What Ignited the Deadly California Wildfires? Investigators Consider Array of Possibilities

LOS ANGELES — Investigators are considering an array of possible ignition sources for the huge fires that have killed at least 16 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area.

In hilly, upscale Pacific Palisades, home to Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal who lost houses in the fire, officials have placed the origin of the wind-whipped blaze behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, which sits above a densely wooded arroyo.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

While lightning is the most common source of fires in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association, investigators were able to rule that out quickly. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton Fire, which started in east Los Angeles County and has also destroyed hundreds of homes.

The next two most common causes: fires intentionally set, and those sparked by utility lines.

Read More: What We Know About the Arrest Made Near the Kenneth Fire in L.A.

John Lentini, owner of Scientific Fire Analysis in Florida, who has investigated large fires in California including the Oakland Hills Fire in 1991, said the size and scope of the blaze doesn’t change the approach to finding out what caused it.

“This was once a small fire,” Lentini said. “People will focus on where the fire started, determine the origin and look around the origin and determine the cause.”

So far there has been no official indication of arson in either blaze, and utility lines have not yet been identified as a cause either.

Utilities are required to report to the California Public Utilities Commission when they know of “electric incidents potentially associated with a wildfire,” Terrie Prosper, the commission’s communications director, said via email. CPUC staff then investigate to see if there were violations of state law.

The 2017 Thomas Fire, one of the largest fires in state history, was sparked by Southern California Edison power lines that came into contact during high wind, investigators determined. The blaze killed two people and charred more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers).

On Friday, Southern California Edison filed a report with the CPUC related to the Eaton Fire in the hills near Pasadena, an area the utility serves.

Edison said it has not received any suggestions that its equipment was involved in the ignition of that fire, but that it filed the report with state utilities regulators out of “an abundance of caution” after receiving evidence preservation notices from insurance company lawyers.

Read More: L.A. Fires Show the Reality of Living in a World with 1.5°C of Warming

“Preliminary analysis by SCE of electrical circuit information for the energized transmission lines going through the area for 12 hours prior to the reported start time of the fire shows no interruptions or electrical or operational anomalies until more than one hour after the reported start time of the fire,” the utility reported.

While lightning, arson and utility lines are the most common causes, debris burning and fireworks are also common causes.

But fires are incited by myriad sources, including accidents.

In 2021, a couple’s gender reveal stunt started a large fire that torched close to 36 square miles (about 90 square kilometers) of terrain, destroyed five homes and 15 other buildings and claimed the life of a firefighter, Charlie Morton.

The Eaton and Palisades fires were still burning with little containment on Friday. Winds softened, but there was no rain in the forecast as the flames moved through miles of dry landscape.

“It’s going to go out when it runs out of fuel, or when the weather stops,” Lentini said. “They’re not going to put that thing out until it’s ready to go out.”

source https://time.com/7206376/what-ignited-southern-california-los-angeles-wildfires-investigation/

Why Didn’t L.A. Firefighters Have Access to More Water? Newsom Calls For Investigation

In the wake of reports that a lack of water supply may have negatively impacted the work of firefighters battling the multiple blazes in Los Angeles, California Governor Gavin Newsom called for an investigation on Friday, Jan. 10.

“The ongoing reports of the loss of water pressure to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir are deeply troubling to me and to the community,” Newsom wrote in the letter addressed to Janisse Quiñones, CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and L.A. County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

“While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish fires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors.”

Newsom posted the letter on X (formerly Twitter), telling his followers: “We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires.”

Read More: L.A. Fires Show the Reality of Living in a World with 1.5°C of Warming

Currently, the Los Angeles Fire Department and CAL FIRE are fighting multiple blazes, the most dominant being the Palisades Fire. As of Jan. 12, at least 16 people are thought to have died, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office, thousands of homes have been destroyed, and over 40,000 acres have been decimated.

Soon after the first fire sparked on Jan. 7, reports and concerns began to emerge that the fire hydrants were running dry, after being overstressed without aircraft support.

