Screenwriters rally; DeGeneres rebuked

Thousands of striking Hollywood screenwriters rallied outside 20th Century Fox on Friday as pressure mounted on both sides to resume contract talks.

With the walkout in its fifth day, tensions also rose for Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres, whose talk shows became the latest battlegrounds of a labor confrontation over how screenwriters get paid for work on the Internet.

DeGeneres drew a rebuke from the East Coast wing of the Writers Guild of America for returning to work on her show after honoring picket lines the first day of the strike.

Meanwhile, NBC said producers of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" were bringing that program back on the air, possibly with guest hosts, if Leno refuses to cross the picket line. The same was true, a network spokeswoman said, for NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "Last Call with Carson Daly." The nonwriting workers on the three shows have been informed they face layoffs at the end of next week unless those shows return, NBC said.

New York

Strike to stop most Broadway shows

Stagehands will go on strike today, a move expected to darken most of the plays and musicals on Broadway, a source close to contract negotiations said late Friday.

The union, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the League of American Theatres and Producers held two days of unproductive meetings Wednesday and Thursday.

Most Broadway theaters were expected to go dark except for such nonprofits as the Roundabout Theatre Company, and several non-League theaters housing such shows as "Young Frankenstein" and "Xanadu."

Trenton, N.J.

House losing 2 more Republicans

A 12-term Republican member of Congress said Friday he won't run for re-election, and officials in Wyoming expect a similar announcement today from a seven-term GOP congresswoman.

Rep. Jim Saxton of New Jersey is the 14th House Republican to say he will retire since the GOP lost its majority in the 2006 elections. Rep. Barbara Cubin, 60, of Wyoming could be the 15th.

Three House Democrats said they won't seek re-election.

Saxton, 64, said he wasn't running because of health reasons. Cubin planned to announce today that she will not run for re-election, two Republican officials said.

Also

Not-guilty plea: Bernard Kerik, 52, the protégé of Rudy Giuliani who once led the New York City Police Department, pleaded not guilty Friday to a 16-count federal indictment charging him with "selling his office" and lying to cover up the scheme.

Wallace shooter free: Arthur Bremer, 57, who shot and paralyzed Alabama Gov. George Wallace in 1972, walked quietly out of prison Friday after serving 35 years of his 53-year sentence.

Mukasey sworn in: Michael Mukasey, 66, was sworn in Friday as the nation's 81st attorney general at a private Justice Department ceremony, filling the vacancy left when Alberto Gonzales resigned.

Seattle Times news services