Farmers across the Great Plains are confronting an intense drought that threatens winter wheat harvests and is pushing cattle producers toward costly feed purchases, prompting some to abandon plans to expand their herds. The dryness is expected to persist through …

Berkshire Hathaway has selected Gen Re Chairman Charlie Shamieh as successor to longtime insurance leader Ajit Jain, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shamieh, a veteran of the insurance industry, is set to …

Rhode Island’s regulator has approved a 2.5% average reduction in overall workers’ compensation loss costs. The reduction will take effect on August 1, 2026. More than 200 insurers write workers’ compensation coverage in the state. The rate change was proposed …

Memphis-based Sunstar Insurance Group, an independent brokerage operating in nine states, announced Adam Meyerowitz as the new chief executive officer. He succeeds Casey Bowlin, who founded the firm in 2013 and will now move into the role of chairman. Meyerowitz …

Not all earthquake faults behave the same. Some stick and snap, causing earthquakes. Others move slowly over time. For years, the leading explanation for slow-moving faults has been that high-pressure fluids along the fault lubricate it, allowing the slabs to …

Less than a month after former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family died in a plane crash last year, investigators say two of their “friends” conspired to break into the empty home and took cash, guns and financial information …

As many as 200 first-time homebuyers could receive down payment assistance up to $13,500 each thanks to Progressive Insurance. Progressive’s UpPayment program is available to first-time homebuyers purchasing a non-commercial, non-mobile residential property with intention of making it their permanent …

Nearly one in two young people in Europe have used AI chatbots to discuss intimate or personal matters, as the technology increasingly serves as a source of emotional support, an Ipsos BVA survey showed on Tuesday. Of the 3,800 people …

Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp. and xAI have agreed to give the US government early access to their artificial intelligence models to assess the systems’ capabilities and help improve their security before the technology is released to the public. With …

New Zealand infant formula maker a2 Milk Co. is recalling batches of product sold in the US after detecting a toxin linked to vomiting and diarrhea, marking its first brush with a contamination scare that has rattled the global industry. …

Microplastics in the atmosphere are heating the planet, magnifying climate change impacts, according to new research. Scientists in China and the US found that tiny, colored plastic particles absorb sunlight as winds blow them around the world, trapping heat and …

Australian Ethical Investment Ltd., a pension fund with about A$14 billion ($10 billion) under management, is pressuring QBE Insurance Group Ltd. over the potential threat extreme weather poses to future profitability. The fund, which holds about A$65 million of QBE …

A legal claim from one of the world’s largest oil traders is throwing a spotlight on an arcane but critical corner of global finance — the multibillion-dollar freight market and the 282-year-old City of London institution that sits at the …

Hundreds of vessels were seen clustering near Dubai on Tuesday, as more ships moved away from a still-empty Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s efforts to widen its area of control. A weeks-long ceasefire between the US and Iran …

A fragile truce in the Middle East was under strain on Tuesday after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Gulf as they wrestled for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said in …

Did you hear that Florida’s 55-year-old “no-fault” auto insurance statute has been repealed? Most people in the Florida insurance industry probably know that is not true. But a number of recent websites and postings by Florida plaintiffs’ law firms and …

A federal judge overseeing thousands of cancer lawsuits against Bayer AG and its Roundup weedkiller said he had “grave concerns” about whether a proposed $7.25 billion class-action settlement in Missouri could properly address future claims outside the state. At a …

From driving cars to flying drones, as autonomous robots take on more responsibility, they also face more human-like dilemmas — including what to do when rules collide. For a self-driving vehicle, this conundrum might pop up when a pedestrian suddenly …

The Massachusetts Supreme Court appeared skeptical of Kalshi Inc.’s claim that its prediction markets don’t fall under state gambling laws because the company is instead providing financial arrangements between people using “swap” contracts on events like sports. The case is …

Oregon regulators ordered a health sharing company to stop selling coverage to residents, saying the company’s membership plans were functioning as unlicensed insurance. ClearShare Health was ordered to stop selling coverage by the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, which began …