On Jan. 8, Los Angeles Fire Department Public Information Officer Erik Scott, addressed the “multiple questions” he was receiving about firefighters experiencing challenges with water pressure when fighting the Palisades Fire. He posted on X about how water supply and dry conditions had negatively affected firefighting efforts, despite the fact that the L.A. Department of Water and Power filled all available water tanks in the area.

“[W]ater availability was impacted at higher elevations, which affected some fire hydrants due to limited replenishment of water tanks in those areas,” he wrote. “The extreme demand caused a slower refill rate for these tanks which created a challenge for our firefighting effort.”

In a news conference on Wednesday morning, both Quiñones and Pestrella discussed the struggles with water supply. “We pushed the system to the extreme,” Quiñones said. “We’re fighting a wildfire with an urban water system. And that is really challenging.”

On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which helps supply water in Pacific Palisades, was offline for maintenance when the Palisades fire ignited on Tuesday. The 117-million-gallon-water storage is a fundamental tool in sustaining the water system for the residential area.

In a memo posted by the LADWP attempting to combat misinformation regarding water supply, they clarified that “LADWP was required to take the Santa Ynez Reservoir out of service to meet safe drinking water regulations,” but stated that “water supply remained strong to the area.”

They also said that they are “initiating [their] own investigation about water resiliency.”

Read More: How to Help Victims of the Los Angeles Wildfires

Some experts have told the media that “no water system in the world” would have been able to handle the sheer magnitude of fires that have blazed over the course of the week, especially with the strong Santa Ana winds often grounding air support.

According to Newsom, many of Southern California’s largest reservoirs are “currently at or above their historic average storage levels for this time of year.” And while he has ordered for an investigation “into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir,” he states on his new California fire facts website—launched on Jan. 11 with the intention of combating misinformation about the fires—that “reservoirs are full and water is available.”

He also reminds readers that “urban water systems are built for structure fires and fire suppression, not hurricane-force firestorms” and that the water supply was “exhausted because of the extraordinary nature of this hurricane-force firestorm.”

Newsom addressed his call for an independent investigation in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, which aired on Jan. 12. He was asked what questions he’s hoping to get answered. “The same ones you’re asking…What the hell happened? What happened to the water system…Was it just overwhelmed?” Newsom said. “Did it contribute in any way to our inability to fight the fire? Or were 99 mile-an-hour winds determinative and there was really no firefight that could’ve been more meaningful? So I want—all of us want to know those answers, and I just don’t want to wait because people are asking me. I want to know those facts. I want them objectively determined, and let the chips fall where they may. This is not about finger pointing.”

Throughout the week, there has also been much discussion as to whether budget cuts to the fire department have affected LAFD’s ability to fight the destructive wildfires. Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times posted on X, criticizing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

“Fires in LA are sadly no surprise, yet the Mayor cut LA Fire Department’s budget by $23M,” he claimed. “And reports of empty fire hydrants raise serious questions.”

L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has also criticized the city and Bass, stating on Fox 11 that the budget “was cut, and it did impact our ability to provide service.” She said: “We are still under-staffed, we are still under-resourced, and we’re still under-funded,” and added that she was not aware that the reservoir had been closed before Tuesday. “That is something to discuss, and we’re going to look into that in regard to how we can ensure there’s going to be water when we need it,” Crowley said in the Jan. 10 interview.

Newsom has denied that there were cuts to the firefighting budget. “CA did NOT cut our firefighting budget. We have nearly doubled the size of our firefighting army and built the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet,” Newsom wrote in a social media post announcing his new California fire facts website.

Read More: Understanding How Massive the L.A. Fires Are

Meanwhile, in a memo Crowley sent to Bass in Dec. 2024, she stated that the elimination of civilian positions and overtime within the department was causing “unprecedented operational challenges” and “severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.”

