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Homeowners face rising insurance rates as climate change makes wildfires, storms more common

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to afford insurance on their homes, a problem only expected to worsen because insurers and lawmakers have underestimated the impact of climate change, a new report says.A report from First Street Foundation released Wednesday says states such as California, Florida and Louisiana, which are prone to wildfires and damaging storms and flooding, are likely to see the most dramatic increases in premiums. But the fire that destroyed the Hawaiian community of Lahaina on Aug. 8, as well as the historic flooding that happened in Vermont and Maine in July, are examples of events that could drive up insurance costs for homeowners in other states.“If you’re not worried, you’re not paying attention,” said California Sen. Bill Dodd, whose district includes the wine-country counties devastated by the LNU Complex fires in 2020.First Street estimates, factoring climate models into the financial risk of properties in its report, t...

Today in History: September 20, Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in tennis ‘battle of the sexes’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

Today in History Today is Wednesday, Sept. 20, the 263rd day of 2023. There are 102 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Sept. 20, 1973, in their so-called “battle of the sexes,” tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, at the Houston Astrodome. On this date: In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed enroute, but one of his ships eventually circled the world.) In 1881, Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding the assassinated James A. Garfield. In 1946, the first Cannes Film Festival, lasting 16 days, opened in France. In 1962, James Meredith, a Black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett. In 1964, The Beatles concluded their first full-fledged U.S. tour by performing in a charity concert at the...

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt defends China’s invitation to AI summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

The U.K. will invite China to participate only in limited portions of an artificial intelligence summit planned for later this year amid hesitation from the U.S. and other allies, U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told POLITICO Tech.“We’re not going to invite China to every single part of the summit,” Hunt said, as he defended the decision to include Beijing despite widespread concerns about its use of AI technology for surveillance and suppression. He added that British officials intend “to be very open” about practices that “we don’t consider to be acceptable.”“If you’re trying to create structures that make AI something that overall is a net benefit to humanity, then you can’t just ignore the second-biggest economy in the world,” Hunt said in an interview that will air Wednesday. “That doesn’t mean that you make any kind of compromises with your values but sometimes dialogue can be beneficial.”The summit, announced in June by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is a U.K.-led eff...

Chicago Cubs snap five-game losing streak behind Alexander Canario’s grand slam in 14-1 win over Pittsburgh Pirates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

Somehow, the Chicago Cubs had to find a way to reverse the alarming trend over the last 10 days during their slide down the wild-card standings.Manager David Ross thought the offense just needed something to turn their fortunes.“It really feels like we haven’t gotten that big double in the gap or the three-run homer,” Ross said Tuesday before the series opener with the Pittsburgh Pirates. “It feels like things aren’t going our way and someone will make it turn, one player step up and get a big knock in a big situation and guys will take a deep breath and we’ll get back on this roll that we’ve been on for a pretty good while now before that last road trip.”Dansby Swanson set the tone two batters into the bottom of the first inning Tuesday. He slugged an 0-2 elevated fastball into the center field basket for a two-run home run, one of four the Cubs hit in their 14-1 blowout win at Wrigley Field.The Cubs (79-72) ended their five-game losi...

Orioles win 4th straight, blast Astros, 9-5, behind Austin Hays’ two-homer game: ‘We’re clicking right now’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

No player in the major leagues is more familiar with Camden Yards’ unnatural left field wall than Austin Hays.Playing at a stadium with a different — but also strange — one Tuesday, Hays took advantage of Minute Maid Park’s shorter left field, blasting two home runs and leading the Orioles to a 9-5 victory.Baltimore’s bats combined for 10 hits and four homers for the club’s fourth straight win — a streak that follows its four-game skid last week — to drop the Orioles’ magic number to win the American League East to eight.“I feel like we’re clicking right now,” the left fielder said.Hays’ first homer — a three-run shot in the third to give Baltimore a lead it wouldn’t relinquish — easily cleared the short porch in left field. It wouldn’t have been gone at 14 MLB stadiums, including Camden Yards, which altered its dimensions last season by moving the left field wall back almost 30 fee...

