As drought tightens its grip on South Texas, city leaders in Corpus Christi are expected to deliver what could be the most sobering update yet on the region’s water supply outlook. At Tuesday’s city council meeting, officials are expected to present new modeling that outlines a range of potential futures for the city’s water supply — including scenarios that could push the city closer to a Level 1 water emergency sooner than previously anticipated. That would force water customers to reduce their overall water use by 25% or face extra fees, according to the city’s March 2025 drought contingency plan.…
Author: Awais
The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a Chicago, Illinois-based commercial bakery for repeatedly exposing employees to safety hazards after a worker suffered a broken arm in September 2025 when clearing dough from a machine while working on the production line. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Alpha Baking Co. Inc. with repeat violations for lack of lockout tagout training, failing to lockout a machine during servicing, and other hazards related to unguarded machines. The agency also cited the employer for failing to train employees in electrical work, implement safety-related work practices and use personal protective equipment when…
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) announced Matthew Tapp as deputy commissioner of its Consumer Protection Division. Tapp will oversee the division, which helps Texans resolve insurance questions and complaints and protects consumers by overseeing agent and adjuster licensing. The Consumer Protection Division also administers TDI’s disaster response program and Texas Windstorm Insurance Association ombudsman program. Last year, Consumer Protection staff answered more the 126,000 consumer calls and resolved over 19,600 consumer complaints. The division also activated disaster recovery response efforts after the Southeast Texas tornadoes, Central and North Texas storms, and flooding events in the Rio Grande Valley and…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a proposal to scrap the requirement for companies to report their earnings every quarter and giving them the option to share results twice a year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The proposal could be published as soon as next month, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter, adding that regulators are in talks with major exchanges to discuss how their rules may need to be adjusted. The SEC will vote on the proposal once it is published, after a public comment period which typically lasts at least 30…
James Cleary will step down from the post on June 30, but stay on as an adviser to the company through the end of the year. He’s the second finance chief of a drug distributor to announce their retirement this month.
A Utah jury on Monday convicted real estate agent Kouri Richins, 35, of aggravated murder after prosecutors said she poisoned her husband, Eric Richins, to collect millions in life insurance she had secretly taken out in his name – then wrote a children’s grief book to disguise her role in his death.
US-headquartered insurance holding company W. R. Berkley Corporation has continued to expand its use of its Lifson Re collateralized reinsurance sidecar through 2025, with written premiums ceded to the sidecar rising to $494 million, the highest level the company has recorded to date.For 2026, the Lifson Re P&C vehicle appears set to maintain its momentum, holding $418 million in equity with its 32.5% share remaining unchanged. This follows a significant 2025 capitalisation of $418 million, which marked the vehicle’s largest capital raise at the time. At the start of 2025, W. R. Berkley also increased the quota share cession rate…
Three Tennessee plaintiffs, including two minors, sued Elon Musk’s xAI on Monday, alleging that it knowingly designed its Grok image generator to let people create sexually explicit content by using real photos of others. The lawsuit, filed in the San Jose, California federal court, is seeking class-action status for people in the United States who were “reasonably identifiable” in sexualized images or videos generated by Grok based on real images of themselves. The artificial intelligence company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. After an outcry over sexually explicit content generated by the chatbot, xAI said in…
Howden said Michael Parrish has been appointed CEO, Americas in a move the broker said would align better for clients. “Howden Americas, under Mike’s leadership, will bring together the exciting new retail broking operations in the US with our fast-growing business in Latin America,” said David Howden, CEO of Howden. In another move, Sonia Caamano will lead Latin America and Caribbean as CEO, Howden said. She will report to Parrish, and will be supported by Jose Ignacio Lathrop, who will be taking the role of executive chairman, Latin America. Caamano was previously the CEO of International Growth Markets at Howden.…
Owners of one of the biggest towing businesses in Southern California were arrested on multiple counts of felony insurance fraud. Bothers Mark Hassan and Ahmed Hassan were charged with underreporting employee payroll and paying parts of employees’ wages in cash to defraud workers’ compensation insurers out of $6 million worth of insurance premiums. The California Department of Insurance launched an investigation after getting two fraud referrals from an insurance company accusing Mark Hassan, owner of Hadley Tow, of underreporting the payroll of his company. The CDI investigation expanded after a third referral alleging his brother, Ahmed Hassan, owner of California…
From Alabama to North Carolina, tornadoes and probable tornadoes ripped a roof off a warehouse, damaged homes and left many without power across the Southeast. News sites reported that a confirmed tornado, with winds of 85 mph, struck an air-conditioning and heating business in Charlotte and tore a section of the metal roof Monday morning. No one was injured but several workers witnessed the event, Spectrum News and other outlets reported. The National Weather Service confirmed it was an EF0 tornado that touched down. In northwest Alabama, at least one tornado, with 105-mph winds, was confirmed near the Tennessee border…
Amanda Miller was 30 and pregnant with her second child in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when she developed depression. After she gave birth, her depression worsened. It was joined by a slew of unexplained health problems. Miller, a neuroscientist, said she saw several psychiatrists and got prescriptions for drug after drug. Over two years, she tried four antidepressants and two antipsychotics. None of that helped — until her primary care doctor noticed high levels of an autoimmune marker in her blood. A specialist then ran “every test in the book,” Miller said. Eventually, she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus and…
After years of litigation, PDX North, Inc., a last-mile automotive parts distribution company, has agreed to pay up to $7 million to resolve worker misclassification violations involving its delivery drivers, announced New Jersey officials. The settlement brings to a close a case that has seen PDX lose challenges to the state’s worker classification laws in federal district and appeals courts before the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the firm’s final appeal. According to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the New Jersey Attorney General, PDX has agreed to reclassify its delivery drivers as employees to…
A Crofton, Maryland woman has pleaded guilty in two separate felony theft schemes, according to Attorney General Anthony G. Brown. On Monday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, Carolyn Rae Aldridge admitted to stealing a combined total of $185,296.28 during the two schemes, reported the attorney general’s office. In the first scheme, between August 2017 and January 2021, Aldridge stole 96 checks from her then-employer, American Builders Corp, Inc. for a total loss of $173,004.43. Aldridge worked as the office manager for ABC Builders and used her position to steal the checks and deposit them into her personal bank account.…