August 03, 2023

City News Service

 

Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and major studios are set to meet Friday, August 4, to discuss negotiations, the first talks since Hollywood writers strike began May 2, the union's negotiating committee informed its members.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached out to the union to request the meeting, according to an email from the union's negotiating committee to the union's members.

“We'll be back in communication with you sometime after the meeting with further information,'' the email said. “As we've said before, be wary of rumors. Whenever there is important news to share, you will hear it directly from us.''

The WGA is pushing for improvements on a variety of fronts, notably for higher residual pay for streaming programs that have larger viewership, rather than the existing model that pays a standard rate regardless of a show's success.

The union is also calling for industry standards on the number of writers assigned to each show, increases in foreign streaming residuals and regulations preventing the use of artificial intelligence technology to write or rewrite any literary material.

The AMPTP, which represents Hollywood studios, networks and streaming services, has pushed back against some of the WGA's demands, particularly around its calls for mandatory staffing and employment guarantees on programs.

AMPTP has also pushed back against WGA demands around streaming residuals, saying the guild's offer would increase rates by 200%.

The use of artificial intelligence has emerged as a major topic. The WGA says it wants a ban on the use of AI, and contends the AMPTP has refused to even negotiate the issue. The AMPTP said the issue raises “important creative and legal questions'' and requires “a lot more discussion, which we've committed to doing.''

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing 160,000 actors, went on strike July 14, joining striking Writers Guild of America members. The double-barreled strike is the first time in 63 years both unions have walked off the job simultaneously.

The SAG-AFTRA negotiating team issued a statement in July outlining the key issues in the dispute and insisting that the AMPTP “wouldn't meaningfully engage on the most critical issues.''

The SAG-AFTRA list included the core demands of general wage increases, protections against the use of actor images through artificial intelligence, boosts in compensation for successful streaming programs and improvements in health and retirement benefits.

Category: News

August 03, 2023

By Michael Kunzelman

Associated Press

 

The federal judge assigned to the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attack fueled by Trump’s baseless claims of a stolen election. She has also ruled against him before.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, will oversee the case accusing Trump of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in the two months leading up to the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Chutkan has often has handed down prison sentences in Jan. 6, 2021, riot cases that are harsher than Justice Department prosecutors recommended.

Chutkan has also ruled against Trump before in a separate Jan. 6 case. In November 2021, she refused his request to block the release of documents to the U.S. House’s Jan. 6 committee by asserting executive privilege.

She rejected his arguments that he could hold privilege over documents from his administration even after President Joe Biden had cleared the way for the National Archives to turn the papers over. She wrote that Trump could not claim his privilege “exists in perpetuity.”

In a memorable line from her ruling, Chutkan wrote, “Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.”

Trump will make his first court appearance on Thursday before Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya. Such judges handle initial matters in federal cases.

Chutkan has sentenced at least 38 people convicted of Capitol riot-related crimes. All 38 received prison terms, ranging from 10 days to over five years, according to an Associated Press analysis of court records.

She is one of two dozen judges in Washington, D.C., who collectively have sentenced nearly 600 defendants for their roles in the Jan. 6 siege. More than one third of them avoided sentences that included incarceration.

Other judges typically have handed down sentences that are more lenient than those requested by prosecutors. Chutkan, however, has matched or exceeded prosecutors’ recommendations in 19 of her 38 sentences. In four of those cases, prosecutors weren’t seeking any jail time at all.

Chutkan has said prison can be a powerful deterrent against the threat of another insurrection.

“Every day we’re hearing about reports of anti-democratic factions of people plotting violence, the potential threat of violence, in 2024,” she said in December 2021 before sentencing a Florida man who attacked police officers to more than five years behind bars. At the time, that sentence was the longest for a Jan. 6 case.

“It has to be made clear that trying to violently overthrow the government, trying to stop the peaceful transition of power and assaulting law enforcement officers in that effort is going to be met with absolutely certain punishment,” she said.

Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee, suggested during a hearing in 2021 that the Justice Department was being too hard on those who broke into the Capitol compared with the people arrested during racial injustice protests following George Floyd’s 2020 murder.

Without naming her colleague, Chutkan criticized McFadden’s suggestion days later.

“People gathered all over the country last year to protest the violent murder by the police of an unarmed man. Some of those protesters became violent,” Chutkan said during an October 2021 hearing.

“But to compare the actions of people protesting, mostly peacefully, for civil rights, to those of a violent mob seeking to overthrow the lawfully elected government is a false equivalency and ignores a very real danger that the Jan. 6 riot posed to the foundation of our democracy.”

Category: News

July 20, 2023

LAWT News Service

 

Olukoya Davis has been announced as the new president of the Board of Directors for 100 Black Men of Los Angeles. The nation’s top African American led mentoring organization, 100 Black Men of Los Angeles continues to delivers unique programs that address specific needs in Los Angeles County for African Amerian students. 

In addition, this summer, the organization will offer a summer STEM Program, in partnership with Vermont Slauson Economic Development Center - Best Buy Teen Tech Center, and the See Your Future Female Mentoring Program, which pairs female high school students with female mentors.

