customers. “This contractor pocketed down payments only to abandon the projects,” Yost said. “Now, we’re stepping in to protect consumers and hold him accountable.” The lawsuit filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, accuses Youngstown resident Stanley Strickland Jr. and his business, SNT Roofing and Landscaping LLC, of violating the Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Home Solicitation Sales Act. According to four consumer complaints filed with Yost’s Consumer Protection Section,…

A Justice Department indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center is part of a “top-down” campaign of retribution against President Donald Trump’s perceived political enemies and constitutes a vindictive prosecution that must be dismissed, lawyers for the nonprofit argued Tuesday in urging a judge to toss the case out. The Alabama-based nonprofit was indicted in April on fraud and money laundering charges that accuse it of misleading donors by paying informants inside white supremacist and other extremist organizations to obtain inside information about their activities. Lawyers for the SPLC have already argued that law enforcement agencies have long known that…

Tesla Inc. reached an agreement to settle several workers’ claims alleging pervasive anti-Black racism at one of its California plants, while the company still faces a jury trial in a broader case brought by the state’s civil rights enforcement agency. The electric-vehicle maker’s accord with three workers was disclosed Wednesday in a court filing, averting a series of trials that were set to start earlier this week in state court in Oakland. Terms and conditions in the settlement remain confidential and the filing said claims by two other workers are still pending. For almost a decade, the company headed by…

Zurich Insurance Group Plc is widening its offering for data-center projects to Europe and South America as it seeks to profit from the global buildout of infrastructure linked to artificial intelligence. The Swiss firm will insure risks associated with the building and operating of data centers in Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Nordics and Spain in addition to its business in the US, according to a statement June 4. It plans to add more countries this year. The expanded coverage follows rapid development in AI worldwide, with hyper scalers such as Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. looking at potential…

A Connecticut information technology consultant has pleaded guilty to fraud stemming from a computer intrusion scheme that cost a small business, according to federal prosecutors. Billie Conley, Jr., formerly of Shelton, pleaded guilty in federal court in New Haven to secretly giving himself remote access to the network of a business that hired him as a consultant. He used this access to cause network problems and steal from the firm’s bank account, according to prosecutors. Court documents show Conley owned and operated Ridgefield Tech, LLC, an information technology consulting service. In September 2023, the owner of a funeral services business…

Zurich Insurance Group Plc is widening its offering for data-center projects to Europe and South America as it seeks to profit from the global buildout of infrastructure linked to artificial intelligence. The Swiss firm will insure risks associated with the building and operating of data centers in Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Nordics and Spain in addition to its business in the US, according to a statement June 4. It plans to add more countries this year. The expanded coverage follows rapid development in AI worldwide, with hyper scalers such as Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. looking at potential…