Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday called for a significant expansion of the state’s film and TV tax incentives in the face of mounting evidence that producers are fleeing California in search of cheaper locales.
Newsom said in a statement Monday that he favors expanding California’s current Film and Television Tax Credit Program from $750 million to at least $1 billion annually.
Notably, Newsom’s proposal would include credits for actors and other above-the-line talent and extend the tax credit through 2040, according to the statement. That would make California’s program more competitive with those of other states such as Georgia and New York that allow tax credits to offset the cost of actors’ salaries.
If approved by the state Legislature, the credit would be the country’s largest capped film and TV tax credit, Newsom’s office said.
“We’re the capital of entertainment and we’re going to keep it here,” Newsom said in the statement. “Through this expansion, we will maintain the momentum and success of our historic expansion last year.”
Newsom’s announcement comes as the outgoing California governor and possible presidential candidate is looking to burnish his image as a champion of Hollywood as the state is increasingly losing production to other hubs in the U.S. and abroad, where tax incentives are higher and production costs lower.
The proposal puts pressure on fellow Democrat Xavier Becerra, who is widely expected to be California’s next governor, to take up the mantle of helping Hollywood at a time when the state faces rising financial pressures.
Newsom expanded the program last year, when the annual credit was raised from $330 million to $750 million through 2030. Since then, the credit has generated more than $8 billion in direct production spending and over 43,000 jobs, according to the governor’s office.
Newsom also recently signed California’s first stand-alone postproduction credit to bring back jobs for the industry’s editors, sound mixers, composers and visual effects artists.
With a budget of $10 million, the program will allow a 35% to 50% credit on qualified expenses related specifically to postproduction work done in California, even for productions that don’t shoot in the state.
Despite the expanded incentives, local film and TV production in the Los Angeles area continues on a downward trend.
On-location shoot days in the Los Angeles area fell nearly 5% between July and September from the same period a year earlier, and were 29% below the five-year average, according to FilmLA, the nonprofit group that handles film permits for city and county.
Newsom said the expanded credits would address some of California’s limitations.
For example, the new incentives would allow companies that commit to shooting two different productions in California to get a 5% boost in credits. Independent productions would be eligible for $100 million in annual funding, up from $26 million.
Steve Kang, president and chief film liaison for the city’s Board of Public Works, welcomed the proposed enhancements.
“This is a huge win because the current expanded program is helpful, but there were a lot of exceptions and caveats, which limited its full potential,” Kang said.
Others welcomed Newsom’s proposal as “a good start,” but said more was needed to keep the industry in Southern California.
Many productions that shoot locally still face logistical and operational problems with permitting and specific shoot requirements, said Cale Thomas, policy legislative director for Stay in L.A., a grassroots coalition.
“We just need to make it cheaper and easier to shoot here,” Thomas said. “A multifaceted problem takes multifaceted solutions.”
Scott Budnick, a producer of the successful “The Hangover” franchise who lobbied for the state’s enhanced film tax credits last year, also praised Newsom’s proposal, but said the state needs to remove a cap on funding that has created significant hurdles for filmmakers.
“I feel very strongly that the biggest problem with the current credit is because we have a cap,” Budnick said. “It makes every piece of the credit 10 times harder.”
The effort in California comes after congressional leaders introduced the Motion Picture, Television and Entertainment Revitalization Act in September. The bill would establish a 20% federal tax credit on U.S. labor for eligible film and TV productions, including postproduction and visual effects work.
If the federal incentive passes, the hope is for U.S. productions to stack incentives and make the U.S. more attractive for major studio shoots. The federal incentive, however, also is likely to raise the competitive stakes for California as other states compete for Hollywood’s business.
“This is about protecting the future of an industry that has helped define California for generations,” Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles) said in response to Newsom’s proposal. It would ensure “the next generation of creative workers and small business owners can raise their families right here at home,” he said.
Newsom has faced tense relations with Hollywood. Many in the industry remain angry with Newsom over his role in the Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Newsom was instrumental in behind-the-scenes lobbying to get state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to abandon the court fight challenging Paramount-Skydance’s takeover of the legacy studio, which is expected to lead to widespread layoffs.
