AFP USA

Her voice tinged with anger, an American mother worried about what the future holds for her teenage daughter, just one of dozens of girls targeted in yet another AI-enabled pornography scandal that has rocked a US school.The controversy that engulfed the Lancaster Country Day School in Pennsylvania last year highlights a new normal for pupils and educators struggling to keep up with a boom in cheap, easily available artificial intelligence tools that have facilitated hyperrealistic deepfakes. One parent, who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity, said her 14-year-old daughter came to her “hysterically crying” last summer after finding AI-generated nude pictures of her circulating among her peers.”What are the ramifications to her long term?” the mother said, voicing fears that the manipulated images could resurface when her daughter applies to college, starts dating, or enters the job market.”You can’t tell that they are fake.”Multiple charges — including sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography — were filed last month against two teenage boys who authorities allege created the images.Investigators uncovered 347 images and videos affecting a total of 60 victims, most of them female students at the private school, on the messaging app Discord.All but one was younger than 18.- ‘Troubling’ -The scandal is the latest in a wave of similar incidents in schools across US states — from California to New Jersey — leading to a warning from the FBI last year that such child sexual abuse material, including realistic AI-generated images, was illegal.”The rise of generative AI has collided with a long-standing problem in schools: the act of sharing non-consensual intimate imagery,” said Alexandra Reeve Givens, chief executive of the nonprofit Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT).”In the digital age, kids desperately need support to navigate tech-enabled harassment.”A CDT survey of public schools last September found that 15 percent of students and 11 percent of teachers knew of at least one “deepfake that depicts an individual associated with their school in a sexually explicit or intimate manner.”Such non-consensual imagery can lead to harassment, bullying or blackmail, sometimes causing devastating mental health consequences.The mother who spoke to AFP said she knows of victims who had avoided school, had trouble eating or required medical attention and counseling to cope with the ordeal.She said she and other parents brought into a detective’s office to scrutinize the deepfakes were shocked to find printed out images stacked a “foot and a half” high.”I had to see pictures of my daughter,” she said.”If someone looked, they would think it’s real, so that’s even more damaging.”- ‘Exploitation’ -The alleged perpetrators, whose names have not been released, are accused of lifting pictures from social media, altering them using an AI application and sharing them on Discord.The mother told AFP the fakes of her daughter were primarily altered from public photos on the school’s Instagram page as well as a screenshot of a FaceTime call.A simple online search throws up dozens of apps and websites that allow users to create “deepnudes,” digitally removing clothing, or superimpose selected faces onto pornographic images.”Although results may not be as realistic or compelling as a professional rendition, these services mean that no technical skills are needed to produce deepfake content,” Roberta Duffield, director of intelligence at Blackbird.AI, told AFP.Only a handful of US states have passed laws to deal with sexually explicit deepfakes, including Pennsylvania at the end of last year. The top leadership at the Pennsylvania school stepped aside after parents of the victims filed a lawsuit accusing the administration of failing to report the activity when they were first alerted to it in late 2023.Researchers say schools are ill-equipped to tackle the threat of AI technology evolving at a rapid pace, in part because the law is still playing catchup.”Underage girls are increasingly subject to deepfake exploitation from their friends, colleagues, school classmates,” said Duffield.”Education authorities must urgently develop clear, comprehensive policies regarding the use of AI and digital technologies.”

