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From Bankrupt Entrepreneur to Insurance Industry Mogul

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

Bouncing back from bankruptcy isn’t a simple task. Doing so requires not only a vision, but also a strategic plan to make that vision a reality—as well as a strong stomach for the uncertainty and doubt along the way.Tim Gaspar managed to pull this off so well that he was able to launch and scale an insurance company to the point that he could sell it to Foundation Risk Partners (FRP) within less than a decade-and-a-half.Gaspar’s entrepreneurial spirit was obvious from an early age. As a teenager, he pursued a range of different money-making strategies, from running lemonade stands to operating his own haunted houses. But dropping out of college to pursue his early ambitions didn’t work out as planned, and he found himself bankrupt at the age of 20.Determined to change his life trajectory, Gaspar dove headfirst into the insurance industry, gaining experience by working at a major firm for a few years before starting his own venture. Though he lacked formal training, Gaspa...

Police: Berkeley apartment resident arrested in shooting of maintenance worker he thought was a burglar

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

BERKELEY — A resident of an apartment complex was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Monday in the shooting of a maintenance worker whom he thought was a burglar, authorities saidThe 43-year-old suspect was being held without bail Tuesday at Santa Rita Jail.The shooting happened about 11:40 a.m. Monday at a multi-unit apartment building in the 2500 block of Hillegass Avenue, not far from the UC Berkeley campus.Authorities said Tuesday that the tenant contacted police to say he had just shot a burglar. The victim also called police and said he was shot while trying to complete maintenance at the unit where the suspect lived.Officer Jessica Perry said when officers got to the apartment they found the maintenance worker with a wound to the leg.  He was taken to a hospital for treatment of non life-threatening injuries.Perry said officers at the scene determined the maintenance worker was attempting to work inside a unit upon the tenant’s request. The tenant had made ...

UAW threatens to expand strike if no progress by Friday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

By David Koenig | Associated PressThe United Auto Workers union is stepping up pressure on Detroit’s Big Three by threatening to expand its strike unless it sees major progress in contract negotiations by Friday.In a video statement late Monday, UAW President Shawn Fain said workers at more factories will join those who are now in the fifth day of a strike at three plants.“We’re not going to keep waiting around forever while they drag this out … and we’re not messing around,” Fain said in announcing the noon Eastern time Friday deadline for escalating the strike unless there is “serious progress” in the talks.Ford, General Motors and Stellantis said they want to settle the strike, and they held back from directly criticizing the escalation threat.Mark Stewart, the North American chief operating officer of Stellantis, the successor to Fiat Chrysler, said the company is still looking for common ground with the UAW.“I hope that we&#...

Ivanka Trump’s praise for ‘Sound of Freedom’ challenged by hero’s alleged sexual misconduct

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

Over the summer, Ivanka Trump joined her father, Donald Trump, and other conservatives and far-right QAnon believers in promoting the surprise summer hit movie, “Sound of Freedom,” which follows the purported real-life heroics of former federal agent Tim Ballard as he rescues South American children from sex traffickers.But after Ivanka Trump called Ballard’s story in “Sound of Freedom” “harrowing” and “inspiring,” and mingled with him at a special private screening her father hosted at his New Jersey golf club, a new report has painted a disturbing portrait of the self-styled anti-slavery activist and the true reasons he quietly left the anti-trafficking organization he founded.WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 31: US President Donald Trump and Senior Advisor to President Trump, Ivanka Trump participate in the “White House Summit on Human Trafficking: The 20th Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000̶...

India expels Canadian diplomat after Trudeau accusation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

By Krutika Pathi and Rob Gillies | Associated PressNEW DELHI — India expelled one of Canada’s top diplomats Tuesday, ramping up a confrontation between the two countries over Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver.India, which has dismissed the accusations as absurd, said the expulsion came amid “growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities,” according to a statement from its Ministry of External Affairs.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to try to calm the diplomatic clash Tuesday, telling reporters that Canada is “not looking to provoke or escalate.”“We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to work with the government of India to lay everything clear and to ensure there are proper processes,” he said. “India and the government of India need...

Bay Area air quality advisory issued for Tuesday and Wednesday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

(KRON) -- An air quality advisory has been issued for Tuesday and Wednesday due to smoke from Northern California and Oregon wildfires, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.The agency said the fires have increased levels of particulate matter pollution in the air. While air quality is reaching high-moderate on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index, the pollution levels are not expected to exceed the 24-hour federal health standards and no Spare the Air Alert is in effect.Smoky and hazy skies may be visible, and the smell of smoke is possible in some areas, BAAQMD said. Bay Area residents are advised to avoid exposure if the smell of smoke is present by staying indoors with the windows and doors closed. City of Salinas agrees to pay nearly $200k for sewage spill into Natividad Creek A prescribed fire planned for Wednesday in San Mateo County’s bayside is postponed due to the wildfire smoke already impacting the region, according to a tweet fro...

Teen arrested for concealed firearm after Santa Rosa traffic stop

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

(KRON) – The Santa Rosa Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old juvenile for multiple charges, including possession of a concealed firearm on Sept. 18. According to the Santa Rosa police, officers were conducting traffic enforcement in the area of Sebastopol Avenue and Roberts Road, when a yellow Chevy Camaro made a high-risk turn, almost hitting another vehicle.  Vallejo Police Department apprehended two burglary suspects Four individuals were in the Camaro. According to Santa Rosa police, as the officer was obtaining the individuals’ identifications a male in the front passenger seat sprinted out of the car. As the male attempted to flee, he dropped a black satchel near another parked vehicle, police said.Officers apprehended the male and recovered the black satchel, which consisted of a nine-millimeter polymer, non-serialized firearm with seven rounds loaded in the magazine, according to police. Additionally, officers said, they located the same type of ammunition on the f...

Confused Automakers Braced for Strike at the Wrong Plants

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

As the United Auto Workers kept the big three automakers guessing about the union’s strike plans, the car manufacturers made a failed effort to head off the effects of the unprecedented labor action. Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis stalled production and moved parts out of plants across the country, according to rank-and-file workers, self-inflicting financial damage that could have been avoided by meeting workers’ demands. In the weeks leading up to the strike, a cat-and-mouse game between the UAW and the companies unfolded, a version of guerrilla warfare between the parties. Through targeted walk-offs, the union aimed to disrupt the companies’ operations with the fewest possible workers, which would allow the union’s strike fund to last longer into the conflict — essentially forcing the companies to pay workers even during the strike period. The companies, meanwhile, sought to anticipate precisely which plants would be struck and reorganize production and dis...

After unintended 12-year pause, South Carolina says it has secured drugs to resume lethal injections

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After 12 years without conducting an execution, South Carolina has secured the drugs necessary to resume lethal injections, Gov. Henry McMaster announced Tuesday.Source

Rihanna, A$AP Rocky have second child together, a boy named Riot Rose

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:17 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are giving the world the first look at their second child together, a boy they’ve named Riot Rose.The 35-year-old pop star and the 34-year-old rap star dropped photos Tuesday of their family of four, including their second son, who was born Aug. 1, according to People and other reports. The couple’s first child, RZA, was born in May 2022. Rihanna made her pregnancy public after her performance at February’s Super Bowl halftime show, when the bump that was visible in the tight clothes she wore under her baggy red jumpsuit set off a wave of social media speculation.The couple used the same street photographer, Diggzy, to shoot their new family snaps. In one, they’re leaning against a car with their kids. In another, A$AP balances their oldest on his shoulders. Others show Rihanna smiling for the camera with one of her children in her arms.Diggzy shot photos of the two in New York when they formally revealed their first pregnancy...