Bass, who was criticized for being out of the country when the fires broke out, has repeatedly defended her support of the fire department throughout the week, stating in a news conference on Jan. 9 that “the impact of our budget really did not impact what we’ve been going through over the last few days.”

TIME has reached out to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Department of Public Works for comment.

source https://time.com/7206352/los-angeles-firefighters-water-supply-access-complaints-investigation/

Canada Will Soon Get a Trump-Like Leader

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation to avoid a revolt from his Liberal lawmakers amid over a year of disastrous polling. Parliament is now suspended until March and Trudeau will stay on until the Liberals pick a new leader. But while the country is entering a brief period of limbo, one thing is all but certain.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

A man who has drawn comparisons to Donald Trump will become Canada’s Prime Minister.

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, is on track to decisively win an election expected this Spring and bring the Trudeau era to an end. The Conservatives are up by more than 20 points in the polls, amid deep anger over the cost-of-living crisis and other issues that have recently toppled incumbents across the West.

Read More: How Canada Fell Out of Love With Trudeau

Should Poilievre win his expected majority in Parliament, he will have the run of the joint. Canadian Prime Ministers are famously—or infamously—powerful in such situations. 

No Canadian Prime Minister is an absolute monarch—they face modest restraints from their caucus, the courts, opposition in the House of Commons, the Senate, interest groups, and the people of Canada themselves—but in practice they can get away with an awful lot between elections. The Westminster “whip system” is unique for its strength and it means that Poilievre will have at least four years in which his soldiers are lined up firmly behind him—just as Trudeau once did. He’ll enjoy that power as long as he remains popular—just as Trudeau once did.

Poilievre is a bare-knuckle brawler of a politician who means what he says and says what he believes to be true. He’s a lifelong conservative, a true believer, and a deep ideologue in the make and mold of the Reagan era. He’s committed to a 1980s-style tough on crime program, the sort that’s proven time and again to fail. He’s doubtless about the power of the free market and utterly committed to restraining government—cutting costs, taxes, and letting capitalism do its thing, convinced of the Gipper’s adage that government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem. In that sense, Canadians can expect Poilievre to slash taxes, regulations, and, perhaps, social programs. He hasn’t committed to keeping popular Trudeau-era social programs, including a free dental care plan and a budding prescription drug care one.

The 45-year-old Poilievre has been an elected politician his entire career. But he has carefully cultivated an outsider narrative. He has a boxer’s demeanour. There are echoes of the far right in his war cries. He attacks journalists, gets the facts wrong in the service of over-the-top rhetoric, and flirts with extremists. He’s not shy about bounding into the growing fronts of the culture wars, including the pushback against trans rights. He has something of an extremely-online alt-right YouTuber about him, a kind of smarmy and self-satisfied certainty, which is as disconcerting as it is fitting for the times.

But there’s more to Poilievre than just that.

Since becoming Conservative Party leader, he has focused on affordability issues that are a top voter concern, courting the working class in the process. It’s a strategy that’s been a smashing success at a time when the country is indeed making its way through a protracted cost-of-living crisis driven by the lingering effects of the pandemic, high—though falling—interest rates, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and a Trudeau carbon tax.

With a pocketbook-first agenda and an angry-everyman demeanour, Poilievre has managed to become the man for the moment. But Poilievre’s brash style will mean that Canada—a country with a reputation for “nice” people and nice politics—may increasingly look like the toxic partisanship seen everywhere that the Donald Trump era has exacerbated to the extreme in the U.S.

For now, though, Poilievre’s discipline in focusing on economic issues has paid off. He’s been wise to show up where voters tend to be, speaking to them in ways that resonate, reflecting back the anger and frustration so many people feel as they struggle to afford groceries and rent or mortgage payments, as they worry if their jobs will remain secure and sufficient, or as they wait months to see a doctor, if they can find one. He’s an angry man, but it’s an angry time.

