The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), averting another Hollywood strike. 

Both sides had been bargaining for more than three months.

While a complete summary of the agreement is expected in the coming days, some of the proposed changes included in the agreement are scale rate increases of seven, four and 3.5% over three years, IATSE officials said in a release. Hourly workers are set to receive triple pay when any workday exceeds 15 elapsed hours, and all on call employees will now receive double time on the 7^th day of the workweek. 

“The tentative deal includes new protections around artificial intelligence, including language that ensures no employee is required to provide AI prompts in any manner that would result in the displacement of any covered employee,” the release read. “These changes in the basic agreement are in addition to the tentative agreements reached in the local agreement negotiations.” 

The tentative deal includes additional funding for the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans that will address the $670 million funding gap, IATSE said, including new streaming residuals. In addition, officials confirmed that no participant will incur a break in service for their 2023 plan year. 

Now that a provisional agreement has been reached, it must be ratified by the unions’ membership. Members and signatories are set to review a detailed summary within days, and a Memorandum of Agreement is expected in two weeks. 

The IATSE labor union represents over 170,000 technicians, artisans and craftspeople in the entertainment industry, including live events, movie and television productions, broadcast productions and trade shows in the United States and Canada. 

Victims of crime in Los Angeles County gathered Monday night at an event organized by former L.A. mayoral candidate and businessman Rick Caruso to demand justice for their loved ones and a change in the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.   

Emma Rivas, whose son was murdered in December 2020, said she was traumatized a second time when L.A. County DA George Gascón was elected.   

The Torrance mother said Gascón ordered prosecutors to drop the gun and gang enhancements against her son’s killer.   

“The guy that murdered my kid got 20 years less sentence than he was supposed to,” Rivas said at the event.  

Mary Klein, one of the victims in the Venice Canal sexual attacks, which resulted in the death of the other victim, also spoke, saying crime is out of control in the county and her recent near death by an alleged homeless man should serve as an example.   

“Out of the blue was attacked from behind, knocked over, rendered unconscious, kicked in the head numerous times,” she said of the violent assault she endured.  

These were just a few of the emotional stories shared at the event Monday night by survivors of violent crime in L.A. County, all of whom feel that the district attorney’s office needs a new tough-on-crime approach.   

Longtime victims advocate and founder of Justice for Children Lawanda Hawkins, whose own son was murdered, spoke as well.   

“I’m here to address the urgent need for change in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office,” she said, “and to speak out against the harmful policies of the district attorney’s current office.”  

Nathan Hochman, former United States Assistant Attorney General and the candidate running against Gascón for L.A. County DA in the November election, was also on hand and called Gascón’s policies a failed social experiment.   

“We’ve not run that social experiment for three and a half years and now we have the evidence to show that it has failed,” Hochman said.  

Caruso took to the stage to thank those who spoke for sharing their stories and to throw his considerable support behind Hochman for district attorney.   

“We’re here in great respect of your courage, of your generosity to share your stories to better L.A. County and get this man elected,” he said.   

In a statement from his campaign, Gascón responded:  

“Mr. Hochman is clearly still struggling to attract the type of Democratic support that L.A. voters trust. From Mr. Caruso to Steve Cooley, his Rolodex seems mostly composed of longtime Republicans looking to stay relevant after losing their most recent elections.”   

Surveillance video captured the moment a group of teens attempted to burglarize a home in San Bernardino County.

The suspects targeted the home on the 1100 block of Cedar Court in Upland around 11:30 p.m. on Monday night.

The homeowner, Jamie Asanovich, had left to make an Uber Eats delivery while her elderly mother was still inside the house.

But just minutes after driving away, her Ring doorbell camera alerted her that someone was at their front door.

“My mom called and she said, ‘Someone’s at the door knocking,’” recalled Asanovich. “I could see him on the Ring doorbell and I said, ‘I’ll be there in a minute. Don’t answer the door.’”

Within minutes, Asanovich’s mother called her back, feeling scared as three suspects had jumped over the fence and into their backyard.

The grandmother turned on a yard light and saw the suspects begin removing a window screen and attempting to enter the home.

Asanovich turned her car around and immediately rushed back home while calling the police to report the in-progress burglary.

As she approached her home, she spotted the suspects running to a getaway car and speeding away. She decided to follow them while letting the police dispatcher know their every move.

“When they got into the freeway, I kind of lost them because their lights were off,” Asanovich said.

She exited the freeway at Archibald Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga and spotted the suspects’ car turning into an apartment complex near 19th Street and Hermosa Avenue.

Upland police officers arrived at the complex shortly after and arrested five teen suspects inside the vehicle. The driver was an 18-year-old female and the other four suspects were juveniles.

“We did find some flashlights, a screwdriver and a hammer,” said Sgt. Jacob Kirk with Upland Police. “Some of the juveniles were site-released and one of them was booked into juvenile hall and the adult was booked. It was for attempted residential burglary.”

Police said the juvenile who was booked was on probation for a previous theft-related charge at the time.

Even though the victims weren’t hurt, Asanovich and her mother remain stunned and shaken.

“My mom turned a light on and that’s when they got scared and jumped over a fence and that’s when I got [back home],” Asanovich said. “But I think, ‘What if the window was open and they actually got in? What were they going to do to her?’”

Asanovich believes the suspects may be local high school kids who knew that her daughter was out of town in Hawaii.

Police have not confirmed a motive behind the attempted burglary, but Asanovich hopes the teens will learn their lesson before attempting to commit future crimes.