Newsom’s support for the deal came after Paramount threatened to move operations to Tennessee or Texas, placing more pressure on Bonta to come to an agreement and blunt efforts to lose California’s signature industry.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday set a September 2027 trial date for a man charged with attempting to kill President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner in April.
Cole Tomas Allen’s trial is scheduled to start with jury selection on Sept. 7 in Washington, D.C., and is expected to last approximately three to four weeks. Prosecutors had recommended starting the trial in May, but U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden set the later date after one of Allen’s attorneys asked for more time to prepare.
Allen, of Torrance, is accused of storming the WHCA dinner while armed with guns and knives and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to stop the attack at the Washington Hilton hotel. The officer, who was struck once in a bullet-resistant vest, fired five shots but didn’t hit anybody, authorities said. Allen was injured but not from gunfire.
The attack led to an early end to one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital. Trump returned to speak at the rescheduled dinner three months later.
In writings that he sent to relatives before the attack, Allen railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin,” authorities said.
Allen faces an attempted assassination charge that carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison. He also is charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts.
Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.
The race for mayor of Los Angeles is a dead heat as the campaign draws to a close, with a new poll showing incumbent Karen Bass erasing the double-digit lead previously held by Councilmember Nithya Raman.
Raman and Bass now each have 40% of likely L.A. voters in their camps, with 19% still undecided ahead of the Nov. 3 election, according to the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by The Times.
The neck-and-neck contest is a big change from September, when Raman jumped out to an 11-percentage-point lead with support from 39% of likely voters compared with Bass at 28%.
It follows weeks of relentless attacks on Raman by Bass, whom some analysts had predicted would need to campaign more aggressively to close the gap with her challenger.
“It’s certainly a breath of fresh air for Bass to see the race close. She’ll probably feel the campaign is having the effect she wants it to have, which is to put more focus on Raman and put Raman on the defensive,” said Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Berkeley IGS Poll.
Mayor Karen Bass greets phone banking volunteers at her South L.A. campaign headquarters.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
The survey released Wednesday was conducted online in English and Spanish with a sample of 2,197 likely city voters between Oct. 19 and Oct. 25. It has a margin of error of about three percentage points.
“The momentum in this race is with Karen Bass,” said Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Bass’ campaign. “Ever since Angelenos got their ballots, Nithya Raman has made headlines for all the wrong reasons — voters know they can’t trust her on public safety and other key issues.”
The Raman campaign cited high unfavorable numbers for Bass in the poll, and noted that the mayor “still can’t get ahead” in voter surveys.
“Bass hasn’t led a poll since August and an aggregate of all publicly available polls continues to show Nithya in the lead,” the Raman campaign said in a news release.
The leveling off of the race, along with the sharp decline in undecided voters, was spurred largely by conservative voters who chose Republican Spencer Pratt in the primary deciding to vote for the mayor in the runoff, said DiCamillo.
In the September Berkeley IGS/L.A. Times poll, 22% of Pratt voters said they planned to support Bass, while 16% said they favored Raman. That left a whopping 63% of Pratt voters undecided still.
In the new poll, Bass shot up to 41% of the Pratt vote, while Raman dropped to 14% and 45% were still undecided. Pratt hasn’t endorsed either candidate in the race and continues to bash both Raman and Bass on social media.
“The Pratt voters are the biggest insertion,” DiCamillo said. “The question remains, since we’re looking at Pratt voters, 45% remain undecided. Will they vote?”
Raman trailed Bass in every poll during the primary campaign. Neither candidate had ever cleared 40% in any of the polls conducted by Berkeley IGS/L.A. Times.
In the June 2 primary election, Bass received 34% of the vote while Raman received 29%. Pratt placed third with 26%.
In the new poll, Raman shed support in key areas, including among groups that previously appeared to be leaning toward her.
Councilmember and mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman, center, with supporters at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
In the September poll, Raman led among Latinos by 24 percentage points, 45% to Bass’ 21%. In the October poll, Bass was up to 40% and Raman fell to 43%, leaving the two within the margin of error for that key constituency.
