Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, right, talks with homeowner Bruce Breslau following a legislative oversight hearing held by the state insurance commissioner at L.A. City Hall
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Robert Gauthier
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is weighing an emergency 22% rate hike request by State Farm, the state’s largest insurer, following the Los Angeles fires. After first hitting pause on the request last month, he met with State Farm executives directly to get more information and said he’d decide what to do next by the end of this week.
Why it matters: Approving it would raise bills for millions of Californians, given that State Farm has 16% of the state’s homeowners’ insurance market. Not granting it risks plunging State Farm further into financial trouble, which could reduce insurance availability even more. It’s the clearest example yet of how worsening wildfire catastrophes have thrust the insurance commissioner job into the front lines of climate politics — with the pocketbooks of nearly every Californian at stake.
Why he would grant it: State Farm executives have said that the company is on such precarious financial footing that it could face a credit downgrade following the Los Angeles fires, which it expects to be the costliest disaster in its history at $7.6 billion in claims. A downgrade would mean that ratings agencies don’t believe State Farm can be relied on to pay out future claims — and could trigger banks to stop allowing State Farm insurance as collateral for mortgages, an unprecedented hit to State Farm’s California customers.
Why he wouldn’t grant it: The emergency rate hike won’t fix any of the underlying issues causing the insurance market to spiral. Advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has argued State Farm could do more to pull from the reserves of its parent company and reinsurer to prop up its finances — and has said it could go to court or demand a hearing to prove its point if Lara grants the interim request. State Farm told Lara last week that it would need an even higher rate increase than 22% before it would consider writing new policies in California again.
What else to keep in mind: State Farm is also concurrently negotiating a 30% rate hike request with the Insurance Department under new rules passed by Lara last year that allow it to raise rates using forward-looking models that take climate change into account. Lara’s staff has recommended granting the 22% interim rate hike while continuing negotiations over the bigger rate increase, which they said they weren’t convinced was warranted.
Hailstorms are generally less deadly than flash floods, hurricanes and wildfires. But as the planet warms, areas like the Great Plains are expected to have more frequent hail. Areas with the most hail risk are seeing some of the fastest growing home insurance prices in the U.S.
Why it matters: That escalating damage is a reminder that, as climate change drives more extreme weather, geography is no longer a guarantee of protection from skyrocketing insurance rates. Nationwide, the cost of insurance rose about 8% faster than inflation between 2018 and 2022, according to a major report published by the Treasury Department in January.
Insurance companies profit: Rising prices for homeowners appear to be translating into profits for the industry. After losing more than $10 billion in 2023, the industry saw $26 billion in profits in 2024, according to credit agency AM Best.
Read on... for more on what's driving the rising costs.
The storm blew into Cozad, Nebraska, in the wee hours of Saturday, June 29, 2024. The wind felt like a hurricane. The hail was the size of softballs.
"I was in the window, I was crying," remembers Soledad Avalos, who has lived with her husband in their home in Cozad for 35 years. "Seeing all the damage [to] the cars and the house."
When the sun came up, the extent of the damage became clear. Cozad is a small town of about 4,000 people, surrounded by corn fields. Crops were flattened. Virtually every vehicle parked outside that night had a broken windshield. Nearly every roof in town was leaking, or worse. Siding was missing, paint had been stripped away. The storm came from the northwest, and so nearly every northwest-facing window was cracked. Both the hospital and the school were in disrepair.
"Those softball-sized hail stones just punched a hole through the roof membrane, and water was just pouring through the ceiling like a waterfall, or a shower," says Robert Dyer, the CEO of the Cozad Community Health System, which runs Cozad Community Hospital, the only hospital in town. "Tiles were coming down, hunks of old plaster. It was just pretty devastating." The hospital's emergency department had to shut down for several hours, and the building is still being repaired more than a year later.
Hail the size of softballs punched holes in siding, broke windows and stripped away paint. One local insurance agent estimates the storm caused $100 million of damage in a town of just 4,000 people.
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Rebecca Hersher
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NPR
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Hailstorms like the one that hit Cozad don't often make national headlines, because they are usually hyper-local events that hit just one town, or one neighborhood in a larger city. Most hailstorms don't cause enough damage to trigger federal disaster declarations, or make it onto official annual lists of major weather disasters. And they are generally less deadly than flash floods, hurricanes and wildfires.