That anger is Poilievre’s ally today, but tomorrow it could be his enemy—and the source of his downfall. If he wins and fails to get a grip on the issues Canadians care most about, he may find himself sharing Trudeau’s fate before long, as so many of his predecessors have. 

source https://time.com/7206307/canada-poilievre-trudeau-resignation/

How a Week of Weather Extremes Upended the Lives of Millions of Americans

It was a week of fire and ice. It began with millions of people across the U.S. shivering amid blizzard conditions and frigid air that lasted for days, thanks to a jet stream that slips out of its usual path more often these days. Then, catastrophe in California, with wind-whipped flames taking off in a landscape parched by months of drought to become Los Angeles’ worst-ever wildfires.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

To cap it off, major weather monitoring agencies confirmed 2024 as the hottest year in global history. Even more dire, four of the six agencies said it was the first full year Earth went beyond a warming threshold seen as critical to limiting the worst effects of climate change.

Welcome to one wild week of the climate crisis, scientists say. There will be more.

“For the average person, this means the changes you’re experiencing — more extreme weather, rising costs due to climate impacts, threats to food and water security — aren’t anomalies,” said Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University. “They’re the new normal unless we take action.”

“The last week of weird weather has been alarming,” said Natalie Mahowald, chair of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University. “I hope it’s not a sign of things to come, because we’ve barely seen any climate change compared to what we are going to get unless we radically cut CO2 emissions.”

Here’s how the week unfolded:

Monday

The cold came first.

The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world, which means the difference between temperatures up north and down south are shrinking — along with sea ice that releases more heat into atmosphere. That means more energy bouncing off and warping or moving the polar vortex, scientists say. And climate change is also messing with the jet stream, the air currents that circle the globe.

The result? More frequent blasts of intense cold in winter even as global temperatures heat up overall.

The blizzard dumped more snow in some parts of Kansas than they usually get in a year, one Kansas State University meteorologist said. Ice-coated trees downed power lines in eastern Kentucky, and a U.S. Olympian skied on the National Mall in Washington.

Farmers rushed to move cows to keep them from freezing to death and to feed and water them as rural roads became impassable. Travel stalled as multiple states warned motorists not to chance the treacherous snow and ice.

About 200 people, many homeless, sheltered at a roller rink in Cincinnati. The alternative was frostbite or worse in exposure to temperatures that were expected to slip from freezing to sub-freezing overnight.

Tuesday

Out West, wildfire took hold.

The Palisades Fire erupted in the Santa Monica mountains and moved quickly on Santa Ana winds gusting to 100 mph — much faster than normal. The winds were so strong they grounded airplanes normally used to drop water on the flames.

The blaze reached near the Getty Museum and by the end of the day, several celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Jhené Aiko, had lost homes. Less than 72 hours before, many stars had convened to walk the Golden Globes’ red carpet.

The Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, killing 2 people and closing about 10 school districts.

Climate change laid the groundwork for California’s megafires. Atmospheric rivers dumped huge amounts of water on the region that caused plenty of plant growth. Then, a fast onset of drought dried them out, providing plenty of fodder for the flames.

Wednesday

The water system used to fight the Palisades fire in Los Angeles buckled in the morning, as some hydrants ran dry as they were overstressed without assistance from firefighting aircraft.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was pumping from aqueducts and groundwater into the system, but demand was so high that it wasn’t enough to refill three 1-million gallon tanks in hilly Pacific Palisades. At least 1,000 buildings were engulfed in flames.

The Sunset Fire started, too, threatening the Hollywood Hills and forcing mandatory evacuations in Hollywood.

President-elect Donald Trump criticized state and local officials’ water management policies. But experts said critics were connecting unrelated issues and spreading false information during a crisis.

Thursday

By the afternoon, calmer winds aided firefighters in making some headway, though by that point at least five fires were still active and some burned out of control in the L.A. area.

Scenes of the destruction started to emerge. Recovery crews pulled a body from the rubble of a beachfront residence in Malibu.

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, estimated the overall wildfire damage could reach $57 billion, though much of the destruction remains to be surveyed.

