Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson, and this is five things you need to know Friday, the 14th of July, 2023.

Today, Hollywood shuts down, plus what a diverse Republican presidential field means ahead of 2024,

and a severe heat wave continues across the country.

Hollywood actors have voted to strike.

They join already striking writers in a move that shuts down the production of countless movies and TV shows.

Screen actors Guild President Fran Drescher said yesterday that they had no choice.

We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.

I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us.

Hollywood writers have been on strikes since May 2nd, holding out for better payment contracts amid other terms.

Actors are also looking for better pay deals, especially from streaming services like Netflix.

The strike caps a month of tense negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the major studios.

On June 28th, an open letter from more than 1,000 SAG members, including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, and other big stars,

expressed the membership's willingness to strike if they were not able to meet all demands in a new contract.

The combined writers and actors strike means the immediate shutdown of any movie or TV show currently in production

and includes promotional appearances like red carpet walks.

You can learn more by going back and listening to our Sunday episode last week.

We have a link in today's show notes.

US climate envoy John Kerry testified yesterday before the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on oversight and accountability.

There he defended his office's agenda on climate change.

And so this warming is now totally documented. Everybody knows it's happening.

So you sort of got a simple choice here.

You either stop making those emissions or you can do something with them that's useful and doesn't harm things.

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