LOS ANGELES

Actors union panel votes to back strike

The Screen Actors Guild's negotiating committee voted Wednesday to support a strike authorization vote, a tactic meant to break stalled contract talks with Hollywood studios.

The recommendation, approved 11-2, now goes to the guild's national board for review, and would ultimately need approval of 75 percent of the some 120,000 voting guild members.

"My personal opinion is, yes, we will achieve a strike authorization," said Anne Marie Johnson, a spokeswoman for Membership First, a faction of actors that had controlled SAG's national board until elections Sept. 18 narrowly eliminated its majority.

CASTAIC

75 acres charred by fire near Tejon Pass

A wildfire burned about 75 acres of heavy brush Wednesday afternoon in the Angeles National Forest near Interstate 5. No homes were threatened.

The fire was knocked down by nightfall, and officials expected full containment by midnight, said Forest Service fire spokesman Robert Brady.

About 180 personnel, 10 engines, five helicopters and a water-dropping aircraft were dispatched to the blaze south of Tejon Pass, and were building the fireline and stomping out sparks and embers, Brady said.

The blaze started near a freeway turnout on the interstate, and was fed by dry, dense brush and temperatures in the high 90s, officials said.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the fire.

LOS ANGELES

Man admits igniting Corral Canyon blaze

One of five men accused of starting last year's wildfire in Malibu's Corral Canyon has admitted that he and his friends accidentally ignited the blaze that burned 53 homes.

Brian Franks changed his plea to no contest Wednesday, after pleading not guilty in December to a felony charge of recklessly causing the fire.

The 27-year-old says he and his friends rekindled an abandoned campfire on a windy night in November, possibly after someone threw a burning pillow.

As part of his plea deal, Franks agreed to testify against the other defendants.

Prosecutors say they plan to seek five years of probation and 300 hours of community service for Franks when he is sentenced Nov. 3.

SANTA ANA

Grand jury indicts former candidate

A federal grand jury indicted a former California congressional candidate on an obstruction-of-justice charge Wednesday after a probe into a letter his campaign sent to Latino voters.

Tan Nguyen, who unsuccessfully ran for Orange County's 47th District in 2006, was indicted for allegedly misleading state investigators looking into the campaign mailer.

Nguyen's campaign mailed 14,000 letters to Latinos before the election saying they could be deported for voting if they were illegally in the country or were an immigrant.

Nguyen's attorney, James Riddet, said his client would plead not guilty.

"He looks forward to a trial where he expects to be fully exonerated," Riddet said.

— From wire reports