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Hollywood actors poised to join writers on strike after talks collapse
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The union representing film and television actors says no deal has been reached with studios and streaming services and its leadership is voting on whether to strike on Thursday.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said early Thursday that its decision on whether to join already striking screenwriters will be considered by leadership, with a press conference announcing their decision scheduled for noon Pacific.
If the actors do go on strike, it will be the first time since 1960 that the actors and writers guilds picket simultaneously.
The actors' guild released a statement announcing that its deadline for negotiations had ended without a contract. The statement came hours after this year's Emmy nominations, recognizing the best work on television, were announced.
"The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us. Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal," said Fran Drescher, the star of "The Nanny" who is now the actors guild president.
The group representing the studios, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said it was disappointed by the failure to reach a deal.
"This is the Union's choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors' digital likenesses, and more," the AMPTP said in a statement.
It added that instead of continuing to negotiate, "SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods."
If the actors strike, they will formally join screenwriters on the picket lines outside studios and filming locations in a bid to get better terms from studios and streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon. The actors' guild had previously authorized a strike by a nearly 98% margin.
Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since early May, slowing the production of film and television series on both coasts and in production centers like Atlanta.
Issues in negotiations include the unregulated use of artificial intelligence and the effects on residual pay brought on by the streaming ecosystem that has emerged in recent years.
Andrew Tate sues his
accusers in human trafficking case
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Controversial social media personality Andrew Tate and his brother are suing a Florida woman, saying she falsely accused them of imprisoning her in Romania, leading to their arrest there on human trafficking charges.
The widely followed former professional kickboxer and his brother, Tristan, are seeking at least $5 million in the lawsuit, which was filed in Palm Beach County against the woman, her parents, another woman who lived at the Tates' Bucharest estate and a male friend of the woman.
The Tates say the five conspired to falsely accuse them of human trafficking and rape, costing them their freedom and millions of dollars in income from their lucrative social media, podcasting and business ventures. The lawsuit says the woman and her parents are residents of Palm Beach County, which is why it was filed there on Tuesday.
Romanian officials arrested the Tates in December and indicted them last month, saying the brothers forced seven victims into pornography and subjected them to physical violence. They remain under house arrest in Romania.
But attorneys Thomas Maniotis and Joseph D. McBride in their lawsuit say the Tates are the victims of the Florida woman. They call her "a professional con artist" and say she pursued a sexual relationship with Tristan Tate in order to move to Romania, then tried to defraud the brothers. When that failed, she conspired with the others to make false statements to Romanian and U.S. embassy authorities that led to the arrests, the attorneys say.
"At no point did the Tate brothers engage in human trafficking," the lawsuit says. The attorneys say the woman "is a serial liar, manipulator and schemer who exploits vulnerable, often wealthy men with good intentions for sexual, financial and emotional profit."
The Associated Press is not naming the woman or her parents because she is the alleged victim of sexual assault. No working phone numbers could be found for the family and no attorneys for them are listed in the court record. The other woman lives in Great Britain and the male friend in Virginia.
Romanian investigators said in their indictment that the Tates and two Romanian women formed a criminal group in 2021 "in order to commit the crime of human trafficking" in that country, the United States and Britain.
First over-the-counter birth
control pill gets FDA approval
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators on Thursday approved the nation's first over-the-counter birth control pill in a landmark decision that will soon allow American women and girls to obtain contraceptive medication as easily as they buy aspirin and eyedrops.
The Food and Drug Administration cleared once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making it the first such medication to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter. The manufacturer, Ireland-based Perrigo, won't start shipping the pill until early next year, and there will be no age restrictions on sales.
Hormone-based pills have long been the most common form of birth control in the U.S., used by tens of millions of women since the 1960s. Until now, all of them required a prescription.
Medical societies and women's health groups have pushed for wider access for decades, noting that an estimated 45% of the 6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. Teens and girls, women of color and those with low incomes report greater hurdles in getting prescriptions and picking them up.
The challenges can include paying for a doctor's visit, getting time off from work and finding child care.
"This is really a transformation in access to contraceptive care," said Kelly Blanchard, president of Ibis Reproductive Health, a nonprofit group that supported the approval. "Hopefully this will help people overcome those barriers that exist now."
Perrigo says Opill could be an important new option for the estimated 15 million U.S. women who currently use no birth control or less effective methods, such as condoms. They are a fifth of women who are child-bearing age.
