Author: completebodyneeds

A former engineering director at Meta Platforms testified on Wednesday that CEO Mark Zuckerberg was responsible for a culture that may have led the company to shirk its responsibility to protect children who use its Facebook and Instagram platforms from harm. Arturo Bejar, a vocal Meta critic who worked at the company from 2009 to 2015 and as an independent contractor from 2019 to 2021, said Zuckerberg was closely involved in much decision-making, and the company’s top-down culture ensured that product design changes would occur only if he ordered them. “If Mark makes something a priority, mountains move in months,”…

Growing solar power in a swath of the US Midwest dominated by Republican leadership has led that region’s electric grid to become the nation’s biggest in terms of electric supply. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which provides power to 45 million people in 15 states including Indiana and Missouri, overtook PJM Interconnection LLC, according to a report from BloombergNEF. Until last year, PJM, a sprawling grid stretching from Washington, DC, to Chicago, held the top spot. MISO added 7.45 gigawatts of solar power between April 2024 and this past March, compared with 3 gigawatts at PJM. Illinois, a Blue state,…

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is pitching a plan to help shield local police officers who make immigration arrests from possible financial consequences if they are accused of on-duty misconduct. The agency is proposing to subsidize liability insurance for state and local officers who are trained and deputized to enforce federal immigration laws, according to a planning document published Friday. ICE’s partnerships with local departments have soared since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year and may get an additional boost with liability insurance by removing a hurdle that has made some local police departments reluctant to…

The audit and verification of data centers ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott will involve about 250 to 300 projects, most of which are data centers, state grid operator officials told the Public Utility Commission on Friday. The officials’ testimony also highlighted just how data significant the buildout is: The 200 gigawatt of future demand accounted for by the projects that will be audited is more than twice the ERCOT grid’s peak demand record set last month. It will take the Electric Reliability Council of Texas “several months” to audit the projects, which must be completed before any data center can…

Amazon.com Inc. plans to expand its drone delivery operation to cities in at least five more US states in the coming months, the latest step toward turning the decade-old research-and-development project into a commercial service. Prime Air drones will start delivering packages by the end of the year from warehouses in suburban Chicago and Atlanta, as well as metro Cleveland and Syracuse, New York, Amazon said in a statement on Wednesday. The e-commerce giant currently delivers from 11 US locations, including the Houston and Dallas areas, and suburban Phoenix. A company spokesperson declined to say how many of the new…

A general contractor cannot be held liable for an injury of an employee of a subcontractor where the general contractor had little or no control over the subcontractor’s work or job environment. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court this week upheld a summary judgment in favor of New York general contractor Skyway Roofing against claims of negligence and negligent hiring brought by an injured roofer who worked for one of its subcontractors. The case turned on the subcontract, which was silent about safety and did not specify who was responsible for providing safety equipment, oversight, or training for the job replacing…

Seltzer Group Partners reported it has acquired Trego Insurance Agency in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Founded as an independent agency in 2020 and led by Steve Trego, Trego Insurance Agency serves commercial and personal lines clients across Pennsylvania and in several surrounding states. The relationship between the two organizations began well before the acquisition. Trego joined the Keystone Insurance Group agency network as a partner in 2020. Seltzer is one of the original three agencies that joined resources to form Keystone in 1983. According to Trego, by joining Keystone the agency gained access to more than 80 commercial lines and 25 personal…

The Texas Surplus Lines Association has announced the selection of Manpreet Sandhu as their Incoming Executive Director. Sandhu replaces Jean Patterson, who will be retiring at the end of 2026 with more than 45 years of service to TSLA. Patterson assisted in the search and will ease the transition of duties to Manpreet. TSLA Past President Kimmi Cantwell led the efforts of the Executive Director Search Committee through the selection process. Manpreet brings more than 15 years of operational and executive governance expertise, backed by a strong track record of leading industry-specific associations. In her most recent role as Director…

RockRose Risk, a US insurance brokerage specializing in wildfire zones, raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round that was co-led by Crosslink Capital and Congruent Ventures, with participation from asset manager Nuveen. The San Francisco-based startup serves commercial property owners like homeowner associations and hotel groups as well as individual homeowners in the states of California, Colorado and Nevada. It seeks to lower clients’ insurance costs by quantifying the steps they take to reduce their wildfire risk. Now it’s looking to make risk mitigation services a part of its business. RockRose plans to perform work such as tree…

Maine Governor Janet Mills has appointed Sandra Darby, an actuary with the Maine Bureau of Insurance, as Acting Superintendent of Insurance effective August 18, 2026. Darby succeeds Tim Schott, who has served as acting superintendent since June 8 when Superintendent Robert Carey retired. According to the announcement, Schott is leaving the insurance bureau to assume a position with the office of Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey. Schott served for 17 years at the bureau, most of which were spent as the deputy superintendent. Darby has more than 11 years of experience at the bureau in the regulation of property, casualty,…