Democratic lawmakers want President Biden to protect Palestinians in US from being forced home

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on President Biden’s supplemental funding request for Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Washington.

 (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

BY SEUNG MIN KIM
 November 8, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to take steps to protect Palestinians in the United States as Israeli forces continue to fight Hamas militants inside Gaza City and thousands flee the area amid increasingly dire humanitarian circumstances.

In a letter Wednesday to Biden, the Democrats call for enacting temporary protections for Palestinians through government programs that shield immigrants from returning to countries that are ravaged by natural disasters or war. The lawmakers cite the rising death toll in Gaza, especially among children, from the month-long Israel-Hamas war and the lack of food and water.

“In light of ongoing armed conflict, Palestinians already in the United States should not be forced to return to the Palestinian territories, consistent with President Biden’s stated commitment to protecting Palestinian civilians,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, provided to The Associated Press in advance of its release.

The letter is a notable effort from Democrats to defend and protect Palestinians at a time when leading Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and others vying for the GOP presidential nomination, have called for the U.S. to bar Palestinians attempting to escape the war in Gaza.


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Last month, while campaigning in Iowa, Trump threatened to expand a travel ban on Muslims that he issued through an executive order during his presidency. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the U.S. should not take in any Palestinian refugees trying to leave Gaza because, he insisted, they “are all antisemitic.”

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, has emphasized that America has “always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from terrorists,” which prompted DeSantis’s super PAC to attack Haley on the issue.

U.S. law gives authorities broad leeway to deny people entry if they present security risks. Cases of extremists crossing into the U.S. illegally are also virtually nonexistent.

The request from Democrats to Biden would apply only to Palestinians who are already in the United States.

The U.S. issued about 7,200 temporary visas to people with Palestinian Authority passports in 2022, according to the State Department. Pointing to that figure, the Democrats argued that “the number of beneficiaries would be small, while the benefit could be lifesaving.

The request, signed by just over 100 lawmakers, is led by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which oversees immigration policy. It is also signed by Sens. Jack Reed, who leads the Armed Services Committee, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. About 70 House Democrats signed, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois.

Temporary Protected Status is a program through the Department of Homeland Security that provides provisional residency, including the ability to work, to non-U.S. citizens currently here whose home countries are deemed too dangerous for them to return. The lawmakers also ask Biden to use Deferred Enforced Departure, a program similar to TPS that is used at a president’s discretion.

Similar protections have been issued in the past, the lawmakers say. For instance, the U.S. offered temporary protected status for residents of Kosovo amid armed conflict in 1998. At the time, Kosovo was a province of Serbia and did not declare independence until 2008.

SEUNG MIN KIM
is a White House reporter.

Louisiana was open to Cancer Alley concessions. Then EPA dropped its investigation


 Myrtle Felton, from left, Sharon Lavigne, Gail LeBoeuf and Rita Cooper conduct a live stream video on property owned by Formosa Plastics on March 11, 2020, in St. James Parish, La. The Environmental Protection Agency spent more than a year investigating whether Louisiana’s oversight of industrial air emissions discriminated against Black residents. The EPA’s investigation ended, however, before it secured commitments from the state to strengthen its oversight. 

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

BY MICHAEL PHILLIS
November 1, 2023

For more than a year, the Environmental Protection Agency investigated whether Louisiana officials discriminated against Black residents by putting them at increased cancer risk. Federal officials said they had found evidence of discrimination and were pressuring the state to strengthen oversight of air pollution from industrial plants.

Now, a draft agreement obtained by The Associated Press shows that Louisiana health officials were open to stronger oversight, including looking at how new industrial plants could harm Black residents.

But the federal government dropped its investigation in June before it got any firm commitments from Louisiana. Advocates said it was a missed opportunity to improve the lives of people who live near refineries and chemical plants in an industrial stretch of the state commonly called “Cancer Alley.”

Experts say the Biden administration, facing a federal court challenge to the investigation, may have worried that a loss would limit its investigative power. But activists expressed concern that dropping the investigation weakened the administration’s fight against environmental discrimination.

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Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project and former head of EPA’s Office of Civil Enforcement, reviewed the draft agreement Louisiana health officials edited and sent to the agency, reflecting the state of negotiations in late May.

“It’s just a shame that it’s basically, you know, gone,” he said.

Schaeffer added that community members are even less likely to see stronger regulations now that Louisiana voters elected Republican Jeff Landry as governor. As attorney general, Landry fought the EPA’s investigation.

After receiving complaints from environmental groups in 2022, the EPA opened a civil rights investigation into state regulators. Officials scrutinized the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, which reviews industrial permits, and the Louisiana Department of Health, which supplies information about health risks.

The Fifth Ward Elementary School and residential neighborhoods sit near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, back, in Reserve, La., Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Among its initial findings late last year, EPA said state officials let a Denka polymer plant expose residents and children at a nearby elementary school to chloroprene, increasing their cancer risk, and health officials didn’t do enough to inform the public about that risk.

As part of the investigation, the EPA wanted to strike a deal with the state that would overhaul the review of industrial air pollution from factories there. The state had to agree to any changes.

The new document shows health officials were willing to analyze how new sources of pollution would make it more dangerous to live near existing industrial sites and detail how residents of different races and income levels would be affected.

That information can be powerful for activists who want to challenge permits, Schaeffer said.

Health officials, however, also proposed deleting significant parts of the EPA’s proposal, according to Deena Tumeh, an Earthjustice attorney who represented groups that asked the EPA to investigate. Health officials, for example, wanted the unilateral power to decide if and when they had to do the EPA-proposed analysis.

Tumeh called that idea “nonsensical” since state officials were already being scrutinized for allegedly ignoring health risks. Tumeh also criticized state officials for changing the language so they wouldn’t be forced to do anything if an analysis found a new project would hurt people.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan, left, arrives at the Fifth Ward Elementary School, which is near the Denka plant, with Robert Taylor, second left, founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John’s Parish, and Lydia Gerard, third left, a member of the group, in Reserve, La., Nov. 16, 2021. 