But extremely costly hailstorms are getting more likely in the United States, researchers warn. Across the central and eastern U.S., the weather conditions that can produce hail that's at least the size of a pool ball have gotten more common, according to Deborah Bathke, Nebraska's state climatologist. And the Great Plains are expected to have more frequent hail as the planet warms up.
That risk is driving up the cost of home insurance in the middle of the country, saddling average Americans with huge bills. Areas with the most hail risk are seeing some of the fastest growing home insurance prices in the U.S., according to two landmark federal reports released in the last year.
"In the Midwest, you've seen a surprising increase in losses," says Robert Gordon, a senior vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the largest property insurance trade group. "It's particularly the hail, the wind. A lot of damage to roofs."
That escalating damage is a reminder that, as climate change drives more extreme weather, geography is no longer a guarantee of protection from skyrocketing insurance rates.
Marsden Rodon clears the walkway in front of the home he rents in a neighborhood southeast of downtown Greeley, Colorado, after a severe hailstorm moved over the area in May 2024.
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RJ Sangosti
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MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
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Home insurance costs are skyrocketing in the middle of the U.S.
The central United States is home to the worst hail risk on the planet.
"North America is the hail continent," explains Scott St. George, a climate scientist and the head of weather and climate research at WTW, an international risk analysis company. And he says hail is different from other types of severe weather because it does a lot of property damage without causing many fatalities.
"It basically damages anything that's outside. And we've got a lot of stuff in the way," according to St. George. "There are more houses insured, more expensive cars. Roofs, siding, car windows and exteriors."
That has led to enormous bills for property insurance companies. "You've seen some really big losses coming out of hail, mostly in the U.S." says St. George.
A flooded apartment in Greeley, Colorado, after a severe hailstorm in 2024.
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RJ Sangosti
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MediaNews Group/The /Denver Post via Getty Images
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Last summer's hailstorm in Cozad caused an estimated $100 million in property damage, according to local insurance agent Brian Messersmith – an enormous sum for a town of just 4,000 people.
And, in 2024, hail damage contributed to $54 billion in insured losses from severe convective storms in the U.S., which include severe thunderstorms and other storms capable of producing large hail, according to the Insurance Information Institute, an industry-run think tank.
With losses mounting, insurance companies have raised prices in recent years. Nationwide, the cost of insurance rose about 8% faster than inflation between 2018 and 2022, according to a major report published by the Treasury Department in January.
The report found that the average price of property insurance in the Great Plains was significantly higher than the national average, with consumers in the Northern Plains paying about 20% more than the national average, and consumers in the Southern Plains paying more than 45% more. In Nebraska, the average cost of homeowners insurance this year is nearly $6,400, according to Bankrate. That's the highest in the country, and almost $4,000 above the national average.
In September, the Treasury report was removed from the department's website by the Trump administration. The Treasury Department did not respond to questions from NPR about why it was removed.
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Hail risk is only one of many reasons that insurance is more expensive. The higher cost of labor, and of construction materials are also driving up insurance prices, says St. George.
"Insurance is very impacted by inflation," says Robert Gordon of the American Property and Casualty Insurance Association. "So if inflation suddenly spikes, then insurance losses go up." And the cost of building materials has increased even more than other goods in recent years, he points out.
Gregg Crouger shows ten large hail stones after a storm in 2018 in Louisville, Colorado.
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Helen H. Richardson
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The Denver Post via Getty Images
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Insurance companies are bringing in profits. Small towns are struggling
Rising prices for homeowners appear to be translating into profits for the industry. After losing more than $10 billion in 2023, the industry saw $26 billion in profits in 2024, according to credit agency AM Best.
Insurers say that's largely due to the severity of disasters in a given year. "It can be a dramatic swing because some years you have huge catastrophes," says Gordon. When insurers raise prices, they are simply passing along the enormous costs of rebuilding from major disasters, he says.
But high prices are hitting many homeowners hard, particularly in places with historically low cost-of-living, like Nebraska.
"Insurance in our state really has skyrocketed the past several years," says Josh Tapio, an insurance broker at All Lines Insurance in Omaha, Neb.
A few years ago, an average homeowner would pay about $1,500 per year to insure their $300,000 home, Tapio says. Now, it costs between $3,000 to $4,500, a two or even threefold increase.
"There's a lot of sticker shock when somebody opens their renewal bill and they see that it's double from what they paid last year," Tapio says. His office has never been busier, as people shop around for a policy they can afford.
