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Florida’s already-volatile insurance industry is bracing for Hurricane Idalia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

New York (CNN) — As it churns toward the disaster-prone Sunshine State, Hurricane Idalia could be a litmus test for Florida’s increasingly volatile and expensive insurance landscape.Despite several insurance companies exiting Florida, experts say the state’s residents are still mostly covered this hurricane season.But insurers are keeping a wary eye on Idalia, expected to make landfall Wednesday. Experts say the state’s insurance industry can absorb potential losses for now, but an Idalia hit on a highly populated area could affect those companies’ future outlooks.Conditions could change ahead of Wednesday, including the strength and path of the storm.“This would be a very different event if it was going right into Tampa versus much less populated areas,” said Matthew Carletti, an analyst at JMP Securities. “There should be much less loss where it’s headed now, but that could change. Tampa is on the edge of the cone, but (the storm) could still end up there, and that will have ...

Walt Disney Pictures VFX workers file for unionization

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

New York (CNN) — Disney’s visual effects crew filed for an election to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board with the backing of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union announced Monday, just weeks after Marvel’s VFX moved to unionize.More than 80% of Walt Disney Picture’s 18 in-house VFX crewmembers signed their authorization cards, IATSE said in a release.Marvel’s and Disney’s filings are the first for VFX professionals, who “have joined together to demand the same rights and protections as their unionized colleagues throughout the film industry,” IATSE said.The announcement comes as industries throughout Hollywood are demanding improved labor conditions. While the Marvel Studios VFX unionization effort is set to count votes on September 12, workers at Puerto Rico-based Gladius Studios also voted unanimously to unionize earlier this month. Hollywood productions have screeched to a halt since the Writers Guild of America announced a st...

Arrest made in connection with deadly crash on I-95 in North Attleboro

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

A 50-year-old man from Rhode Island has been taken into custody following a fatal hit-and-run crash in North Attleboro that left one man dead and another in critical condition, according to officials.Massachusetts State Police announced the arrest of Joseph Pompei Jr. of Cranston, RI, Tuesday morning. Authorities said Pompei allegedly fled the scene of a fatal crash on I-95 Monday afternoon after he struck an SUV while heading southbound, causing it to veer off the road.The SUV then went through the highway’s median and struck a sedan belonging to Randall Ricketts, 58, of Foxborough, who was on I-95 North.Ricketts later died of his injuries while the SUV driver, described by state police as a 61-year-old man from Rhode Island, suffered life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital.Authorities say Pompei has been charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of a crash, causing fatal injuries, and other rela...

Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. knocked over by fan looking for photo during blowout win over Rockies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

Without much entertainment provided by the home team on the diamond, some knucklehead fans decided to take matters into their own hands on Monday night at Coors Field in Denver.Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. was approached on the field by two spectators in the middle of the seventh inning during Atlanta’s 14-4 victory over the Rockies. The first fan ran towards Acuna Jr. wrapping his arms around him and the other knocked the outfielder to the ground as security attempted to pry them off of him.“I was a little scared at first,” Acuña said after the incident. “I think the fans were out there and asking for pictures. I really couldn’t say anything because at that point, security was already there and we were already kind of tangled up, but security was able to get there and everything’s OK. We’re all OK and I hope they’re OK.”Outfielders Michael Harris III and Kevin Pillar ran to the right fielder to make sure their MVP fron...

Former Cubs president Theo Epstein sells Lakeview home after purchasing a $12M mansion in Connecticut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

Former Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein and his wife, Marie, on Friday sold their six-bedroom, 7,000-square-foot brick and limestone mansion in Lakeview for $3.5 million. The sale follows their purchase last year of an $11.9 million mansion in Greenwich, Conn.Now a consultant for Major League Baseball, Epstein oversaw the Cubs’ baseball operations from 2011 until stepping down in November 2021. That included leading the team to the 2016 World Series title.In Lakeview, Epstein and his wife paid $3.25 million in late 2011 for the mansion, which at that time was newly built. They outbid then-Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Sharp for the mansion.The Epsteins first listed the mansion in September 2022 for $3.6 million through real estate agents’ private listing network, and the house briefly went under contract. After that deal fell through, the Epsteins and listing agent Jeff Lowe of Compass listed it publicly at a higher, $3.75 million asking price.The couple then listed...