On one side of the street lie the ashes of ruined houses, lost to the huge blazes that defeated Los Angeles firefighters when hydrants ran dry.On the other side, a small village of shops is still intact, watched over by tanker trucks and an army of private firemen.More than a week after enormous blazes spread unchecked through swathes of America’s second largest metropolis, questions are being asked about how some of the city’s super-rich seem to have survived almost unscathed.”All I can say is that we got hired and we have been ordered to stay here. I’m not allowed to tell you more than that.” a man in a yellow and green uniform told AFP in front of the commercial development.The men, along with their pick-up trucks with Oregon license plates, were stationed at property owned by billionaire developer Rick Caruso.Their presence — protecting stores hawking luxury brands like Yves Saint-Laurent, Isabel Marant and Erewhon — jars in a city where more than two dozen people have died and thousands of people have lost their homes.”It sucks that there’s a lot of politics involved,” says another of the men. “We just want to do the job and help however we can.”Caruso, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Los Angeles in 2022, did not respond to AFP requests for comment. But in Pacific Palisades, a haunt of Hollywood celebrities and the ultra-rich, he is not the only one apparently using his wealth to protect his property.Other private firefighters stand guard in front of some of the untouched princely villas that dot the hillsides.- ‘Will pay any amount’ -The sector made headlines in 2018 when Kim Kardashian and her then-husband Kanye West hired private firefighters to protect their lavish pad in the affluent community of Hidden Hills, north of the city.The profiles of the two distinct areas that were hit by last week’s blazes — wealthy Pacific Palisades and the more mixed Altadena — have already served to put a spotlight on economic divisions in the United States.The disparity was further highlighted in the immediate aftermath of the fires when real estate developer Keith Wasserman attracted an avalanche of criticism after a social media post.”Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home?” he wrote in the now-deleted post.”Need to act fast here. All neighbors houses burning. Will pay any amount.”Such services can cost between $2,000 and $15,000 per day, US media has reported, citing local companies.But even for those with the means, calling on private firefighters is not always simple — most firms are contracted by cities, government departments or insurance companies.In California, a law passed in 2018 limits how they can operate.They are not allowed to use flashing lights or badges similar to those of public firefighters, and are required to coordinate with them.Since this legislation came into force some companies have refused to serve individuals.- Whose water? -Private or public, firefighters all have the same mission: “protecting our community,” said Jake Heflin, a firefighter from the publicly funded Long Beach Fire Department.”If it’s done correctly and done in partnership and in concert together, it can be very effective,” Heflin said.But it can also create problems.Taxpayer-funded services should not have to focus “resources on taking care of them, because either they’re ill-equipped or ill-prepared and they’ve gotten themselves into a difficult situation,” he said.Firefighters “want to have those conversations well ahead of the event.”How much coordination there was before the catastrophe in Pacific Palisades, where hydrants ran dry and some houses were effectively left to burn, is unclear.For Jeff Ridgway, a 67-year-old Pacific Palisades resident who resorted to scooping buckets out of a swimming pool when the mains supply petered out, that is a key question.”It will be very interesting to know if they used these fire hydrants,” Ridgway told AFP.”I really hope they brought their own water.”

Joe Biden wanted to go down in history as the man who saved America from Donald Trump. Instead he may be remembered for handing Trump a second term in the White House.In years to come Biden, 82, may be judged more kindly. The Democrat steered a divided country out of the Covid-19 pandemic and the chaos of Trump’s first four years, before pushing through an impressive raft of legislation.But Biden’s single term will now be bookended by his rival’s presidencies. And it will be defined by a single fateful decision — to defy mounting concerns about his age and run for reelection in 2024.For many the defining image of the 46th US president will be a haunted-looking Biden lost for words in the disastrous debate against Trump that eventually forced him out of the race.His replacement as Democratic candidate, his Vice President Kamala Harris, was left with an almost impossible task to prevent Trump’s return.If Biden insisted until the end that he could have beaten his Republican nemesis, he still admitted that it may take a while to restore his reputation.”It will take time to feel the full impact of all we have done together, but the seeds are planted,” he said in his farewell address.- Historic challenges -Biden’s inauguration in January 2021 was a remarkable comeback for an often underestimated politician who spent a lifetime battling both political odds and personal tragedy.But he was an unlikely savior.Biden was America’s oldest elected president at the time — until Trump’s election in 2024 — and arguably more famous for his gaffes and for being Barack Obama’s vice president.And he faced historic challenges. The country was reeling from the January 6, 2021 Capitol assault by Trump supporters protesting his election defeat, while the US economy was shattered by Covid.But Biden quickly forced a massive pandemic recovery scheme and a huge green investment plan through Congress as he sought to rebuild American industry and infrastructure.In Harris he appointed the first Black, South Asian and female vice president.Western allies welcomed his commitment to the alliances Trump had trashed.Perhaps Biden’s proudest achievement was supporting Ukraine against Russia’s 2022 invasion — and his top secret trip to Kyiv in 2023.