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Officials also crossed out an EPA proposal that Louisiana appoint a scientific integrity official and that the state agree to make decisions supported by “the best available science.”

“They don’t take environmental health risks seriously,” Tumeh said of the Louisiana Department of Health after reviewing its edits.

The AP reviewed a draft agreement edited by state health officials and sent to EPA in May, reflecting negotiations at the time. It has not reviewed any draft agreement that would show what Louisiana’s environmental agency might have been willing to accept.

The state health department did not respond to questions about the draft agreement but said it “worked closely with the EPA to resolve this issue” and takes its civil rights obligations seriously, spokesperson Kevin Litten said.

State environmental officials declined to comment.

Messages and court documents show the negotiation between EPA and state authorities quickly broke down after the state sued to stop the probe on May 24, developments first reported by the radio station WWNO. That lawsuit, filed the same day health officials sent EPA their edits, is still pending.

The EPA had pursued its investigation using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that says anyone who receives federal funds may not discriminate based on race or national origin. It’s been used in housing and transportation, but rarely on environmental matters.

Biden’s White House promised that would change, saying Title VI would be used aggressively to achieve fundamental changes that stopped environmental discrimination. Louisiana’s lawsuit accused the EPA of weaponizing its Title VI power.

The state argued Title VI forbids intentional discrimination, but not policies that happen to hurt Black residents more than whites, referred to as “disparate impacts.” EPA’s targeting of those disparate impacts “effectively transform the agency from one purely or largely concerned with environmental protection into a free-ranging, social-justice-warrior,’” Louisiana wrote in its legal filings.

Less than a week after Louisiana made that argument, Sharon Lavigne’s phone rang while she was in her car on the way to breakfast. Lavigne, a Louisiana resident and founder of Rise St. James, one of the groups that asked the EPA to investigate state practices, said it was an EPA official reaching out to explain the investigation was ending and promising they weren’t going to forget about the community.

Lavigne had been optimistic the EPA’s work would finally bring real change and she had been impressed that EPA Administrator Michael Regan had visited Cancer Alley in 2021 and again this year, describing conditions there as unjust.

But after hearing the news, “We just felt let down,” Lavigne said.

The EPA declined to comment on the specifics of the Louisiana case, citing ongoing litigation, but said it was committed to environmental justice and improving the health of residents. The agency said previously that closing the investigations in Louisiana was “based on the facts and circumstances of those specific cases” and didn’t reflect any broader change in EPA policy.

The agency said it has taken action to reduce the risk from the Denka polymer plant that makes synthetic rubber, including reaching an agreement that cut emissions. It also sued the company, alleging it imposed an unacceptable cancer risk to nearby residents. And the EPA is proposing regulations to reduce emissions of pollutants like chloroprene.

It’s also started work on its own analysis of the harm faced by residents near the Denka plant.

A Denka Performance Elastomer LLC spokesperson said the facility has eliminated the majority of its air emissions and “strongly believes its operations do not contributed to alleged increased risk of health impacts,” arguing the EPA’s risk assessment is faulty.

The Biden administration has prioritized environmental justice, creating a new office to focus on cases of alleged environmental discrimination and the White House ensures that a portion of federal investments in climate change benefit disadvantaged communities.

But in the Louisiana investigation, EPA officials may have decided it was too risky to defend the investigation, especially with the state pushing back so hard, said Stacey Sublett Halliday, an environmental attorney at the law firm Beveridge & Diamond who is not connected to the case. It doesn’t help that the conservative-controlled Supreme Court has been skeptical of the EPA’s power to regulate the environment, she said.

But dropping the investigation also sends a signal that the agency may fold if there’s pressure, she said.

The EPA can still pursue environmental discrimination and go after wrongdoing when companies violate regulations, but there isn’t a law specifically aimed at environmental justice. That makes the agency’s work harder.

“There’s some growing pains that I think the agency is navigating as they try to intensify their environmental justice work,” Sublett Halliday said.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

 

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Commercial fishing groups sue 13 US tire makers over rubber preservative that’s deadly to salmon


Julann Spromberg, a research toxicologist with Ocean Associates Inc., working under contract with NOAA Fisheries, observes a salmon placed in a tank of clear water after it died from four hours of exposure to unfiltered highway runoff water on Oct. 20, 2014. The Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 2, 2023, granted a petition submitted by Native American tribes in California and Washington state asking federal regulators to prohibit the use of the chemical 6PPD in tires due to its lethal effect on salmon, steelhead trout, and other wildlife.

 (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Junkyard employee Fabio Flores stacks up used tires at Aadlen Brothers Auto Wrecking, also known as U Pick Parts, in the Sun Valley section of Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2015. The 13 largest U.S. tire manufacturers are facing a lawsuit from a pair of California commercial fishing organizations that could force the companies to either remove a chemical found in almost every tire that kills migrating salmon or obtain a permit to lawfully harvest species.

 (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

 Spare tires are seen on a long row of unsold 2020 Wranglers sit at a Jeep dealership in Englewood, Colo., on April 26, 2020. The 13 largest U.S. tire manufacturers are facing a lawsuit from a pair of California commercial fishing organizations that could force the companies to either remove a chemical found in almost every tire that kills migrating salmon or obtain a permit to lawfully harvest species.

 (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

- A juvenile coho salmon is held by a fish biologist at the Lostine River on March 9, 2017, in northeastern Oregon. The Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 2, 2023, granted a petition submitted by Native American tribes in California and Washington state asking federal regulators to prohibit the use of the chemical 6PPD in tires due to its lethal effect on salmon, steelhead trout, and other wildlife. 

(AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)

BY ED KOMENDA
, November 8, 2023Share

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The 13 largest U.S. tire manufacturers are facing a lawsuit from a pair of California commercial fishing organizations that could force the companies to stop using a chemical added to almost every tire because it kills migrating salmon.

Also found in footwear, synthetic turf and playground equipment, the rubber preservative 6PPD has been used in tires for 60 years. As tires wear, tiny particles of rubber are left behind on roads and parking lots, breaking down into a byproduct, 6PPD-quinone, that is deadly to salmon, steelhead trout and other aquatic wildlife when rains wash it into rivers.

