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Will Commissioner Lara’s plan ease California’s insurance crisis?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

A week after negotiations to rescue California’s floundering home insurance market stalled out in the Legislature, the state’s top insurance regulator put out his own rescue plan that effectively amounts to a trade for the state’s major insurers.Under proposed regulations Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Thursday, major insurers will be required to cover a certain share of homeowners in the state’s most wildfire-prone areas. In exchange, the Department of Insurance will allow companies to charge more to cover the rising costs of doing business in a fire-ravaged state.RELATED: Governor, insurance commissioner announce major California home insurance overhaulLara called the package of new proposed regulations “the largest insurance reform” since 1988, the year California voters passed a proposition requiring insurance companies to get prior approval before raising premiums.The plan is meant to reverse what has amounted to a slow-motion exodus of private home insurers from...

California gas prices go up 14 cents in the past week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

LAFAYETTE, Calif. (KRON) -- It doesn’t look like there’s any sign of relief with gas prices in the Bay Area.We normally see a decline in gas prices after the Labor Day weekend, but that’s not the case. Gas prices are up to nearly $6 a gallon for unleaded in California, and if you need premium, expect to pay well over six bucks a gallon.Right now, the average in California is $5.82, according to AAA. The Bay Area does come in a bit under that.Napa County is seeing the highest prices in the Bay Area at $5.76 per gallon, and then those prices trickle down. Motorists in San Francisco are paying $5.68, and in Contra Costa County, the price averages $5.62. The lowest price in the Bay Area is currently in Solano County at $5.57 a gallon. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass returns next week in SF California’s gas prices are well over the national average, which is currently $3.84 per gallon. AAA said the primary reason is the surge in oil costs, which have jumped several dollars and are around $90...

Latinos who don’t speak Spanish are getting shamed for it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

About half of US Latinos who don’t speak Spanish well have been shamed by other Latinos for it, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. About half of US Latinos who don’t speak Spanish well have been shamed by other Latinos for it, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. (CNN) — What do Sen. Ted Cruz, Oscar-winning actor Ariana DeBose and a puzzled kid stumbling to answer questions on live TV have in common?They’re all Latinos who’ve been shamed for the way they speak Spanish.The issue regularly emerges in debates online – and even on stage during presidential primary season. And a new study from the Pew Research Center reveals how widespread it’s become.About half of US Latinos who d...

Pakistan concerned about visa delay for World Cup in India and “inequitable treatment”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistan Cricket Board has expressed concerns to the International Cricket Council over a delay in the issuing of its visas for next month’s World Cup in India and “inequitable treatment”.Pakistan is scheduled to leave for Hyderabad, via Dubai, in the early hours of Wednesday but the PCB has yet to receive the visas.“It’s a matter of disappointment the Pakistan team has to go through this uncertainty ahead of the major tournament,” PCB spokesperson Umar Farooq said in a statement.“There has been an extraordinary delay in getting clearance and securing Indian visas … we have written to the ICC raising our concerns about inequitable treatment towards Pakistan and reminding them of these obligations towards the World Cup.”A 33-member contingent, containing 18 players and a 15-member support staff, is due to travel to India.Farooq said Pakistan had reminded the ICC governing body for three years about its obligations but it “has all come down to the last two d...

Walmart’s head of fashion Denise Incandela talks about changing discounter’s staid image in fashion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart has been long known for its wide array of basic socks, T-shirts and pull-on pants. Now, the world’s largest retailer is betting it can change that image and be a destination for affordable stylish fashion for middle America.The Bentonville, Arkarsas-based discounter has been adding mannequins and colorful displays of its clothing, while bolstering its fashion to include casual work wear like cargo pants, jumpsuits and trendy dresses. Over the past few years, it’s brought in more than 1,000 brands including Reebok, Justice, and Champs and partnered with celebrities like Sofia Vergara for a jeans line as well as influencers like Rachel Zoe. The majority of the fashion assortment is under $40. Its mission: induce shoppers coming in to pick up bananas and cereal to cross the food aisles and buy clothing that fills more of their wardrobe needs. The changes — spearheaded under Denise Incandela, who has been with the discounter for six years, most recent...

