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Newsom throws support behind California home insurance overhaul with order that could speed rate hikes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom leaned into California’s home insurance market meltdown with an executive order Thursday urging the state’s elected commissioner to speed approval of rate increases and let insurers base requested hikes on factors posed by increasing risks of extreme weather and wildfires fueled by climate change.Consumer advocates have long opposed the overhaul, but insurance companies say it is key to making coverage more accessible.“It is critical that California’s insurance market works to protect homes and businesses in every corner of our state,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the order. “A balanced approach that will help maintain fair prices and protections for Californians is essential.”Industry representatives said the order is an important step in averting collapse of the state’s insurance market due to losses from recent wildfires and other disasters and state regulations that make it hard to quickly raise rates to ...

49ers pregame: Brandon Aiyuk out for home opener against Giants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers’ top receiver through two games as well as last season, is not suiting up for tonight’s home opener.Aiyuk’s shoulder injury Sunday has prompted the 49ers (2-0) to deactivate him against the New York Giants (1-1). He last missed a game in the 2020 regular-season finale of his rookie year.The 49ers’ wide receiving corps will instead consist of Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud, Ronnie Bell and Chris Conley, an eighth-year veteran who got activated from the practice squad to make his potential 49ers debut.Also inactive for the 49ers are cornerback Ambry Thomas, offensive lineman Nick Zakelj, defensive lineman Kalia Davis, running back Ty Davis-Price and linebacker Jalen Graham. Brandon Allen was designated as the third quarterback.Aiyuk earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors with his season debut (eight catches, 129 yards, two touchdowns), and, despite hurting his shoulder on his firs...

Actor Jason Momoa (and his premium vodka) heading to the Bay Area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

Drink in the image.Jason Momoa emerges from the snow-fed springs and shakes the water off his chiseled torso and magnificent mane.Is this the first trailer for “Aquaman 2,” due in theaters Dec. 20?Could double as that, but no. This is footage promoting Meili Vodka, one of Momoa’s side hustles.The actor has joined the ranks of celebrities with their own branded spirits — in this case, eschewing the crowded tequila field in hopes of making a case for high-end vodka.Momoa created and co-founded Meili Vodka, a spirit distilled in Montana using grain grown there and water sourced there, with friend and business partner Blaine Halvorson, an LA-based cult-favorite clothing designer who grew up in Big Sky Country.Now he’s introducing the vodka to the West Coast. After drawing huge crowds in SoCal this week, Momoa is coming to the Bay Area on Friday and Saturday for meet-and-greets and bottle signings with fans (aka would-be customers).“Seven years ago, we...

Stroke survivors take their swings at San Jose golf event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

Deb Shaw was not a big golf player before she had three strokes between 2016 and 2019. But putting in virtual reality and later on a real course became a big part of her recovery, especially because it allowed her to get outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.She and her husband, Bob Shaw, saw the potential for inspiring other survivors by sharing information about therapies available to them that they might know about and getting them out into the community. They founded a nonprofit, Champion the Challenges in 2020 — and last week hosted more than 250 stroke survivors and their caregivers at the third annual Golf4Life, a free event at Los Lagos Golf Course in San Jose that was more about the experience than the expertise.Champion the Challenges founders Bob Shaw, left, and Deb Shaw, center, pose with Mariah Fisher, a teenage stroke survivor who was the keynote speaker at the Golf4Life event held at Los Lagos Golf Course in San Jose on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Sal Pizarro/Ba...

As uncertainty swirls, WSU and OSU collide on the field: Does the outcome matter to their futures?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

There’s plenty at stake Saturday when Oregon State and Washington State collide in a primetime broadcast on FOX. Both teams are ranked, undefeated and have their sights on a berth in the Pac-12 championship game.That’s all fine and dandy. But what’s really on the line for the two schools left behind in the realignment game?It doesn’t matter which team wins. Rather, the caliber of play matters. The TV ratings matter. The lasting impression matters as the Beavers and Cougars link arms and plot a future together.“People can watch these teams and say, ‘They play like power conference schools, but they aren’t going to be a part of it, really?” an industry source said. “So in that case, what does it really mean to be a Power Five school? These teams aren’t, but Vanderbilt is. Boston College is. So what am I missing?”WSU and OSU believe the only thing missing is their presence in one of the power conferences.The Cougars have been bowl eligible for seven consecutive seasons (excluding...

