Author: completebodyneeds

Orville Williams has had a healthy wheat crop on his 2,600-acre farm in Montezuma, Kansas, every year since he was a teenager. It hasn’t always been easy. For instance, there were challenging economic times through the 1980s and various degrees of drought affecting his yield through the years. But this season feels different. “All in all, it’s not going to be a good year,” said Williams, 76. Record-setting drought and hotter-than-average temperatures mixed with sharp drops have impacted much of the U.S. early this year, including the Plains region. Drought conditions have worsened the spread of the wheat streak mosaic…

President Donald Trump said he called off the signing of an executive order that would address cybersecurity concerns raised by powerful new artificial intelligence models because he objected to parts of the directive, casting doubt on US efforts to respond to new risks posed by the emerging technology. “Because I didn’t like certain aspects of it. I postponed it,” the president said during an event Thursday at the White House. “I really thought that could have been a blocker, and I want to make sure that it’s not.” The directive was set to be signed later Thursday by the president,…

Safepoint Holdings Inc., an underwriter of specialty homeowners and commercial insurance, and some of its backers are seeking to raise as much as $283.3 million in an US initial public offering. The Tampa, Florida-based firm plans to market 6.24 million shares for $15 to $17 each, while the selling shareholders are offering 10.42 million shares, according to its filing Tuesday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. At the top of that range, it would have a market value of $1.16 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filing. The IPO is expected to price on June 3,…

Insurance Journal’s Risky Future series is hosting the “AI Tools for Embedded Insurance Platforms” Demo Day, a series of free AI tool demonstrations designed exclusively for (re)insurers, MGAs/Program Administrators, marketplaces, and other tech and distribution platforms. This event focuses on distribution innovation, highlighting platforms that enable insurance to be seamlessly embedded into non-insurance experiences. Demos will showcase APIs, partner ecosystems, point of sale examples, and real-time quoting and binding. In partnership with Insurance Journal, Risky Future’s AI Tools for Homeowners Data Demo Day will be held on Wednesday, May 13. Beginning at 1pm ET, AI technology experts will present and…

A North Carolina jury handed down what may have been the largest personal injury award in state history, five years after a retaining wall collapsed on workers, killing one and injuring four others. The lawsuit in Henderson County, near Asheville, was settled for an undisclosed amount shortly after the verdict was revealed last week, local news sites reported. But if the jury award—$45 million each for two block masons injured in the collapse—had stood, it would be considered the largest injury verdict on record, BlueRidgeNow and the Hendersonville Lightning news publications noted. The jury also included $11 million for loss…

The US government has joined the line of creditors impacted by alleged fraud at bankrupt autoparts maker First Brands, in this instance for accusations the company cheated on how much it should have paid on tariffs. First Brands was hit with a formal claim for $285.5 million related to allegations that it underpaid levies on parts imported from China. The figure includes a demand for penalties as well as the unpaid tariffs. That claim, which has not been previously reported, adds to the $11.8 billion in debts the company cannot fully repay. To pay creditors at least some of their…

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to hear a bid by Meta Platforms to avoid a lawsuit brought by Vermont’s attorney general accusing the company of designing its Instagram social media app to be addictive to young users, as big technology companies face mounting legal risks over child and teen safety. The justices turned away Meta’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that let the lawsuit proceed, rejecting the company’s argument that courts in Vermont lack jurisdiction over the dispute. The case is part of a wave of litigation by individuals, municipalities, states and school districts nationwide amid a…

There is no longer a risk of a compromised chemical tank exploding in the suburbs of Los Angeles and evacuation orders for some of the more than 50,000 people were lifted, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The county’s fire department has worked since Friday to contain a chemical tank at a GKN Aerospace plant in Garden Grove, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles, after it overheated and leaked. Officials at the site have warned throughout the weekend that the tank could explode or leak toxic substances. On Monday, the Orange County Fire Authority interim chief said the…

In litigation between competitors in the insurance technology market, a preliminary injunction was again denied to Comulate, which stands accused by Applied Systems of misappropriating trade secrets. Comulate had asked a federal judge in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to reconsider an earlier denial of an injunction against Applied. “The fallout to Comulate’s business, ultimately, at least for now, looks to me to be a product of Comulate and [CEO Jordan] Katz’s own misdeeds, such that, on balance, a preliminary injunction in Comulate’s favor would be contrary to the equities here,” ruled Judge Manish H. Shah…

Workers’ compensation specialist Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. reports it has begun mailing letters to individuals whose personal information was involved in a recent ransomware attack. Upon learning of the activity on January 14, 2026, the Rhode Island-based insurer said it took action to contain it and began an investigation that determined that an unauthorized person gained access to some of Beacon Mutual’s systems between January 7 and January 14, 2026, and acquired copies of certain data files. The insurer said it found that one or more of the breached files contained the first name or first initial and last name…