Magnitude 3.7 earthquake reported off Oceanside coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A 3.7 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oceanside early Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The quake struck shortly after 1 a.m. roughly 37.5 miles southwest of the Oceanside coast, 27.8 miles away from San Clemente Island at a depth of 3.7 miles.According to the USGS Shake Map, the earthquake was able to be felt from Tijuana in the south to Long Beach in the north, with reports of shaking throughout San Diego County. Commuters in these San Diego areas spend 10% of their annual wages on the drive: report Within an hour of the initial earthquake, a pair of smaller quakes, with a magnitude of 1.5 and 1.6, were reported in the nearby area in the Pacific Ocean.The National Weather Service also said that no tsunami warnings or advisories were expected due to the earthquake.There were no reports of damages or injuries as of 7 a.m. Tuesday related to the earthquake.

A “farewell ceremony” for Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has taken place, his spokespeople say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A “farewell ceremony” has taken place for mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash last week, his spokespeople said Tuesday in a terse statement on social media.“Those who wish to bid their farewell” to the mercenary leader should go to the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, his hometown, the statement said.Earlier media reports about the funeral mentioned other cemeteries in the city as likely sites for the burial, which has been shrouded in secrecy. It wasn’t clear from the statement if Prigozhin has already been buried or if it was still to happen.Earlier, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin is not planning to attend a funeral for Prigozhin, who who challenged the Russian leader’s authority in an armed rebellion in June. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn’t say where or when he would be buried because it was a private family matter.Also on Tuesday, a funeral was held at St. Petersburg’...

US consumer confidence wanes with prices still high and signs of a cooling job market

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

Americans are feeling less confident financially as summer comes to a close and high prices and interest rates weigh on their willingness to spend.There were also signs Tuesday of cooling in what has been a very resilient U.S. jobs market. The Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 106.1 in August from a revised 114 in July. Analysts were expecting a reading of 116.August’s swoon — which has somewhat mirrored the stock market decline this month — erased gains from June and July.The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. Both measures saw significant declines in August.Consumers’ view of current conditions fell to 144.8 from 153, and the index for future expectations slid to 80.2 from 88 in July. Readings below 80 for future expectations historically signals a recession within a year.Consumer spending accounts for around 70% of U.S. economic act...

3M agrees to pay $6 billion to settle earplug lawsuits from U.S. service members

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Chemical and consumer product manufacturer 3M has agreed to pay $6 billion to settle numerous lawsuits from U.S. service members who say they experienced hearing loss or other serious injuries after using faulty earplugs made by the company.The settlement, consisting of $5 billion in cash and $1 billion in 3M stock, will be made in payments that will run through 2029. The agreement announced by the Minnesota company on Tuesday marks a resolution to one of the largest mass torts in U.S. history.Hundreds of thousands of veterans and current service members have reportedly sued 3M and Aearo Technologies, a company that 3M acquired in 2008, over their Combat Arms Earplug products. The service members alleged that a defective design allowed the products — which were intended to protect ears from close range firearms and other loud noises — to loosen slightly and allow hearing damage, according to Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis, & Overholtz PLLC, one of the law firms represen...

Graduate student charged with murder in killing of University of North Carolina faculty member

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:56 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Police charged a University of North Carolina graduate student Tuesday with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a faculty member that caused a campus lockdown amid a search for the gunman.Tailei Qi, 34, is due in court later Tuesday for an initial hearing in the Monday killing of Zijie Yan inside a science building on the Chapel Hill campus. In addition to the murder count, he is charged with having a gun on educational property.Yan is listed on the school’s website as an associate professor in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, while Qi is listed as a graduate student in Yan’s research group.Qi, who lives in Chapel Hill, was arrested during a roughly three-hour lockdown that followed the shooting, authorities said at a Monday news conference.“To actually have the suspect in custody gives us an opportunity to figure out the why and even the how, and also helps us to uncover a motive and really just why this happened today. Why ...