The high cost of insurance can make property ownership untenable. Before the storm, longtime Cozad resident Jennifer McKeone owned two rental houses in town. The hail caused extensive damage to both, and her insurance company refused to keep insuring them.
"I scrambled to find insurance, and the only insurance I could find was going to raise the rent to the point where I didn't think the people who lived in the houses could afford it," McKeone says. She ended up selling the homes, because neither she nor her tenants could afford the insurance costs.
John Purry secures tarps on the roof of his house in Pearl, Miss., after a hailstorm in 2013.
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Holbrook Mohr<br>
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AP
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Seniors are hit particularly hard by rising insurance costs
In the year and a half since the storm hit Cozad, most of the broken windows have been replaced, and most of the leaking roofs have been repaired. "The town is doing well," says McKeone, who runs the Cozad Development Corporation, a local group that builds housing in town and works with businesses.
But under the surface, McKeone says, many are still trying to finish repairs to their homes. Seniors have been hit particularly hard, she says. Many older residents live on a fixed income from a pension or social security payments, and can't afford drastically higher bills.
Baltazar and Soledad Avalos, whose home was severely damaged in the storm, have experienced insurance problems firsthand. The home that they've lived in for 35 years had an insurance policy, but that policy didn't cover the full cost of all the repairs to the roof, windows and siding. Baltazar is still out on a ladder most days, fixing damage at age 72.
On top of that, the cost of their insurance has gone up by about 10%, which is significant for a retirement-age couple. Baltazar is retired, Soledad is still working.
Insurance is more expensive, and it covers less
One of the biggest complaints among Cozad residents is that, even as they shell out more for property insurance, that insurance is covering less.
Many people in town now have policies with higher deductibles, meaning that they need to pay thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars out of their own pockets before the insurance kicks in. And many new policies also don't cover the full cost of replacing a damaged roof, which is often the most expensive repair after a hailstorm.
Megan Fales has worked as an insurance agent in Cozad for more than a decade, and handles hundreds of home insurance policies in town. "A lot of people have just gotten to the point where, like 'Let's just take a higher deductible,'" she says, because it costs less each month, even though they agree to pay more for repairs if there's a future storm. She says many homeowners in the area hope to save money by doing repairs themselves, instead of relying on insurance to pay.
Businesses in town are also paying more money for less coverage. After the storm destroyed the roof of the local hospital, the insurance company refused to renew the policy. The only policies available are more expensive, and also have a much higher deductible for the roof. That means the hospital must pay more each month for insurance, and also must keep more cash on hand in case there's another storm.
In an effort to avoid catastrophic damage in future storms, the hospital's governing board chose to upgrade the building. Instead of simply replacing the damaged roof, they are investing in roof materials that can withstand high winds and small hail.
That choice saved them money on their monthly insurance premium, Dyer says. But even with those savings, they are paying more money for less coverage, compared to two years ago.
"It's to a point of unsustainability," says Dyer. "If we got hit by another storm right now, it would drain all our cash."
NPR's Robert Benincasa contributed to this story. Copyright 2025 NPR
About 250 miles above the Earth, NASA astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) will enjoy an off-duty day for Thanksgiving, along with a group meal that features some celebratory foods.
How they did it: This fall, NASA included a "Holiday Bulk Overwrapped Bag," or BOB, on a resupply mission that went up to the station. The bag contained festive items like clams, oysters, crab meat, quail, and smoked salmon.
About 250 miles above the Earth, NASA astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) will enjoy an off-duty day for Thanksgiving, along with a group meal that features some celebratory foods.
"This is my second Thanksgiving in space, so I highly recommend it," said Mike Fincke, in a video message beamed down from the outpost.
This fall, NASA included a "Holiday Bulk Overwrapped Bag," or BOB, on a resupply mission that went up to the station. The bag contained festive items like clams, oysters, crab meat, quail, and smoked salmon.
"Our ground teams and the food lab at NASA have taken such great care of us," said Zena Cardman, who noted that they'll also have traditional fare like turkey and mashed potatoes, all packaged up in ways that won't cause a mess in microgravity. "We've even got some lobster, which is amazing. So I think it's going to be a really, really delicious meal."
Fincke displayed a can of cranberry sauce, which happened to come from the Russian space agency.