DiCamillo said part of that change had to do with the likely voter population becoming more clear as the election neared, and older Latinos appeared to be a larger portion of the electorate.
“The Latino likely electorate now includes more older Latinos; that benefits Bass,” he said.
Black voters, long considered the backbone of Bass’ coalition, solidified behind the mayor, with 71% of likely Black voters supporting her compared with 13% supporting Raman. While Bass led among Black likely voters in the September poll, the already wide margin was much slimmer at that time, at 48% to 20%.
The poll also affirmed a widely held belief among the Bass camp that the San Fernando Valley would tilt toward the mayor over Raman.
Raman was leading in the Valley in the September poll 34% to 26%, but that number flipped on its head over the past month, with Bass now in front of Raman 44% to 33%.
Bass’ surge in the poll was more notable because the mayor’s favorable ratings — which have been in the tank since the January 2025 wildfires — remained underwater, with 65% of Angelenos viewing her unfavorably compared to 64% in the last poll. Only 32% had a positive view of the mayor, up four percentage points from September.
Bass’ attacks on Raman appeared to be having a significant effect on voters’ opinions of the challenger.
For the first time in a poll by Berkeley IGS/L.A. Times this cycle, Raman posted a higher unfavorable rating than favorable, with 49% of likely voters saying they viewed her unfavorably compared to 42% who had positive views of her.
The mayor, her campaign team and her surrogates have stepped up their offensive toward Raman, seizing on any opportunity to hammer the council member over remarks she has made on the campaign trail that they argue make the her unfit for the mayoralty and “not ready for prime time” — a slogan the mayor and her allies have deployed against their rival.
In early October, the Bass campaign slammed Raman over a video she posted with a leftist influencer in which she urged viewers to “stop fascist liars” as a photo of Bass flashed on the screen. Raman criticized both Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell in the video.
Bass accused the council member of calling the city’s police officers fascists. A Raman spokesperson said she was referring to the “Trump administration’s violent kidnappings” as fascist, not the mayor or police chief or officers. The story dominated headlines for days.
The Bass camp also needled Raman that week after photos surfaced of the council member attending a happy hour on the day federal immigration authorities began raids in Los Angeles last summer, though Raman said she attended a protest that same day.
The Bass campaign sent out a news release calling it “Nithya Raman’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.”
The attacks continued the next week after Raman said during the mayoral debate that the “gold standard” for LAPD’s noncooperation with immigration enforcement took place during the tenure of former LAPD Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.
Gates, a controversial chief accused of racist remarks during his tenure, headed the department during the 1991 videotaped beating of Rodney King and Bass said Raman’s comments showed she was “not really familiar with L.A., especially the Black community.”
Raman retorted that Bass was twisting her words, but later apologized, saying that mentioning Gates was painful for people across L.A.
The poll also asked respondents for the top priorities for the next mayor to address. Reducing the number of homeless encampments was by far the top answer, chosen by 43% of likely voters.
Tied for second place among top concerns was ensuring public safety and building more affordable housing, selected by 29% each.
Protecting immigrant communities was the third-most cited concern, with 21%, followed by balancing the city budget at 17%.
XtockImages
Australia’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 4.3% in September 2026 from 4.0% in August, topping market expectations of 4.2% and reaching its highest level since March.
The hotter-than-expected reading moves consumer prices further above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2%–3% target
Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing was scheduled to undergo elbow surgery Wednesday, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
To address a partial UCL tear, he was expected to undergo a hybrid internal brace procedure, which would set him up to return to catching full time in nine months. He would be able to hit well before then.
Rushing had two stints on the injured list with a flexor strain in his right forearm, along with the UCL tear. He said last month that imaging suggested the slight tear in his UCL hadn’t worsened since 2022.
Rushing took on a larger role this season when primary catcher Will Smith was sidelined for three months by a nagging neck injury. By Aug. 1, Rushing had already logged 245 plate appearances, dwarfing his 2025 rookie season’s total in the majors (155).
Though he’d carried high workloads in the minors before, being a major-league starting catcher comes with added responsibility. Rushing went through a learning curve juggling his defensive and offensive responsibilities, and navigating intense online scrutiny of his outbursts on the field and in the dugout.
