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Farmers Insurance says it is cutting 2,400 jobs in bid to ensure long-term profitability

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Farmers Insurance said Monday it will lay off 11% of its workforce — about 2,400 employees — as part of a corporate restructuring aimed at increasing its efficiency and long-term profitability.The California-based insurer said the job cuts will impact all lines of its business. Monday was the last working day at the company for most employees impacted by the layoffs, Farmers confirmed to The Associated Press.In a statement announcing the job cuts, Raul Vargas, president and CEO of Farmers Group Inc., a subsidiary of Swiss giant Zurich Insurance Group, alluded to “existing conditions” in the insurance industry.“As our industry continues to face macroeconomic challenges, we must carefully manage risk and prudently align our costs with our strategic plans for sustainable profitability," Vargas said. “Our leaner structure will make us more nimble and better able to pursue opportunities for growth and ultimately make Farmers more responsive to the needs of our insured cus...

Eminem to Ramaswamy: Stop using my music for your campaign

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

By Aaron Pellish and Anna-Maja Rappard | CNNAfter performing his rendition of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” at the Iowa State Fair, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been asked by the Real Slim Shady to stand down.BMI, a performing rights organization, has informed Ramaswamy’s campaign at Eminem’s request that it will no longer license the rapper’s music for use by the campaign. In a letter to the campaign dated August 23, BMI says it “received a communication from Marshall B. Mathers, III, professionally known as Eminem, objecting to the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign’s use of Eminem’s musical compositions,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN.CNN has reached out to Eminem’s representative for comment.The letter, which was first reported by the Daily Mail, was sent more than a week after Ramaswamy concluded an appearance alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair with an impromptu karaoke performance of the popular Eminem song, rapping along with...

For years, women said this Walnut Creek bartender raped them, with no arrests. Then one detective connected the dots, found 7 alleged victims

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — One woman reported he burst into her home and sexually assaulted her in front of her child, years after she’d cut off contact. Another died from a suspected drug overdose less than a year after reporting he’d raped her. A third woman said he seemed to be following her from bar to bar, then sexually assaulted her after she blacked out.Since 2018, reports of sexual assault involving 35-year-old Brandon Delliquadri have been piling up. Yet it wasn’t until last month that investigators connected the dots and brought a case to Contra Costa prosecutors, who charged him with raping four victims. Now, prosecutors have connected Delliquadri to three additional sexual assaults, and authorities say they’re still investigating the possibility that more victims are out there.Delliquadri, a Walnut Creek resident, was known in the local bar scene. Authorities say he has worked both as a bartender and a bouncer at various establishments around the Bay Ar...

Bullet or gun allegedly hits police cruiser windshield during I-80 chase from Fairfield to Hercules

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

Two suspected Oakland car thieves allegedly led officers on a chase down Interstate 80 during which a bullet — or a handgun itself — hit the windshield of a police cruiser after one of the thieves tossed the weapon out of the car, authorities said.The men were taken into custody early Saturday morning after the chase, which began when a Fairfield police officer tried pulling over a red Hyundai that had license plates belonging to a Jeep, according to the Fairfield Police Department.The Hyundai took off and got onto westbound Interstate 80 — at which point someone tossed a gun out of the car that discharged once it hit the pavement, the police department reported on its Facebook page. Either the bullet — or the gun itself — then hit the windshield of one of the pursuing police cruisers, police said.Officers caught the Hyundai’s driver, a 40-year-old Oakland man, after he pulled into a Hercules shopping center, police said. A 35-year-old Oakland man...

Police: Man pulls gun on theft suspect, is shot, killed by officer

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

Austen Erblat | KCNC via CNNA man who pulled a gun on an alleged thief was shot and killed by an Aurora police officer who responded to the initial confrontation, police said in an update. The alleged thief was later arrested and given a court summons.It started around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at a bus stop near East Colfax Avenue and Havana Street. In a statement, the Aurora Police Department said officers were monitoring surveillance cameras of the area, saw a confrontation between two men and responded to the scene.The confrontation was an apparent theft of a backpack, the department said. The alleged thief, later identified as 32-year-old Dominque Harris, took another man’s backpack. The now-deceased man has not yet been identified, but police say he drew a gun on Harris. When officers arrived to the area, they saw the armed man and Aurora Police Officer Caleb Parrella shot the man, the department said.He was taken to the hospital and later died of his injuries. The...