"It's kind of neat to have that up here because that's one of my favorite parts," he said. "I'm going to miss my family, of course. But I'm up here with my space family and it's really awesome."
Cardman and Fincke, along with fellow NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, will share their holiday meal with three Russian cosmonauts and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui.
"We don't have Thanksgiving in Japan, but here, on ISS, everybody respects each other's culture," said Yui, who added that he was looking forward to the dinner.
And if all goes as planned, more guests will arrive in time for the meal, because a Soyuz rocket with three new crew members for the station, including NASA astronaut Chris Williams, is scheduled to blast off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:27 am Eastern time on Thursday.
Copyright 2025 NPR
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in the new season of "Stranger Things."
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Courtesy Netflix
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Topline:
Apex Surplus is a scrap metal recycling shop that’s become a destination for Hollywood productions, from the newest season of "Stranger Things" to science fiction classics like "Star Wars" and "Star Trek."
The origins: Opened in 1958 by a Holocaust survivor as an aerospace liquidation business and surplus store, the Sun Valley obsolete and recycled electronics business has attracted more and more Hollywood productions and special effects designers over the years.
Read on … to find out how a nearly seven-decade-old recycling business became a coveted destination for Hollywood designers.
When he was looking for ‘80s tech inspiration and equipment for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, special effects designer Shane Dzicek knew exactly where to go: Apex Surplus, a scrap metal recycling and industrial surplus business in Sun Valley.
“They're well known in the industry for being a place to rent a lot of hard-to-find electronics,” Dzicek said. “Imagine walking into a shop that would be in the world of Harry Potter, and there's just racks that go to the ceiling with everything that you can think of … military and airplane supplies to electronics … vintage microphones and knife switches.”
In addition to various knobs that he repurposed for the show, Dzicek also found an FM signal generator from the ‘80s, which served as a model for a decibel-reading device used by the character Steve Harrington, as seen in the teaser trailer:
Dzicek isn’t the only special effects designer who’s walked the halls of Apex Surplus. The shop’s co-owner, Adam Isaacs, estimates their credits span 5,000 different productions, including sci-fi classics like Back to the Future, Mad Max, Star Wars, Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
A hallway at Apex Surplus.
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Courtesy Apex Surplus
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So how did a nearly 70-year-old recycling business become a go-to destination for Hollywood designers?
The origins: A Holocaust survivor meets the SoCal aerospace industry
Apex Surplus is a third-generation family-owned business, first opened in 1958 by husband and wife Bill and Charlotte Slater.
Bill Slater was a Holocaust survivor who fled Austria in the 1940s and served in the U.S. army during World War II. After the war, he moved to Southern California, which was at the height of the aerospace industry boom.
With the space race raging, aerospace companies like Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Bendix Company were building at a rapid rate, with lots of materials left over. Slater decided to leverage his military connections and open an aerospace liquidation business and surplus front.
Bill Slater standing in Apex Surplus in the 1960s.
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Courtesy Apex Surplus
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“ My grandpa would drive around with a semi-truck in the ‘60s and ‘70s and essentially recycle all of their old scrap metal,” according to Isaacs, who said subsidiaries of the aerospace hub in San Fernando Valley would then come to Apex to shop for secondary parts.
As Apex’s inventory grew in the 1960s, Isaacs said the business expanded and started catching the eye of set decorators and production designers in the TV and film industry.
Apex today: From oddball artist haven to film prop shop
After Bill and Charlotte Slater’s death, Apex was passed down to their children, Melissa and Don Slater.
Melissa now co-owns Apex Surplus with her son, Adam Isaacs, who said customers today range from folks outside the film industry, like electricians, plumbers, sculptors and artists, to set and production designers who work on films — anyone with a practical, aesthetic or historical interest in vintage or obsolete electronics.
Outdoor yard of Apex Surplus.
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Courtesy Apex Surplus
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Isaacs said, at heart, Apex still is a scrap metal, electronics and aerospace recycling and surplus business, though its also has embraced its role as a film prop and rental house.
More recently, its products have been featured in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 13 Reasons Why, A.P. Bio and Avatar.
“Our close proximity to Hollywood has allowed us to open up this prop division and work with a lot of talented people,” Isaacs said. “There's so much creativity and artistry being produced in L.A. … We're very fortunate that we were able to reinvent ourselves as a production hub.”