He’d settled into the role, and owned an .809 OPS, when his elbow injury flared while throwing before a game on Aug. 2. He landed on the IL the next day and returned at the beginning of September in a pinch-hitting role.
Rushing logged just four at-bats (0-for-4) before he aggravated the injury trying to build up in a throwing program. He returned again for the last series of the regular season, firmly in a battle for a postseason roster spot as a bat off the bench, and went hitless in three at-bats.
Rushing had initially been hopeful he’d be able to avoid surgery.
“My main plan moving into playing every day in the future is, make sure that my body can hold whatever stress or whatever is needed for this team — first base, behind the plate, whatever they need,” Rushing told the Times last month. “I want to make sure my body can handle it and do it for 162.”
Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min both contributed to all three goals for LAFC in a 3-1 victory over Austin FC on Wednesday night at BMO Stadium.
Neither team found the net until Bouanga took a pass from Son seven minutes into the second half and scored to give LAFC (12-9-9) the lead.
Austin’s Brandon Vázquez scored for the second time this season, using an assist from Myrto Uzuni, to knot the score in the 66th minute.
Bouanga answered the following minute with his 17th netter off another assist from Son, his league-leading 15th of the season, and LAFC went back in front 2-1.
Bouanga returned the favor when he notched his eighth assist on Son’s sixth goal of the season in the 72nd minute for a two-score advantage. Jacob Shaffelburg picked up his career-high fifth assist.
Hugo Lloris totaled three saves for LAFC, which is 2-2-3 since the start of September.
Brad Stuver stopped 10 shots, one off his career high, for Austin (7-11-11), which has lost two straight following an eight-match unbeaten streak.
LAFC improved to 9-3-3 at home, while Austin dropped to 3-8-4 on the road.
The clubs played to a scoreless draw in Austin to close out March.
Fuel prices flared again in September, driving a sharp rise in headline consumer inflation even as everyday expenses like food, cars and healthcare remained relatively calm.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index accelerated to +0.6% M/M in September from the
November 2026 vote delayed and joint presidential and legislative elections set for next year, president says in decree.
Published On 10 Oct 202610 Oct 2026
President Mahmoud Abbas has postponed what would have been the first Palestinian elections in nearly 20 years, issuing a decree to further delay voting for the Palestinian Legislative Council for almost another year.
According to the decree, legislative elections planned for next month will be combined with a presidential vote and set for September 11, 2027, Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, said on Saturday.
list of 4 itemsend of list
The long-awaited parliamentary vote was originally set for November 28, with a presidential election expected in early 2027.
The decree came after a committee of top Palestinian officials met on Saturday morning to discuss postponing the vote.
The Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee, which Abbas heads, said in a statement that conditions in occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were not conducive to holding elections, noting that Israel had not allowed election materials or international observers to enter Gaza.
Israeli interference, including military raids, settlement expansion and settler violence in the occupied West Bank, has made a fair vote in November impossible, Wafa reported.
The agency also cited Israel’s systemic withholding of Palestinian tax revenues and its restrictions on electoral candidates and international observers entering Gaza and occupied East Jerusalem, as reasons.
As for Gaza, it said that the lack of progress on reconstruction and on deploying an international stabilisation force factored into the decision as well.
The postponement leaves entrenched Palestinian leaders unchallenged and threatens to further erode the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) credibility among Palestinians and donor countries who fund it.
On Friday, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, accused Abbas of “fooling the international community” by planning to cancel promised elections.
A source told the AFP news agency on Thursday that Palestinian factions, including Abbas’s Palestinian National Liberation Movement – also known as the Fatah party – had agreed to hold a “national dialogue” before legislative elections and that they wanted to postpone the vote.
The last parliamentary elections held in the Palestinian territories were in 2006, when Hamas defeated Fatah, which dominates the PA. The split led to factional fighting and Hamas later seized control of Gaza.
Ninety-year-old Abbas won the last presidential election in 2005. His term should have ended in 2009, but he has ruled by decree since then. In June, he signed a decree calling for the presidential election to be held in early 2027.
