California officials are meeting Detroit automakers this week to discuss the next phase of greenhouse gas regulations for cars and trucks, the state’s top air regulator said. California is fighting in the courts and in the U.S. Congress against President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle landmark federal vehicle emissions standards. Gov. Gavin Newsom plans an announcement next week that will lay out details of a new $200 million electric vehicle incentive program that aims to help fill the gap left after Trump’s budget bill killed federal tax credits for new electric cars last year, Lauren Sanchez, chair of the California…
Author: Awais
Cases and Deaths SOURCES As of March 7, 2023, all data on COVID-19 cases and deaths are drawn from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. Prior to March 7, 2023, this tracker relied on data provided by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Coronavirus Resource Center’s COVID-19 Map, which ends on March 10, 2023. Population data are obtained from the United Nations World Population Prospects using 2021 total population estimates. Income-level classifications are obtained from the latest World Bank Country and Lending Groups. Regional classifications are obtained from the World Health Organization. Policy Actions NOTES Policy actions data include…
Insurance industry watches closely as charges are pared back
Lydia Romero strained to hear her husband’s feeble voice through the phone. A week earlier, immigration agents had grabbed Julio César Peña from his front yard in Glendale, California. Now, he was in a hospital after suffering a ministroke. He was shackled to the bed by his hand and foot, he told Romero, and agents were in the room, listening to the call. He was scared he would die and wanted his wife there. “What hospital are you at?” Romero asked. “I can’t tell you,” he replied. Viridiana Chabolla, Peña’s attorney, couldn’t get an answer to that question, either. Peña’s…
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Fraud Unit this week announced that it contributed to insurance fraud investigations landing $50.9 million in court-ordered restitution in fiscal year 2025. More than 20 TDI investigators working across the state looked into 314 cases of insurance fraud, the department said. After digging into financials and interviewing suspects and victims, the investigators passed their cases to TDI attorneys for prosecution. Courts often punished the fraudsters with prison time, fines, and restitution they were ordered to pay back their victims. One investigation landed prison time, a $10,000 fine, and court-ordered restitution for former Houston insurance…
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced she has secured a default judgment (PDF) against Caltons Lawn Care & Landscaping LLC and its owners, Aron Dean Calton and Leslie Calton, of Kent City, for violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. The company took advanced payments or deposits for lawn service and pool projects, performed little or no work, and then ignored or blocked customers who requested refunds. Nessell filed a lawsuit last year after the Caltons, operating under the names Caltons Lawn Care & Landscaping LLC and Lake Michigan Pool and Outdoor Services on Facebook, engaged in this conduct with multiple…
Electric Reliability Council of Texas Chairman Bill Flores said Thursday that some data centers and cryptocurrency miners voluntarily curtailed power use during the recent winter storm that strained the state’s grid and others across the country. Data centers supporting artificial intelligence and other industrial sites are driving rapid growth in electricity demand in Texas and elsewhere, contributing to higher residential utility bills and forcing grid operators to make difficult decisions about who receives power. Texas slashed its live power-demand projection for the recent storm by 13% after it began. ERCOT has taken a more conservative approach to procuring supplies following…
Don’t miss out on your chance to participate in Insurance Journal’s annual Agency Salary Survey. There’s only a few days left to share your insights on agency compensation trends and more. ALL retail agency owners, principals, producers, CSRs — the entire agency — should participate and be a part of the industry’s favorite salary survey. Respondents will receive a copy of the report in Insurance Journal magazine. Survey responses and information will remain confidential. Now is the time to participate! The final deadline is the end of day on Tuesday, February 3rd. Last year’s survey found that employee satisfaction with…
Sundance, Inc. and Black River Bells, operators of several Taco Bell restaurants in the metropolitan Detroit area, will pay $100,000 and furnish other relief to resolve a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Sundance and Black River Bells employed an area coach who exercised managerial control over several of their Taco Bell locations. For months in 2022, he frequently sexually harassed a group of female employees, including underage employees. The harassment included inappropriate sexual comments, asking underage employees if they were sexually active, asking an employee…
Founded in 1992 by Marshall Ames and Gary Gough, the brokerage has built its reputation as a specialist serving architects, engineers, law firms, associations, and nonprofits. It now employs nearly 70 professionals and serves clients in 45 states. Gough said that national reach, combined with a focused vertical strategy, has allowed the firm to grow without diluting its expertise.
The healthcare industry is reckoning with a litany of challenges heading into 2026. Major policy revisions, technological innovations that promise to change how care is delivered and shifting headwinds have providers, insurers and health IT companies preparing for the years ahead. This year, healthcare organizations will focus on reshoring finances and stabilizing operations to meet headwinds. One of those headwinds includes the loss of more generous subsidies on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The subsidies expired at the end of last year, causing premiums to skyrocket for beneficiaries and threatening to decimate enrollment in the plans. Insurers are waiting to see…
Florida legislative committees approved two bills this week that could impact property-casualty insurance in the state. One would put some restrictions on litigation financing and the other would force more transparency on insurers’ payments to managing general agencies. The bills’ chances of surviving both chambers are far from certain. Senate Bill 1396, passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 8 to 2, would bar third-party lawsuit funding firms from directing the course of legal proceedings, would prohibit financiers from taking a larger share of awards than is recovered by plaintiffs, and would disallow the securitization or assigning…
A federal court judge has halted New Hampshire’s plan to end motor vehicle inspections. U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty granted a preliminary injunction on January 27 to prevent the state from implementing a new law abolishing the annual inspection program for non-commercial vehicles until and unless the state receives approval from the federal government that the plan is in compliance with the Clean Air Act. The new law sought to do away with annual inspections that include tests for vehicle emissions as well as safety effective Saturday, January 31, 2026. The judge found that unless the federal Environmental Protection…
Ahead of the Trump administration’s planned expansion of Medicare coverage for GLP-1s to treat obesity through temporary models and the availability of Medicare’s negotiated price for certain GLP-1 products beginning in 2027, new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shows that use and spending for these drugs under Medicare has grown substantially in recent years, reflecting their demonstrated effectiveness at treating type 2 diabetes and other conditions. Medicare currently covers GLP-1s for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and sleep apnea, but coverage for weight loss drugs is prohibited by law, even as GLP-1s have proved to…