But how many women will actually gain access depends on the medication's price, which Perrigo plans to announce later this year.
Lea Salonga heads the first all
Filipino cast of a Broadway show Lea Salonga is back on the stage where her Broadway journey first began. But she isn't playing someone Vietnamese or Chinese or Japanese at the Broadway Theatre.
For the first time in her storied career, the Filipino musical legend is actually playing a Filipino. What's more, she is surrounded by an all-Filipino cast and she is part of a team of mostly Filipino producers that includes singer H.E.R., comedian Jo Koy and Black Eyed Peas' Apl.de.Ap.
Even when she was the lead at the same theater in "Miss Saigon" in 1991 and acted her way to a Tony Award, Salonga never imagined a Filipino-dominated production would become reality. She's topped other all-Asian Broadway casts ("Flower Drum Song," "Allegiance" ) but Filipino culture was never the one spotlighted.
"There's absolutely no 'effing way that I would have seen this happening. Ever," Salonga told The Associated Press in an interview earlier this month. "So, for it to be happening while I'm still actually strong enough to be on my feet and be a part of it, I'm just incredibly grateful."
The anticipation of getting to play a Filipino character for the first time is something shared by the entire company of "Here Lies Love." The first Broadway show with an all-Filipino ensemble opens July 20, a decade after it played off-Broadway.
But this isn't some light and airy musical. It chronicles the dictatorship of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s and '80s and the pro-democracy People Power Revolution movement. Jose Llana, who was in the original iteration, and Arielle Jacobs play the dictator and first lady Imelda Marcos.
Musicians David Byrne and Fatboy Slim provide the soundtrack. The theater is laid out like a nightclub complete with disco ball. Audiences can choose to join or be in a standing-only area, making them feel a part of the party.
The praise for the groundbreaking representation has nearly been eclipsed by criticism, a lot of it from other Filipinos, arguing that the Marcos regime should not be musical fodder. This comes over a year after Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was proclaimed president in the Philippines. He has ignored his father's massive human rights violations.
Salonga has vivid memories of watching news reports with her parents at home in the Philippines as the anti-Marcos People Power Revolution instigated a government overthrow. She also had friends who were out there in the chaos. So she understands why some people may have reservations about the show.
But "Here Lies Love" is more about the sacrifices made by anti-Marcos leaders like Ninoy Aquino (played by "How to Get Away with Murder" star Conrad Ricamora), she argues. August will mark 40 years since Aquino was assassinated at the airport in Manila, creating a flashpoint in the movement.
Prominent lobbyist appeals 5-year prison sentence in corruption scheme
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Lobbyist Matt Borges appealed his 5-year sentence late Wednesday in the $60 million bribery scheme that also took down former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder.
Borges, 51, a former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, was convicted in March of racketeering alongside Householder.
Authorities said the scheme involved secret payments to Akron-based utility FirstEnergy Corp. to secure Householder's power, elect his allies to the Legislature, pass legislation containing a $1.3 billion bailout of two aging nuclear plants owned by a FirstEnergy affiliate, and then foil efforts to repeal the new law.
Prosecutors said Borges' primary role in the enterprise was to deprive Ohioans of the opportunity to overturn what he knew was corrupt legislation and had called the result of an " unholy alliance." Jurors were presented evidence that he was budgeted $25,000, which he laundered through his own bank accounts to bribe a political operative for secret, real-time information on the referendum campaign against the bailout bill, known as House Bill 6.
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black gave Borges the low end of the 5- to 8-year range recommended by federal prosecutors after he expressed remorse at his sentencing hearing and asked for leniency. Borges' lawyers had recommended he get 1 1/2 years.
Black's decision concerning Borges came a day after the judge sentenced the 64-year-old Householder to 20 years in prison, the maximum allowed under the law, and a year of probation. Householder also has appealed.
During trial, Borges' attorneys argued that the lobbyist had only a minor, short-term role in the massive operation, in which two other individuals, a dark money group and FirstEnergy have all acknowledged their guilt.
Several fired FirstEnergy executives and the former head of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio also have been investigated in a sweeping probe that remains open.
No fingerprints, DNA sample or leads from cocaine found at White House
WASHINGTON (AP) -- No fingerprints or DNA turned up on the baggie of cocaine found in a lobby at the White House last week despite a sophisticated FBI crime lab analysis, and surveillance footage of the area didn't identify a suspect, according to a summary of the Secret Service investigation obtained by The Associated Press. There are no leads on who brought the drugs into the building.