ATLANTA — When Edwin Díaz envisioned his first season with the Dodgers, it looked nothing like this. He was going to stay healthy all year, pitch like an All-Star. He certainly was going to throw in more than 21 regular-season appearances.
A slew of injuries, with mechanical issues layered on top, had other plans. But everything resets in the postseason. And against the odds, the right-hander is back in the closer conversation.
“It means a lot,” Díaz said in a conversation with the Times Monday. “Because I was nowhere, basically this season. They gave me the last week and a half of the season to come and pitch. And I was ready every day.”
If he can keep pitching the way he has since returning from the IL in September, it’ll strengthen the Dodgers’ chances at a three-peat. They went into the postseason with a closer-by-committee approach. But manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ workout at Truist Park on Monday that they could get to a consistent closer by the end of the postseason.
“Certainly that last outing was as good as we’ve seen him throw, and it’s hard to imagine throwing any better,” Roberts said of Díaz’s perfect inning against the Atlanta Braves Sunday, which included three fastballs over 100 mph. “We built him up, regained the confidence in himself. So, I think that it’s certainly a viable option for [Tuesday] night. I feel very confident [with] him finishing a game.”
Though his first postseason outing for the Dodgers was in the sixth inning of Game 2 of the National League Division Series, Díaz has been mainly in high leverage in his playoff career — he owns a 2.19 ERA in nine postseason appearances. The former Mets closer even recorded a four-out save at Dodger Stadium in Game 2 of the 2024 National League Championship Series.
“I don’t try to think, ‘Oh, there’s many thousands of fans here,” he said. “Just me against the hitter, and I trust myself. And like I always tell myself, ‘You are a warrior, you are you are the best, and go and compete.’”
The Dodgers’ closer situation has been in flux all year. They had signed Díaz to a three-year, $69 million contract with that role in mind. And even when he missed three months for arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, and lefty Tanner Scott took over in the ninth inning, the spot was open for Díaz when he returned.
That was not the case after his second IL stint. And it was during that month-long road back that he finally re-found himself on the mound.
“I was like this maybe in the [World Baseball Classic] and first couple games early in the year before I got hurt,” Diaz said. “But now I feel way better than everything. So I think this is the best I ever felt this year.”
The process started with treating his neck. Díaz was feeling tightness around the front side of his right trapezius muscle, which could have contributed to Díaz dropping his arm angle. He received medication and needling therapy to address the issue, he said.
Trainers used manual manipulation to find Diaz’ ideal arm slot and build muscle memory, and he was quickly cleared to resume throwing.
“I’ve been doing that for so long, I just lost it for a little,” Díaz said of his arm angle. “And we’ve got a really good group of coaches right here, and they found it right away.”
Díaz began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City in early September. But it wasn’t smooth sailing. In his fourth outing, Díaz issued three walks and surrendered five runs in just two-thirds of an inning.
“I got mad at myself because I knew I was better than that,” Díaz said. “I wasn’t able to control my fastball. So after that game, I talked to the pitching coaches in Triple-A to say, ‘We need to find something because I want to be back in the big-leagues, I want to help this team to win.’”
They dug into Díaz’ biomechanics and found that his hip position was different from last year. When he’s right, Díaz explained, his leg lift starts with his hip. But he’d begun to rush the move, which caused his arm to lag behind.
He threw a bullpen with the adjustment and then took it into one final rehab appearance, a one-hit outing.
“I told the team, ‘I’m ready to go,’” Díaz said.
He sure was. Díaz posted a spotless ERA in six games down the stretch, limiting opponents to one hit combined. And that success carried into his Dodgers postseason debut.
“He’s put himself in a position to be the closer,” Roberts said. “And in October, I don’t pay too much attention to the long sample of a season in a lot of cases because in October things happen quickly, and you’ve got to be willing to read and react.”
For Díaz, the season may not have gone as planned, but his vision of the next few weeks is as clear as ever. He wants to record the final out of the World Series.
“I know how to control my emotions,” he said. “I learned that during my career, and I’m pretty good at that. I just can’t wait to be in that position, and if I’m in there, I will give my 100%.”
