Dispatches From The Picket Lines, Day 42: AFL-CIO Joins Striking Writers In NYC; Connelly-Verse And Comedy On West Coast

On the morning of December 16, 2003, John 'Fat Jackie' Thompson got into his red Ford Escort and set off for work. A few minutes later, after driving over a speed bump near his home in Halliwell in Bolton, he heard a rattle then a loud bang.

The Writers Guild of America strike continued Thursday with a demonstration at Netflix headquarters in Los Angeles that featured appearances by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, as well as a slew of Dolly Parton drag queens on the picket lines.

It was musical Monday for WGA picketers on day 56 of the Writers Guild strike, with Death Row Records representing in front of Sunset Bronson Studios, site of one of Netflix’s many Los Angeles-based offices.

Alex Edelman has built quite the reputation over the last few years, with sold-out comedy shows and knock-’em-dead late-night performances, honing material for a Broadway debut that does his reputation proud.

A mobile welfare unit worth tens of thousands has been snatched from a major Ayrshire road.

Love Island’s Laura Anderson has taken to Instagram to show off her incredible outfit for the Pride of Scotland Awards. The star, who is currently pregnant with her first child, shared a fun video showing her walking into the awards venue wearing a stunning white dress that showed off her growing baby bump. In the video, Laura can be seen beaming as she struts down the red carpet wearing a form fitting, one-shouldered dress with a feathery flared bottom from Hurr, teamed with Kurt Geiger heels and jewellery from Lara Heems.

Spike Lee was not on the speakers list at a rally Thursday morning for striking film and television writers outside City Hall in New York. But one of the Brooklyn-born filmmaker’s best-loved movies, 1989’s Do the Right Thing, kept cropping up as local elected officials took turns calling for studio executives to resume negotiations with the Writers Guild of America and help end a strike now in its eighth week.

It was a busy day on the L.A.-area WGA picket lines, with a visit from some Abbott Elementary folks, support from unionized teachers and nurses, and dancers getting their hula on for Pacific Islander Day.

It’s safe to say that today’s picket line at Warner Bros in Burbank drew a little more attention than some other days. That’s because newly unionized strippers from North Hollywood turned out to support striking WGA writers — and they brought a pole along.

Baywatch star Yasmine Bleeth cut a glamorous figure as she made a rare public appearance as she prepared to celebrate her 55th birthday. The famously reclusive former actress, who rose to fame as lifeguard Caroline Holden on the hit 1990s show, turned on the style as she headed out for a sushi lunch in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, wearing a black top, tan skirt and fashionable wedges.The rare public outing came after Yasmine was last spotted in October looking dishevelled as she walked her dog in pyjamas.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events.

The day after New York-based pickets were canceled for the week because of smoke, the gathering at Warner Bros. in Los Angeles was a bit smaller on Thursday, with less than 50 people gathering in support of the WGA strike.

Part three of the epic “Vanderpump Rules” reunion was filled with tears, expletive-filled insults and a shocking bombshell that came in the last five minutes of Wednesday night’s episode.

 reunion was filled with tears, expletive-filled insults and a shocking bombshell that came in the last five minutes of Wednesday night's episode.If you missed the show, ET has got you covered with every word from the explosive last moments of the  reunion, which saw Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss reveal the timeline of their months-long affair, confirming suspicions that Sandoval had been cheating on longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix for much longer than both he and Leviss initially admitted to.News of «Scandoval» first broke in March, but this major revelation shows that the drama is far from over.  Six days later, Raquel sat down for her final interview of the season.Producer You ready? Are you OK? You seem like you're in a lot of pain. YeahProducer:Why?I think it's important to me to tell the truth. I think that I've been lying and being so deceitful this entire time that I don't want to lie anymore.

The day that SAG-AFTRA began its talks with Hollywood studios over its own film and TV contract with a strike authorization in hand, picketing Writers Guild members on Wednesday hit up Disney and Warner Bros in Burbank.

The King arrived in Romania last week for a private visit and a break from official engagements almost a month after his Coronation took place.The monarch is regular visitor to the country and is incredibly popular with the locals. As well as enjoying a strong relationship, he has a number of unique properties in the country’s Transylvanian region. His Majesty on holiday alone as Queen Camilla is thought to be enjoying some downtime at her home in Wiltshire.

Taken aback! Lala Kent was thrown by Sunny Hostin’s quip about Raquel Leviss on The View.

Jason Sudeikis holds on to his sign as he joins the WGA Strike in Los Angeles on Monday (June 5).

Apple may have entered the virtual reality arena earlier today with the unveiling of a new platform and headset, launched with the help of Disney boss Bob Iger, but in the real world it spent the day being targeted by writers.

WGA negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser issued a clarion call to members and supporters earlier today.