U.S. Secret Service agents found the white powder during a routine White House sweep on July 2, in a heavily trafficked West Wing lobby where staff go in and out, and tour groups gather to drop their phones and other belongings.
"Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered," Secret Service officials said in the summary.
It's most likely the bag was left behind by one of the hundreds of visitors who traveled in and out of the building over the weekend, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to talk about an ongoing probe and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The presence of cocaine at the White House prompted a flurry of criticism and questions from Republicans, who received a closed briefing Thursday on the results of the investigation.
"There is no equal justice," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday. "Anything revolving around 'Biden, Inc.' gets treated different than any other American and that's got to stop."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden believed it was "incredibly important" for the Secret Service to get to the bottom of how the drugs ended up in the White House. The Secret Service is responsible for securing the White House and led the investigation.
Biden wasn't there at the time of the discovery. He was at Camp David with members of his family for the holiday weekend.
The complex was briefly evacuated as a precaution when the white powder was found. The fire department was called in to test the substance on the spot to determine whether it was hazardous, and the initial test came back negative for a biohazard but positive for cocaine.
The bag was sent for a secondary, more sensitive lab analysis. Homeland Security's National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center analyzed the item for any biothreats. Tests conducted at the facility came back negative.
The cocaine and packaging underwent further forensics testing, including advanced fingerprint and DNA work at the FBI's crime laboratory, according to the summary. The FBI also did chemical testing.
Meanwhile, Secret Service investigators put together a list of several hundred individuals who may have accessed the area where the drugs were found. Anyone who comes through the White House must give identifying information and pass through security before entering.
Man accused of trying to open
jet's door not competent for trial
BOSTON (AP) -- A man charged with attacking a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon and attempting to open an airliner's emergency door on a cross-country flight in March is not currently competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled.
Magistrate Judge Judith Dein, basing her decision on a mental health evaluation of Francisco Severo Torres and her own observations in court, determined Wednesday that further treatment is warranted, according to court records.
"The Court hereby finds … that the defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense," Dein wrote in her decision.
She also wrote that she denied a request by Torres to be freed so he could "further investigate the conspiracy which eventually led to his actions on the plane."
Torres, of Leominster, Massachusetts, is charged with a felony related to using a dangerous weapon to interfere with flight crew members in the incident on United Airlines Flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston on March 5.
The evaluation was conducted at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts, where he was sent after an initial court appearance days after the attack. He has not entered a plea.
Torres' attorney said in court Wednesday that he has no evidence in opposition to the evaluation's findings, but told Dein that his client objects to the finding and asserts he is competent to stand trial, according to court records. The defense attorney requested that his client remain at FMC Devens.
Federal public defender Joshua Hanye declined comment on Wednesday's proceedings when reached by email Thursday.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons records indicate that Torres remains at FMC Devens.
According to prosecutor and witness accounts, Torres went on a midair rant and tried to stab the crewmember with a modified metal spoon.
The plane was about 45 minutes from Boston when the crew received an alarm that a side door on the aircraft was disarmed, according to court documents. One flight attendant noticed the door's locking handle had been moved. Another saw Torres near the door and believed he had moved the handle. Cabin pressure during flight prevents airplane doors from opening.
Torres started loudly rambling that his father was Dracula, that he wanted to be shot so he could be reincarnated and that he would kill everyone on board, another passenger said.
Woman seriously injured in roller coaster accident sues Cedar Point
SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) -- A Michigan woman struck in the head by a metal bracket that fell off a roller coaster at an Ohio amusement park has sued the park and its parent company, alleging their negligence caused the accident that left her with traumatic brain injuries.
The August 2021 accident occurred as the then-44-year-old woman was waiting in line to ride the 420-foot (128-meter) tall Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky. At the time, it was world's second-tallest roller coaster.
A state investigation found no evidence that Cedar Point acted illegally or had reason to believe the ride was unsafe, and no sanctions were brought. The ride has remained shuttered since the accident occurred.
The suit seeks undisclosed compensatory damages for the woman, her father -- who was in line with her when she was hit -- and her husband. The woman's medical expenses have exceeded $2 million and are expected to reach more than $10 million because of additional treatments and surgery, according to the suit.
Cedar Point declined comment on the suit, saying it does not discuss pending litigation.