Wildfires in Los Angeles and surrounding areas have destroyed thousands of structures including residential and commercial real estate and caused two known deaths since its start on Tuesday.Driven by high-velocity winds, the fire has spread to cover more than 11,000 acres, causing massive destruction and forcing more than 50,000 people to evacuate, as well as covering much of the LA metropolitan area in smoke and ash.According to the LA Times, thousands of structures have already burned down in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, an affluent area tucked between the hills and the Pacific Ocean.Modernist icon the Eames House (Case Study House No. 8) and Case Study House No. 18 sit in the south of the fire's incident zone and as of Wednesday morning, staff had evacuated and taken several articles of furniture. While currently "at risk" the site has so far been unharmed by the fire, according to the foundation."We are closely monitoring the situation and the Eames Foundation has taken every precaution to protect the site," said Eames Foundation executive director Lucia Dewey Atwood at 1:00 pm local time today."Yesterday, the foundation's team worked quickly to remove a small number of objects from the house before they had to evacuate the building."As of today, the local firefighting efforts have been constrained by grounding orders for firefighting aircraft due to high winds and dwindling water resources. On Wednesday morning, LA fire chief Brent Pascua called the scenes at the fire "apocalyptic".Reportedly, officials have had to use bulldozers to clear cars abandoned by fleeing people for emergency vehicles to pass."Total destruction" in MalibuHundreds of homes, restaurants and other structures have been consumed by the fire, including the Palisades Library and Palisades Charter High School, according to the New York Times.The Pacific Palisades fire has spread as far north as Malibu and burning buildings were recorded along the Pacific Coast Highway as of this afternoon.NBC news correspondent Liz Kreutz posted on X Wednesday afternoon that there was "total destruction" in Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway.Tens of thousands of structures remain at risk, including the home of US vice president Kamala Harris as well as several notable works of architecture including Getty Villa, which closed to non-essential personnel on Tuesday after fire spread to the property. Current reports claimed the 1950s home of tycoon John Paul Getty, which also has a museum, "narrowly" avoided the fire.The Julius Ralph Davidson-designed Thomas Mann House is also under threat, as is Ray Kappe's Keeler House, near the worst of the fire in Pacific Palisades.Late this morning, major fires in Eaton and Hurst also began. The fire in Eaton grew almost fourfold to cover more than 10,000 acres in a matter of hours, driven by the high winds, spreading into nearby Altadena and threatening Pasadena. Other, smaller fires were also reported late Wednesday afternoon.Read: "The design professions are not stepping up to address the wildfires problem"The Pasadena Jewish Temple was reportedly destroyed in the blaze.Other structures at risk by the Eaton Fire include the early-20th-century Arts and Craft-style Gamble House.Throughout the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, hundreds of schools and businesses were closed. Local design studio Ravenhill Studio noted some of its staff was "under evacuation orders", and big-ticket events such as an NHL game and the awards broadcast Critics Choice Awards were cancelled.Blame has been levied at the local government and mayor, citing their slashing of the fire budget by $17.6 million last year.Some pointed to the changing climate and out-of-date building practices as primary drivers of the disaster."American homes were built for an environment that no longer exists. This like all of the disasters this century, from Florida to Hawaii must be a call to action," said CBS news correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti on X.Fires in January are not unprecedented, but the fire season usually lasts between the summer months and October, but this year the city has been experiencing a drought, allowing for the unseasonable intensity of the fire.Photo by Ariam23 via Wikipedia CommonsThe post Eames House under threat as more than 1000 buildings destroyed in "apocalyptic" LA fire appeared first on Dezeen.

