For $1,000, Tomi Mikula will do something most people dread: negotiate with a car dealer. The 33-year-old spent more than a decade selling cars and auto financing at dealerships before starting his own business doing the opposite. Now he uses dealer speak and an encyclopedic knowledge of inventory to talk down sticker prices for buyers.
Southern California Edison says that with the help of those state laws it expects to pay little or even none of the damage costs of the Eaton fire, which its equipment is suspected of sparking. But in recent filings to state officials, fire victims and consumer advocates say the law has gone too far and made the utilities' unaccountable for their mistakes, leading to even more fires. "What do you think will happen if you constantly protect perpetrators of fires," said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network.
As he prepares for his last year in office, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is going all out to make it easier for insurance companies to fulfill their wishes, doing their bidding as he usually has during seven years as the state's insurance boss. He's now under investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission for accepting help with campaign expenses and travel gifts, including a trip to Bermuda.
A Dolomiti Superski pass, granting access to all 12 resorts in the pricey Dolomites, will set skiers back 86 (75) a day this season. In Roccaraso, a popular resort in Abruzzo's Apennines that became overcrowded last season after being promoted by a TikTok star, the cost of a daily ski pass is expected to rise to 60. Meanwhile, the cost of seasonal ski passes will range from between 755 per adult in Roccaraso to as much as 1,800 in the Aosta valley.
The letter highlights the risk of Grok's "Imagine" tool producing NSFW content, including deepfake videos of celebrities, raising concerns about user safety and potential harms.
"A lot of this infrastructure, billions of dollars of it, is being built just for a few customers and a few facilities and these happen to be the wealthiest companies in the world," said Ari Peskoe, who directs the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard University. "I think some of the fundamental assumptions behind all this just kind of breaks down."
"I've spoken with wildfire survivors who would rather lose their homes to flames than endure the stress and confusion of navigating smoke damage claims," said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in a statement. "This is unacceptable."
Consumer advocates criticized the appeals court decision to block the FTC's rule intended to make subscription cancellations easier for consumers, blaming the Trump administration's influence.
Consumer advocate Brendan Burgess argues that Prize Bonds are not a suitable long-term investment, emphasizing their poor returns compared to other options, particularly under inflationary pressures.
"I don't want to put it into a textile recycling collection as the likelihood is that it will be shipped overseas or incinerated and not recycled."