The founder of the Entersection Group, a strategic consultancy that works with brands, content companies, and creators by developing partnership marketing programs and go-to-market strategies rooted in purpose, Davis’ work at the Entersection Group is a confluence of the last 20 years working for-profit entities in the entertainment and packaged foods industry while advocating on behalf of various non-profit organizations and causes.

In the for-profit sector, Mr. Davis held executive roles at Misha’s Foods, Vevo, Roc Nation, NBC Sports, Complex Networks, ABC-Disney, and Warner Bros.

During his tenure, he worked on brand marketing campaigns, negotiated partnerships for tentpoles such as Super Bowl 49, Made in America Music Festival, ComplexCon, and represented pro athletes and artists in branded content partnerships.

 

In the non-profit sector, Olukoya has been instrumental in fundraising and raising awareness for the 100 Black Men LA portfolio of programs, helped launch and lead fundraising for Misha’s Kindness 501 c3 Fighting for Food Security, and was chair of community outreach for the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce’s - LA Watts Summer Games.

Davis received his MBA and Bachelor’s degree from Hampton University and is a member of Hampton’s 40 under 40 Most Notable Alumni. He also received a certificate of completion from the African American Board Leadership Institute program in 2015.

“I’m excited to take on this new role and look forward to being a part of the next chapter of 100 Black Men Los Angeles,” said Davis.  “I also want to thank our partners Wells Fargo, Los Angeles Capital Management, and Enterprise Holdings for their continued support.”

Along with Davis, the new 100 Black Men Los Angeles executive board also includes, Senior Chairman Kirk Williams, Sr., Vice-President Operations John Malonson III, MBA, Vice-President of Programs Keenan Brown, Corporate Secretary Randy McKenzie, and Chief Financial Officer Thomas Fitch.

The new board plans to continue the organization’s growth in order to serve more Black students in Los Angeles County, cultivate and build partnerships. 

So far 100 Black Men of Los Angeles have served over 400 students with their programs--a 25 percent increase over the previous year.  They’ve provided nine youth programs, $40,000 in scholarships and stipends, and 90 percent of seniors participating in their mentoring programs have gone onto college.

For more information, please visit 100bmla.net. 

Category: News

July 20, 2023

By Todd Richmond and Kathleen Foody

Associated Press

 

The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced on July 15 that he will step down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Chicago-based civil rights group he founded more than 50 years ago.

Jackson, 81, announced his resignation during a quiet farewell speech at the organization`s annual convention, where the group paid tribute to him with songs, kind words from other Black activists and politicians, and a video montage of Jackson`s 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns.

Jackson, who has dealt with several health problems in recent years and uses a wheelchair, capped the proceedings with muted remarks. Flanked by his daughter, Santita Jackson, and his son, U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, the once-fiery orator spoke so softly it was difficult to hear him.

"I am somebody,” he said. “Green or yellow, brown, Black or white, we`re all perfect in God`s eyes. Everybody is somebody. Stop the violence. Save the children. Keep hope alive."

The Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes, "a long-time student of Rev. Jackson and supporter” of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, will take over as the group`s leader, the coalition said in a statement. Haynes is the pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, according to the church's website.

Jesse Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson`s disease eight years ago. He suffered a host of health setbacks in 2021, beginning with gallbladder surgery, a COVID-19 infection that landed him in a physical therapy-focused facility and a fall at Howard University that caused a head injury.

Jackson has been a powerful advocate for civil rights and a strong voice in American politics for decades.

A protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he broke with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1971 to form Operation PUSH, initially named People United to Save Humanity, on Chicago`s South Side. The organization was later renamed the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. The group`s mission ranges from promoting minority hiring in the corporate world to voter registration drives in communities of color.

Jackson has been a driving force in the modern civil rights movement, pushing for voting rights and education. Among other things, he joined George Floyd`s family at a memorial for the slain Black man and has participated in COVID-19 vaccination drives to counter Black hesitancy about the drugs.

Before Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, Jackson had been the most successful Black presidential candidate. He won 13 primaries and caucuses in his push for the 1988 Democratic nomination, which went to Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

Jackson said in his remarks that he plans to continue working on social justice issues, including advocating for three survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre who this week saw a judge dismiss their lawsuit seeking reparations.

"We’re resigning, we’re not retiring," Jackson said.

Ron Daniels, who works with the National African-American Reparations Commission, a panel working for financial payments to Black people as compensation for slavery, told convention-goers that Jackson is a "synthesis" of King and another 1960s civil rights leader, Malcolm X.

"He is an authentic genius," Daniel said. "(Jackson) had the unparalleled capacity to frame and articulate ... political strategy in a way common, ordinary people could understand it.”

Marcia Fudge, secretary of the U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development, thanked Jackson for paving the way for Black politicians like herself.

"Most people talk a good game but they have no courage," she said. "But you never left us, no matter how hard (things became)."

Santita Jackson implored convention-goers to follow her father`s lead and continue to fight for equality.

"Rev. Jackson has run his leg," she said. "What are you going to do?”

 

Category: News

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