New material innovations that can substitute the use of ABS plastic piques my interest, as it should of those conscious of the e-waste we create daily. The production of computer peripherals has grown manifold but ethical ways to dispose of the plasticky waste and electronic components have not grown in the same propensity. To that accord, the idea of a BioHybrid Device for gaming that can grow through biofabrication instead of being constructed on an assembly line really brings forth a sustainable alternative we could love to embrace.Designed and created by Vivien Roussel, Madalina Nicolae, and Marc Teyssier; BioHybrid Device video game controller is a combination of biological growth and digital fabrication. It is (according to the designers) grown using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). It is then integrated with sensors and electronic components during the natural growth process to create a real device you can play with. How cool is that?Designers: Vivien Roussel, Madalina Nicolae and Marc TeyssierThe idea of the project kicked off with the question; what if we could biologically grow interactive devices? To achieve the proposed outcome, designers have fused electronic components into living organisms to produce interactive biohybrid devices. This provides us with an idea of a future where we can have natural devices that can develop, evolve, and eventually biodegrade at the end of life. We would still need ways to dispose of the electronics: maybe someone is thinking of fabricating them biologically as well.The base biomaterial produced by the symbiosis of bacteria and yeast is a bacterial cellulose traditionally used for the creation of sustainable leather-like artifacts. Designers have leveraged this and used morphogenesis for embedding it with electronic components of a traditional controller to make this BioHybrid Device video game controller.These biologically grown devices blur the boundaries between living and non-living systems, in the process opening up possibilities to create interactive devices through biological and digital fabrication for many other applications such as robotics, medical devices, and wearables, in addition to the proposed usage in gaming. While most of it looks impressive, such devices would entail a complex fabrication process and require more maintenance to remain functional for a longer time.The post This video game controller is grown from bacteria and yeast rather than being constructed from plastic first appeared on Yanko Design.

As hurricane-force winds fan the most destructive wildfires in California history across bone-dry foothills, communities face the dual threat of natural forces and a warming world.

Authorities say that before a Green Beret blew up a Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel, he consulted ChatGPTexactly the scenario police have been warned of for the past year.

Code in the latest iOS 18.3 developer beta indicates that Apple is working on an entirely new system application, one dedicated to event scheduling. Here's what we know about it.Apple's Calendar app doesn't have a great invite systemOn Tuesday, Apple released the second developer beta of iOS 18.3. While the update itself didn't introduce any noteworthy features, it appears the software contains references to an as-of-yet unreleased internal application.Originally discovered by 9to5mac, the app is known as "Invites." The website claims it originally found evidence of this app in an iOS 18.2 beta, but that all references to it were removed with the release version of iOS 18.2. Now, the "Invites" app has apparently resurfaced with Tuesday's iOS 18.3 developer beta. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Michael William Balfe (18081870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas. Balfe was born in Dublin and grew up on Pitt Street, which was renamed Balfe Street in 1917 in his honour. After moving to Wexford with his family as a child, he began a career as a violinist, moving to London in 1823 after his father's death, later relocating again to Italy and Switzerland, where he married the Hungarian-born singer Lina Roser. Balfe began pursuing an operatic singing career as well as composition, and moved back to London with his family in 1835. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed at least 29 operas, almost 250 songs, several cantatas, and other works. He was also a noted conductor, directing Italian opera at Her Majesty's Italian Opera House for seven years, among other conducting posts. His most notable opera is The Bohemian Girl, which continues to be performed. This photograph of Balfe was taken by the studio of the French photographer Nadar; this albumen print was made in 1900.Photograph credit: Nadar; restored by Adam CuerdenRecently featured: LimeGolden-fronted woodpeckerCathedral of La LagunaArchiveMore featured pictures