Man killed at DC nightclub shooting identified as former Morgan State basketball player

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

Cru lounge and nightclub located on H Street in Northeast D.C. is closed after a fatal shooting Saturday. (WTOP/Shayna Estulin)A man is dead and three others were wounded during a shooting Saturday at a nightclub on H Street in Northeast D.C., police said.According to authorities, officers responded just before midnight to a report of a shooting at the Cru lounge and nightclub in the 1300 block of H Street in Northeast.Cru has been shut down by police for now, and its liquor license is suspended, pending a hearing.There they found three men and one woman who were shot. All four were taken to hospitals by D.C. Fire and EMS. The three injured people sustained non-life-threatening injuries, D.C. police said.One of the men, later identified as 31-year-old Blake Bozeman of Southeast D.C., died.Blake BozemanBozeman was a former basketball player for Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, and the son of former Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman, the university confirmed to WTOP. A ph...

Motorcycle fundraiser ride helps Denver sergeant who lost leg during Nuggets parade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Sunday morning, a fundraiser was held for the Denver police sergeant who was hit by a fire truck during the Nuggets Championship parade earlier this summer. The fundraiser was the 10th Annual MC-1 Foundation Honor Run Motorcycle Fundraiser Ride.   Sgt. Justin Dodge was injured in downtown Denver during the Nuggets Championship Parade on June 15. He has since had one leg amputated below the knee.MC-1 Foundation, which is a volunteer-based organization, has raised and donated $355,000 for first responders and their families. Dodge said that the last 13 weeks have been full of ups and downs with seven surgeries, countless appointments and some big setbacks. He said there is still a long road ahead, but he’s thankful for the support he’s gotten so far from the MC-1 Foundation. Volunteers raise funds for food pantry at risk of closing amid rising costs The ride initially began to honor Sgt. David Baldwin.“So my husband was MC-1. MC-1 was his callsign, '...

‘Enough is enough,’ as Věra Jourová prepares for ‘political detox’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

European Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová confirmed she wouldn’t seek a third mandate in Brussels. “Enough is enough,” she told the audience at a POLITICO Live event Monday, unsure of whether she would return to Czech politics. “You know, after 10 years, maybe one could have some kind of political detox,” she added.Jourová was first nominated to the Commission in 2014 by former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Because Babiš and Jourová’s ANO 2011 party is now in the opposition, it’s unlikely that Jourová would get the necessary support from her home country if she were to change her mind about seeking another mandate.

Buses replace Red Line service between Davis and Park Street as crews out out ‘rubbish fire’ near Harvard station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

Red Line riders were switched to shuttle buses for part of the route Monday morning as crews extinguished what officials said was a “rubbish fire.”The MBTA announced the service switch around 10 a.m. after a series of delays earlier in the morning, initially stating Porter to Park Street stations were affected before expanding the change to Davis.The move came as the transportation authority said Cambridge firefighters were investigating “reports of smoke” near Harvard station.In an update posted later in the morning, the Cambridge Fire Department said it was working on extinguishing a “rubbish fire” that appeared to have started in a tunnel outside of the station.No injuries were reported and, just after 10:20 a.m., the department said the fire had been extinguished and that train service was expected to resume shortly.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.https://twitter.com/CambridgeMAFi...

Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott opens up about facing Cowboys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Inside the visitors locker room Sunday at MetLife Stadium, Ezekiel Elliott had less than an hour to celebrate his first win as a Patriot before looking ahead.Elliott didn’t need a reminder of the next opponent on the Patriots’ schedule. It’s his former team, the one he hoped to spend his entire career with: Dallas.“I was definitely disappointed, but everything happens for a reason. God has his plan for us. I’m excited for this next chapter in my life,” Elliott said before later adding: “No one wants to leave the team they’re with. But more importantly, I’m very happy with where I’m at.”Elliott played the first seven years of his career in Dallas, where he took almost 2,000 carries, made three Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team. He won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016, rushing for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns, single-season marks he’s yet to top again. Elliott enjoyed three more 1,000-yard seasons in Dallas before the...