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Union calls for against video game companies

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

LOS ANGELES — SAG-AFTRA members will vote starting next week on whether to authorize union leaders to call a strike against video game companies, in the latest sign of spreading labor unrest in the broader entertainment sector.The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said it’s been nearly a year since its contract with video game companies was extended from its expiration date.The guild leadership’s call for a strike authorization vote comes after the union’s film and TV actors went on strike in mid-July, joining Writers Guild of America-represented screenwriters who have been on the picket line since early May.For video game performers, SAG-AFTRA is seeking wage increases and protections against the use of artificial intelligence.The union said its last contract with the video game companies, negotiated in 2017, did not address key issues including AI — a major issue brought up during the current dual Hollywood strikes, where fil...

‘Equalizer 3’ cleans up at the box office

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

The third installment in the Denzel Washington-led “Equalizer” franchise topped the domestic box office this weekend with $34.5 million according to studio estimates Sunday. By the end of the Monday holiday, Sony expects that total will rise to $42 million.Labor Day signals the end of Hollywood’s summer movie season, which will surpass $4 billion in ticket sales for the first time since the pandemic thanks in no small part to “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” which are still netting records even after seven weeks in theaters. This weekend,Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” officially became the biggest movie of 2023 with over $1.36 billion globally, surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” while Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” sailed past $850 million globally to become the No. 3 movie of the year and Nolan’s third highest grossing.“The Equalizer 3” arrived at a fraught time for Hollywood, ...

Hollywood strikes hitting California economy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma sent letters to studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, urging them to negotiate “fair deals” to end the dual strikes led by film and TV writers and actors.Ma, in her role as treasurer and as a board member of state pension funds serving public workers and teachers, wrote letters late last week to seven companies: Netflix, Walt Disney Co., Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple, Paramount Global and Amazon. Her message emphasized the damage the prolonged labor dispute is having on the state’s economy.“The impact of these two strikes paralyzes Hollywood and reverberates across the state, affecting countless businesses, thousands of pension fund beneficiaries, and millions of Californians,” Ma wrote in a letter to Brian Roberts, chief executive of NBCUniversal owner Comcast. “Your failure to come to an agreement is threatening the industry’s ability to ensure that writ...

Ticker: Taylor Swift Eras tour coming to theaters; Quick exit for Walgreens CEO

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to movie theaters.Swift announced that the concert film “Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour” will open in North American theaters Oct. 13. The theater chain AMC, anticipating high demand from Swift fans, said the film will play at least four times a day Thursday, Fridays, Saturday and Sundays at all of its U.S. locations.“The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon,” Swift said on social media channels late last week.Prices will be higher than usual movie tickets. An adult ticket will cost $19.89 ( “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is coming soon) and a child ticket is priced at $13.13 (seemingly a nod to her favorite number ). Advance sales began Thursday.In an usual move, AMC is also acting as distributor for the film. (“The Eras Tour” will additionally play in other chains...

Rainbows and sludge: Burning Man festivalgoer from Pacific Beach shares photos

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

BLACK ROCK DESERT, Nev. -- The dusty desert that hosts counterculture festival Burning Man was doused by a rain storm over the weekend, turning the once hard ground to sludge.Black Rock Desert, located about 110 miles north of Reno in Nevada, is home to the annual festival. The area received more than one-half inch of rain Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Protesters block road into Burning Man festival; rangers ram blockade Festivalgoers were temporarily urged to shelter in place Saturday with the the U.S. Bureau of Land Management confirming the entrance to the event was flooded following the rain storm.Attendees, including a group from Pacific Beach, could be seen wearing plastic bags on their feet in photos shared on social media Saturday. Others appeared to give up their shoes to the mud and, instead, trek the grounds barefoot.Rain or shine, dust or mud -- these local festivalgoers appeared to be all smiles after the storm.Rich Richards, a "Burner" from Paci...