- ‘Get back up’ -But Biden’s popularity suffered an early blow with the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 — and never really recovered. His approval rating was just 36 percent in a final CNN poll.His pandemic stimulus sent inflation soaring, part of the reason Americans punished Harris at the polls. His lax border policies led to a record crossings of illegal immigrants, which Trump pounced on.While he claimed a late boost to his legacy with a Gaza ceasefire deal, he angered many with his unstinting support for Israel’s war on Hamas despite a soaring death toll.Despite it all, Biden believed he was the only person who could beat Trump again.Fond of folksy tales about his upbringing as a child with a stutter from a blue-collar, Irish Catholic background in Pennsylvania, he would often quote his father’s mantra: “When you get knocked down, you get back up.” He had battled through the tragedy of a car crash that killed his wife and baby daughter in 1972, just days after he’d been elected a US senator at the age of 29 — then rebuilt his life with the help of his second wife, First Lady Jill Biden.Then there was the death of his older son Beau from brain cancer in 2015, and the drug and legal problems of his younger son Hunter, to whom he controversially issued a pardon.- ‘Magic of America’ -But age was a battle he couldn’t win. Trump dubbed Biden “Sleepy Joe” and every stumble — on the stairs of Air Force One, off his bike — was relentlessly replayed on social media. Republican attacks — and Democratic doubts — mounted after Biden reneged on his promise to be a bridge to a new generation and announced in 2023 that he’d seek reelection.The White House insisted there was no problem and increasingly shielded Biden from unscripted public appearances — until it was too late.In his final days in office, Biden provided the smooth transition that Trump denied him. He invited Trump to the White House and the two rivals engaged in unprecedented cooperation on the Gaza deal.Yet he also had a parting shot for Trump, warning in his farewell speech of a dangerous “oligarchy taking shape in America.”And if Biden’s 50-year-political career ended in disappointment, he saw a bright side.”Only in America do we believe anything is possible, like a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings… sitting behind this desk in the Oval Office as president,” he said.”That’s the magic of America.”

Donald Trump will complete an extraordinary comeback on Monday when he is inaugurated for a second term as US president, apparently stronger and more unpredictable than ever.The 78-year-old Republican will be sworn in at the US Capitol in Washington amid high pomp and ceremony before making a triumphant return to the White House that he left in disgrace four years earlier.The day before he will host a star-studded “Make America Great Victory Rally,” reportedly featuring the world’s richest man Elon Musk, and a performance by the Village People, the band behind his signature song “Y.M.C.A.”For billionaire Trump it will cap a remarkable journey that saw him defy two assassination attempts and a historic criminal conviction to seize back the presidency from Joe Biden.Trump’s official photo as the 47th US president — and the first to be a felon — even bears a striking resemblance to a viral 2023 mugshot taken in another criminal case.The only thing that could spoil Trump’s party is the weather, with a potentially lethal “polar vortex” threatening to make his inauguration the coldest in 40 years.Extreme weather could force the ceremony indoors.- ‘Golden age’ -America and the world will be watching Trump’s inaugural speech at the Capitol where he will set the tone for a presidency that many expect to be even more volatile than his first. Since the election that tone has veered between promises of a “golden age” and vows of vengeance against his enemies — coupled with outlandish territorial threats against Greenland and Panama and promises of sweeping tariffs.He is also expected to quickly issue executive orders on key topics including migration, and to pardon some of the pro-Trump rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.But the guest list for Trump’s inauguration underscores how the man whose 2016 victory shocked the world has now become the new normal for American politics.Musk and fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta will all reportedly attend, highlighting the tech moguls’ efforts to court Trump.Outgoing president Biden, 82, warned of a dangerous “oligarchy” around the top of Trump’s government in a dark farewell speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday.On his final full day in office on Sunday, the Democrat is set to visit a Black church and museum in Charleston in South Carolina while Trump is rallying in Washington.- Star guests -But much of the US business and entertainment worlds are also aligning behind Trump, following his commanding election win over Kamala Harris and a general rightward shift in politics.Where many celebrities shunned Trump’s inauguration in 2017, this time country star Carrie Underwood will sing “America the Beautiful” during the inauguration. The Village People, who once admonished Trump for playing their music, will perform at the MAGA rally on Sunday and one of the official presidential balls on Monday night.The rally will see Trump return to arguably his favorite part of politics — the campaigning where he fired up huge crowds with grievance-filled speeches.Overall the contrast could not be bigger with Trump’s first swearing-in, which was largely overshadowed when his spokesman picked a row over the size of the crowd.Things were very different four years ago too.Trump left the White House in disgrace after the Capitol riots by protesters supporting his false claims to have beaten Biden in the 2020 election, while Biden pledged to heal post-Trump America.Written off by many, Trump nevertheless succeeded in capitalizing on voter frustration with Biden’s age, the state of the economy and record numbers of illegal migrants to secure his comeback.The challenge now is for Trump, who will be the oldest person in US history to be sworn in as president, to deliver.He will enter the White House with higher ratings than his last term, according to a CNN poll, but must hope the US economy stays positive.

Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury chief defended potential tax cuts and tariffs Thursday, telling lawmakers at his confirmation hearing that the president-elect could usher in “a new economic golden age.”Scott Bessent’s appearance before the Senate Finance Committee, days before Trump returns to the White House, saw him fielding questions on issues that ranged from sanctions to central bank independence and competition with China.Bessent, a hedge fund manager, faced grilling by policymakers but is expected to see smooth confirmation to the top economic post, where he would play a crucial role implementing Trump’s economic vision.Already, the president-elect has vowed tax cuts, higher tariffs and a slash in federal spending.Bessent said Thursday that Trump has a “generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans.””We can usher in a new, more balanced era of prosperity that will lift up all Americans and rebuild communities and families across the country,” he added.He took aim at government spending and high budget deficits while stressing the need to secure vulnerable supply chains and deploy sanctions carefully.Bessent, 62, also raised the need to make permanent Trump’s 2017 tax law — of which some provisions are set to expire at the end of the year.”If Congress fails to act, Americans will face the largest tax increase in history, a crushing $4 trillion tax hike,” Bessent said.”If we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity,” he cautioned, noting the middle and working classes would be hard-hit.- Tougher sanctions -If confirmed, Bessent said he would support strengthening sanctions, “especially on the Russian oil majors,” as a means to end war in Ukraine.He suggested that constraints in American energy supplies were a reason the world’s biggest economy was reluctant to apply “muscular sanctions” on Moscow or Tehran — adding that boosting production could squeeze both countries.On other policies, he disagreed that Trump’s pledges for sweeping tariffs on imports would be paid for domestically. The president-elect sees levies as a means to raise government revenue.While the Treasury has a less direct hand in tariff policy than other agencies, Bessent is anticipated to help shape the administration’s international trade stance.He said tariffs can be used to remedy unfair trade practices or in negotiations on issues like the fentanyl crisis.- China concerns -Bessent signaled a hawkish approach on China, emphasizing that Washington should ensure its lead in areas like chips and artificial intelligence.He indicated that he would push China to boost its US agriculture purchases too, enforcing the terms of a deal struck under the first Trump administration.Bessent also took aim at trade imbalances, saying Beijing was trying to export its way out of a downturn: “We cannot allow a player like this to flood our markets.”Domestically, Bessent clarified that he backs the US central bank’s autonomy on monetary policy, telling lawmakers that the Federal Reserve’s policymaking committee “should be independent” of the president.He emphasized as well that “we must ensure that the US dollar remains the world’s reserve currency.”In November, Trump threatened a 100 percent tariff on the BRICS grouping — which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — if they undercut the US dollar.- No debt default -On federal spending, Bessent said: “We do not have a revenue problem in the United States of America, we have a spending problem.”But he stressed that Washington would not default on its debt if he took office.He likened removing the country’s debt ceiling — a limit on government borrowing to pay for bills already incurred — to taking out a car’s handbrake.However, he committed to working with Trump to eliminate the limit if the president wanted to do so.Trump’s selection of Bessent, who is chief executive officer of investment firm Key Square Group, has been seen as a credible and safe choice.Outgoing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Wednesday that plans to extend Trump’s earlier tax cuts, which remained in place under President Joe Biden, could worsen the country’s unsustainable fiscal path.