“This is the biggest environmental disaster that the world doesn’t quite know about yet,” said Elizabeth Forsyth, an attorney with the environmental law firm Earthjustice, which is representing the fishing groups. “It’s causing devastating impacts to threatened and endangered species.”

The Institute for Fisheries Resources and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Wednesday against Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental and others.

U.S. regulators will review car-tire chemical that kills salmon, upon request from West Coast tribes


In an emailed statement, Bridgestone spokesman Steve Kinkade said the company would not comment on the lawsuit, but that it “remains committed to safety, quality and the environment and continues to invest in researching alternative and sustainably sourced materials in our products.”

Several of the other tire makers did not immediately return emails seeking comment. The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, which is not named as a defendant, said in a statement last week that work is already underway to identify a chemical to replace 6PPD while still meeting federal safety standards. Forcing the companies to change too quickly would be bad for public safety and the economy, it said.

“Our members continue to research and develop alternative tire materials that ensure tire performance and do not compromise safety, consistent with our industry’s commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment,” the association said in another statement Wednesday.

The fishing organizations filed the lawsuit a week after U.S. regulators said they would review the use of 6PPD in tires in response to a petition from three West Coast Native American tribes. Coho salmon appear to be especially sensitive to the preservative; it can kill them within hours, the tribes argued.

The tribes — the Yurok in California and the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Puyallup tribes in Washington — asked the Environmental Protection Agency to prohibit 6PPD earlier this year.

The agency’s decision to grant the petition is the start of a long regulatory process that could see it banned — one of several effort on different fronts to recover salmon populations as well as the endangered killer whales in the Pacific Northwest that depend on them.

The chemical’s effect on human health is unknown, the EPA noted.

Forsyth said that as long as 6PPD remains in tires, the companies need a federal permit allowing them to harm species that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. To do so, they would have to show that they’ve mitigated the harm to salmon to the fullest extent possible, which could mean funding stormwater improvements to keep the chemical from entering aquatic habitats.

No tire company has such a permit, the lawsuit said.

“This has been a problem that has been identified by the industry itself for more than a decade,” said Glenn Spain, the northwest regional director at Institute for Fisheries Resources. “You can’t just sit on your thumbs and hope it will go away. It will not go away.”

The commercial fishers represented by the groups depend on the fish for their livelihood, he said.

Replacing the chemical with another that will make rubber durable without killing fish is a tall task, but one the industry can tackle, Forsyth said: “We’re the nation that figured out how to get lead out of gasoline and still have our cars run. It would shock and surprise me if we cannot make a tire that does not kill up to 100% of coho returning to their native streams.”

Salmon spend their early months or years growing and feeding in freshwater streams and estuaries, before entering the ocean to spend the next few years foraging. They then return to the streams where they were born to spawn.

The chemical’s effect on coho was noted in 2020 by scientists in Washington state, who were studying why fish populations that had been restored in the Puget Sound years earlier were struggling.

“This chemical is ubiquitous in stormwater runoff,” Forsyth said. “It’s ubiquitous in aquatic habitats and is ubiquitous at levels that can kill coho salmon and harm salmon and steelhead at very minute levels.”

Indigenous men imprisoned for 18 years for Alaska murder settle for $5M after vacated conviction


Marvin Roberts flashes four fingers in a sign of solidarity for the so-called Fairbanks Four following his address at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage, Alaska, on Oct. 17, 2015. Roberts and three other men were convicted of killing a Fairbanks, Alaska teenager in 1997, but prosecutors vacated the convictions in 2015 after a key witness recanted testimony and a weeks-long federal review that included new evidence and testimony. The city of Fairbanks said Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, that it had settled with three of the four men for nearly $5 million. Roberts declined a settlement offer and his case is still pending.

- Marvin Roberts, one of the so-called Fairbanks Four, wipes his eye while addressing the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. Roberts and three other men were convicted of killing a Fairbanks, Alaska teenager in 1997, but prosecutors vacated the convictions in 2015 after a key witness recanted testimony and a weeks-long federal review that included new evidence and testimony. The city of Fairbanks said Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, that it had settled with three of the four men for nearly $5 million. Roberts declined a settlement offer and his case is still pending. 

Marvin Roberts, right, hugs his lawyer, Alaska Innocence Project attorney Bill Oberly, during Roberts’ address at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage, Alaska, on Oct. 17, 2015. Roberts and three other men were convicted of killing a Fairbanks, Alaska teenager in 1997, but prosecutors vacated the convictions in 2015 after a key witness recanted testimony and a weeks-long federal review that included new evidence and testimony. The city of Fairbanks said Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, that it had settled with three of the four men for nearly $5 million. Roberts declined a settlement offer and his case is still pending.

(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, file)

BY BECKY BOHRER
Updated 6:22 PM MST, November 6, 2023Share


Three of the four Indigenous men who served 18 years in prison for a murder conviction in Alaska that was ultimately vacated will receive a total of nearly $5 million in a settlement confirmed by the city of Fairbanks on Monday.

The convictions of the so-called Fairbanks Four in the 1997 death of Fairbanks teenager John Hartman were vacated in 2015 after a key state witness recanted testimony and following a weeks-long hearing reexamining the case that raised the possibility others had killed Hartman.

The men — George Frese, Eugene Vent, Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease — argued that an agreement that led to their release in which they agreed not to sue was not legally binding because they were coerced. The men also maintained there was a history of discrimination against Alaska Natives by local police. Pease is Native American; Frese, Vent and Roberts are Athabascan Alaska Natives.

The legal fight over whether the men could sue the city despite the agreement has gone on for years. In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case after a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in their favor.

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Pease, Frese and Vent will each receive $1.59 million from the city’s insurer, according to a statement provided by Fairbanks city attorney Tom Chard. Roberts declined a settlement offer and his case is still pending, the statement said

An attorney for Roberts did not immediately reply to an email sent Monday.

