Monthly Archives: <span>March 2025</span>

Newsmax Paid $40M to Settle Defamation Suit Over 2020 Election Claims

Cable outlet Newsmax Media has paid $40 million to settle allegations it defamed Smartmatic by reporting false claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 U.S. election for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, according to a regulatory filing. …

Baltimore Loses Its Bid to Block CFPB Defunding But Another Challenge Is Pending

A federal judge in Baltimore on Friday rejected the city’s effort to temporarily block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from emptying its reserves and returning the money to the U.S. Federal Reserve or Department of the Treasury. U.S. District Judge …

Multiple Deaths, Damage in South, Midwest From Winds, Tornadoes

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the U.S., wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm Friday and Saturday that has killed at least 32 people. The number of fatalities increased after the Kansas …

Wilson Promoted to CEO of Markel Insurance; Vice Chair Markel to Retire

Markel Group said early Monday that Simon Wilson is the new chief executive officer of Markel Insurance. Markel Insurance includes the company’s primary underwriting businesses of Markel Specialty, Markel International, and Markel Global Reinsurance. Wilson was president of Markel International. …

Update: Peruvian Farmer Takes Germany’s RWE to Court in Landmark Climate Case

A Peruvian farmer who says German energy giant RWE’s emissions have contributed to the melting of Andean glaciers, increasing the flood risk to his home, took his case to court on Monday in a hearing that could set a precedent …

Cyclone Alfred to Cost Australia’s Budget A$1.2B, Hit Growth and Increase Inflation

Cyclone Alfred will cost Australia’s March 25 budget at least A$1.2 billion [US$759 million], hit growth and put pressure on inflation, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says. In a Tuesday speech previewing the budget, Chalmers will also say that on preliminary estimates, …

Cybersecurity Officials Warn Against Potentially Costly Medusa Ransomware Attacks

The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are warning against a dangerous ransomware scheme. In an advisory posted earlier this week, government officials warned that a ransomware-as-a-service software called Medusa, which has launched ransomware attacks since 2021, …

Diversification, Risk Modeling Top of Mind for Carriers as Cyber Market Softens

As cyber insurance rates have begun to stabilize, insurance carriers are seeking more diversification to fuel their underwriting and growth strategies, according to panelists at this year’s PLUS Cyber Symposium in New York City. “They’re seeking diversification in the standard …

People Moves: California Reappoints Members to Diversity Task Force and WCIRB Governing Committee

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara reappointed members Mitch Steiger and C. Bryan Little to the California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Governing Committee and reappointed member Dr. Fabiola Cobarrubias to the Insurance Diversity Task Force. The WCIRB Governing Committee sets …

Judge Finds Frozen Embryos Are Not Property That Can Be Divided

A northern Virginia judge determined embryos are not property that can be divided up, rejecting a previous analysis by the court saying such fertilized eggs could be considered divisible “goods or chattel” based on 19th-century slave law. Nearly 10 months …