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…
Author: Awais
Many adults are sharing device data with providers too. But users are typically healthier and wealthier, suggesting people who could benefit the most from health monitoring are less likely to adopt the tools, according to Rock Health.
A federal judge agreed Monday to postpone a civil trial over the 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after a flurry of last-minute settlements resolved most of the remaining claims. U.S. District Judge James Bredar expressed frustration about the timing of last week’s settlements, including deals resolving all pending claims over the deaths of six construction workers. The workers were filling potholes when the container ship Dali lost power and crashed into the bridge in the early morning hours of March 26, 2024. Virtually all of the unresolved claims are alleging economic losses by businesses and local governments.…
It has now been over a year since President Trump signed executive orders eliminating federal diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) programs and related initiatives, reshaping policies and priorities across federal agencies, research, and education. Additionally, the Trump administration’s workforce reshaping initiatives, including reductions in force, the Deferred Resignation Program, early retirement incentives and a hiring freeze have led to major declines in the federal workforce which have reduced resources available to support efforts to address disparities. While some efforts have been halted or modified by court rulings, the Trump administration has continued to take steps to remove staff, programs,…
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,…
Delaware is under a statewide drought watch for the second time in three years due to a steep decline in precipitation levels. Officials are most worried about Kent and Sussex Counties. Governor Matt Meyer declared the drought watch after receiving guidance from the Delaware Water Supply Coordinating Council (WSCC). The WSCC found that the state would need to receive 21 inches of rainfall over the next three summer months to replenish the state’s Delaware’s water supply back to normal levels. The drought watch is in effect until further notice. During this time, Delawareans are asked to voluntarily reduce outdoor and…
Arch Capital Group has returned to the catastrophe bond market for its third sponsorship, targeting $100 million of capital markets backed property catastrophe retrocession for peak North American perils from a Ramble Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) issuance, Artemis can report.The Bermuda headquartered specialty insurance and reinsurance company was last in the catastrophe bond market in 2024, when it secured $100 million of retro from a Ramble Re 2024-1 transaction. That was the first cat bond under the Ramble Re name for Arch Capital and the coverage from it runs to the end of February 2027, so it is encouraging to…
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…
Yolibeth’s 4-year-old daughter scrambled headfirst onto a cushy leather love seat at their home near New Orleans and pushed a hairbrush into the hands of Miriam Romero, a health coordinator who works with the family. Romero placed the girl in her lap and started brushing her dark hair. Yolibeth, a 38-year-old single mother who moved to South Louisiana from Honduras 15 years ago, watched them, smiling. The daughter is the youngest of five children living in this mixed-status household. Yolibeth and her two oldest kids don’t have legal immigration status, but the other three — ages 4, 9, and 13…
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…
Vendor-related issues continued to be the top cause of claims paid on wedding insurance policies, according to data out this week from Travelers. The Travelers Companies Inc. released its wedding insurance claims data for 2025. The data highlights the top wedding vulnerabilities, which include vendor failures and extreme weather. For the fifth straight year, vendor-related issues were the leading cause of paid claims in 2025, coming in at 55% of total wedding claims. That’ sup from the 2024 report, which showed that 45% of wedding claims were due to vendor difficulties, such as wedding planners not completing their jobs, venues…
When the double boom rang out in New England over the weekend, shaking homes and sending pets fleeing, questions started flooding social media. “Did anyone else hear that boom?” “Anyone feel that?” NASA let people know over the weekend that the cause of the commotion was a meteor, but on Monday they revealed even more stunning details. The fireball was as heavy as an elephant and 5 feet (1.52 meter) wide and was going 42,000 mph (67,592.5 kph) when it entered Earth’s atmosphere. It broke up miles above New England on Saturday and the energy released was equivalent to about…
The advanced model should support earlier and more accurate diagnoses and treatment planning, the companies said.
Both the European Union and the United States are committed to complying with their trade agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said June 3 after broad new tariff threats over forced labor rankled Washington’s trade partners. After the two sides struck a framework agreement at U.S. President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland last July, the EU is still in the process of ratifying the deal, prompting Trump to say he would impose “much higher” tariffs if the bloc does not implement its commitments by July 4. “Both sides are committed to compliance with the trade agreement,” Greer told…