First Nation, regional district in central B.C. Interior orders wildfire evacuations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

VICTORIA — Weekend winds in British Columbia’s central Interior resulted in increased wildfire activity and saw evacuation orders in remote areas north of Burns Lake.The Cheslatta Carrier Nation and the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako both issued evacuation orders Saturday night due to the Wells Creek wildfire.The wildfire is listed as out of control and has covered 79 square kilometres.The evacuation orders cover properties along Ootsa Lake Road and several Cheslatta Carrier Nation reserve sites.A BC Wildfire Service information officer said Sunday the weather in the area is improving, with reduced winds and a return to more seasonal temperatures.“We had a big cold front come in through the northern areas on Friday and Saturday, and that brought a bunch of wind with it, so we saw a lot of fire growth,” said Nic Kokolski. “Now, the winds have subsided in the north, so that’s looking helpful there.”But B.C.’s north and central regions an...

Toronto residents express concern over air show noise for those with PTSD, pets

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

The sounds of jets roaring through the skies of Toronto often elicit gasps and cheers from fans of an annual air show that takes place each Labour Day weekend, but they’re also prompting an outcry from those who fear the noise from the event does more harm than good.Detractors of the Canadian International Air Show say the event, a staple of the Canadian National Exhibition featuring military pilots demonstrating their most elaborate loops, rolls and turns, causes undue stress for those living with PTSD and needless disruptions for people and pets alike.The event showcases professional pilots from the United States Blue Angels, Canadian Forces Snowbirds and others. bc_video video_id=”6336251470112″ account_id=”593482582001″ player_id=”rkYQW9JeZ”]The roar of the aircraft engines could be heard starting on Thursday when practice days for the show began, prompting several people to describe the noise as deafening and terrifying on social media ...

Phoenix man let 10-year-old son drive pickup truck on freeway, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — A man has been arrested after allowing his 10-year-old son to drive a pickup truck on a Phoenix-area freeway, authorities said Sunday.Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said the boy led troopers on a brief pursuit Saturday afternoon — weaving and speeding on State Route 101 in Scottsdale — before being pulled over.DPS said the child’s 49-year-old father was in the passenger seat. The Phoenix man was booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office jail on suspicion of endangerment, unlawfully permitting a minor to drive and having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle.A motorist called 911 around 3:30 p.m. and said it appeared a child was driving the truck on the freeway, according to DPS.A trooper spotted the vehicle and tried to stop it after seeing the driver changing lanes unsafely.DPS officials said the truck failed to stop and the trooper pursued it before the child driver pulled over in an emergency lane.According to DPS, the 10-year-old ...

Quebec apple farmers want government help to deal with changing tastes and climate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec apple farmers are asking for government help to plant new varieties and modernize their orchards as they try to adapt to climate change and shifting consumer tastes.Éric Rochon, president of the Quebec apple farmers association, says his group is asking Quebec’s agriculture ministry for $30 million over six years.He says consumers want sweeter and firmer apples and new varieties are more productive.Rochon says some of those varieties, like the Gala apple, couldn’t be grown in Quebec 25 years ago because winters were too cold, but are now an option for farmers.He says apple growers also want help to protect their orchards against tornadoes and droughts as such events become more common in the province.Rochon says he expects overall apple production to be down this year after a late frost caused producers in some parts of the province to lose a significant percentage of their crops.

A rally in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to protest new IDs draws 5,000 people

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:52 GMT

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — About 5,000 people gathered in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki Sunday to protest against a new type of identity card to be introduced later this month, police said. Carrying Greek flags and banners, the protesters rallied at the city’s iconic White Tower, a waterfront former fortification, chanting slogans and the national anthem. They played a speech by the late former head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens, who had warned of the enemies of the Greek people.Later, they marched through the city center before dispersing without incidentThe machine-readable cards will replace the type of ID currently issued and will contain the same information, such as name, parents’ name, address and height. The only extra information, blood type, is optional.But the cards have inspired conspiracy theories and some people assert the new IDs contain chips that will allow authorities to pinpoint cardholders’ location or even control th...