The Brief

The Writers Guild of America and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced Sunday night that they have reached an agreement in the historic Hollywood writers strike.

A vote by WGA leadership is scheduled to take place as soon as Tuesday. If approved, a ratification vote by Hollywood writers will take place. Only then would the strike end officially.

WGA sent an email on Sunday to its roughly 11,000 members with news of the tentative deal. While the email doesn't disclose specifics — it says details and language of the agreement need to be finalized before they could be share with members — it describes the agreement as "exceptional."

"We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership," the email reads.

The union has called for the immediate suspension of WGA picketing, which has lasted 146 days — nearly five months. The writers guild also urged its members to continue supporting the actors union, SAG-AFTRA, which remains on strike.

In a statement on Sunday night, SAG-AFTRA congratulated the WGA on its deal. "While we look forward to reviewing the WGA and AMPTP’s tentative agreement, we remain committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members," the statement said.

In a statement issued Sunday night, Mayor Karen Bass said,
"This historic strike impacted so many across Los Angeles and across the nation. Now, we must focus on getting the entertainment industry, and all the small businesses that depend on it, back on their feet and stronger than ever before.”

The strike's economic impact

The historic strike saw sometimes contentious back and forth between writers and studios. For months, writers were joined by striking actors and below-the-line Hollywood workers on the picket lines in front of studios all over L.A.

On Sept. 13, thousands of striking actors and writers marched from Netflix on Sunset to Paramount studios.

Meanwhile countless Angelenos struggled as L.A.'s dream factory ground to a halt. Strikers and below the line workers told LAist they had to sell off precious possessions, drive for rideshares, take on roommates and go into thousands of dollars in debt to make ends meet.

Over the coming weeks and months, it will likely become clearer just how much the dual strikes cost the local economy, but some estimates put the drain between $3-$5 billion.

The 2023 writers strike lasted significantly longer than the previous one in late 2007, which went on for some 100 days.

Timeline of 2023 WGA strike

• April 18: 98% of WGA members vote to go on strike if the contract talks fail.
• May 1: WGA contract expires with no agreement between sides.
• May 2: WGA strike begins.
• Aug. 4: Both sides meet for first time since strike announced.
• Aug. 11: After another meeting, WGA receives a proposal from AMPTP.
• Aug. 23: AMPTP publicly releases details of its proposal to WGA.
• Sept. 20: After weeks of stalled talks, negotiations resume.
• Sept. 24: The WGA and the AMTMP announce that a deal was reached.

This is a developing story. Check back for further details.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

For nearly a century, MacArthur Park has been split in half by Wilshire Boulevard, but thanks to an ongoing project, that could change.

On Thursday morning, on a soccer field in MacArthur Park, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez celebrated the end of phase one of the reconnecting MacArthur Park project, which asked over 2,500 residents how they would improve the park.

A glimpse of a possible future for the park will be visible on July 11 and 12 when the city closes the section of Wilshire Boulevard that runs through the park for Park to Park, a block party that will connect MacArthur Park to Lafayette Park.

Hernandez said the event is a pilot project with a “people centered” approach for Westlake’s future.

“For two days, Wilshire Boulevard will become something different,” Hernandez said during a press conference at the park on Thursday. “Instead of traffic, you’ll find families; instead of cars, you’ll find community; instead of just rushing through the space, you’ll have opportunity to enjoy it.”

The event will bring live music and a space for vendors to sell their goods to the green space. Other resources will include support from multiple city departments, like the Community Investment for Families Department and several nonprofits.

“When was the last time Wilshire Boulevard was closed for the community?” Hernandez told The LA Local. “This is going to be a good moment, especially for a lot of the residents in this area, where the park is their front yard and back yard.”

The event is an experiment in what it might look like to close the street and make it a space for pedestrians rather than cars, Hernandez said.

In recent months, the park has seen large-scale drug raids carried out by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and the park and the surrounding area have seen a growing unhoused population, along with open-air drug use.

The Los Angeles Police Department said that there are more sanitation sweeps being conducted in and around the park in recent months.

The first phase of reconnecting MacArthur Park asked residents what they would like to see done to improve the park, with one option proposing to remove the stretch of Wilshire running through the park entirely and expand the green space. This option received the majority of the votes and was ultimately recommended by the report released this week.

Preliminary findings of the report were released in April and noted that the most popular option was among the most expensive and would take at least four years for construction.

Laura Rubio-Cornejo, the general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, said that if the project comes to fruition, it would be the largest pedestrianization project in Los Angeles history.

The second phase of the project will involve environmental reviews and cost estimates for each of the ideas proposed in the report. The second phase will be led by the city’s Bureau of Engineering.

“We will work together to develop design concepts and collect input from all of you throughout that process,” Crystal Lee, a city engineer with the department, said. “The city will use a final concept design to pursue additional funds and detailed architecture and engineering designs to go into construction.”

The projected timeline estimates that phase two will end in 2030. Hernandez said that community members will continue to receive updates throughout that time.

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez on Thur. July 2 in MacArthur Park where she announced the beginning of a project to review possibly closing off Wilshire Boulevard to make the green space car-free.

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David Rendon

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The LA Local

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In the meantime, the report encouraged taking action to improve existing areas of the park, such as reopening and improving the pedestrian tunnels. It also recommended hosting events such as Park to Park to demonstrate interest in the space.

“We’re looking to secure more dollars to continue these different events; Park to Park is being funded by a Metro grant, and so we’re going to keep looking for those opportunities to bring those experiences to our neighborhood,” Hernandez said.

