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155 insurance companies sue Xcel Energy over Marshall fire losses

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

More than 150 insurance companies are suing Xcel Energy over the Marshall fire in an attempt to reclaim money those insurers paid in settlements to the wildfire’s victims.The companies’ joint lawsuit comes less than a month after the Boulder County sheriff and district attorney named the utility as one of two entities responsible for the deadly Dec. 30, 2021, fire, which caused more than $2 billion in property damage.A 17-month investigation determined that the fire was started in part by a faulty Xcel Energy power line that arced and sent burning pieces of metal into dry brush at a county park. But the investigation also pinned blame on lingering embers from a debris fire that had been started a week earlier on property owned by the Twelve Tribes, a religious cult.The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Boulder County District Court, does not name the Twelve Tribes or its members as defendants. It also does not specify the amount of money the insurance companies are seeking from...

Broncos position preview: Will Javonte Williams be ready by Week 1?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

Editor’s note: Second in a series previewing the Broncos’ position groups entering training camp. Today, running backs.On the roster (six): Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Tony Jones Jr., Tyler Badie, Jaleel McLaughlin, FB Michael Burton.How many on the 53? Three running backs and BurtonMost impactful offseason move: Signing PerineThe Broncos used the second day of free agency in March to improve their depth at running back, signing Perine to a two-year, $7.5 million contract. Perine is an experienced player capable of stepping in if Williams has to miss time as he recovers from a torn ACL. Perine, who spent the last three years with the Cincinnati Bengals, totaled 394 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 95 carries while catching 38 passes on 51 targets for 287 yards and four more scores last season.Biggest question to answer in camp: Will Williams be ready by Week 1?Head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton have been optimistic about Williams’ recovery from a kne...

Iran and Russia are united in their denial of Azerbaijani and Ukrainian identities

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

In August 2022, Iran joined the Russian-Belarusian coalition fighting the genocidal war against Ukraine. By December of that year, Iran had supplied more than 1,700 drones that are capable of suicide attacks, surveillance and intelligence. This year Russia and Iran developed a plan to build a plant in the Russian Federation to build 6,000 Iranian drones each year, writes Taras Kuzio.Most Western analysts have focused on a common anti-American and anti-Western front as the main reason why Iran joined the Russian-Belarusian coalition. All three countries are hostile to what they describe as the US-led unipolar world which they seek to replace with a ‘multipolar world.’While there is no doubt Iran’s theocratic regime has always been virulently anti-American and anti-Western this does not explain why the most powerful potential member of such a coalition – China – has maintained a guarded neutrality and has not supplied military equipment to Russia. Indeed, at the UN, China has mainly a...

Prime Day 2023: Here are the 130+ best deals

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

130+ Best deals of Prime Day 2023Amazon Prime Day has begun, so now is the time to shop! The hottest items this year include electronics, kitchen appliances and toys, but you can find huge discounts on robot vacuums, outdoor furniture, TVs, beauty products and more. To help you quickly find the best deal of Prime Day 2023, we've curated a list of our favorites.The deals below were last updated on July 11, 2023, at 12:30 a.m. PT. Featured dealsIf you're looking for the best items in a glance, these products are our favorites for Prime Day.  Shark AV1010AE IQ Robot Vacuum 35% OFFIf you get this intelligent robot vacuum, you can forget about cleaning for up to 45 days. It cleans floors and carpets, works with voice or phone commands, and offers faster mapping than the previous model.Sold by Amazon Ear and Nose Hair Trimmer Clipper 75% OFFIt is important to always look your best. With this ear and nose hair trimmer, you can do exactly that. This waterproof model has a prot...

Single family residence sells for $5.5 million in Palo Alto

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

1930 Waverley Street – Google Street ViewA spacious historic house located in the 1900 block of Waverley Street in Palo Alto has a new owner. The 2,471-square-foot property, built in 1920, was sold on June 20, 2023. The $5,500,000 purchase price works out to $2,226 per square foot. The layout of this two-story house includes three bedrooms and three baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. Additionally, the home includes a double carport. The lot size of the property measures an impressive 9,954 square feet and features a pool for added enjoyment.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:In August 2022, a 2,776-square-foot home on Santa Rita Avenue in Palo Alto sold for $10,000,000, a price per square foot of $3,602. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Rinconada Avenue, Palo Alto, in July 2022, a 1,684-square-foot home was sold for $4,300,000, a price per square foot of $2,553. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,...

