The Los Angeles Unified School District and union leaders say they have reached a deal on a new contract for workers after a strike that shut down the nation’s second-largest school system for three days. The agreement includes a pay raise for workers such as bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, special education assistants and other support staff. Union leaders from Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union say that will raise the average pay for those workers significantly. The deal must still be voted on by the full union. The roughly 30,000 workers represented by the union walked off the job from Tuesday to Thursday amid stalled contract talks. Classes resumed Friday.

A three-day strike by workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District has wrapped up. But it wasn't immediately clear Thursday if any progress has been made in negotiations for higher pay for teachers’ aides, bus drivers, custodians and other support staff in the nation’s second-largest school system. Teachers joined the picket lines in solidarity, shutting down instruction for the district’s half-million students during the walkout by members of Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 of the lowest-paid school workers. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stepped in as mediator on Wednesday.

The Biden administration is stressing to China unofficial stopovers to the U.S. by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen should not be used as pretext by Beijing to increase aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait. Recently, senior U.S. officials in Washington and Beijing have underscored to their Chinese counterparts transit visits through the U.S. during broader international travel by Tsai has been routine. Beijing sees American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent. Taiwan's government said Tuesday that Tsai plans to stop in New York and Los Angeles. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the planned stopovers are “business as usual” and consistent with longstanding U.S. policy.

Willem Dafoe has said that, for him, the process of making a movie always eclipses the finished product. But after more than 130 film credits, the 67-year-old actor has finally found a project whose final form is on par with the experience of creating it. “Inside” follows an art thief named Nemo who gets trapped inside a collector’s apartment during a botched heist. More than just a psychological thriller, “Inside” considers the ways in which art rescues humans from an isolated existence – a way out from being trapped inside of ourselves. “Inside” hits theaters March 17.

Tens of thousands of workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District will strike for three days next week over stalled contract talks and teachers will join them, likely shutting down the nation’s second-largest school system. The strike will begin Tuesday. It was announced Wednesday at a rally by leaders of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 teachers’ aides, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other support staff. The union representing 35,000 teachers, counselors and other staff says teachers will join support staffers on the picket lines has advised its members to honor picket lines. The district says that probably will force it to close the schools for safety reasons.

A sharp drop in illegal border crossings that started in January after the Biden administration announced stricter immigration measures continued in February. Data released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection paints a picture of who is attempting to enter the country at a time of intense political controversy over immigration. Republicans are accusing President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of not doing enough to secure the southern border. U.S. Border Patrol officials encountered nearly 130,000 people trying to cross the border in February between the legal border crossings. That’s about the same as January’s number, and the agency says it's the lowest number of encounters per month since February 2021.

The Senate has confirmed former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as the next ambassador to India, more than a year and a half after he was initially selected for the post. Garcetti secured the 52-42 confirmation Wednesday despite a break in support among his fellow Democrats. He was able to win over a handful of Republicans. The vacancy in the India ambassadorship has been a major diplomatic gap for the Biden administration at a time of rising global tensions. President Joe Biden first nominated Garcetti for the post in July 2021. The vote came amid continuing fallout from a sexual harassment scandal involving a former top adviser at Los Angeles City Hall.

Authorities say at least eight people were killed when two migrant smuggling boats overturned off the coast of San Diego. It is one of the deadliest maritime smuggling events off U.S. shores. Authorities say a Spanish-speaking woman on one of the panga-style boats called 911 late Saturday off the treacherous waters off Black’s Beach. The surf was modest but rip currents were fierce and it was foggy and dark. Crews pulled the bodies of eight adults from the water. No other bodies were accounted for. Authorities say the remaining passengers may have escaped on land.

The metaphysical multiverse comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” wrapped its hot dog fingers around Hollywood’s top prize Sunday, winning best picture at the 95th Academy Awards, along with awards for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. The film won seven Oscars in all. Yeoh the first Asian woman to win best actress. Brendan Fraser won best actor. The German-language WWI epic “All Quiet on the Western Front” also took four awards as the academy heaped honors on the craft of the harrowing anti-war film.  Only two other films in Oscar history — “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Network” — have won three acting Academy Awards.

The 95th Academy Awards are here. With the ceremony well underway, here's what you can expect from the Oscars Sunday night. Three-time host Jimmy Kimmel will certainly mention The Slap in his opening monologue. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “All Quiet On the Western Front” are having a big night. The biggest prize is still yet to come. The telecast airs live on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific. Through it all, from the decidedly not red carpet to the show, The Associated Press will keep you updated.

Hollywood is gearing up for the 95th Academy Awards, where “Everything Everywhere All at Once” comes in as the lead nominee and the film industry will hope to move past “the slap” of last year’s ceremony. Here's a few key details to know about the upcoming ceremony. The Oscars will be held Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony is set to begin at 8 p.m. EDT and be broadcast live on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel will host for the third time and his first time since 2018. Don't expect to see Will Smith, who was banned from the show for 10 years.

A sharp drop in illegal border crossings since December may be blunting a Republican point of attack against President Joe Biden as the Democratic leader moves to reshape a broken asylum system that has dogged him and his predecessors. A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates that voters support adjusting the number of immigrants and asylum-seekers allowed into the country. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say the level of immigration and asylum-seekers should be lowered, while about 2 in 10 say they should be higher. About a third want the numbers to remain the same.