January 9 Aircraft involved in the Iran Air Flight277 accident1797 War of the First Coalition: The siege of Kehl by Habsburg and Wrttembergian forces ended when French troops withdrew from their fortifications.1917 First World War: Troops of the British Empire defeated Ottoman forces at the Battle of Rafa on the SinaiPalestine border.1972 The Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, ending a 33-game winning streak, the longest in major American professional team sports.1975 The Great Storm spawned the first of 45 tornadoes over a three-day period in the Southeastern United States.2011 In poor weather conditions, Iran Air Flight277 (aircraft pictured) crashed near Urmia Airport, Iran, killing 78 of the 105 people on board.T.W. Robertson (b.1829)Carrie Chapman Catt (b.1859)Farhan Akhtar (b.1974)Lei Jieqiong (d.2011)More anniversaries: January 8January 9January 10ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

IGN can exclusively reveal a sneak peek at the seventh and final episode of the first season of Creature Commandos, which premieres on Max on Thursday, January 9th. The clip can be watched via the player above or the embed below.The season finale titled "A Very Funny Monster and written and executive produced by DC Studios co-CEO/co-chairman James Gunn and directed by Matt Peters presents Nina Mazurskys (voiced by Zoe Chao) origin story while also finding Princess Ilana (Maria Bakalova) attempting to escape death at the hands of the Creature Commandos once and for all.DC Universe: Every Upcoming Movie and TV ShowIn addition to Chaos Nina, our exclusive clip from the season finale also features Alan Tudyks Dr. Phosphorus, Indira Varmas The Bride, and Sean Gunns Weasel.The series boasts a stellar voice ensemble that includes Steve Agee as Economos, Anya Chalotra as Circe, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller.Creature Commandos was recently renewed for Season 2. In his spoiler-free Creature Commandos Season 1 review, IGNs Tyler Roberston said the show gracefully fulfills its duties as the bridge between the old DCEU and the new DCU, while also telling a rock solid story all its own. James Gunns classic recipe of lovable weirdos, great music, and lots of jokes and violence is on full display, but in a new, fresh way thats presented well in animation.PlayFor more on Creature Commandos and the DCU, find out what James Gunn said about the shows Batman cameo, injecting sex and violence into the DCU, whether canon even matters, and that blink-and-youll-miss-it cameo in the Superman trailer.

It's been a heck of a start to the week for Nintendo fans. A combination of the start of a new year and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has resulted in an absolute flood of Nintendo Switch 2 rumors, predictions, and seeming leaks. Most interesting of all of them is a mockup of a supposed Switch 2 from accessories maker Genki that's being shown off at the convention that seems to be based on real knowledge of the real system. We were curious, so IGN met up with Genki to see what we could learn.For some context, the Switch 2 mockup from Genki is allegedly based on a real Switch 2 system that Genki has seen and used as the basis for its accessories. A report from French publication Numerama offered some potential details shared by Genki, which included verifying rumors of an optical sensor on the Joy-Con and showing off the magnetic clips that attach those Joy-Cons to the system. Genki even posted a video to its own website showing off a render of the system. The accessories company claims it's releasing in April.Genki Nintendo Switch Mockup Images from CES 2025IGN visited Genki's booth at CES today and spoke with a Genki representative while examining their Switch mock-up. The representative expressed surprise at all the fervor over their mock-up, saying they felt that all the information about the Switch 2 had already leaked and Genki wasn't saying anything new. "I didn't expect this much media attention, to be honest," they said. While Genki's mock-up does appear to add significant weight to a growing pool of past leaks on what the Switch 2 will be, it's worth noting that Nintendo still has not officially revealed anything about the system, and all these claims are subject to change or total debunking. A formal announcement is expected in the first quarter of this year, per Nintendo.While the Genki representative did not know the technical specs of the Switch 2 or anything about the motherboard, they did say they could attest to "physically what's there, what's pressable and what's not."They again confirmed the Joy-Cons attaching to the system via magnets on the system side and metallic SL/SR buttons on the Joy-Cons that can be released via a button on the back of each Joy-Con.The Genki representative stated that the new console looks like it can physically fit in an old Nintendo Switch dock, but certain indentations seem to prevent it from actually being usable in the dock itself. Additionally, while current Joy-Cons won't physically attach to the sides of the new Switch, the Genki spokesperson said the company is "assuming" they will still work as wireless controllers, stating that other accessories manufacturers are banking on that capability.Unfortunately, the representative said they didn't have any information on a new "C" button present on their mock-up of the right Joy-Con. They said there had been some rumors among accessories manufacturers about it being camera-related, but could not verify the actual function and did not know if the Switch 2 possessed a camera at all.PlayFinally, the representative stated there is an extra USB port at the top of the Switch 2, which they claimed could be used for handheld charging "at minimum." They could not verify if the Switch was dockable upside down.We brought a tape measure to the meeting, so we were able to check out the dimensions of Genki's mockup. Per our measurements, the Switch 2 is 10.5" wide, 4.5" tall, .5" thick and has an 8" screen. Compare that to the current Nintendo Switch OLED model, which is 9.5" wide, 4" tall, .5" thick, and has a 7" screen. Genki's mock-up seems to jive with most of the recent rumors and allegedly leaks about Nintendo's upcoming new system, all of which seem to be converging on the notion of it being a bigger, more powerful Nintendo Switch system with some slight differences in shape. Along with Genki's information, we've also seen leaked images of a supposed new Joy-Con from Chinese social media that match up with the mock-up we saw, and a leaked image of alleged internal components. Given the rapid pace of increasingly believable leaks and rumors, it's possible an official Switch 2 announcement is imminent - but we won't know until Nintendo emerges from behind the curtain and makes it a reality.In the meantime, you can catch up with everything we saw at CES 2025 right here.Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

The Jerry Springer Show, which aired in syndication from 1991 through 2018, sometimes feels like a Rosetta Stone for understanding the modern entertainment landscape. The controversial talk show hosted by Jerry Springer wasnt the first TV property to indulge in exploitation and it certainly wont be the last. But even to this day it stands out as one of the grossest cultural spectacles ever broadcast, filled with paternity battles, exposed genitalia, and deviant behavior all the while a studio audience chants Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jer-ry! in a Bacchanalian haze.Directed by Luke Sewell, Netflix docuseries Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action does a commendable job of highlighting all of the wild nonsense that Springer and executive producer Richard Dominick pulled off and how they paved the way for a golden era of Trashy TV (and Trashy Everything Else for that matter). Featuring behind-the-scenes interviews with The Jerry Springer Show writers, producers, and guests (though often more accurately victims), the two-part Netflix docuseries covers its rise from a tabloid wannabe to legitimate competitor to The Oprah Winfrey Show. It also includes in-depth looks at some of the programs greatest hits such as the hallmark I Married a Horse episode and a tragic show-inspired murder. Through it all, however, theres one aspect of The Jerry Springer Show that Fights, Camera, Action cant quite fully capture: Jerry Springer himself. Springer, who died in 2023, was hardly an enigma. Having appeared in nearly 4,000 episodes of television for more than 26 years, Springer was about as public as a public figure could ever be. And thats not even to mention his time as a politician, broadcast reporter, and frequent talk show guest (where he would routinely apologize for his role in bringing The Jerry Springer Show to the worldwhile continuing to host The Jerry Springer Show). Still, for all of his overwhelming availability and showmanship, Jerry Springer was a tough nut to crack in some ways. Even amid the chaos of fist fights, incest intimations, and erotic equestrianism, Springer maintained a certain level of gravitas. As Fights, Camera, Action recounts, Springer was even adamant about making sure that everything on his talk show was real, and never scripted. In exerting some of his vestigial journalistic ethics over worlds worst TV show, it was almost as though he was insisting its the world thats this stupid, not me. As weve come to find out about many public figures of late, its impossible to produce something truly terrible without being at least a little bit interesting. And Jerry Springer was a profoundly interesting man. To fully understand why, one needs to look into his life before The Jerry Springer Show when he was a rising politician. Fights, Camera, Action does make brief mention of Springers time as mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio but it doesnt quite give it the full context it deserves.Jerry Springer wasnt just a politician, you see, he was an incredible politician both in the sense of being a charismatic swamp creature and a legitimately helpful public servant. The best recounting of Springers transition from politician to carnival barker comes from public radio program and podcast This American Life. In the 2004 episode Leaving the Fold (since lightly updated in a re-run after Springers death in 2023), host Ira Glass and journalist Alex Blumberg delve into Springers uniquely American political life. Born in 1944 to Jewish refugees escaping the Holocaust, Springer was raised in Queens, New York before moving to the Midwest to get educated at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago and eventually entering into politics to work on Robert F. Kennedys 1968 presidential campaign. Following Kennedys assassination, Springer settled in Cincinnati, Ohio where he worked at the Frost Brown Todd (then Frost & Jacobs) law firm and began his electoral career in 1970 by running for the United States House of Representatives. Springer lost that race but tremendously over-performed expectations, pulling in 45% of the vote as a Democrat in a traditionally Republican district. Springer would go on to get elected to Cincinnati city council three times, even after becoming immeshed in a scandal during his second term in which he used a personal check to pay for a sex workers services. Despite that very Jerry Springer Show-esque moment hanging over his head, he won re-election and eventually served as the council-appointed mayor of Cincinnati, being the most popular and electorally-successful member of the council at that point. The political insiders from this era speak of Springers prowess in shockingly reverent terms. Democratic strategist Mike Ford told This American Life: I worked with [Bill] Clinton [in] 88, 90. [In] 92, [Michael] Dukakis. 