Letters: PG&E tech | Ethnic studies | Trump desperation | Support Dems | No faking evidence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.PG&E should invest intech, not tree-trimmingRe: “PG&E wildfire strategy needs careful scrutiny” (Page A6, Aug. 9).PG&E should never have targeted tree removal for their primary wildfire response. For years safety and environmental activists have asked PG&E to install fast-circuit reclosers and insulated lines, as trees only cause a minority of incidents. Back in 2019, PG&E ex-CEO Bill Johnson admitted that seasonally strong horizontal winds made tree trimming ineffectual.The larger question centers around PG&E’s foreseeable mistake of spending $2.5 billion on this unproven and ineffective tree-removal program. Regulators and shareholders should be crying foul on five years of wasted resources.Regulators should also insist that PG&E discontinue the ongoing $500 million tree-cutting near gas pipelines where no tree has caused a gas accident.The time is over for...

Single-family house sells for $3 million in Fremont

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

A 2,539-square-foot house built in 1990 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 44000 block of Laurel Canyon Way in Fremont was sold on July 19, 2023. The $3,000,000 purchase price works out to $1,182 per square foot. This single-story home boasts a generous living space with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. In addition, the home includes a three-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:A 1,960-square-foot home on the 44200 block of Lupine Place in Fremont sold in February 2023, for $1,700,000, a price per square foot of $867. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Night Shade Lane, Fremont, in June 2023, a 2,252-square-foot home was sold for $1,810,000, a price per square foot of $804. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 2,434-square-foot home on Sioux Drive in Fremont sold for $2,000,000, a price per square foot of $822. The home has 4...

UNC Chapel Hill faculty member killed in campus shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

By Devon M. Sayers and Eric Levenson | CNNA University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty member was fatally shot on campus on Monday afternoon and a suspect is in custody, a school official said – a shooting that prompted people to shelter in place for hours as police investigated.Shots were reported fired at 1:02 p.m. ET at the school’s Caudill Laboratories, and a suspect was taken into custody shortly after 2:30 p.m., Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said.The names of the faculty member and the suspect were not immediately released. It was too early to know a motive for the shooting, UNC Police Chief Brian James said Monday evening.“We really want to know the ‘why’ in this case and what led to it,” James said.The school had issued an alert to students telling them to shelter in place at about 1 p.m., later adding a suspect was at large. The university then issued an “all clear” late in the afternoon.During the alert period, university police advised students to go inside immedia...

Letters: Same page | Blaming CEQA | Inexperienced senator | Trump 2.0 | Best hope

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.All transit must be onsame regulatory pageWith all the local transit agencies still below pre-pandemic ridership, yet more of us are headed to the office, I have observed an interesting change in commuting.Many commuters are using rideshare companies. These rideshare companies and their drivers need to act and be treated as to what they are, commercial carriers of passengers, whether a Passenger Stage Corporation or Transportation Network Companies, per the CPUC. All drivers for a rideshare company need to be background checked, to be licensed through the DMV, their vehicles registered as commercial vehicles and their drivers must have commercial insurance in the same manner that transit operators have to comply.If transit wants to get back to pre-pandemic ridership, you must get all forms of possible transit abiding by the same licensing and insurance requirements.Conrad SchapiraMilpitasCEQA not at faul...

Man accused of killing boy, 6, hides during first court appearance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:15:44 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- A San Jose man who is accused of stabbing his 6-year-old nephew and elderly grandmother to death apparently had an obsession with knives, was diagnosed with mental illness, and was a heavy drug user, court documents obtained by KRON4 show. Nathan Addison, 27, made his first court appearance Monday and declined to enter a plea. Addison hid behind his defense attorney and stood just outside the courtroom, in a hallway used for escorting inmates. The victims' family members shook their heads in frustration over Addison choosing to remain just out of eyesight from the courtroom gallery. Addison nervously peeked around the corner periodically.Addison is charged with murdering his nephew, 6-year-old Jordan Cam Walker, and his grandmother, 71-year-old Delphina Turner, inside Turner's apartment on August 3. Investigators have not released a motive behind the shocking slayings. Homicide victim Jordan Cam Walker (Family photo) San Jose police said Addison destroyed...