By Jill Lawless
LONDON (AP) --British director Michael Anderson, whose films included war epic "The Dam Busters" and sci-fi classic "Logan's Run," has died at age 98.
Anderson's family said Sunday that he died of heart disease April 25 in Canada, at his home on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.
Born into a theatrical family in London in 1920, Anderson served in the army during World War II and made his feature debut in 1949 with "Private Angelo," co-directed by Peter Ustinov.
His 1955 adventure "The Dam Busters" told the story of a daring wartime bombing raid on Germany's industrial heartland. Its visual flair and stirring score helped make it one of Britain's best-loved war films, and its thrilling climax helped inspire the attack on the Death Star in the first "Star Wars" movie.
"The Dam Busters" is due to be broadcast at London's Royal Albert Hall and in 400 U.K. movie theaters on May 17 to mark the 75th anniversary of the real-life 1943 raid that inspired it.
Anderson followed "The Dam Busters" with the big-budget, all-star adventure "Around the World in 80 Days," which won five Academy Awards in 1957, including best picture.
He made some three dozen features in all, including thrillers "Operation Crossbow" and "The Quiller Memorandum."
"Logan's Run," his 1976 sci-fi film about a youth-obsessed future society, has become a cult classic.
Anderson's survivors include his third wife, Adrianne Ellis, a son, two stepchildren and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
His stepdaughter, actress Laurie Holden, tweeted Saturday: "I will miss him everyday. He was the kindest human being I've ever known in my life."
The family said a private memorial service for family and friends will be held at Anderson's home over the summer.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More