Cuban opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer was among a group of prisoners released Thursday in a landmark deal with departing US President Joe Biden that has led to emotional reunions across the communist island.Ferrer, 54, is the most high-profile of the prisoners that Cuba began freeing Wednesday after Biden agreed to remove the country from Washington’s list of terrorism sponsors — part of an eleventh-hour bid to cement his legacy before handing power Monday to Donald Trump.”Thank God we have him home,” Nelva Ortega told AFP of her husband Ferrer, who has been in and out of prison for the past two decades. His latest stint lasted three-and-a-half years.A short while later, Ferrer urged Cubans on a Miami-based radio program to “not be afraid” to stand up to a government he said was “increasingly scared” and “increasingly weak.”In return for being removed from the US terror list that includes North Korea, Iran and Syria, cash-strapped Cuba promised to release 553 people — many of whom the Biden administration said were “political prisoners.”By Thursday, Havana had freed about three dozen people, according to rights groups.Most were arrested for taking part in mass July 2021 anti-government demonstrations over recurring power outages, food shortages and price hikes.AFP saw four prisoners emerge from the San Miguel del Padron prison on the outskirts of the capital Havana on Thursday morning. Marlon Brando Diaz, who was serving an 18-year sentence for his participation in the 2021 protests, said tearfully that he was thankful for “a new chance in life.””It’s a new start,” he said, as he hugged emotional family members.- ‘Risky move’ -The deal with Washington paves the way for increased US investment in the Caribbean island, which has been under a trade embargo for over six decades.In a sign that the thaw may be short-lived, however, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, suggested Biden’s decision could be reversed.The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio is vociferously critical of that country’s government and said Trump’s incoming administration was not bound by Biden’s policies.”There is zero doubt in my mind that they (the Cuban government) meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism,” he said at his US Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.The trickle of prisoner releases caused anguish for families still waiting for news of their loved ones.Authorities have not released a list or a timetable of those to be freed.Analysts said Cuba could be stalling to ensure Trump upholds the deal when he returns to the White House next week, with the remaining prisoners serving as a bargaining chip.If so, “it’s a pretty risky move,” Michael Bustamante, chair of Cuban studies at the University of Miami, told AFP. “The Trump administration might not take kindly to this game at all.”- ‘Stayed the course’ -Ferrer, from the eastern province of Santiago, has been in and out of prison for the past 20 years.A fisherman and father of six, he was one of 75 political prisoners sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in 2003 as part of the so-called Black Spring wave of repression unleashed by authorities.He was released in 2011, along with 130 other political prisoners following mediation by the Catholic Church, but resisted pressure to go into exile.Later that year, he founded the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), one of the most active opposition organizations in a one-party state that bans rival political formations.He was re-arrested on July 11, 2021, trying to join one of the biggest protests since the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959.Authorities say about 500 people were given sentences of up to 25 years over the unrest, but rights groups and the US embassy in Havana say the figure is closer to 1,000.Declared a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International, Ferrer’s imprisonment has been a point of global contention.Bustamante described his release as “pretty big” news.”He is someone who has stayed the course,” Bustamante said, noting his “long history of political activism.”

Inmate Jacob Castro cuts firebreaks in the hills around Los Angeles. It’s hard work, but having been in prison for 29 years, it is a chance for redemption. “It’s the first thing I’ve done in my life that I’m proud of,” Castro told AFP during a short break from work. He is one of more than 900 inmates working alongside firefighters on containment or operational support in the complicated battle against fires that have ripped through Los Angeles, killing at least two dozen people and destroying homes.Firefighters say the teams are invaluable — but not everyone is happy they are there.Billionaire reality star Kim Kardashian last week lashed out at the scant wages they earn, in a practice some have likened to slavery.”There are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us,” the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star wrote on social media.”They are on the Palisades fire and Eaton fire in Pasadena working 24 hour shifts. They get paid almost nothing, risk their lives… I see them as heroes.”Inmates who work in firefighting earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, plus an additional $1 per hour when dealing with emergencies, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The pay is set by legislation that allows prisoners to receive wages well below state minimums.Liberal California had the opportunity to change this rule in a referendum in November, but voters rejected the proposal.