80, I worked for [Ted] Kennedy. 76, I went through Birch Bayh, Mo Udall, and Jimmy Carter. [Jerry Springer] is the best Ive ever seen, bar none.Cincinnati politician Jene Galvin added: I put Springer at the level of Ronald Reagan, Bobby Kennedy, Bill Clinton. Hes that level.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Legislative aide Tim Burke recalls witnessing Springer winning over a VFW hall to consider and respect his opposition to the Vietnam War. He also describes a time in which Springer convinced his city council peers to vote against a proposal to build the Riverfront Coliseum (now known as Heritage Bank Center) with public funds, eventually securing its construction exclusively through private funding, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. So uhwhat happened? How does a generational political talent end up pioneering the worst kind of televised entertainment? Believe it or not, it wasnt because of the aforementioned personal-check-to-a-sex-worker scandal. Springer effortlessly moved beyond all that, even cutting a fake commercial for a local radio station advertising the benefits of using credit cards over checks. Instead, Springers political career ended for a much more simple reason: he lost an election. In 1980, he stepped down as mayor to run for Governor of Ohio. After losing the Democratic primary in a close three-person race, Springer got a job as a local news anchor. From there, you can easily chart the unfortunate, if predictable path he took from likable small-time media personality to syndicated talk show host to master of ceremonies for the end of good taste. The truth is that the very same traits that made Springer a successful politician (a connection with the common man combined with a relentless drive to win) made him an equally successful, though culturally degenerative, TV man. The most interesting part of Jerry Springers second life as a TV host, however, is that he vainly tried to escape it relatively early on. In 2003, amid the Bush administrations wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Springer considered a run for Senate in Ohio. Much of the national news reported this as a joke, the talk show fool trying to dress up as a statesman, Blumberg reports in This American Life. But the small band of Jerrys friends from before knew the story was actually the opposite: a former statesman was trying to shake off the costume of a talk show fool.Springer took the attempt seriously, speaking with Democratic organizations in universities and cities across the state. Despite the immense baggage he brought with him from The Jerry Springer Show, Springer had a knack for winning over skeptical audiences. His burgeoning campaign even put together focus groups to figure out how to address the talk show-sized elephant in the room. Their research found that, if handled properly, political messaging could get voters to see Springer as the helpful elected official he once was.Unfortunately for Springers bid, the research also found that he would need to quit the show entirely to be anywhere close to electorally viable. Springer was unable to get out of his contract in time for the election and that was the end of that. In the wake of it all, Blumberg caught up with Springer for an interview in which he asked if his decade as host of The Jerry Springer Show had changed his political thinking at all. No, its just confirmed it, Springer said. I mean, any job Ive ever had, its been the same constituency. Its been middle and low-income people that need a voice, that need help, that need whatever. So even in my entertainment, thats my base.Theres probably not a lesson to take away from all of this but there is, at least, a hypothetical to be posited. Say that Jerry Springer is able to get out of his TV contract in 2003 and goes on to win the Democratic primary for Senate. Then lets say hes goes on to win said election (which would be a hell of a tall order with Republican George Voinovich winning that election in real life with the highest raw vote total in Ohio history) and sticks around long enough to run for president. Say he wins that election. American voters have proven themselves to enjoy a candidate with some TV experience after all. Is a timeline with President Jerry Springer preferable to our own? Impossible to say. The wrong president can do a lot of damage, certainly. But Im not entirely convinced that the wrong TV host cant do more. Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action is available to stream on Netflix now.