Murdoch’s exit comes as conservative media is increasingly fractured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

By Mae Anderson | Associated PressNEW YORK — The departure of Rupert Murdoch as the leader of Fox’s parent company and his News Corp. media holdings after decades at the helm is unlikely to have as much of an impact on conservative media overall as it would have a decade ago.That’s because the landscape in general is increasingly fractured, experts said. With a growing number of digital media sources available to them, right-leaning audiences have plenty of options for getting news, opinion and entertainment.“I think if Rupert Murdoch had stepped down in 2000 it would have had a much greater impact,” said Howard Polskin, whose website The Righting.com monitors conservative media. “The conservative media landscape is just much more diverse now.”Fox News’ website had nearly 74.8 million viewers in July 2023, while the No. 2 most visited site, The Washington Examiner, had just 7.5 million and No. 3, The Epoch Times, had 6.2 million, according t...

2 dead after Berkeley police shoot suspected gunman at Toyota service center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

ALBANY, Calif. (KRON) -- A suspect involved in a shooting at a Toyota Service Center was shot by responding Berkeley Police Department officers Thursday morning, police say. Witnesses saw the suspect shoot a female employee at the Toyota Service Center, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said. Police then responded and shot the suspect. Both the suspect and the Toyota employee were killed. The relationship between the suspect and gunman is unknown at this time. At 11:14 a.m., Berkeley police responded to a shooting at the Toyota Service Center in Albany, the department said. Officers on scene located a victim as well as a suspect. After locating the suspect, gunfire occurred between the suspect and Berkeley police, according to authorities.Berkeley PD requested assistance from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office after the shooting.The shooting happened inside the auto shop, and there were other people there when it happened, ACSO said. There is an internal investigation underway to...

911 call shows bizarre circumstances of F-35 ejection: ‘Not sure where the airplane is,’ pilot says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A military pilot whose advanced fighter jet went temporarily missing over the weekend is heard repeatedly requesting an ambulance in a perplexing 911 call from the South Carolina home where he had parachuted to safety, according to an audio recording released Thursday to The Associated Press.The four-minute recording captures the bizarre circumstances for the three unidentified people involved: a North Charleston resident calmly explaining that a pilot just parachuted into his backyard, the pilot who doesn’t know what became of his F-35 jet, and a puzzled dispatcher trying to make sense of it all.“We got a pilot in the house, and I guess he landed in my backyard, and we’re trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house, please,” the resident said.The pilot, who said he was 47, reported feeling “OK” after falling what he estimated was 2,000 feet. Only his back hurt, he said. The resident said the pilot looked fine.“Ma’am, a military jet cr...

Jets’ Zach Wilson looking to leave his struggles against the Patriots in the past

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson certainly is not alone in having a tough time finding success against the New England Patriots’ defense.But the New York Jets quarterback has had some of his worst moments while facing Bill Belichick’s bunch. And that’s something he hopes to change Sunday when the teams square off at MetLife Stadium.“I just need to be smart with the ball,” Wilson said Thursday. “Especially last time we played them at home, a lot of them were just dumb plays by me. I need to play one play at a time, be efficient with the football, trust what I’m seeing and play ball.”Much easier said than done, though.Wilson is 0-4 against the Patriots — the last four losses of the Jets’ 14-game skid against their AFC East rivals. In those four starts, the third-year quarterback has thrown two touchdown passes with seven INTs — all coming in the Jets’ two home games — and a passer rating of 50.6 while completing just 50.9% of his passes.“They d...

AFC South rivals Texans and Jaguars looking for better offense after ugly performances

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:01 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Houston and Jacksonville have this much in common through two weeks: neither is thrilled with its offense.The Texans (0-2) have scored 29 points, which ranks 29th in the league and is slightly better than tied-for-last Carolina, Cincinnati and Las Vegas. The Jaguars (1-1) are coming off a nine-point showing in their home opener against Kansas City and are last in the league in third-down conversions (25%).Both teams will be looking for better results when they meet Sunday in Jacksonville.“It’s just remembering who we are,” Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk said. “One bad game doesn’t define us. Obviously it’s frustrating. … It just goes back to us kind of being a little out of character and just pressing and trying to make plays that weren’t there.”Jacksonville, the defending AFC South champion, entered the season optimistic it would average 30 points a game after returning nine offensive starters, adding standout receiver Calvin Ridley and being in the...