At the same time, another winter storm bore down on the South, with warnings and advisories for at least 20 states. Many had gone through the same thing just days earlier.

Friday

Major weather monitoring agencies said 2024 was the hottest since record-keeping began, easily passing 2023.

Even more significant: 2024 was the first year with a global average that broke the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s that was set as a goal by the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Extreme weather like this week’s is “affecting so many more people all at one time,” said Barbara Hofer, a professor emerita of psychology at Middlebury College. “Increasingly, the scale is changing. The loss is mounting.”

Hofer said the growing impact may make some people deny climate change, ignore it or become numb to it as “a way to avoid what’s psychologically uncomfortable.”

Such a week can also energize positive change, she said. But Hofer said she thinks that will be harder, at least in the U.S., as Trump takes office. He’s promised to halt federal climate action and repeal existing legislation aimed at the problem.

“I worry about the denial, the misinformation, and the forces that are feeding that denial,” she said. “That’s what we have to address.”

—The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

source https://time.com/7206286/weather-extremes-la-fires-blizzard-conditions-millions-americans-upended/

Why Incarcerated Firefighters Are Battling the L.A. Wildfires

As fires continue to blaze across Los Angeles, more than 12,000 personnel have been deployed to support the ongoing firefight. Among those attempting to quell these fires are incarcerated persons working in a three-way partnership between the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), CAL FIRE, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department LACFD.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The current state of the fires is that at least 11 people are thought to have died, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office. “Unfortunately I think the death toll will rise,” L.A. Sheriff Robert Luna said on Jan. 9. And the sheer volume of land destroyed is massive. As of Saturday morning—close to 36,000 acres have been decimated.

Read More: L.A. Fires Show the Reality of Living in a World with 1.5°C of Warming

As of Friday morning, 939 incarcerated firefighters have been working “around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel behind structures to slow fire spread,” CDCR told TIME in an emailed statement. This includes 110 members of a support staff helping the firefighters.

Here’s everything you need to know about how and why inmates are currently fighting the L.A. fires. 

Incarcerated firefighters have been working all week

Incarcerated firefighters have been on the frontlines of the multiple fires breaking out in Los Angeles County and Southern California since earlier this week. On Wednesday, the CDCR told the Washington Post it had deployed 395 imprisoned firefighters to the frontlines. A day later, that number had nearly doubled to 783. The department said the crews also have 88 staff members supporting them. By Friday morning, almost 1,000 firefighters from the program were fighting the blazes.

Read More: How to Help Victims of the Los Angeles Wildfires

A look into the program making this happen—and what the firefighters can gain

The incarcerated firefighters are a part of the Conservation (Fire) Camp Program—a partnership between CDCR, Cal Fire, and LACFD, which jointly operates 35 conservation camps across 25 counties in California.

Participants in these camps “support state, local and federal government agencies as they respond to all types of emergencies such as fires, floods, and other natural or manmade disasters,” according to the CDCR website.

Inmates must apply to be a part of the program and “no one is involuntarily assigned to work in a fire camp,” per the CDCR. “Thus, incarcerated people do not face disciplinary action if they choose not to serve their time in a fire camp.”

Those who participate in the program can also receive “time credits,” according to the CDCR. Most of those who work as firefighters can receive two-for-one credits, “meaning they receive two additional days off their sentence for every one day they serve on a fire crew,” while those working as support staff receive one-for-one credits.

The program started in 1915, though the modern protocol of training the inmates at camps began during World War II. 

Since their rates were doubled in 2023, the fire crew members now earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, paid by CDCR, with an additional $1 per hour during “emergencies” paid by CAL FIRE. This is the salary that the inmates currently fighting the California fires are receiving, in great contrast to their non incarcerated counterparts (salaries for the LACFD begin at around $85,000 according to their website).

In recent years, the camp sizes have shrunk, thanks largely to a combination of prison reform efforts and overcrowding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-COVID, incarcerated firefighters made up around 30% of California’s firefighting workforce; post-COVID, this is now closer to 10 to 15%, according to The Nature Conservancy.

