Author: completebodyneeds

A Massachusetts trial court judge has denied TikTok’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit against it by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts alleging that its popular social media video sharing site is intentionally designed to be addictive and harmful to young users and the company misrepresents its safety to the public. The ruling rejected the company’s argument that it is shielded from such lawsuits by federal law, meaning TikTok must face the charges in state court. The case mirrors one the state is pursuing against Meta Platforms in which the same judge, Suffolk Superior Court Justice Peter B. Krupp, found for the…

A new University of Vermont extreme weather monitoring station opened in Lyndonville on Tuesday, the first in a planned network of monitoring stations to help fill gaps in extreme weather predictions and response. The station will be able to monitor the lead-up to major weather events like flooding or blizzards, giving the National Weather Service and state level emergency response officials localized data to inform evacuations and reducing the severity of property damage, according to Joshua Beneš, associate director of research facilities and networks at the UVM Water Resources Institute. Beneš said that even a few hours more of lead…

Affordable American Insurance LLC named Eddie Floyd to AAI’s leadership team as president of its retail agency division. Floyd will help lead the organization’s growth while overseeing the performance and expansion of its internal agency platform. Floyd has more than 25 years of insurance leadership experience spanning agency operations, sales management and executive roles. Most recently, Floyd was chief operating officer and partner at The Plexus Groupe. Prior to Plexus, Floyd held senior leadership roles at Relation Insurance Services, Rue Insurance, Kemmons Wilson Companies and Marsh. His background also includes experience building sales teams and leading complex integration efforts across…

Following the recommendation of the Senate Executive Nominations Committee, the full Maryland Senate has confirmed the appointments of four members to the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund Board of Trustees. Steven D Linkous Steven D. Linkous was reappointed to serve the remainder of a five-year term that began on October 1, 2025. Linkous is president and chief executive officer of Harford Mutual Insurance Group, where he has led the organization for nearly two decades. He has experience in insurance, financial management, technology and corporate governance. Enor R Williams Jr. Enor R. Williams, Jr., who previously served on the Maryland Automobile Insurance…

South Korea strongly condemned what it described as an attack on a civilian cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz after a government investigation found the ship was struck by unidentified objects, though it stopped short of assigning blame. “Attacks on civilian vessels such as HMM Namu cannot be justified or tolerated,” presidential security adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters Monday. “We’ll seek through further investigation to identify the party responsible for the attack, the exact type of projectile and its physical size.” Wi said South Korea would decide on its response once further analysis identifies the attacker and the type…

A losing streak in litigation finance is attracting hedge funds and other alternative investment managers looking to invest in legal claims at distressed valuations, according to people familiar with the matter. Firms working in distressed-debt special situations including Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP and Attestor are looking to buy up such assets at valuations as low as 10 cents on the dollar, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deals. In some cases, buyers are taking on distressed assets for free, and agreeing to pay the seller a small amount if the underlying lawsuit wins. Litigation finance…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking the federal government extend disaster assistance programs for thousands of victims of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires who are still working to rebuild. Newsom is requesting a 12-month extension of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individuals and Households Program which provides financial and housing assistance to disaster survivors. The extension would allow eligible survivors to continue receiving support through July 9, 2027. According to the California Office of Emergency Services, nearly 29,500 households that may be eligible for that assistance were still in the middle of insurance claims, and nearly 1,000 households are…

Safepoint Insurance on Friday filed its paperwork for a U.S. initial public offering, disclosing a 96.9% revenue jump last year as a strong run of new IPO listings from Florida-based insurers extends into 2026. The company reported a net income of $165.6 million on revenue of $516.3 million for the year ended December 31, compared with a net income of $24.3 million on revenue of $262.2 million in 2024. A series of legislative reforms introduced in 2022 have significantly improved the property insurance landscape in Florida, a market where some large national insurers have trimmed their exposure due to frequent…

Geolocation data for some ships in the Persian Gulf showed locations and speeds that defied logic, pointing to an increase in signal interference following fresh attacks by Iran on neighboring countries. The tracking data showed about 120 vessels in a circle about an hour’s drive inland from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, signaling they’re traveling at nearly 50 knots but without changes to their location. A smaller gathering of about a dozen ships was indicating speeds of more than 100 knots near the Omani-UAE land border. The appearance of such clusters inland, and at improbable speeds, is probably…

As storm chaser Ashton Lemley picked his way through a tornado-ravaged Mississippi trailer park, he heard the unmistakable meow of a kitten pierce the predawn darkness. The homes were flattened just hours earlier as storms spawned at least three tornadoes across the bottom half of Mississippi, injuring a dozen at the trailer park in the rural community of Bogue Chitto. Lemley had no idea where the kitten was, but he was determined to find it. After a few minutes, the meowing stopped, and Lemley feared the worst. Then, five minutes later, he heard it again. “I said, ‘Oh, he’s still…