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      California Asks Insurers to Spare Wildfire Victims ‘the List’

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      The state’s regulator wants insurance carriers to pay full policy limits without requiring victims to itemize every object in their destroyed homes.California’s top insurance regulator urged insurance carriers on Thursday to pay policyholders the full amount of the belongings in their coverage without requiring them to itemize every object lost — an undertaking that has burdened thousands of residents whose homes were destroyed by wildfires last month.In a notice that said policyholders are “overwhelmed,” Ricardo Lara, California’s insurance commissioner, gave insurance companies a deadline of Feb. 28 to inform the state agency on whether they would comply.Consumer advocates have long criticized the demand by many insurance carriers that homeowners to make detailed lists if they hope to get their full coverage amount.The stress is compounded in places like California’s burn zone, where many families are scrambling to find new places to live and new schools for their children. The monumental task of remembering all items inside a home that no longer exists is adding unbearable strain, said Michael Soller, the deputy insurance commissioner, in an interview.Mr. Soller said he and his colleagues continue to hear from homeowners about “the agony of having to go through the process of filling out an inventory after you just lost everything.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In Fight Over San Francisco Building, Bitcoin Pioneer Is Rejected by Democratic Elite

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      A Bitcoin pioneer’s apartment purchase was rejected by the building’s residents after he was in escrow. The sellers — including a powerful Democrat — say they don’t care about his politics.In San Francisco, it is informally called “Susie’s Building” in deference to the owner of the 12th-floor penthouse with wraparound views of the bay. Susie Tompkins Buell, a power broker in Democratic politics, is known for throwing lavish fund-raising parties and writing checks so large they can start a campaign.A who’s who of the Democratic Party has made a point of stopping by over the years. Bill and Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama. Kamala Harris. Nancy Pelosi. The political elite in San Francisco still recall the time Mr. Clinton’s Secret Service agents got trapped in Ms. Tompkins Buell’s elevator and had to be rescued by firefighters.In other words, the Pacific Heights tower built in the 1920s is not the sort of place where you would expect to find an acerbic, conservative cryptocurrency executive with a fondness for President Trump and Elon Musk.Nonetheless, Jesse Powell wanted in.Mr. Powell, an early Bitcoin proponent and the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, had his heart set on unit No. 9 and its sprawling 3,500 square feet three levels below Ms. Tompkins Buell’s penthouse. The living room’s picture windows offer stunning views of the sparkling bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island.He could have figured there would be problems, given his conservative politics and his past. But what would unfold wasn’t just a feud between a co-op board and a buyer whose reputation preceded him. The dispute in Susie’s Building would lead to a lawsuit this week and would become the latest political skirmish in a polarized nation.Jesse Powell, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, said he believed residents of a San Francisco co-op rejected his purchase of a unit in their building because of his political views.David Paul Morris/BloombergWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kamala Harris Tours the Destruction in the Palisades

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      Asked during her visit on Thursday if she was considering running for governor of California, Ms. Harris did not give a direct answer, but did not rule it out either.Former Vice President Kamala Harris toured fire damage in Pacific Palisades on Thursday and met with local officials, her first visit to the neighborhood since the devastating wildfires last month and one of her few public appearances since leaving office.On a block where many homes had been reduced to rubble and only chimneys remained, Ms. Harris walked down El Medio Avenue, an area hit hard by the Palisades fire, which burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed more than 6,000 structures, including homes and businesses, in the Los Angeles neighborhood. Ms. Harris then walked down the street toward Asilomar View Park, which overlooks the remains of a mobile home park destroyed by the flames.“You can smell the smoke that was here,” Ms. Harris said. “You can feel the toxicity, frankly, of the environment. You can feel the energy of all of the folks who are still here on the ground doing the work of trying to make this area safe, and then, at some point, provide a pathway to rebuild them.”Ms. Harris also visited the Westwood Recreation Center, which has served as an emergency shelter and relief center. Outside the recreation center, Ms. Harris was asked by reporters whether she was considering running for governor of California. Ms. Harris did not give a direct answer, but did not rule out such a run.“I have been home for two weeks and three days,” Ms. Harris said. “My plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders and figure out what I can do to support them, and, most importantly, to lift up the folks who are surviving this extraordinary crisis.”The former vice president’s visit to Pacific Palisades comes as interest grows over who will run in 2026 to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, who’s barred by law from seeking a third term. Ms. Harris’s visit to the neighborhood came nearly two weeks after President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, toured the Palisades.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Lawsuit Seeks to Block New York’s Climate Change Law Targeting Energy Companies