The city’s statement said the decision to settle was made by its insurer, Alaska Municipal League Joint Insurance Association. The association’s executive director did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The statement said the settlement “is not an admission of liability or fault of any kind,” and the city declined further comment about it.

A federal judge in late September signed off on a request by the parties to have the case involving Pease, Frese and Vent dismissed. The settlement agreement was reported last week by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Thomas Wickwire, an attorney for Frese and Pease, declined comment on the matter, citing Roberts’ pending case.

Terms of the settlement with each of the three men included a “non-publicity” clause in which the men and their attorneys agreed to not make public statements about the case until claims by all the men are resolved.

A state court judge in 2015 approved terms of a settlement that threw out the convictions of the four men, who had maintained their innocence in Hartman’s death. Alaska Native leaders long advocated for the men’s release, calling their convictions racially motivated.

The Alaska attorney general’s office at the time said the settlement was “not an exoneration” and called it a compromise that “reflects the Attorney General’s recognition that if the defendants were retried today it is not clear under the current state of the evidence that they would be convicted.”
___

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

California unveils Native American monument at Capitol, replacing missionary statue toppled in 2020


A Native American monument is unveiled in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. California lawmakers and Native American tribes celebrated the unveiling of a monument outside of the state Capitol building to commemorate the history of Sacramento-area tribes. The monument reveal comes years after protesters tore down a statue of a Spanish missionary in the state’s historic Capitol Park.

Democratic Assembly member James C. Ramos speaks during a ceremony that unveiled a Native American monument in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. California lawmakers and Native American tribes celebrated the unveiling of a monument outside of the state Capitol building to commemorate the history of Sacramento-area tribes. Ramos, the first Native American in the state Legislature, authored legislation in 2021 to build the monument on state Capitol grounds.

People gather around a Native American monument after it was unveiled in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. California lawmakers and Native American tribes celebrated the unveiling of a monument outside of the state Capitol building to commemorate the history of Sacramento-area tribes. The monument reveal comes years after protesters tore down a statue of a Spanish missionary in the state’s historic Capitol Park. 

(AP Photo/Sophie Austin)

BY SOPHIE AUSTIN
 November 7, 2023

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An eight-foot-tall bronze statue of a late Native American leader known for preserving cultural dances now stands surrounded by trees in a historic park outside of California’s state Capitol building, replacing a statue of a Spanish missionary that protesters toppled it in 2020.

California lawmakers, tribal leaders and hundreds of others on Tuesday celebrated the unveiling of a statue depicting Miwok leader William J. Franklin, Sr., in recognition of the Native American tribes whose ancestral lands are now the grounds of the state Capitol.

“Finally, the California Indian people will have a monument here on the Capitol grounds for all those visiting to know that we are still here,” said Assemblymember James C. Ramos, the first Native American in the state Legislature. “We’re here because of the resiliency of our elders and ancestors.”

It is one of several moves that California lawmakers have made in recent years to acknowledge the history of Native Americans in the state. In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a formal apology for the state’s legacy of violence against Native Americans, saying it amounted to genocide. Newsom has also signed laws to promote the teaching of more Native American history in schools and to remove a derogatory slur from sites across the state.

The new statue comes after racial justice protesters in 2020 tore down a decades-old statue of Junípero Serra, an 18th century Catholic priest and missionary who has been criticized for destroying Native American tribes and cultures. The monument of Serra was torn down at a time when protesters across the country targeted statues of historic figures — including Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia — whose legacies came under heightened scrutiny in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

In 2021, Ramos authored a bill that Newsom later signed into law authorizing tribes to plan the construction of a Native American monument on the grounds of the state Capitol.

One of the lead proponents of Ramos’ bill, Jesus Tarango, chair of the Wilton Rancheria tribe in Sacramento County, said erecting the monument was not about trying to erase history.

“Today’s unveiling signifies the start of a new era here in California at our state Capitol — one where we stop uplifting a false narrative and start honoring the original stewards of this land,” Tarango said.

Montana also passed a law in 2019 to install a monument on state Capitol grounds to recognize the contributions of Native Americans.

California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said he hopes the monument will “cultivate a deeper understanding” of Indigenous communities and their contributions to California.

Andrew Franklin, a grandson of William J. Franklin, Sr., said the man he knew as “Grandpa Bill” was always a big figure in his life while he was growing up in Sacramento. Franklin, who now lives in Southern California and formerly chaired the Wilton Rancheria tribe, said it was “hard to put into words” what it meant for the monument to be erected.

“We’ve always grown up holding our culture, very high in regard and respecting each other, respecting our culture. That was always huge for us,” he said. “This is just very surreal.”
___

Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @sophieadanna

A new survey of wealthy nations finds favorable views rising for the US while declining for China





BY DIDI TANG
November 6, 2023Share

WASHINGTON (AP) — Public opinions in 24 countries — mostly rich nations — have grown more favorable of the United States than of China, according to the latest survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center.

The gap in favorability of the world’s two largest economies widened after views of the U.S. rebounded since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the report found. Favorable views of both countries fell in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, but the ratings for China remained low during the latest survey, the Pew center said, “leading to some of the largest gaps in these views we have seen in our polling.”

The report, released Monday, comes as the two countries are intensely competing for global influence. President Xi Jinping wants China to be respected and trusted around the world, while Biden has made it a priority to mend relationships with U.S. allies.

“This year, overall views of the United States are much more positive than views of China in most places surveyed,” the report said. “But this has not always been the case in our nearly two decades of favorability polling, and views of the countries have fluctuated alongside views of their leaders.”

The 2019 survey recorded a median of 55% across 22 countries showing favorable views of the U.S., compared to a median of 39% of China.

In 2020, when Pew conducted surveys in a much smaller set of countries because of the pandemic, medians of 38% and 25% had favorable views of the U.S. and China, respectively. Of the same countries in 2023, medians of 58% and 21% had positive views of the U.S. and China, respectively. Medians are only of the 10 countries surveyed in both years, exclusive of the U.S. and Australia, Pew’s research analysts said.