The report cautioned against making any significant investments to the stretch of Wilshire Boulevard, given the ultimate goal of its removal. It suggested that if anything were to be done, it should use temporary or “quick-build” materials.

The city is also planning to install fencing around MacArthur Park. The plan would add a wrought-iron fence around both halves of the park and would close the park at night, giving city employees time to clean the space overnight.

The report said that whatever happens next in MacArthur Park, the fence will need to be seriously considered. Hernandez said the fence’s future is not set in stone.

“Right now, we’re in a phase where there is a fence being talked about, being put around the park, but nothing is permanent,” she said. “If changes need to be made to make the space open for everybody, I’m sure we’re going to move in that direction.”

Hernandez said the reconnecting parks project is important because people shouldn’t have to wait for special occasions to see the park.

“MacArthur Park is a very special neighborhood, and people on the outside that are not from this area often talk about it as like the sky is falling,” she said. “We are here every day, all the time, and we’re going to continue to be here every day, all the time, for this neighborhood. Because our people deserve it.”

Most of Southern California is under heat advisories or extreme heat warnings as temperatures reach the 90s, and even over 100 degrees in some places.

For L.A. and Orange County beaches, temperatures are going to reach from the low-70s to low-80s and rise to the mid-80s to low-90s for the inland coast.

Valley communities will see highs from 89 to 97 degrees, and between 94 and 105 degrees more inland including the Inland Empire.

In the mountains (below 6,000 feet), temperatures will also reach the mid-80s and low-90s.

In Coachella Valley, temperatures are expected to reach 111 to 116 degrees, while in the Antelope Valley expect the warmest areas to reach 107 degrees.

Need a place to get out of the heat?

You can find cooling centers via the following links:

• L.A. County
• Orange County
• San Bernardino County
• Riverside County

“The Pitt” is the leading nominee at the upcoming Emmy Awards, with numerous actors who play doctors on the drama series snagging nominations.

“Hacks,” another HBO series, got the second most nominations when the Emmy nominations were announced Wednesday in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, NBC announced that “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay will host the Sept. 14 ceremony.

Drama series

“The Diplomat”; “The Gilded Age”; “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”; “Paradise”; “The Pitt”; “Pluribus”; “Slow Horses”; “Your Friends & Neighbors”

Comedy series

“Abbott Elementary”; “The Bear”; “Hacks”; “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”; “Nobody Wants This”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “Shrinking”; “Widow’s Bay”

Limited series, anthology series or movie

“All Her Fault”; “The Beast in Me”; “Beef”; “DTF St. Louis”; “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette”

Drama actor

Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”; Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”; Mark Ruffalo, “Task”; Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”; Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”

Drama actress

Carrie Coon, “The Gilded Age”; Chase Infiniti, “The Testaments”; Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”; Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”; Zendaya, “Euphoria”

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes the current ceasefire with Iran is over after an exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran, the latest escalation straining the agreement to end the war – and he said he may hit Iran with more strikes tonight.

"I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum," Trump told reporters in Ankara, Turkey, where he is attending the NATO summit.

The stunning turnaround comes after Trump recently celebrated the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran to help end the war he and Israel started. Trump insisted the deal would bring "peace and security" to the region. But within just weeks, he's amped up aggression.

"We hit them very hard last night. Probably hit them hard again tonight," he said.

Trump said the U.S. hasn't attacked Iran at the "highest level" yet, saying he could hit electric plants and desalination plants.

"I don't want to do that but if we have to, we'll take them out," Trump said. Attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.

He also floated the idea of reinstituting the naval blockade on Iran.

Trump is expected to take more questions during a Wednesday press conference.

Trump's declaration in Ankara that the understanding is moot has already impacted markets, with oil prices starting to climb again. And it leaves his party, and his own approval ratings, in a precarious position once again with four months until the midterm election and little time to remedy the conflict that Americans have disapproved of from the start.

The president, however, did not rule out talks continuing to permanently end the war with Iran.

He said the top U.S. negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, want to continue to negotiate.

But, Trump added, "as far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars," he said.

There was no immediate response from the Iranian government.

Trump's comments came after the U.S. and Iran traded attacks again overnight Wednesday, the second such escalation since the two sides signed an interim deal in mid-June.

The strikes followed Tuesday's attacks from Iran on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in what it said was retaliation for the previous Iranian aggression. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it responded to those strikes by launching missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain, two Arab Gulf countries that host U.S. military bases.

Trump is in Ankara, to attend the NATO summit, where he has continued to air grievances, lamenting that European countries don't contribute enough to their own defense spending, as Russia's war against Ukraine has dragged on.

He has also expressed frustration since the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran began that Europe hasn't been supportive enough of his agenda.

Earlier in the day, the president said he was "testing" allies on how they'd help with the war.

"Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it's OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them," Trump said.

The tension between Trump and NATO nations has also grown as the president continued on Tuesday to insist that the U.S. should have control of Greenland, a territory currently under Denmark.

Despite friction in the alliance, Trump and the allies have found common ground on Ukraine.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the gathering, and said that the U.S. will allow Ukraine a license to produce Patriot Missiles, which he called "pretty cool."

"We're going to give a license to you to make ‌Patriots … This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said in the meeting with Zelenskyy.

Negotiating an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been an elusive goal for Trump, who has teased recently that the end of the war is "getting closer," without providing much further detail. He also said he would soon speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Tuesday, Trump met with the leader of the host nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he considers a friend. The two discussed the U.S. potentially selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey — despite there being a congressional ban in place that prevents this.

"We have a very good relationship. … Why wouldn't we do that?" Trump said in his meeting with Erdogan.

Tina Kraja in Washington, D.C., contributed reporting to this story.
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