The dangers of the job

Though the CDCR emphasizes that inmates working as firefighters have the opportunity to gain employment from their training with CAL FIRE, graduates of the program have reported difficulties accessing firefighting jobs once released despite their experience and training.

Read More: Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters in California Speak Out On What Needs to Change

Royal Ramey is a formerly-incarcerated individual who worked in the Conservation Fire Camp Program in 2012, and experienced first hand the struggle of finding work after his release in 2014.

“The harsh reality is that once they get out [of prison], they face an uphill battle getting a job,” he tells TIME.

Now, Ramey is the co-founder and chief program officer of his own nonprofit, the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, where he helps fellow formerly incarcerated individuals find paths to employment in forestry and wildland firefighting. The FFRP has a 10% rate of recidivism, compared to the California state average of 41.9%. 

 It’s a difficult situation, Ramey says. On the one hand, he found his “calling” as a firefighter while in prison, and he “fell in love” with the work.

“It really gave me the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be a little bit more confident, to understand how to communicate effectively with different folks, and also have a shared vision with a group of men,” Ramey says.

On the other hand, he recognizes how little firefighters like him were getting paid in comparison to their counterparts, and when he first signed up, he says he “didn’t really know what I was getting myself into.”

A 2018 TIME report found that incarcerated firefighters were, at the time, four times more likely to experience object-induced injuries, such as cuts, bruises, dislocations and fractures, compared with professional firefighters working on the same fires. Inmates were also more than eight times as likely to be injured after inhaling smoke and particulates compared with other firefighters.

For Ramey, the work is making sure that incarcerated firefighters are not just utilized in times of extreme need, but that they have pathways to employment after their release and mentorship along the way as well.

source https://time.com/7206260/why-incarcerated-firefighters-are-battling-la-wildfires/

The Rich History Behind Pamela Anderson’s Tender Performance in The Last Showgirl

This story was originally published when The Last Showgirl premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is being republished as the movie gets released nationwide on Jan. 10.

After the world premiere of her new movie The Last Showgirl, at the Toronto International Film Festival, Pamela Anderson was asked during an on-stage question and answer session how she prepared to play Shelley, a Vegas showgirl whose long-running gig is coming to a close. “I think I’ve been getting ready my whole life for this role,” Anderson said, wearing a black suit, which she complemented with sunglasses (though she eventually ditched those).

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

She also acknowledged how rare this opportunity is for her. ”It’s the first time I ever read a good script, first of all,” she said to laughs. Other material, she joked, hasn’t been quite so “coherent.” 

Indeed, The Last Showgirl, directed by Gia Coppola, marks Anderson’s most substantial work in film to date, one for which she is receiving strong reviews. The BBC called the 57-year-old actor a “revelation.”  The film arrives at a moment of cultural reassessment of the former Baywatch star’s career, which had more frequently than not been used as a punchline or a tabloid headline. While Anderson’s Shelley is a new creation, the sense of history the audience brings to the actor playing her, whose rise to fame was inextricably linked to her physical appearance, is relevant to the story. Shelley demands that her passion for performing in the Vegas revue, nudity and all, be taken seriously—just as Anderson has long advocated for herself. 

Arguably Anderson’s biggest film prior to this moment was the 1996 thriller Barb Wire, which ultimately became yet another punchline in the saga of her career. At the time she was in the middle of her high-profile marriage to rocker Tommy Lee, and she miscarried during production. Roger Ebert, reviewing the movie, wrote that: “Pamela Anderson Lee, while not a great actress, is a good sport.” Later, Anderson would say, “I don’t even know what that movie is about. I have no idea.” 

The past couple of years have offered a chance for the public to reconsider Anderson and the media’s treatment of her. First came the 2022 Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy, which explored the fallout of Anderson and Lee’s infamous sex tape and featured Lily James in the role of Pam. While the show was sympathetic toward Anderson, she herself did not approve of it and in an interview called it “salt on the wound.”