In the latest survey, the gaps were most significant in Poland, Japan and South Korea, where more than 70% of the respondents rated the U.S. positively, compared with fewer than 30% who viewed China favorably, said Pew, which conducted nationally representative surveys in 24 countries in 2023.

Japan and South Korea, neighbors of China, have had a historically tense relationship with each other. In a diplomatic breakthrough, Biden held a trilateral summit with Japan’s prime minister and South Korea’s president at Camp David in August, hailed by supporters as forging a strong partnership countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The differences in favorable public opinions of the U.S. and China narrowed in middle-income countries such as Indonesia, South Africa and Mexico, and China overtook the U.S. in favorability in Nigeria, where both countries were highly favored, the report said.

Middle-income countries accounted for about one third of the countries surveyed by Pew, and no low-income country was included in the latest study.

The center said it was unable to conduct in-person surveys in less developed countries during the pandemic but planned to gauge public opinions in those countries when travel becomes easier. “In the months ahead, we intend to continue expanding our country coverage to a more economically and geographically diverse set of countries,” said Laura Clancy, a research analyst at Pew.

In China, the leadership has touted that the country has gained more friends and that friendships have become stronger around the world, typically among developing nations. Beijing’s massive global infrastructure building scheme, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, is credited with bringing economic benefits to foreign countries and winning friends for Beijing, according to China’s state media, contrary to Western criticism that those projects could saddle host countries with debt and harm the environment.

The views of the U.S. have shifted over time alongside changes to the presidency, Clancy said.

In 2023, a median of 56% across 22 countries had confidence in Biden, compared to 19% in Xi. In 2019, medians of the same 22 countries having confidence Donald Trump, then the U.S. president, and Xi were 31% and 28%, respectively.

In the latest survey, 83% people in Poland expressed confidence in Biden, compared to 8% in Xi, registering the widest gap of 75 percentage points, the report said. The spread was at least 50 points in countries such as Germany, Japan and Sweden. The gap narrowed in middle-income countries, but still more had more confidence in Biden and Xi, the report said.

“These gaps in views of the American and Chinese leaders reflect both souring attitudes toward Xi in high-income countries and greater confidence in Biden – particularly compared with his predecessor, Donald Trump,” the report said.

In 2007, the gaps between the U.S. and China in terms of likeability were narrower under different leaders in both countries.

Then, a median of 53% across 15 countries reported favorable views of the U.S., compared to a median of 43% with favorable views of China. In 2023, medians of 59% and 27% across the same countries had favorable views of the U.S. and of China, respectively, according to Pew.

That was near the end of the George W. Bush presidency in 2007, when confidence in Bush was limited, and China’s then-President Hu Jintao received more positive ratings, the center said.

In other results, the Pew polls have found:

— The surveyed countries were more likely to see the U.S. as interfering in the affairs of other countries than China.

— Most countries said the U.S. accounted for their country’s interests more so than China. Israel led the pack with a 65-percentage-point difference.

— The U.S. got higher marks than China for contributing to global peace and stability. The difference was greatest in Japan, where 79% said the U.S. contributed at least a fair amount to international stability, compared to 14% who said the same of China.

— Most considered the U.S. to be the leading economy. In South Korean, 83% of the respondents said the U.S. was the world’s leading economic power, compared to only 8% who said China was the leading power. Italy was on the other end of the spectrum, with 55% of the respondents said China was the leading economy, compared to 31% who would give that title to the U.S.

BECAUSE OF COURSE HE WAS
Man accused of Antarctic assault was then sent to remote icefield with young graduate students

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Stephen Tyler Bieneman walks out of a U.S. courthouse after the first day of his trial in Honolulu, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. Bieneman has pleaded not guilty to assault after a woman accused of him assaulting her in Antarctica. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher)


 A sign is photographed at McMurdo Station, a United States Antarctic research station, on Dec. 4, 2018. An AP investigation in August 2023 uncovered a pattern of women at McMurdo Station who said their claims of sexual harassment or assault were minimized by their employers, often leading to them or others being put in further danger. (National Science Foundation via AP, File)


 McMurdo Station, a United States Antarctic research station, is photographed from the air on Oct. 27, 2014. An AP investigation in August 2023 uncovered a pattern of women at McMurdo Station who said their claims of sexual harassment or assault were minimized by their employers, often leading to them or others being put in further danger. (National Science Foundation via AP, File)

Stephen Tyler Bieneman, right, leaves the federal courthouse, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

BY NICK PERRY AND JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
 November 6, 2023

HONOLULU (AP) — A man accused of physically assaulting a woman at a U.S. research station in Antarctica was then sent to a remote icefield where he was tasked with protecting the safety of a professor and three young graduate students, and he remained there for a full week after a warrant for his arrest was issued, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

Stephen Tyler Bieneman has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault over the incident last November at McMurdo Station, which his lawyer said was nothing more than “horseplay.”

During opening statements in his trial in Honolulu Monday, his lawyer, Birney Bervar, described the woman as “belligerent and aggressive” because she wasn’t invited to Bieneman’s birthday party.

Bieneman’s behavior was a crime, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib told jurors in an opening statement: “When given a choice between resolving an issue peacefully or using violence, the defendant chose violence.”

Women working in Antarctica say they were left to fend for themselves against sexual harassers

The National Science Foundation declined to answer AP questions about why Bieneman was sent out into the field in a critical safety role while under investigation. The case raises further questions about decision-making in the U.S. Antarctic Program, which is already under scrutiny.

An AP investigation in August uncovered a pattern of women at McMurdo who said their claims of sexual harassment or assault were minimized by their employers, often leading to them or others being put in further danger.

And on Friday, the watchdog office overseeing the NSF said it was sending investigators to McMurdo this month as it expands its investigative mission to include crimes such as sexual assault and stalking.

In their indictment, prosecutors say that late on Nov. 24 or early Nov. 25 last year, a woman was sitting in a dormitory lounge waiting for her laundry when Bieneman, who had been celebrating his birthday with lots of drinks, walked in.

When he went to the bathroom, the woman took his name tag from his jacket as a prank and then refused to give it back, running around the end of a sofa, prosecutors say.