Elias: Judge-shopping a harmful American practice that should stop

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

Judge-shopping is commonplace in American courts, with lawyers constantly trying to get their cases heard by judges they consider predisposed to rule their way.Related ArticlesLocal Opinion | Elias: Solution to some of California’s housing problems at hand Local Opinion | Elias: California insurance chief mustn’t cave in to industry he regulates Local Opinion | Elias: Newsom should appeal decision to free Manson Family member It was carried to new extremes this spring, though, in at least two cases with the potential to affect millions of current and future lives. When one district judge ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval of the orally-taken abortion drug mifepristone and another ruled that the drug must be kept available in 17 states that sued for it in his court, there was no doubt about the judge-shopping in play.Both courts lacked any semblance of the fairness and objectivity that citizens ...

Barabak: Don’t count on California being a presidential kingmaker in 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

It’s summer in California, a time when thoughts turn to sandy beaches, sultry nights and, among a certain set, the significance of the state’s March 2024 presidential primary.More than half a century has passed since California played a decisive role choosing either a Democratic or Republican nominee.The last time was in 1972, when George McGovern’s defeat of Hubert Humphrey after a prolonged fight sent the South Dakota Democrat forth to a landslide defeat at the hands of President Nixon.Ron DeSantis hadn’t even been born.That’s a long, frustrating time for California to cede the spotlight to the likes of Iowa and New Hampshire — states that, respectively, have about as many residents as Los Angeles and San Diego.Clearly, size doesn’t matter. The Iowa-New Hampshire axis has been rooted at the front of the nominating calendar for the last several decades, giving voters there enormous sway over which candidates fall by the wayside and which advance to the many contests elsewhere aroun...

Cat’s disappearance near Disneyland sparks a 2-year tale of heartache and hope

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

Michelle Chang thought the wind sound echoing through the car was just her imagination as she drove south on the 5 freeway toward Irvine. Her weekend duffel bag was in the trunk, alternative music filled the air and Coco, a Snowshoe Siamese, was resting atop her kennel as she approached Disneyland.Chang was 21 and almost home, excited to surprise her mother with Coco’s visit on Mother’s Day weekend in 2021. The UC Santa Barbara graduate had taken the family’s beloved 8-year-old feline up north so she could have company during the pandemic.After missing for two years, Coco relaxes in Michelle Chang’s Irvine living room on Saturday, July 8, 2023. She was reunited with her family after a Disneyland guest found the gentle cat wandering outside her hotel near the resort, became concerned for her safety, and called a cat rescue group who discovered she was microchipped. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)Sisters Michelle Chang, 23, left, and Sarah, 21, give Coco a kiss a...

Does homeowners insurance cover landslides? That’s a key question after Southern California landslide

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

Will homeowners insurance pay if your house falls off a cliff?Not unless you have what’s called an added DIC — or Difference in Conditions — policy, as it turns out.That could be an issue for residents of the 12 Peartree Lane homes, in Rolling Hills Estates, that were destroyed by a massive and rapidly moving landslide on Saturday afternoon, July 8.Warnings allowed folks to evacuate quickly — and safely. But residents of the homes that will fall into the canyon below — 10 of the 12 are likely to do so — were left grappling with what’s next. And even those whose homes remain have concerns about the future.A landslide is considered an “earth movement” event and, like an earthquake, is excluded from standard homeowners and business insurance policies.Homeowners insurance policies include an “excisions clause” that exclude earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mine subsidences, mudslides, mud flow, earth sinking, and geological rising or shifting — and landslides.RELATED: After Southern Cali...

Opinion: Do we have it all wrong about giant sequoias and wildfires?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

As my colleagues and I hiked through the Nelder giant sequoia grove south of Yosemite National Park recently, we could barely believe our eyes. In 2017, the Railroad fire swept through nearly all of the Nelder Grove, burning lightly in most areas but very intensely in the portion where we walked, about six years after the fire. The naturally regenerating giant sequoia forest was so vigorous and lush that, in many places, we had to pull the stems of young sequoias apart just so we could walk between them. There were hundreds of them on almost every acre — many of them already 8 or 9 feet tall.It was a remarkable sight because, in that particular location, the Railroad fire burned hot, killing trees, including about three dozen mature sequoias.The U.S. Forest Service, which manages the Nelder Grove and many other sequoia groves, has repeatedly told the public, the media and Congress that giant sequoias are adapted to mild and moderate surface fires. The agency has insisted that emerge...