The following year Anderson told her own story in the Netflix documentary Pamela, a love story, directed by Ryan White. There, she frankly talked about her life, including her experiences with sexual abuse, and shared diary entries. The film also documented her rehearsals to play Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway during an eight-week run in 2022. The Guardian assessed her performance with: “Anderson may not demonstrate great talent for singing (her voice is feathery and soft, at times difficult to hear even in the orchestra) or dancing (good enough), but she has what she needs: an unserious self-awareness and an excellent grasp on winking camp.” 

The Last Showgirl, however, is not camp. Instead, it’s a tender look at the corners of Vegas many might write off as crass or cheesy. The screenplay from Kate Gersten was inspired by her time observing the showgirls of Jubilee!, the “last standing tits and feathers show, as they call them,” as she described it during the Q&A. Gersten had a job writing patter for the show that would be taking over some of Jubilee‘s performances.

From there Gersten imagined Shelley, a woman who has been with the production Le Razzle Dazzle for upwards of 30 years, prancing onstage nightly in wings and rhinestones. Shelley loves her job, acting as a den mother to some of the younger dancers (including Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Strong). But Shelley is also stuck in the past and holds onto the idea of what Le Razzle Dazzle once was: a phenomenon where the showgirls were celebrated and flown around the world. Now, it’s closing to be replaced by a “dirty circus,” and, in the last weeks of its run, Shelley finds herself adrift. 

Anderson plays Shelley with a consummate sweetness that sometimes registers as naivete. Le Razzle Dazzle has been Shelley’s life for so long that she doesn’t understand how others perceive it—including her estranged daughter (Billie Lourd), who is on the verge of graduating from college. However, Shelley is not a tragic figure. During one key scene she tells off a dismissive casting director, telling him, “I’m 57 and I’m beautiful you son of a bitch.” The TIFF audience applauded. 

During the Q&A following the film, the rest of the cast was visibly emotional for Anderson. Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Shelley’s spray-tanned cocktail-waitressing friend, was crying as she addressed her co-star. “I can’t,” she said. 

Lourd, the daughter of the late actor Carrie Fisher and granddaughter of Golden Age of Hollywood star Debbie Reynolds, explained that playing Shelley’s child was “cathartic” for her. 

“It felt like Shelley was my grandma and I got to be my mom and I got to understand my mom on a deeper level than I ever had, and it was a beautiful experience,” she said. “And to get to do that with Pamela was an absolute gift. She is a wonderful mother in real life and a wonderful mother to me on this film.” 

Parenthood is a key part of the journey that Anderson speaks about in Pamela, a love story—including describing her miscarriage during Barb Wire—making The Last Showgirl another full-circle moment for her. That’s just another way in which the film allows Anderson, who is the mother to adult sons Brandon and Dylan Lee, to reveal contours of herself that might have been otherwise dismissed.

On stage, Anderson remarked how reading the script she thought, “I’m the only one who can do this.” Watching it, you believe her.

source https://time.com/7018820/the-last-showgirl-pamela-anderson/

The True Story Behind Netflix’s Gripping Swedish Crime Drama The Breakthrough

Netflix’s The Breakthrough is a gripping Swedish miniseries that brings to life one of Europe’s most perplexing and haunting criminal cases of this century: a 2004 double murder in the country’s southern city of Linköping. The four-part drama not only explores the devastating crime but also the groundbreaking technique that led investigators to solve it after 16 years. Directed by Lisa Siwe (The Bridge) and written by Oskar Söderlund (Snabba Cash), the series blends true crime with human drama, focusing on the resilience of the victims’ families and the investigators who refused to give up.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Since premiering earlier this week, the show has secured a spot on Netflix’s daily top 10 most watched series. Let’s dive into the real story behind The Breakthrough and how it transformed a cold case into a historic moment in forensic science.