- ‘Second chance’ -The practice is popular with inmates, who told AFP they see it as a chance to help society — as well as to shave time off their sentences.”I love doing this, helping the community by making up for the bad decisions I made in life,” said Castro, who has a coveted spot in one of the fire training camps operated by the CDCR.”It’s a chance to redeem myself.”The inmate crews are distinguished only by their orange uniforms. Deployed to perform manual labor, they can work shifts of up to 24 hours, just like firefighters. They clear vegetation with axes, chainsaws and shovels, climbing up and down steep hills, removing dry fuels that spread the flames.”This is definitely some of the hardest work I’ve done,” said Maurice Griffin, who has already been in the service for three seasons. “It really has made a difference in my life.”I really appreciate the opportunity to not be in prison and be out changing lives and saving lives.”For Santana Felix Nolasco, 28, the skills and the discipline he has learned have been invaluable.”It’s a big opportunity for every single one of us here,” he said. “They give us a second chance for those that actually really want to change,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion.- ‘Huge contribution’ -The inmates are among thousands of firefighters from all over the United States, as well as from Mexico, who have been fighting the flames that forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and scorched 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares).”These guys put a lot of hard work in,” said Captain Joseph Cruz, who oversees a team working in the Palisades fire zone. “It’s a huge contribution.” Firefighters and prisoners talk, laugh, eat and work together. It’s a “life-changing experience for me,” said Nolasco, who wants to change his orange prisoner’s uniform for the yellow uniform of the California firefighters when he gets out.Cruz says seeing the positive effect on the men in his charge is “very rewarding.””The goal is to get a change of behavior, change of lifestyle, change of previous habits that unfortunately landed in them there in the first place,” he said.”If I retired today, and I knew that I had a couple of guys that were able to get career paths after it, after leaving here… I would be happy. “It’s a great thing, and that’s what I do it for.”

US Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the Justice Department on Thursday against what he called unfounded attacks and said prosecutions under his leadership were driven by “justice, not politics.”Garland, in an emotional farewell speech to Justice Department employees, also stressed the importance of maintaining the independence of the department from the White House and Congress.   Garland did not specifically mention Donald Trump or the president-elect’s nominee to be his successor as attorney general, Pam Bondi, in his speech. But some of his remarks were clearly aimed at the incoming administration.”I know that you have faced unfounded attacks simply for doing your jobs,” the outgoing attorney general told Justice Department staff. “But the story that has been told by some outside of this building about what has happened inside of it is wrong.”You have worked to pursue justice, not politics.”During his tenure, Garland appointed a special counsel who brought two federal cases against Trump — for seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.Neither case came to trial and both were dropped in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president, after Trump won the November election.Trump has threatened to pursue individuals he perceives as his political enemies but Bondi, during her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, pledged that she “will not politicize” the office of attorney general.”I will not target people just because of their political affiliation,” she said. “There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.”Garland said law enforcement decisions should be “based only on the facts and the law” and the Justice Department must maintain its independence from the White House and Congress.”We make that commitment not because independence is necessarily constitutionally required, but because it is the only way to ensure that our law enforcement decisions are free from partisan influence,” he said.”It is the obligation of each of us to adhere to our norms even when — and especially when — the circumstances we face are not normal,” he said.Garland also appeared to have some words of advice for his successor, saying it was incumbent upon the attorney general to ensure that the Justice Department does things “the right way.””The attorney general must ensure that this department seeks justice only with justice,” he said.