Bieneman then took her to the floor, put her on her back and put his left shin over her throat as he rummaged through her pocket looking for the tag, prosecutors say. The woman desperately tried to communicate she couldn’t breathe, signaling a choking motion and tapping on his leg as a minute passed before Bieneman finally found the tag and removed his shin from her airway, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors say the woman visited a medical clinic.

“During a follow-up visit a week later, Victim A reported improvements with respect to muscle tightness, however she was suffering from lack of sleep and appetite, anxiousness, and depression as a result of the assault,” prosecutors said in the indictment. ”Soon thereafter, Victim A left her employment at McMurdo Station.”

Bervar told jurors there’s no evidence an assault took place. Eyewitnesses, the doctor who treated the woman and Bieneman will testify that there was no assault, he said.

Bienemen had left the lounge to return the key to the hut where he celebrated his birthday with a group. When he returned he noticed one of the alcoholic seltzers he left behind was missing, Bervar said.

He confronted the woman, who admitted taking the drink and told him she also took his name tag. When he asked for it back, she said, “No, fight me. Fight me for it,” Bervar said.

They both fell to the ground when she charged at Bieneman, Bervar said.

The first witness to testify was in the lounge watching TV. Adam Yurkiewitz said he heard the woman saying Bieneman would have to fight her for the nametag back and didn’t see him put his knee on her neck.

Yurkiewitz said he went to wake up a nurse when he saw the woman lying on the floor.

He testified that he didn’t know Bieneman well but knew he worked in search and rescue. “His whole goal was to save people’s lives not to hurt them,” he said.

Marc Tunstall, the NSF station manager who is also a sworn Deputy U.S. Marshal, heard about the incident on Nov. 29 and began investigating, according to prosecutors.

On Dec. 10, two weeks after the incident, Bieneman and the scientific team flew by Twin Otter plane to set up camp at the remote Allan Hills icefield, more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from McMurdo. The team, which studies ice cores, was there to collect radar data to help select a site for future ice-core drilling.

In his role as mountaineer, Bieneman was responsible for the safety of the group in the unforgiving environment. The man initially assigned the role had suffered from a mini-stroke two days before his deployment, according to documents obtained by the AP.

Bieneman, who goes by his middle name Tyler, initially worked well with the team setting up camp.

“However, soon after, it became clear that something was amiss with Tyler,” University of Washington Professor Howard Conway wrote on behalf of the COLDEX field team in a complaint to the NSF that was obtained by the AP.

Conway and the graduate students did not respond to AP requests for comment.

In the complaint, Conway described Bieneman as initially being “domineering and critical” of the two female graduate students at the camp.

“One evening in the kitchen tent during the first week, he told the graduate students that earlier in the season in McMurdo he had a fight with a woman, during which he wrestled with her, and she subsequently had trouble breathing, and needed medical attention,” Conway wrote.

The professor said Bieneman portrayed himself as the victim in the incident for being under scrutiny. He said the graduate students, fearing possible retaliation if they disclosed the story, felt they had to tiptoe around Bieneman.

“It was uncomfortable and stressful to be around him because it was not possible to feel physically or emotionally safe,” Conway wrote.

Court documents show an arrest warrant was issued for Bieneman on Dec. 12.

The professor wrote that Bieneman was finally replaced at the camp on Dec. 19. He said they were never told Bieneman was under investigation or given a reason for him being pulled from his assignment. They pieced it together later when the case became public.

“We were astounded to find (1) Tyler was assigned to our team when it was already known that he was under investigation, and (2) that he remained in the field with us for a full week after he had been charged with assault,” Conway wrote in the complaint.

The NSF said the questions about Bieneman’s camp assignment were part of an active law enforcement matter and should be directed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii did not respond to a request for comment.

According to court records, when Bieneman returned to McMurdo after the camp, he was fired, given a plane ticket back to the U.S. and arrested when he landed in Hawaii. He was then released on $25,000 bail pending trial.
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AP researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.
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Perry reported from Wellington, New Zealand.

Baltimore church to end religious services after priest suspended over sexual harassment settlement


The St. Benedict Church is shown in southwest Baltimore, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. A Benedictine monk has been suspended from ministry after the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore recently became aware of a payment he made several years ago to settle sexual harassment allegations. 

(AP Photo/Lea Skene)

November 6, 2023Share

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Archdiocese of Baltimore will end religious services at one of the city’s Catholic churches after its longtime pastor was recently suspended from ministry because he admitted to making a payment several years ago to settle sexual harassment allegations.

Last month, Father Paschal Morlino was dismissed from his position at St. Benedict Church in southwest Baltimore, where he served for nearly 40 years and became known for his efforts to help residents of poor neighborhoods surrounding the church.

Few details about the 2018 complaint against Morlino have been released. Church officials have said they regarded “alleged sexual harassment of an adult man.” The complainant died in 2020 and a lawyer representing him in the case has declined to comment citing a non-disclosure agreement.

Officials with the archdiocese also said in a statement Saturday that they are investigating another complaint against Morlino involving sexual abuse of a minor. They said the abuse allegedly occurred in 1993. Morlino denied the allegation, according to the statement.

St. Benedict is owned and operated by Saint Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania, the oldest Benedictine monastery in the country. In a separate joint statement with the archdiocese on Saturday, monastery leaders said they wouldn’t name a new pastor to replace Morlino. They said the “difficult decision was made based on the limited number of clergy available.”

Morlino, 85, returned to the monastery in Pennsylvania after being suspended from his job as pastor.

The church in Baltimore will continue to host community events and outreach programs, but officials said that parishioners are being rerouted other churches for Mass and other religious services.

The archdiocese said it learned about the settlement last month when reporters for The Baltimore Banner inquired about it. Officials said they immediately opened an internal investigation and decided to dismiss Morlino.

“We understand that this news comes at a difficult time for the parishioners,” officials said in the Saturday statement. “An outreach team will be available to assist parishioners and if they wish, help them receive Catholic pastoral services at nearby parishes.”

