National News

Hollywood Stars Join Supporting Cast for Insurtech

The company isn’t a well-known name in Silicon Valley, but its investors certainly are. San Francisco-based Ethos Technologies Inc. was founded last year, the product of two Stanford MBAs. The company’s core product is a streamlined, and affordable process for …

A Whole New Ballgame: Managing Risk for World Champion Houston Astros

Monica Rusch’s work was easier when the Houston Astros were losers. She was accustomed to worrying about fans being hit by balls, drunks getting too rowdy, players suffering injuries, thieves breaking into parked cars, slips and falls in the stands, …

How Prices for Injured Workers’ Medical Professional Care Compare in 35 States: WCRI

Prices paid for medical professional services vary significantly across states, ranging from 26 percent below the median in Florida to 158 percent above median in Wisconsin, according to a 35-state study. States with no fee schedules for professional services had …

Sizing Up the Gig Economy

Look around, and it seems more Americans are working outside traditional full-time jobs — whether as freelance graphic designers or independent contractors or Uber drivers. Or maybe not. A government report this week suggested that the proportion of such jobs …

Employers Waking Up to Costs of Employees Falling Asleep on the Job

An employer with 1,000 employees can expect to lose more than $1 million each year in missed workdays, lower productivity and increased healthcare due to employee fatigue, according to a new survey. About one-third of all employers report employee injuries …

Ease Up On Commercial Drones, Scientists Advise Safety Regulators

Science advisers to the federal government say safety regulators are hindering the spread of commercial drones by being too cautious about the risks posed by the flying machines. The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine said in a report …

FEMA Staffing Stretched Thin as Hurricane Season Gets Underway

As Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida last September, the top U.S. disaster response official ordered all hands on deck. With 4,500 Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers already helping survivors of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, FEMA chief Brock Long told …

Trump ‘Probably’ Will Back Lifting Federal Ban on Marijuana

President Donald Trump said last Friday that he was inclined to support a bipartisan effort in Congress to ease the U.S. ban on marijuana, a proposal that would dramatically reshape the nation’s legal landscape for pot users and businesses. The …

Accenture Offers Way to Erase Gender, Racial, Ethnic Bias in Artificial Intelligence

Consulting firm Accenture has a new tool to help businesses detect and eliminate gender, racial and ethnic bias in artificial intelligence software. Companies and governments are increasingly turning to machine-learning algorithms to help make critical decisions, including who to hire, …

FEMA Looking to Expand Disaster Reinsurance Program

The federal government, seeking to protect itself from the growing cost of natural disasters, is borrowing a technique from the private sector and buying reinsurance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which started purchasing reinsurance last year for the National Flood …

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