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      Emboldened by President Trump, West Virginia and other states are challenging a law that makes corporate polluters pay for past emissions.Twenty-two states, led by West Virginia, are suing to block a recently approved New York law that requires fossil fuel companies to pay billions of dollars a year for contributing to climate change.Under the law, called the Climate Change Superfund Act, the country’s biggest producers of greenhouse gas emissions between the years 2000 and 2024 must pay a combined total of $3 billion annually for the next 25 years.The collected funds will help to repair and upgrade infrastructure in New York that is damaged or threatened by extreme weather, which is becoming more common because of emissions generated by such companies. Some projects could include the restoration of coastal wetlands, improvements to storm water drainage systems, and the installation of energy-efficient cooling systems in buildings.The measure, which was signed into law in December, is slated to go into effect in 2028.At a news conference on Thursday unveiling the legal challenge, the attorney general of West Virginia, John B. McCuskey, said the legislation overreached by seeking to hold energy companies liable in New York no matter where they are based.“This lawsuit is to ensure that these misguided policies, being forced from one state onto the entire nation, will not lead America into the doldrums of an energy crisis, allowing China, India and Russia to overtake our energy independence,” Mr. McCuskey said in a statement.West Virginia, a top producer of coal, is joined in the lawsuit by 21 other states, including major oil, gas or coal producers like Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and North Dakota. The West Virginia Coal Association and the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia are also among the plaintiffs.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Senate Confirms Russell Vought as Office of Management and Budget Director

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      The Senate voted along party lines on Thursday to confirm Russell T. Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, putting in place one of the most powerful architects of President Trump’s agenda to upend the federal bureaucracy and slash spending that the administration thinks is wasteful.The 53-to-47 vote returns Mr. Vought to the White House budget office that he also led during Mr. Trump’s first term. During his tenure, he took steps to expand the number of federal employees required to work during a government shutdown, froze military aid for Ukraine and railed against spending on foreign aid.Mr. Vought emerged as one of Mr. Trump’s most contentious nominees, drawing intense backlash from Senate Democrats who described him as a lawless ideologue. They used every legislative tool at their disposal to delay his confirmation vote, commandeering the Senate floor on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning to make the case against him.“We’re going to be speaking all night,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said as his colleagues prepared to burn through the clock. “We want Americans, every hour, whether it’s 8 p.m. or 3 a.m., to hear how bad Russell Vought is and the danger he poses to them in their daily lives.”After leaving the office, Mr. Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank, and was an architect of Project 2025. That document was an effort by conservative groups to develop detailed ideas for policies and executive actions that Mr. Trump could pursue to tear down and rebuild executive government institutions in a way that would enhance presidential power.In speeches, Mr. Vought made clear that he relished the opportunity to overhaul the ranks of career federal workers that Mr. Trump views as part of the “deep state.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Harlem House Where Billie Holiday Lived Is Damaged in Fire

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      The jazz legend lived in the five-story building on West 139th Street as a teenager with her mother.A four-alarm fire on Wednesday evening severely damaged a building in Harlem where the jazz legend Billie Holiday once lived.The Fire Department said it received the call at about 9 p.m. and extinguished the fire, which spread through all five floors of the building, shortly before 1 a.m. on Thursday morning. No civilians were injured, though four firefighters sustained minor injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.“Due to the structural stability of this building, as it was vacant for many years and the amount of fire, we had to pull our members out of the building and go to an exterior fire attack,” Kevin Woods, the Fire Department’s chief of operations, said in a news conference.A portrait of Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall in 1946.Heritage Images, via Getty ImagesThe building is owned by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which is responsible for maintaining the quality and affordability of housing, among other duties.“Even before the fire, HPD had been actively working with our partners to plan the complete rehabilitation of this building through our preservation programs, relocating tenants to safer housing as part of that process,” Natasha Kersey, a spokeswoman for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said in an emailed statement to The Times.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      CDC Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Transmission Between Cats and People

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      The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday, confirmed transmission in two households. Scientists called on the agency to release the full report.Cats that became infected with bird flu might have spread the virus to humans in the same household and vice versa, according to data that briefly appeared online in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but then abruptly vanished. The data appear to have been mistakenly posted but includes crucial information about the risks of bird flu to people and pets.In one household, an infected cat might have spread the virus to another cat and to a human adolescent, according to a copy of the data table obtained by The New York Times. The cat died four days after symptoms began. In a second household, an infected dairy farmworker appears to have been the first to show symptoms, and a cat then became ill two days later and died on the third day.The table was the lone mention of bird flu in a scientific report published on Wednesday that was otherwise devoted to air quality and the Los Angeles County wildfires. The table was not present in an embargoed copy of the paper shared with news media on Tuesday, and is not included in the versions currently available online. The table appeared briefly at around 1 p.m., when the paper was first posted, but it is unclear how or why the error might have occurred.The virus, called H5N1, is primarily adapted to birds, but it has been circulating in dairy cattle since early last year. H5N1 has also infected at least 67 Americans but does not yet have the ability to spread readily among people. Only one American, in Louisiana, has died of an H5N1 infection so far.The report was part of the C.D.C.’s prestigious Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which, until two weeks ago, had regularly published every week since the first installment decades ago. But a communications ban on the agency had held the reports back, until the wildfire report was published on Wednesday.Experts said that the finding that cats might have passed the virus to people was not entirely unexpected. But they were alarmed that the finding had not yet been released to the public.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More