Inland Storms Reshape U.S. Home Insurance Map

FBI Raids Minneapolis Childcare Sites in Fraud Probe

Comey Indicted Over Seashell Photo Read as Trump Threat

Judge Orders Purdue Pharma to Pay $8 Billion in OxyContin Case

Chinese Automakers Mass on Mexican Side of U.S. Border

Inland Storms Reshape U.S. Home Insurance Map

Home insurance premiums are climbing fastest in states once considered low-risk, as hail, wildfires and severe wind damage reshape the industry's traditional coastal-versus-inland pricing model, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Iowa has seen approved home-insurance rates rise 91% since 2021, while Florida's increase over the same period is 35%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data through March. Hurricanes still dominate the most expensive coverage areas, with 46 of the 50 costliest counties nationwide facing them as the primary threat, mostly along the Gulf Coast. The next 50 most-expensive counties include parts of Oklahoma and Texas where hail, wildfires or tornadoes pose the greatest natural risk. Rising home values and higher construction and labor costs are also pushing premiums above the broader rate of consumer-price inflation since the pandemic. Verisk, a catastrophe-modeling firm, now estimates potential insured losses from severe thunderstorms at roughly $60 billion a year, nearly double its modeled losses from four years ago.

WSJ

FBI Raids Minneapolis Childcare Sites in Fraud Probe

Federal authorities executed 22 search warrants in Minneapolis on Tuesday as part of a fraud investigation focused on largely Somali-owned businesses, including childcare facilities, sources told Fox News. A Department of Justice spokesperson confirmed the operation as court-authorized law enforcement activity tied to an ongoing fraud investigation. Sources said the raids are not immigration-related and center on allegations that some childcare providers registered with the state were billing for services that were not actually provided. The FBI led the action alongside federal, state and local law enforcement partners.

Fox News

Comey Indicted Over Seashell Photo Read as Trump Threat

The Justice Department on Tuesday secured a new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, charging him with making a threat against President Trump and transmitting an interstate communication threatening to kill him. The charges stem from a May 2025 Instagram post in which Comey shared a photo of seashells arranged in the numbers "86 47" with a caption describing a shell formation on a beach walk. Trump officials interpreted the post as encouragement to harm the president, citing "86" as old-time slang for "get rid of" and Trump's status as the 47th president. The case marks the Trump administration's second attempt to prosecute Comey, a prominent critic of the president. An earlier indictment in September charged him with lying to Congress, but a judge dismissed that case.

WSJ

Judge Orders Purdue Pharma to Pay $8 Billion in OxyContin Case

A federal judge ordered Purdue Pharma to pay more than $8 billion to resolve a years-long criminal case accusing the OxyContin maker of defrauding the government, clearing the way for payments to begin flowing to people harmed by its drugs. Judge Madeline Cox Arleo of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey announced the penalty after a day-long sentencing hearing attended by company chair Steve Miller. The penalty, negotiated between Purdue and Justice Department prosecutors, ends the nearly seven-year case and starts distribution of more than $8 billion to states, cities, health insurers and individuals who have borne the costs of opioid-addiction treatment. A lawyer for Purdue said at the hearing that distributions could begin as soon as May 1.

FT

Chinese Automakers Mass on Mexican Side of U.S. Border

Chinese automakers are aggressively expanding sales in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, just five miles from the U.S. border, offering electric and hybrid vehicles at prices well below what major American manufacturers can match. A Geely dealership features the all-electric EX2 starting around $20,000, while BYD and Great Wall Motors showrooms display hybrid pickups and gas-powered SUVs aimed at cost-conscious buyers. Geely salesman Luis Hernandez said he has drawn many longtime Ford and Chevrolet owners with affordable sticker prices and Chinese technology, recently selling two Emgrand sedans starting around $17,000 to a Mexican family whose daughters commute to college in El Paso. Hernandez said the Chinese models would dominate the U.S. market if allowed in.

U.S. industry executives largely agree that affordable, high-tech Chinese cars could upend an American auto sector that contributes $1.3 trillion to the economy annually. Hyundai Motor Chief Executive José Muñoz said it is very difficult, if not impossible, to compete at Chinese price points without losing money. Sky-high tariffs on Chinese imports and registration rules have so far kept those vehicles out of the U.S., even when purchased in Mexico. A trio of senators urged the Trump administration this month to ban Chinese vehicles sold and registered in Mexico and Canada from entering the United States, and several dozen House lawmakers sent a similar letter this week. A Senate bill to prohibit Chinese carmakers from building cars in the U.S. is being drafted.

WSJ

APRIL 29 2004: LAST OLDSMOBILE ROLLS OFF LINE AS U.S. AUTO ERA FADES

On this day, the final Oldsmobile—a dark metallic cherry red Alero sedan—came off the Lansing, Michigan assembly line, marking the end of America’s oldest automotive brand. The shutdown highlighted how global competition, automation and shifting production—intensified in the early 2000s by China’s entry into the world trading system (the “China shock”)—were quietly reshaping factory work across the industrial Midwest. Oldsmobile’s legacy now lies not just in 35 million cars built, but in the communities that felt the first deep tremors of a broader deindustrialization wave.

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Sources

1. WSJ — Natural Disasters Are Rewriting Home Insurance Costs
2. Fox News — FBI Raids Minneapolis Childcare Facilities
3. WSJ — Justice Department Secures New Indictment Against James Comey
4. FT — Purdue Pharma Ordered to Pay More Than $8bn
5. WSJ — Chinese Cars Mass at Mexico Border