Author: completebodyneeds

Gasoline in California has topped $6 a gallon as the global energy crunch from the Iran war reverberates. The average statewide price for regular gasoline rose to $6.01, according to data from the American Automobile Association. That’s the highest since October 2023. No other state has ever surpassed the $6-a-gallon mark. At the outset of the war, the price in the Golden State was $4.64 a gallon. Related: Oil Traders Lawyer Up as Hormuz Disruptions Trigger Billions of Dollars in Disputes Skyrocketing pump prices are a major political risk for President Donald Trump’s White House, especially ahead of the midterm…

Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, added Matthew Friedson to its employee benefits group as first vice president. Based in Bethesda, Maryland, he will work with clients throughout the Northeast to tailor executive benefits and financial strategies for their businesses. Friedson has nearly 20 years of experience advising enterprise organizations and high-net-worth individuals on executive benefits, advanced life insurance planning, and business succession strategies. Before joining Alliant, Friedson served as Managing Director and National Life Insurance Practice Leader with a national insurance brokerage and consulting firm. Topics Alliant Was this article valuable? Yes No Here are more articles you…

Quick-thinking middle school students in Mississippi kept their school bus from crashing after their driver passed out while on a four-lane highway. The bus had just left Hancock Middle School in Hancock County last week with about 40 children on board when Leah Taylor, 46, had an asthma attack. She reached for her medication but blacked out before she could get it. In a matter of seconds, the students sprang into action. Sixth grader Jackson Casnave, 12, who was sitting directly behind the driver, noticed the bus beginning to swerve. Casnave jumped up to steer and told others to call…

Brown & Brown acknowledges that the cost of the Howden-driven talent war has risen to $31 million in annual revenue. “At the end of March, the startup [Howden] has taken customers representing approximately $31 million of annual revenue as compared to the $23 million we announced last quarter,” according to R. Andrew Watts, Brown & Brown’s chief financial officer and treasurer. Watts and the broker’s CEO J. Powell Brown spoke during a recent analysts’ call to discuss Q1 2026 results. Watts said the $31 million revenue hit includes $10 million from the first quarter alone. Brown & Brown previously had…

Officials battling two large wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes in southern Georgia warned Tuesday that firefighters are bracing for a prolonged battle even after weekend rains gave a big boost to containment efforts. “A little bit of rain is going to help us, but it’s not going to get us out of this situation,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told a news conference after touring the fire areas Tuesday. “We’re going to be in this for a while.” A fire that has burned roughly 35 square miles (90 square kilometers) and destroyed more than 80 homes in rural Brantley…

The Texas Medical Board is proposing tighter regulations around ketamine, a popular fast-acting sedative used to treat mental illness, including more physician oversight during administration of the drug and banning in-home use of it. The revised rules are expected to publish May 8, and the Texas Medical Board is scheduled to vote on the changes in June. Supporters of ketamine regulations in Texas say the drug, which can cause comas and even death, has grown in popularity because it is easy to access. One of the most common ways people access ketamine is through telehealth prescriptions, which allows them to…

Insurers are seeing gains from artificial intelligence, but many are also exposing themselves to unnecessary risks, according to a new Grant Thornton report. The independent CPA firm’s 2026 AI Impact Survey Report found that 44% of insurance executives say governance or compliance challenges have contributed to AI project failure or underperformance. Only 24% are very confident they could pass an independent AI governance review in 90 days. “Without clear policies and tested controls, insurers are leaving their organizations open to risk with regulators and customers, fueling financial pressure that could ultimately erode product profitability,” Grant Thornton said. “Tested and provable…

Willis, a WTW business, has launched Merger Protect, a specialty insurance solution to help organizations manage the financial impact of U.S. antitrust regulatory review in mergers and acquisitions transactions. Merger Protect forms part of Willis’ broader transactional risk offering, designed to address evolving risks across the M&A landscape. Merger Protect is designed to reimburse defined costs incurred when a Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Second Request is issued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission or Department of Justice and, where applicable, during a related enforcement action. The solution supports buyers, sellers and their advisors. Second Requests often require extensive data collection, document production…

Almost all of Europe experienced above-average heat in 2025, a year that broke records for wildfires, sea temperatures and heatwaves as climate change worsens, EU scientists and the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. At least 95% of Europe experienced above-average temperatures, while wildfires burnt more than 1 million hectares of land – an area larger than Cyprus and the biggest annual total on record, the WMO and the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said in their annual report on Europe’s climate. The findings set out how climate change is having increasingly severe consequences in Europe, at a time when…

Australia’s top prudential regulator said it will take action against companies that fail to adequately control cybersecurity threats, as concerns within the industry mount over Anthropic PBC’s latest AI model Mythos. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is finalizing a plan to supervise artificial intelligence risks, following a review of banks, insurers and retirement funds conducted late last year that identified several shortcomings. These include information security practices struggling to keep pace with AI threats and over-reliance on third party AI vendors, according to the regulator. “Where entities fail to adequately identify, manage or control AI risks in a manner proportionate…