Read more: 33 True Crime Documentaries That Shaped the Genre

A shocking crime that stunned Sweden

On the morning of Oct. 19, 2004, the small city of Linköping was shaken by an unthinkable act of violence. Eight-year-old Mohammed Ammouri was walking to school when he was brutally attacked and stabbed by a masked assailant. Anna-Lena Svensson, a 56-year-old woman who happened to witness the attack, tried to intervene but was also fatally stabbed.

The murders were shocking not only for their brutality but also for their randomness. There appeared to be no connection between the victims or any clear motive for the crime. Despite an intensive investigation, which included securing DNA evidence from the crime scene and the perpetrator’s discarded hat, the police were unable to identify the killer.

The case soon became known as one of Sweden’s most notorious cold cases, leaving the city of Linköping and the victims’ families desperate for answers.

A case that refused to be forgotten

For over a decade, the Linköping murders haunted Swedish law enforcement. Investigators meticulously reviewed the evidence and pursued countless leads, but every effort ended in frustration. The DNA evidence, while a crucial piece of the puzzle, yielded no matches in national or international databases.

The families of Ammouri and Svensson were left to grieve without closure. Public interest in the case waned, and it seemed the murders might never be solved. However, a breakthrough was on the horizon—one that would revolutionize criminal investigations in Europe.

Read more: The Best Shows to Watch on Netflix

The role of forensic genealogy

In 2020, forensic genealogy, a relatively new investigative technique, became the key to solving the case. This method, which had already gained prominence in the United States, uses DNA samples to trace a suspect’s family tree through publicly available genealogical databases.

The turning point in the Linköping case came when genealogist Peter Sjölund joined the investigation. By analyzing the DNA evidence, Sjölund traced the killer’s ancestry back over 200 years, constructing an intricate family tree that eventually led to the suspect: Daniel Nyqvist.

Nyqvist, 37 years old at the time, making him in his early 20s when the crime occurred, was arrested in June 2020. His DNA matched the evidence from the crime scene, and he quickly confessed to the murders. In court, Nyqvist claimed he had acted under the influence of voices in his head, describing the attacks as unprovoked. He was found guilty and sentenced to indefinite psychiatric care.

This marked the first time in European history that forensic genealogy was used to solve a murder case, setting a precedent for future investigations.

How The Breakthrough dramatizes the case

The Breakthrough is a dramatized retelling of the events surrounding the Linköping murders. Directed by Lisa Siwe, the series balances the procedural intensity of a crime thriller with a deep exploration of human tragedy.

The narrative unfolds in two timelines: the immediate aftermath of the murders in 2004 and the renewed investigation in 2020. Peter Eggers portrays John, based on the determined detective Jan Egon Staaf who refused to let the case go cold, while Mattias Nordkvist plays Per, a character inspired by genealogist Peter Sjölund. The series also introduces fictionalized versions of the victims and their families, adding emotional depth to the story.

Siwe emphasized the show’s focus on the human aspects of the tragedy during an interview with Netflix. “Though this is a fictional drama series about a crime, it is, above all, a depiction of a human tragedy—where we place our focus on the victims and the investigation rather than the perpetrator.”

The series takes some creative liberties, including changing the names of the victims and the genealogist, but it stays true to the core events of the case.

Why The Breakthrough stands out in the true crime genre

Unlike many true crime productions that focus heavily on the perpetrators, The Breakthrough shifts the spotlight to the victims and the investigators. It delves into the personal toll of the case on those involved and highlights the power of persistence and innovation in seeking justice.

The series also explores the ethical implications of forensic genealogy. While the technique proved invaluable in solving the Linköping murders and marked a turning point in European law enforcement, its use raises questions about privacy and the potential for misuse. These themes make The Breakthrough not just a gripping crime drama but also a thought-provoking look at the future of criminal investigations.

As genealogist Peter Sjölund’s groundbreaking work proved, even the most challenging mysteries can, with a little luck, be solved with dogged determination and a willingness to think outside the box.

source https://time.com/7205773/the-breakthrough-true-story-netflix/