Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Driver of Truck in Texas Bus Crash Admits Texting Behind the Wheel
Apr 3 2017 // A witness says the driver of a pickup truck that collided with a church minibus in rural Texas, killing 13 people, acknowledged he had been texting while driving — highlighting the dangers of sending messages on...
15 Texas Survivors Seek $250M-Plus in Mississippi Train-Bus Crash
Apr 3 2017 // A Houston attorney says 15 tourists from Texas have filed lawsuits asking more than $250 million in total damages over the train-bus crash that killed four people in Biloxi, Miss. Tony Buzbee says in a news release that...
Federal Investigators Probing Crash That Killed 13 in Texas
Mar 31 2017 // Federal officials are investigating a head-on collision between a pickup truck and small church bus in southwest Texas that crumpled the front of the bus and killed 13 senior adults returning from a church retreat. The...
3 Storm Chasers Die in West Texas Crash
Mar 30 2017 // Storms that bore down on Southern Plains states brought powerful winds that upended a tractor-trailer on an Oklahoma interstate, killing the driver, while three storm chasers died in a collision as they raced toward a...
Texas Businesses Divided on High-Priority Insurance Bill
Mar 30 2017 // This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. Weeks after major business interests blasted legislation that would make it harder for property owners to sue insurance companies over weather-related damages, other...
Exxon Dealt a Blow as Texas Judge Sends Climate Suit to New York
Mar 30 2017 // Exxon Mobil Corp.’s attempt to derail a multistate fraud probe into whether the company fully disclosed to investors the financial risks of climate change was dealt a major blow after a Texas judge moved the case...
Texas Raises Interest, Discount Rate for Workers’ Comp
Mar 29 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation reports that the workers’ comp discount rate and interest rate for April 1 to June 30, 2017, will be 4.50 percent. The rate is computed by...
Allstate Ranks Collin, Smith as Texas’ Stormiest Counties
Mar 28 2017 // Storms in Texas affected more Allstate insured homes in Collin County than any other part of the state over the past five years, while Smith County saw the highest frequency of lightning, the company says. Allstate...
Supreme Court Weighs Where Patents Lawsuits Can Be Filed
Mar 28 2017 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struggled over whether to upend nearly 30 years of law governing patent lawsuits that critics say allows often-baseless litigants to sue in friendly courts, giving them the upper hand over...
AFL-CIO Chief Vows to Sue If Trump Weakens Overtime Rule
Mar 28 2017 // The AFL-CIO will sue if the Department of Labor tries to water down a boost in overtime eligibility put in place by the Obama administration, the chief of the labor federation said in an interview. “Anything that...
Hailstorms Slam Parts of North Texas
Mar 27 2017 // Thunderstorms, producing up to softball size hail, pounded several cities north of Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex Sunday night causing extensive damage, the Insurance Council of Texas reported. Thousands of homeowner and auto...
Texas Bill Shielding Landowners from Rock Climbing Injury Lawsuits Advances
Mar 27 2017 // The Texas Senate has approved a bill protecting property owners statewide from liability for injuries incurred by people rock climbing on their land. The proposal by Republican Sen. Charles Perry of Lubbock now heads to...
Texas Senate OKs Ban on Abortion Coverage in Some Insurance Plans
Mar 23 2017 // The Texas Senate on March 22 preliminarily approved a bill prohibiting coverage of abortion by some health insurance plans in Texas — despite similar efforts stalling previously. The 19-10 vote leaves Sen. Larry...
Texas-Based ProAg to Acquire Iowa’s International Ag Insurance Solutions
Mar 23 2017 // Producers Ag Insurance Group Inc. (ProAg), a member of the Tokio Marine HCC group of companies, has agreed to acquire crop managing general agent, West Des Moines, Iowa-based International Ag Insurance Solutions LLC...
Texas-Based Neiman Marcus to Pay $1.6M in Suit Over 2013 Security Breach
Mar 23 2017 // Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. has agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over a 2013 security breach that exposed the credit and debit card data of about 350,000 shoppers. Court documents show the...
Review: Big Decrease in Accidents at Central Texas Train Crossings
Mar 21 2017 // Safety measures installed at Central Texas railroad crossings over the years have significantly curtailed train-vehicle accidents like the one this month in Mississippi that killed four Texas tourists. A review of Federal...
Trump Budget Would Eliminate Chemical Safety Board
Mar 21 2017 // When a Texas City refinery exploded in 2005, 15 people died. Months later, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board found that putting workers in temporary trailers near danger zones at the plant raised the death toll. Since then,...
Carlton, Lindsey Named Partners at Texas-Based Hotchkiss Insurance
Mar 20 2017 // Farrah Carlton and Gary Lindsey have been named partners at Dallas-based Hotchkiss Insurance. Carlton has been with Hotchkiss for more than 20 years, receiving several promotions during her career with the firm. She...
6 Texas Counties Declared Disaster Areas After Wildfires
Mar 20 2017 // Six counties in the Texas Panhandle have been declared disaster areas by Gov. Greg Abbott following the deadly wildfires that swept through the area on March 6 – 7 burning more than 440,000 acres. Abbott’s...
Texas Senate Committee Hears Testimony on Tweaked ‘Hail Litigation’ Bill
Mar 20 2017 // The Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee on March 9 heard testimony on a revised bill that aims to limit the number of policyholder lawsuits filed against property insurance companies following severe weather...
