Declarations

AI Risk Assessment

“There are no sectors of the economy that are insulated from the potential impact of AI. As an industry we need to prepare for how these rapidly evolving risks are underwritten across commercial insurance and what emerging claims patterns will look like.”

— Oliver Brew, co-author of the report and head of Cyber Centre of Excellence, Lockton Re, in a statement regarding a new report from Lockton Re, in collaboration with Lockton International and Armilla AI, which found rapid adoption of AI by organizations across all industries is changing the commercial risk landscape and suggested it’s time to consider making AI its own risk classification

Smelling Nose of Texas

“Texans should not be forced to endure offensive and harmful odors in their own communities, especially when a company is failing to comply with the standards required by law.”

— Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filing a lawsuit against Darling Ingredients, Inc., an Irving-based company that turns used cooking oil, food waste, and inedible animal parts into animal feed and fertilizer. Residents have described odors coming from the facility as smelling like dog food, cooked grease, and burning feathers. The lawsuit claims emissions interfere with residents’ health and their ability to enjoy their land, a potential violation of the Texas Clean Air Act.

Plate Privacy, Please

“Increasingly, courts have recognized that the use of surveillance technologies can violate the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Although this area of law is still developing, the use of LPRs and predictive algorithms to track and flag individuals’ movements represents the type of sweeping surveillance that should raise constitutional concerns.”

— A letter from privacy and advocacy organizations calling on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to remove a network of license plate readers across Southern California that may feed data into a U.S. Border Patrol predictive domestic intelligence program.

Fighting Fire with Fire

“Decades of fire suppression have allowed other plant species to move in, increasing competition and fuel buildup such as leaf litter, needles, and woody debris,”

— U.S. Forest Service’s Public Affairs Officer Ethan Ready, in an email to VTDigger, advocating for the Northern Escarpment Ecological Restoration and Fire Resilience program, designed to improve the area’s resistance to wildland fires, pest infestations, and drought. The project covers four areas spanning 2,770 acres of the Green Mountain National Forest and would begin in the spring of 2027. The project aims to reduce flammable materials and expand native plant communities that depend on regular, low-intensity fire in the forests.

State Budget Shortfalls

“Over the past year, federal policy changes have altered the federal-state partnership by shifting costs to states and reducing support for longstanding programs that serve working families. Unlike the federal government, states across the country—including Illinois—are required to balance their budgets, and as repeatedly stated, Illinois cannot backfill billions of dollars as the federal government makes reductions.”

— Press release from the Illinois Governor’s Office of Management and Budget warning of “unprecedented” budgetary pressures. Illinois is already expecting $587 million less in revenue for the year through June 30, due to provisions in Trump’s signature tax cut legislation.

Coal to Roll On

“Without even a public meeting, TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) is telling the people who live near these coal plants that they will breathe in toxic pollution from not one but two major power plants for the foreseeable future. This decision is salt in the wound after ignoring widespread calls for cleaner, cheaper replacements for the Kingston and Cumberland coal plants.”

— Gabi Lichtenstein, Tennessee Program Coordinator for Appalachian Voices, reacting to TVA’s (Tennessee Valley Authority) reconsidering two plant closures because of regulatory changes and increasing demand for electricity. TVA previously planned to shutter the plants by 2035