Latest Texas Headlines

All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Texas Cities Issue Mandatory Evacuation Orders as Hurricane Laura Advances

Aug 25 2020 // The mayor of Galveston, Texas, has called for a mandatory evacuation of the city after Tropical Storm Laura strengthened into a hurricane and its path shifted westward, increasing the chances that it could strike the...

Gulf Coast Fears Tropical Storm Laura Could Become Deadly Hurricane

Aug 24 2020 // Leaders on the U.S. Gulf Coast warned Monday that Tropical Storm Laura could rapidly intensify into one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the region and urged residents to prepare before landfall in Texas or Louisiana...

Two Bodies Found, Two Missing After Explosion in Texas Port

Aug 24 2020 // The bodies of two missing crew members of a dredging boat were found on Saturday, Aug. 22 following an explosion a day earlier in the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The search for two...

EPA to OK Use by American Airlines of Surface Coating to Fight COVID-19

Aug 24 2020 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce it will issue an emergency exemption to the state of Texas permitting it to allow American Airlines Group Inc. to use a new surface coating that kills...

Declarations

Aug 24 2020 // The Big One “This announcement means that California’s world-class earthquake early warning system will be a standard function on every Android phone — giving millions precious seconds to drop, cover and...

Texas Insurance Agency Released from Suit by Restaurant Group Over Virus Losses

Aug 21 2020 // A federal judge in Texas has dismissed an independent insurance agency from a lawsuit brought by a Dallas restaurant group seeking reimbursement for business income losses stemming from the civil authority enforced...

Texas Pharmacy Marketer Charged in $60M Kickback Scheme

Aug 21 2020 // A Texas-based pharmacy marketer has been charged by federal in a conjunction to a scheme to collect more than $60 million in healthcare kickbacks. Vinson Woodlee, owner and president of Med Left LLC, has been charged with...

As Texas Restaurant Industry Struggles, So Does Food Supply Chain

Aug 20 2020 // Before the coronavirus hit Texas earlier this year, Eric Silverstein celebrated one year of opening his newest restaurant, Bar Peached, in Austin. But ever since the pandemic led to business shutdowns and the...

Credit Rating of Southern Pioneer Property and Casualty Insurance Upgraded

Aug 19 2020 // The Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of Southern Pioneer Property and Casualty Insurance Co.(Southern Pioneer) in Jonesboro, Arkansas, has been upgraded by AM Best to “bbb+” from...

Dabney Named VP, Corporate Underwriting, at Texas Mutual Insurance Co.

Aug 18 2020 // Richard Dabney has been appointed vice president of corporate underwriting at the Austin-based workers’ compensation insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Company. In this newly created VP position within the underwriting...

Texas Insurance Commissioner Sullivan Returning to Private Sector

Aug 18 2020 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan will resign from his post in September and return to the private sector, the Texas Department of Insurance reported. In his three years at the agency, Sullivan, who took the top...

Texas Forest Service Warns of Increased Wildfire Activity, Fuel Dryness

Aug 17 2020 // Continued hot and dry conditions across much of the state have resulted in increased wildfire activity, particularly in north central Texas and in areas along the Interstate-35 corridor, the Texas A&M Forest Service...

Judge Tosses Texas Barbershops’ Suit Against Insurer Over Coronavirus Losses

Aug 16 2020 // A federal judge has agreed with an insurer that a group of barbershops in the San Antonio, Texas-area have no basis for claims seeking coverage under their commercial insurance policies for business interruption losses...

Dallas Doctor Sentenced to 5.5 Years in Prison for Health Care, Insurance Fraud

Aug 14 2020 // A Texas-based anesthesiologist has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison and ordered to pay more than $82.9 million in restitution for his part in a $200 million healthcare and insurance fraud scheme, according...

Texas Mutual Names Strong VP, Underwriting Operations

Aug 13 2020 // Paschal Strong has been appointed vice president of underwriting operations at workers’ compensation insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Co. In this newly created position within the underwriting division, Strong will be...

Texas to Add New Fee to Insurance Form Filings Starting in September

Aug 11 2020 // There will be an additional $20.50 fee on insurance form filings beginning Sept. 1 in Texas, the state insurance department has reported. The Texas Department of Insurance said fee will support a technology project that...

Texas Windstorm Insurance Company: No Rate Change for Now

Aug 11 2020 // The board of directors of Texas’ property insurer last resort for wind and hail in the state’s coastal counties has voted to file a 0% rate change with the Texas Department of Insurance. The Texas Windstorm...

Texas Governor Extends Disaster Declaration for COVID-19

Aug 10 2020 // Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has extended a statewide disaster declaration he first issued in March to allow the state to better respond to the coronavirus pandemic. “Renewing this Disaster Declaration will provide...

Texas Reports Nearly 9,200 New COVID Cases, 245 Deaths

Aug 6 2020 // Texas health officials reported almost 9,200 confirmed new coronavius cases Tuesday as a convention center in the hard-hit Rio Grande Valley opened as a makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients. The Department of State...

Urban Flooding Is On The Rise, So What Can Be Done?

Aug 6 2020 // As hurricane season heats up, a growing number of properties located outside of FEMA-designated high-risk flood zones are already flooding. The problem is especially bad in the urban areas of America’s cities. A...