U$A

3 charged with running sex ring that catered to elected officials, other wealthy clients


 Police stand guard outside the federal courthouse in Boston, Tuesday. Three people have been arrested on allegations that they ran a sophisticated commercial sex ring in Massachusetts and Virginia that catered to well-connected clients such as elected officials and military officers, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday., Nov. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
 November 8, 2023

BOSTON (AP) — Three people have been charged with running a sophisticated commercial sex ring in Massachusetts and eastern Virginia that catered to well-connected clients such as elected officials and military officers, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Women were featured on websites that falsely claimed to advertise nude Asian models for professional photography, and high-end apartments with monthly rents as high as $3,660 were used as brothels, prosecutors say. Another website allowed clients to rate the women, prosecutors say.

“This commercial sex ring was built on secrecy and exclusivity, catering to a wealthy and well-connected clientele, and business was booming, until today,” Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said.

The Massachusetts brothels were in Watertown and Cambridge, while others were outside of Washington, D.C., in Tysons and Fairfax, Virginia, prosecutors said. Buyers paid upwards of $600 per hour for services, and some even paid a monthly membership fee to be pre-cleared for sex in a process similar to TSA PreCheck, Levy said.

Authorities have not named the people believed to have bought services through the ring, and none of them have been charged. But Levy stressed that the investigation is in the early stages, and said that prosecutors are committed to holding accountable both those who ran the scheme and those who “fueled the demand for this ring.”

Levy said there were possibly hundreds of clients, including government contractors with security clearances, doctors, lawyers, elected officials, military officers, professors and executives at tech companies.

Han “Hana” Lee 41, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, James Lee, 68, of Torrance, California and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Massachusetts were arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice others to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity. Prosecutors say they made hundreds of thousands of dollars through the scheme.

An attorney for Han Lee declined to comment and an email seeking comment was sent to a lawyer for Junmyung Lee. There was no attorney listed for James Lee in court records, and a message seeking comment was sent to a number listed as a relative.

Authorities used surveillance and phone records to identify sex buyers and interviewed about 20 of them during the investigation, according to court papers. One buyer told investigators he was directed via text message to an apartment and provided a menu of women, services and the hourly rate.

Han and Junmyung are accused of running the day-to-day operations of the Massachusetts brothels, and Han is also accused of overseeing the daily operations of the Virginia ones, according to court papers. That included arranging for transportation for the women and collecting proceeds, authorities allege. Prosecutors say James Lee also leased several of the current and former brothel locations in Massachusetts and Virginia.

ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Alanna is a legal affairs reporter
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DESANTISLAND
Morale is down and cronyism up after DeSantis takeover of Disney World government, ex-employees say


 The Cinderella Castle is seen at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Since allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s government earlier this year, morale and trust have deteriorated, the governing district has been politicized and cronyism permeates the organization, according to many employees who have departed in recent months. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)Read More

 Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board administrator Glen Gilzean listens to chairman Martin Garcia, left, during the board’s meeting in the headquarters of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. Since allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s government earlier this year, more than 30 employees have left the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, raising concerns that decades of institutional knowledge is departing with them, along with a reputation for well-run government.(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)

 - Members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors listen to special general counsel Daniel Langley outline a resolution to invalidate Disney’s final agreement with the previous board, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, April 26, 2023. Since allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s government earlier this year, more than 30 employees have left the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, raising concerns that decades of institutional knowledge is departing with them, along with a reputation for well-run government. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File, File)


BY MIKE SCHNEIDER
November 6, 2023

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Morale and trust within the Walt Disney World government has deteriorated since allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took it over earlier this year, according to many employees who have departed in recent months saying the governing district has been politicized and cronyism now permeates the organization.

More than 40 out of about 370 employees have left the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District since it was taken over in February, raising concerns that decades of institutional knowledge is departing with them, along with a reputation for a well-run government.

“When I first joined the District, I found an organization that strived to be the very best at serving our community, sought the very best employees and valued those employees above all else,” a former facilities manager with three years of experience said in an employee exit survey last week. “I find myself leaving a completely different District. A District that prioritizes politics above all else and will gladly sacrifice its employees, its community and its work if there’s an opportunity to score political points.”

The Associated Press obtained the employee exit surveys through a records request, and has withheld names to protect security. Most of the records were first obtained by Seeking Rents, a Florida-based watchdog newsletter.

With the departure of so many district employees in such a short period of time, the district is “no longer functional,” a facilities director who left last month wrote in her exit survey.

The Republican governor and GOP-dominated Florida Legislature took control of the district in retaliation after Disney publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. The law was championed by DeSantis, who currently is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Before the takeover, the governing district had been controlled by Disney supporters. It previously was named the Reedy Creek Improvement District when it was established in 1967 to provide municipal services like road repairs, waste collection and firefighting on the 25,000 acres (10,117 hectares) that make up Disney’s theme park resort in central Florida.

An environmental biologist who departed the district in September after 35 years said the DeSantis allies on the board had “negatively changed my experience with top leadership, the work culture, trust, and given me a good reason to retire.” An accountant who also departed in September said she hadn’t wanted to leave but “the workplace culture has been destroyed.”

“You now see fake smiles and I am sure that a lot of employees are somewhat scared to say what they actually feel because of retaliation,” said the former employee who worked in the finance department for three years.

When asked about the staff departures, a district spokesman said several of the workers who left had been planning to retire before the change and that there were still employees with decades of experience who could maintain the institutional knowledge of the district.

“We are committed to enhancing the well-being of our staff members,” said Matthew Oberly, the district’s director of external affairs. “Our unwavering commitment is to maintain our tradition of excellence and continue delivering outstanding services to our taxpayers.”

Chairman Martin Garcia has repeatedly said in board meetings that the goal of the new leadership is to reform the sweetheart relationship between Disney and the governing district and make the government more accountable and transparent.

“For over 56 years, Disney had their own governmentally controlled kingdom,” Garcia said in August. “In the past six months, our board has adopted new policies and practices to fix some of the glaring issues.”

