California Officials Lift Evacuation Orders for Residents Near Damaged Chemical Tank
Southern California officials lifted the final evacuation orders Tuesday night for residents who live near a damaged chemical tank, allowing 16,000 people to return home. The crisis that began Thursday had forced 50,000 people to evacuate in and around the …
OpenAI’s Altman Says AI Unlikely to Lead to ‘Jobs Apocalypse’
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Tuesday the rapid development and adoption of AI would not lead to a global “jobs apocalypse” and the technology had not claimed as many white-collar jobs as he had feared. Speaking virtually at a …
Bezos’ Blue Origin Plans $600 Million Expansion in Florida
Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, will invest $600 million to expand its Rocket Park campus in Cape Canaveral, Florida, according to a statement from Governor Ron DeSantis. The planned 830,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will increase the …
Initial Report Finds Fatal Fire, Explosion at Maine Lumber Mill Was Accidental
A huge fire and explosion at a lumber mill in Maine on May 15 that took the life of a 27-year-old firefighter and injured a dozen others is believed to have been accidental, according to an initial investigation by state …
Insurance Mogul Lindberg Gets 12 Years for $2 Billion Fraud
North Carolina investment firm founder Greg Lindberg was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison for siphoning more than $2 billion in reserves backing insurance policies and using the proceeds to pay for jets, mansions and a 214-foot yacht. Lindberg, …
Climate Change Fueling Growth of Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella
Climate change is linked to a 10% global increase in antibiotic-resistance genes in Salmonella, according to new research that suggests warming temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns could accelerate the spread of hard-to-treat infections. The study — conducted by researchers from …
Two More Oil Supertankers Exit Hormuz to Help Push Up Flows
Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz gained modest momentum over the past 24 hours as at least two non-Iranian supertankers exited the Persian Gulf, the latest mini-flurry in energy flows transiting the vital waterway. The Singapore-linked Eagle Veracruz and …
Tanker Reports External Explosion off Oman Coast, Crew Safe, UKMTO Says
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, close to the waterline, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital Muscat. UKMTO said the vessel, identified as the Olympic …
Viewpoint: Tackling the Threat of Legal System Abuse
Severity, not frequency, is driving the rise in claims costs today. While the number of claims has generally declined, the average cost per claim has soared. From 1994 to 2008, claim frequency declined and lawsuits tracked that trend, falling from …
Supreme Court Tosses Florida Suit Over Immigrant Drivers’ Licenses
The US Supreme Court refused to let Florida file an unusual lawsuit that accused California and Washington of making it too easy for undocumented immigrants to get commercial driver’s licenses. Giving no explanation, the justices on Tuesday rejected Florida’s bid …
USI Insurance Services Claims Ex-Broker Poached Clients for Own New Agency
New York-based insurance broker USI Insurance Services has gone to court to halt a former employee it alleges has poached a few customers for his own newly-formed agency. USI claims that Billy J. MacNair is violating employment and severance agreements …
Crest Insurance Group Names Hart Vice President, Employee Benefits
Crest Insurance Group named Tony Hart vice president, employee benefits in the firm’s Henderson, Nevada office. Hart has nearly 20 years of employee benefits brokerage and consulting experience and specializes in cost containment, pharmacy management, population health and alternative funding …
Uber, Lyft Drivers in Massachusetts Form First US Ride-Share Union
Ride-share drivers for app-based companies such as Uber and Lyft have unionized in Massachusetts, forming what state officials and labor leaders said was the first officially recognized organization in the U.S. to represent such gig workers. The newly formed App …
JPMorgan Banker Sues Ex-Colleague Over ‘Fabricated’ Sex Claims
The JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker named in a graphic sexual harassment suit that went viral last month hit back at her accuser with a defamation counterclaim, calling his allegations “entirely false” and “malicious.” Lorna Hajdini last Tuesday night countersued …
Inszone Acquires Michigan’s Legacy Partners
Inszone Insurance Services announced the acquisition of Michigan-based Legacy Partners Insurance Services. Founded in 2013 by Joe Graham, Legacy Partners has spent the last decade growing exponentially throughout Southeast Michigan. Operating out of its Harrison Township headquarters, the agency built …
Record-Setting Drought Devastates Wheat Crop in Kansas
Orville Williams has had a healthy wheat crop on his 2,600-acre farm in Montezuma, Kansas, every year since he was a teenager. It hasn’t always been easy. For instance, there were challenging economic times through the 1980s and various degrees …
Inszone Acquires Texas’ Taylor Insurance Agency
Inszone Insurance Services announced the acquisition of Kevin Taylor Insurance Agency, LLC. Operating as Taylor Insurance Agency, the firm brings a personal lines portfolio to the Inszone umbrella, further expanding its footprint in San Antonio, Texas. Originally founded in 2011 …
Texas Sues Discord Over Alleged Child Predator Exposure
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing online messaging platform Discord, accusing the tech company of exposing children to predators using the service and deceiving users about the safety of the platform. Paxton filed the lawsuit Friday in a Collin …
Trump Postpones Signing AI Security Order Over Parts He Disliked
President Donald Trump said he called off the signing of an executive order that would address cybersecurity concerns raised by powerful new artificial intelligence models because he objected to parts of the directive, casting doubt on US efforts to respond …
Register: Risky Future AI Tools for Embedded Platforms ‘Demo Day’ on May 27
Insurance Journal’s Risky Future series is hosting the “AI Tools for Embedded Insurance Platforms” Demo Day, a series of free AI tool demonstrations designed exclusively for (re)insurers, MGAs/Program Administrators, marketplaces, and other tech and distribution platforms. This event focuses on …