David Lynch — the singular and surreal director of “Mulholland Drive” and television’s “Twin Peaks,” who depicted the darkness lurking beneath the wholesome surface of American life — has died. He was 78 years old.An enigmatic artist who turned his hand to arthouse and blockbuster film, television, painting and music, Lynch was considered one of US cinema’s great auteurs.”It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” read a statement on his official Facebook page.The cause and location of death were not specified. Lynch, who lived in Los Angeles, had suffered from emphysema after years of heavy smoking.He emerged on the US indie scene with his creepy 1977 horror “Eraserhead,” and drew both acclaim and a cult following with sadomasochist mystery “Blue Velvet” (1986) and surreal thriller “Mulholland Drive” (2001).But he may be best remembered for his mesmerizing 1990s series “Twin Peaks,” which paved the way for many a prestige television drama.With four Oscar nominations, including a trio of best director nods, the filmmaker recognizable by his shock of white hair took home just one honorary statuette, in 2019.- ‘Fearless’ -Tributes from across Hollywood swiftly poured in.Steven Spielberg called Lynch “a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade,” while fellow director Ron Howard hailed “a gracious man and fearless artist” who “proved that radical experimentation could yield unforgettable cinema.”Kyle MacLachlan, who starred in “Twin Peaks” and several Lynch films, called Lynch “an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him.””I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision,” he wrote on Instagram.Born in small-town Montana in 1946, the son of an agricultural research scientist, Lynch travelled extensively around Middle America as a young man.He attended fine arts colleges in Boston and Philadelphia before joining the American Film Institute, where he began work on “Eraserhead.”That was followed by 1980’s “The Elephant Man,” also shot in black-and-white and deeply tragic, but decidedly more mainstream and accessible, earning his first best director Oscar nomination.Based on the diary of Joseph Merrick, the so-called “Elephant Man” born in the United States in 1862 with a condition that gave him a severely deformed physical appearance, it starred Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt.An attempt to adapt sci-fi novel “Dune” in 1984 would be one of Lynch’s less well-received efforts, though it still has its admirers.Lynch pivoted back to his arthouse roots with “Blue Velvet,” about a young man whose discovery of a severed ear leads him to the sinister side of his small town.It starred Isabella Rossellini — whom Lynch dated for several years — and is often heralded as his greatest work, earning a second Academy Award nomination for directing. After winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes with “Wild at Heart” in 1990, Lynch turned to television with “Twin Peaks,” which captivated and shocked Americans from its 1990 launch.The tale of a tight-knit northwestern town reacting to the rape and murder of a popular but troubled high school girl, it was years ahead of its time.But ratings plummeted as the show’s second season lost direction after the purported meddling of ABC executives, and it was cancelled. An even darker 1992 prequel film was initially panned, but is now considered a classic.- ‘Big hole’ -In 2001, Lynch made his second undisputed masterpiece, “Mulholland Drive,” which brought a third best director Oscar nomination.Naomi Watts plays a naive actress who meets a mysterious brunette suffering amnesia, before everything gets inverted in an astonishing twist that has fans arguing over its meaning to this day.Film writer David Thomson called it “one of the greatest films ever made about the cultural devastation caused by Hollywood.”Lynch’s final full-length feature film was 2006’s inscrutable “Inland Empire,” although he returned to the world of “Twin Peaks” with an acclaimed sequel series for cable network Showtime in 2017.But he never retired, continuing to produce short films, music and paintings, and practice his beloved daily transcendental meditation, from his studio and home — appropriately located just outside Hollywood, on Mulholland Drive.He regularly posted whimsical weather updates to YouTube, underlining the optimistic and playful man behind his often troubling art.”There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us,” said his family’s statement.”But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.'”

Homeowners in areas of the United States with the highest climate-related risks saw declining access to insurance, a Treasury Department report released Thursday said.Average insurance non-renewal rates were about 80 percent higher for consumers in high-climate-risk areas than for those in the lowest-risk ones, the report found. It showed that “homeowners insurance is becoming more costly and harder to procure for millions of Americans as the costs of climate-related events pose growing challenges,” the department said.The report, providing a view of the homeowners insurance market, comes as a climate-related crisis unfolds in Los Angeles, and with millions across the country rebuilding from the effects of hurricanes and other disasters last year.Los Angeles has been battling deadly wildfires that have killed at least 24, destroyed thousands of buildings, and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.The “analysis comes at a time of devastating tragedy, loss of life, and destruction from the wildfires in the Los Angeles area,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a statement.”While it’s far from clear what the exact financial costs of this disaster will be, it is a stark reminder of the impacts of the growing magnitude of natural disasters on the US economy,” she added.The report, released by the Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office, is based on data covering more than 330 insurers on over 246 million homeowners insurance policies, running from 2018 to 2022.Homeowners living in communities hit by “substantial weather events are paying far more than those elsewhere,” the Treasury said.Across the country, homeowners insurance costs have been rising — with average premiums per policy growing 8.7 percent faster than the rate of inflation in the 2018-2022 period.”Data and analysis, like those in this report, are critical for helping policymakers understand how substantial climate-related property losses are being spread across homeowners, insurers, and governments,” said Under Secretary of Domestic Finance Nellie Liang.