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.