The new board members, though, have been accusing the previous administration of cronyism while at the same time hiring politically-connected associates to positions in the district or awarding them contracts, the former facilities manager said in his exit interview last week.

One of the five original DeSantis-appointed board members to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District was the best man at the June wedding of Glen Gilzean, who was named by the new board to be the district’s new administrator in May and is a DeSantis ally. Gilzean also recently promoted his chief of staff, who he had worked with in his previous job, to be a deputy district administrator.

Last month, the district authorized a $242,500 no-bid contract to update its emergency-calls network with a company whose chief executive had served with Gilzean on the Florida Commission on Ethics, where both were DeSantis appointees. Following pushback from local media reports about the no-bid nature of the deal, the company CEO requested that the contract be reopened for an open bidding process.

Disney has sued DeSantis and the members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board in federal court in Tallahassee over the takeover, claiming its free speech rights were violated. Disney is also battling the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in state court in Orlando.

Before control of the district changed hands, the Disney supporters on its board signed agreements with Disney to shift control over design and construction at Disney World to the company. The new DeSantis appointees claimed the “eleventh-hour deals” neutered their powers, and the district sued the company in state court to have the contracts voided. Disney filed counterclaims. A hearing in the state court case is slated for Wednesday.

An executive administrative assistant who left the district in June cited the “bridge burning” by the DeSantis appointees and Gilzean as the reason why she departed.

“I am truly saddened that I am leaving the District, because there are great people here who do great work,” said the former employee who had worked at the district for four years. “I hope they can continue to do the work that has made us the Magic Behind the Magic.”
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Follow Mike Schneider on X, formerly known as Twitter: @MikeSchneiderAP.

MIKE SCHNEIDER
I cover census, demographics, Florida and related topics.
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Hollywood actors strike is over as union reaches tentative deal with studios


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SAG-AFTRA captain Mary M. Flynn rallies fellow striking actors on a picket line outside Netflix studios, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Striking SAG-AFTRA members pick out signs for a picket line outside Netflix studios, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

BY ANDREW DALTON
 November 8, 2023 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s actors union reached a tentative deal with studios Wednesday to end its strike and months of labor strife that ground the film and television industries to a historic halt.

The three-year contract must be approved by votes from the board of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and its members in the coming days, but the leadership declared that the strike will end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

“We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers,” the union said in a statement. “Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.”
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Striking SAG-AFTRA members pose for a group photo on a post apocalyptic-themed picket line outside Netflix studios, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

At nearly four months, it was by far the longest strike ever for film and television actors.

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More than 60,000 SAG-AFTRA members went on strike July 14, joining screenwriters who had walked off the job more than two months earlier. It was the first time the two unions had been on strike together since 1960. The studios and writers reached a dealt that brought their strike to an end on Sept. 26.

The terms of the agreement were not immediately released. The union valued the deal at over a billion dollars and said details would be made public after a meeting on Friday where board members review the contract. Issues on the table included both short-term compensation and future royalty payments for film and TV performances, along with control over actors’ images and likenesses regenerated with artificial intelligence.
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Striking SAG-AFTRA member Karen Brown participates in a picket line outside Netflix studios, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

“This tentative agreement represents a new paradigm. It gives SAG-AFTRA the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years; a brand new residual for streaming programs; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizable contract increases on items across the board,” the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said in a statement Wednesday evening. The organization, which negotiates on behalf of major studios and streaming companies, said it “looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.”

Executives from top entertainment companies including Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal had a direct hand in negotiations.

The Writers Guild of America applauded Wednesday’s deal. “We’re thrilled to see SAG-AFTRA members win a contract that creates new protections for performers and gives them a greater share of the immense value they create,” the union said in a statement. “When workers are united, they win!”

Although the writers strike had immediate, visible effects for viewers, including the months-long suspension of late-night talk shows and “ Saturday Night Live,” the impact of the actors’ absence was not as immediately apparent. But its ripple effects — delayed release dates and waits for new show seasons — could be felt for months or even years.

Actors should quickly return to movie sets where productions were paused, including “Deadpool 3,” “Gladiator 2” and “Wicked.” Other movies and shows will restart shooting once returning writers finish scripts.

Writers Guild of America member Bart Gold walks with striking actors on a post apocalyptic-themed picket line outside Netflix studios, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

And beyond scripted productions, the end of the strike allows actors to return to red carpets, talk shows and podcasts, as Hollywood’s awards season approaches.

“The SAG strike is over!! I can finally say it: watch my documentary Saturday night at 8 on HBO/MAX!” actor-director Albert Brooks said on social media moments after the strike ended. “Couldn’t say a word until now!!”

The only major awards show directly effected by the strike was the Emmys, which was moved from September to January. Now, the usual fall Oscar campaigns will mobilize.

But any feeling of industry normalcy could prove temporary. The circumstances that brought on the strikes — the shift from traditional theatrical and broadcast media to streaming, and emerging tech like AI — have not been slowed. And the gains made by the strikes may embolden other Hollywood unions, or these same guilds in negotiations that will come up again in just a few years.

Union leaders treated the strike like a watershed moment from the start, coming as it did amid wider labor fights in other industries.

“I think it’s a conversation now about the culture of big business, and how it treats everybody up and down the ladder in the name of profit,” SAG-AFTRA President and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher told The Associated Press in an August interview.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the executive director and chief negotiator who led the team that struck the deal for the guild, told the AP in August that he was “honored to be part of making sure that our members get a fair contract that’s going to protect them going into the future and make sure that the 14-year-olds I talked to on the Disney picket line still have the ability to be an actor when they turn 18"

From left; SAG-AFTRA captains Iris Liu and Miki Yamashita and SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland lead a cheer for striking actors outside Paramount Pictures studio, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The agreement also means a return to sets for thousands of film crew members who have left with nothing to work on during the strikes. SAG-AFTRA sought to offset their hardship by allowing sometimes controversial interim agreements for some smaller productions to proceed, and by making their strike relief fund available to all workers in the industry.
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Associated Press Writer Krysta Fauria contributed to this report.
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For more coverage of the actors and writers strike, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/hollywood-strikes/


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