'Coach Prime' rocks sunglasses from San Diego company

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Deion Sanders, also known as "Coach Prime," has taken college football by storm this year as head coach of the University of Colorado Boulder.The polarizing former NFL star is not afraid to let others know what's on his mind both on and off the field.But did you know that Sanders' wardrobe is catching the eye of San Diegans? Sanders' shades are actually from a sunglasses and eyewear store called Blenders in Pacific Beach."This has been the craziest week of my life, hands down," said Chase Fisher, founder and CEO of Blenders, during an interview with FOX 5. "I feel like I've been shot out of a cannon and like landed in this new universe with all of these new opportunities, it's unbelievable." VIDEO: Actor Jason Momoa greets fans at two San Diego stores Prior to Colorado's dramatic win over Colorado State in an intense rivalry game on Saturday, Colorado State head football coach Jay Norvell took a shot at Sanders, saying he (Norvell) talks to adults by taking off his ha...

British Airways to add new London flight from San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Traveling to Europe will become more convenient as British Airways is adding a second flight between San Diego International Airport (SAN) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR), officials said.Starting April 20, 2024, the new second flight (BA265 and BA264) will arrive in San Diego at 3:25 p.m. and depart for London at 5:15 p.m., SAN said in a news release Tuesday. Since June 2011, British Airways has offered one SAN-LHR nonstop flight per day, according to SAN. Those flights (BA273 and BA272) will be retimed to arrive in San Diego from London at 6:10 p.m. and departing San Diego for London at 8 p.m.BA 264/BA265 will serve passengers on a 272-seat Boeing 777-200 aircraft while BA272/BA273 will operate on a 214-seat Boeing 787-8 aircraft, the San Diego airport said. Water rate hike approved in San Diego “The expansion of British Airways flights between London Heathrow Airport and San Diego International Airport opens up a world of possibilities,” said Kimber...

Puppies training to be future assistance dogs earn their wings at Detroit-area airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Five puppies learning to be assistance dogs had a howling good time Tuesday during a training exercise at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.During the training, the quintet of pooches and their trainers walked through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, rode an elevated tram and boarded an airplane.It was all part of an effort to acclimate the dogs to one of the many settings they may experience later in life. The training was led by Paws With A Cause — a Wayland, Michigan-based nonprofit that oversees the custom training of puppies that become assistance dogs for people with disabilities. The group pairs puppies with volunteers who raise and socialize the dogs for the first year of their lives.“Eventually, when they’re placed with our clients, they may well need to fly with them,” said Liz Hood, who coordinates foster puppy curriculum for the organization. “So, if they have this exposure now while they’re young, then it means it’s not g...

A Batman researcher said ‘gay’ in a talk to schoolkids. When asked to censor himself, he quit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Marc Tyler Nobleman was supposed to talk to kids about the secret co-creator of Batman, with the aim of inspiring young students in suburban Atlanta’s Forsyth County to research and write.Then the school district told him he had to cut a key point from his presentation — that the artist he helped rescue from obscurity had a gay son. Rather than acquiesce, he canceled the last of his talks.“We’re long past the point where we should be policing people talking about who they love,” Nobleman said in a telephone interview. “And that’s what I’m hoping will happen in this community.” State laws restricting talk of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools have proliferated in recent years, but the clash with Nobleman shows schools may be limiting such discussions even in states like Georgia that haven’t officially banned them. Some proponents of broader laws giving parents more control over schools argue they extend to discussion of sex and gender even if the s...

State governors from Arizona, New Mexico seek stronger economic ties with Taiwan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:58 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Governors from the Southwestern United States are pursuing stronger business ties with Taiwan in hopes of attracting new foreign investments and jobs to their landlocked states. Trade missions this week have taken New Mexico. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Arizona counterpart Katie Hobbs, both Democrats, to the self-governing island of Taiwan.Hobbs said her goal was to encourage ongoing investments to make Arizona a hub for semiconductor manufacturing. She met Monday with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. executives and suppliers, visiting their plant as well as water treatment facilities. Arizona leaders have been touting that the state will be the home of a Taiwanese microchip manufacturer’s first U.S. plant, generating 12,000 construction jobs. Construction started in 2021 on that sprawling facility that will utilize precision trademark technology for semiconductor fabrication with the capacity to produce 20,000 wafers per month. Once completed and ope...