Check out LAist host Julia Paskin's interview with Stranger Things special effects designer Shane Dzicek here:
Makenna Sievertson
leads LAist’s unofficial Big Bear bald eagle beat and has been covering Jackie and Shadow for several seasons.
Published November 27, 2025 5:00 AM
Jackie and Shadow working on their "nestorations," as Friends of Big Bear Valley calls it, by bringing new sticks to the top of their Jeffrey pine tree Saturday.
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Friends of Big Bear Valley
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YouTube
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Topline:
Fall in Southern California can bring on warm feelings about holidays, pumpkin spice or — for fans of Big Bear’s famous bald eagles — nesting season.
Why it matters: Jackie and Shadow, the feathered couple that star in a popular YouTube livestream focused on their nest overlooking Big Bear Lake, are preparing to potentially welcome new eggs — and chicks — in the coming months.
The backstory: Jackie usually lays eggs in January. But they could come as late as March, as seen in 2019, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that manages the livestream.
What's next: Sandy Steers, executive director of the organization, encouraged eager viewers not to have expectations from nature — Jackie and Shadow know when the time is right, she said.
Read on ... to learn more about Jackie and Shadow's parenting saga.
Fall in Southern California can bring on warm feelings about holidays, pumpkin spice or — for fans of Big Bear’s famous bald eagles — nesting season.
Jackie and Shadow, the feathered couple that star in a popular YouTube livestream focused on their nest overlooking Big Bear Lake, are preparing to potentially welcome new eggs — and chicks — in the coming months.
Jackie usually lays eggs in January. She laid three eggs in each of the past two seasons. But the eggs could come as late as March, as seen in 2019, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that manages the livestream.
Sandy Steers, executive director of the organization, encouraged eager viewers not to have expectations from nature — Jackie and Shadow know when the time is right, she said.
“Every year is different,” Steers told LAist. “You just have to watch and see what they choose.”
Preparing for new life in the nest
The nest is a bit of a mess lately, Steers said, but the bald eagle duo has been fixing it up to mark the beginning of nesting season.
Jackie and Shadow have been bringing in fresh sticks to furnish the nest, which is about 5.5 feet wide and 6 feet deep toward the top of a Jeffrey pine tree. Friends of Big Bear Valley called it the couples' "nestorations."
The eagles even broke their daily stick record last Saturday, stopping by with at least 28 sticks (Jackie with 15, Shadow with 13), according to Friends of Big Bear Valley records.
The previous single-day record was 25. There may have been more last Saturday, but eagle watchers aren't sure because the livestream cameras, which are usually on around the clock, were on for only about four hours.
Recent livestream interruptions
The pair of wildlife cameras run off a 24-volt solar system that recharges during the day, but recent stretches of heavy cloud cover and snowy solar panels have caused issues and intermittent outages.
“The batteries got completely run down,” Steers said. “So as soon as they would click back on, it wouldn't take very long before they ran down again.”
Friends of Big Bear Valley has been taking both cameras offline overnight to conserve power, but the organization is hopeful a few sunny days in the forecast will get the batteries, and livestreams, back up and running again normally.
What to expect in the coming months
Jackie and Shadow are expected to continue to bring sticks throughout nesting season before they start "flirting" with each other, as Steers calls it.
“They start … getting more interested in each other and bumping into each other in the nest,” she said. “Jackie is usually the one to flirt the most, and Shadow says, ‘I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.’”
The duo typically starts mating toward the end of the year on perch trees near the nest and away from the cameras (maybe the eagles want some privacy too?).
Then, the wait is on.
Jackie will start to show certain behaviors when an egg is incoming, including lingering on the nest longer, Steers said. She will have contractions before laying the first egg and potentially one or two more in the days after.
Jackie and Shadow's three chicks during the hatching process in March 2025.
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Friends of Big Bear Valley
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YouTube
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Jackie and Shadow's three chicks on March 7, 2025. One of the chicks later died, while Sunny and Gizmo successfully fledged a few months later.
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Friends of Big Bear Valley
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YouTube
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Each season is a bit different for Big Bear’s bald eagles, and Steers said there aren’t standard markers people can depend on for hints at the egg-laying timeline.
But Steers said she wouldn’t be surprised if eggs arrive a bit later than usual this upcoming season, partly because of the weather.
It was unseasonably hot in Big Bear Valley this fall compared to previous years, and Jackie and Shadow usually respond to cooler winter weather before they get serious about nesting season, according to the organization.
