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Southern California tops wildfire risk rankings as insurance gets harder to find

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters fight a wildfire burning on the north side of CA-134 and CA-2 freeways, slowly backing towards homes in Glendale, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. The brush fire erupted near the border of Glendale and Eagle Rock and shut down the 134 Freeway in both directions, according to the Glendale Fire Department. (Lucas Dovarganes via AP) Three Southern California counties have the nation’s highest wildfire risks – and getting insurance to protect property is getting harder to find.A report from First Street Foundation says 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.The report said the nation’s top spot for wildfire risk is Riverside County. Its risk equals destruction of 1,612 structures worth $1 billion per year in today’s conditions. That will grow to 2,336 worth $1.5 billion in 30 year...

2 women file claim against California county in deputy’s sextortion case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

Two women who said they were sexually extorted by a Riverside County sheriff’s correctional deputy who was charged with 18 felony counts spoke out on Tuesday, Sept. 26, shortly before their attorneys filed a claim against the county seeking unspecified damages.Christian Phillip Heidecker, 32, was booked on Sept. 15 at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in French Valley. He has been charged with four counts of a detention officer engaging in sex with an inmate, four counts of extortion, four counts of a public official seeking a bribe, three counts of sexual penetration under color of authority and three counts of dissuading a witness.The Sheriff’s Department, in announcing Heidecker’s arrest, said there were four female victims.Heidecker pleaded not guilty to all charges on Sept. 20. He remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $1 million bail. He is next due in court on Oct. 2. He has resigned from the Sheriff’s Department.Heidecker was formerly assigned to the Riverside Alternative Se...

Huge fentanyl bust: How California sheriff’s investigators caught one of their own

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

When Jorge Alberto Oceguera-Rocha placed a call over his cell phone on Sept. 16 and drove from his home in Banning to a residence in Victorville, he likely had no idea that Riverside County sheriff’s investigators were listening to his every word and watching his every move.But they were.Several hours later, a court document says, Riverside County sheriff’s correctional deputy Oceguera-Rocha was in handcuffs, investigators having seized from his car 104 pounds of potentially deadly fentanyl pills that the Sheriff’s Department said he was trafficking for a drug cartel in Mexico.Oceguera-Rocha, 25, on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of narcotics for sale and transportation with the intent to distribute narcotics, both felonies, along with a sentencing enhancement of possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony. The Banning resident, who had been assigned to the jail in that city, faces a maximum of 10 years in custody if convicted as charged, the Dist...

Barabak: Democrats giving Menendez the treatment he deserves

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

When New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez was busted for alleged bribery — a Mercedes, gold bars, envelopes stuffed with cash — the reaction from the state’s governor was swift and sure.“These are serious charges that implicate national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system,” Democrat Phil Murphy said in a written statement, which included an obligatory nod to every citizen’s innocent-unless-proven-guilty guarantee.“The alleged facts are so serious that they compromise the ability of Sen. Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state,” Murphy said. “Therefore, I am calling for his immediate resignation.”Other Democrats followed suit, including California Rep. Adam B. Schiff.“The allegations in the indictment of Senator Menendez are shocking,” he wrote on Twitter, er, X. “If accurate, they represent the most profound betrayal of his oath of office. He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence and will have his day in court. But the gravity of th...

Azerbaijan says it has detained Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Azerbaijan says it has detained Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government.Source

Three astronauts return to Earth after a year in space. Frank Rubio sets US space record

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after being stuck in space for just over a year. American Frank Rubio set a record for the longest U.S. spaceflight — a result of the extended stay.The trio landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan, descending in a Soyuz capsule that was rushed up as a replacement after their original ride was hit by space junk and lost all its coolant while docked to the International Space Station. What should have been a 180-day mission turned into a 371-day stay. Rubio spent more than two weeks longer in space than Mark Vande Hei, who held NASA’s previous endurance record for a single spaceflight. Russia holds the world record of 437 days, set in the mid-1990s.The Soyuz capsule that brought Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin back was a replacement launched in February. Russian engineers suspect a piece of space junk pierced the radiator of their original capsule late last year, midway through what...

Three astronauts land in Kazakhstan after a longer-than-expected year in space. NASA’s Frank Rubio sets U.S. record

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Three astronauts land in Kazakhstan after a longer-than-expected year in space. NASA’s Frank Rubio sets U.S. record.Source

Republicans face growing urgency to stop Trump as they enter the second presidential debate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Republicans are meeting for their second presidential debate Wednesday as his top rivals seek to blunt the momentum of Donald Trump, who is so confident of cruising through the party’s primary that he again won’t share a stage with them.Seven GOP candidates will be at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for an event hosted by Fox Business Network. Trump will be in Michigan, delivering a prime-time speech attempting to capitalize on the Auto Workers Union strike and trying to appeal to rank-and-file union members in a key state for the general election.The debate comes at a critical moment in the GOP campaign, with less than four months before the Iowa caucuses formally launch the presidential nomination process. For now, Trump is dominating the field even as he faces a range of vulnerabilities, including four criminal indictments that raise the prospect of decades in prison. His rivals are running out of time to dent his lead, which is build...

A Belgian bishop says the Vatican has for years snubbed pleas to defrock a pedophile ex-colleague

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — A prominent Belgian bishop on Wednesday criticized the Vatican for failing to defrock a former bishop who admitted sexually abusing children, saying it had led to massive frustration with the highest Roman Catholic authorities. Disgraced bishop Roger Vangheluwe, who was brought down by a sexual abuse scandal 13 years ago, became a symbol in Belgium of the Roman Catholic church’s hypocrisy in dealing with abuse in its own ranks. “We, the (Belgian) bishops, have been asking for years for a reaction. The letters are there, the discussions. All noted down in lists. When will we have a reaction? And why don’t we get one?” Johan Bonny, the bishop of Antwerp, said on broadcaster VRT’s website.Vangheluwe shot to international infamy amid disclosures he had sexually abused his young nephew for over a dozen years when he was a priest and later a bishop. He later admitted he also abused a second nephew. The whole time, he made light of his crimes. Reacting to a VRT ...

Shopping for Medicare Advantage: 6 pitfalls to avoid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:50 GMT

Only 3 in 10 Medicare beneficiaries shop around during open enrollment, according to a 2022 analysis from KFF, a health policy nonprofit — and only 1 in 10 Medicare Advantage enrollees voluntarily switch plans. But a 2020 analysis of Medicare Advantage plan choices by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that more than half of beneficiaries overspent by more than $1,000 due to the plan they selected.Medicare open enrollment is Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, giving people with Medicare a chance to change plans for the upcoming year. Although potential Medicare Advantage enrollees may be swayed by $0 premiums and extra perks like vision and dental coverage, there are more important features to explore when you’re choosing next year’s coverage.Here are some practices to avoid as you shop for Medicare Advantage this fall.1. THINKING MEDICARE ADVANTAGE IS MEDICAREIf you’re considering Medicare Advantage, understand that it’s not the same thing as government-provided Medicare. It offers the...