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Monday, March 28, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Actor Will Smith Slugs Chris Rock At Oscars


Last night's Oscars ceremony was overshadowed by a shocking moment when Best Actor nominee Will Smith walked onstage from his front row seat and smacked Chris Rock across the face. 

Rock, who had come out to present the best documentary award, made a few jokes about people in the audience. Among them was Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, with Rock making a G.I. Jane joke because of her very closely cropped hair. Pinkett-Smith has spoken publicly about having alopecia, which causes hair loss. 


Smith walked onstage and smacked Rock, and then returned to his seat, twice shouting, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!" Smith then was back onstage moments later when he won Best Actor for King Richard, and tearfully apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees -- but not Rock -- while also seeming to justify what he'd done. 


Referring to Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams who he played in King Richard, Smith said, "Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family," and stated, "Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But, love will make you do crazy things." He also said, "I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people."

Chris Rock Won't Press Charges: Meanwhile, according to The LAPD, Chris Rock has “declined to file a police report” for the incident. According to Variety, the LAPD said in a statement, “LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”

🥇CODA AND DUNE WIN BIG AT THE OSCARS, WILL SMITH AND CHRIS ROCK GET CENSORED: The 94th Academy Awards, Hollywood’s big night returned on Sunday night (3-27).

CODA, won all three of its nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor, which went to Troy Kotsur.

Out of ten nods, Dune took home six Oscars, including Best Cinematography, Visual Effects and Best Production Design. Jane Campion won Best Director for Power of The Dog.

There were plenty of funny moments and jabs to the audience by hosts Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes who seamlessly steered the evening.

Chris Rock will be remembered for taking a joke too far about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett. While Chris Rock was still talking, Will walked up to the stage and pretended to hit him. At first it seemed scripted, until he sat back down and the show was muted while he seemed to cuss at Chris Rock from his seat.

Later, during Will Smith’s acceptance speech for Best Actor, he acknowledged what happened. He talked about how his character in King Richard protected women. And in tears, he said, “I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and concern.” He then apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees.

Jessica Chastain won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

There were several highlights including a salute to the 50th anniversary of The God Father. Francis Ford Coppola made a speech with Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro at his side. There were also mentions of, and some wore blue ribbons in support of Ukraine throughout the evening.

Billie Eilish with her brother Finneas won Best Song for “No Time To Die.” They also performed along with other nominees Beyoncé, Reba McEntire, and Sebastián Yatra.

Keeping in-step with shows in the past… the even ran 3 and a half hours long.

WINNERS
  • Best Picture CODA
  • Actor in a Leading Role Will Smith, King Richard
  • Actress in a Leading Role Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
  • Animated Feature Film Encanto
  • Cinematography Dune, Greig Fraser
  • Directing Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
  • Original Song "No Time To Die" from No Time to Die, music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell
➤ZELENSKYY ACCUSES WEST OF COWARDICE AS CONTINUES TO PLEAD FOR FIGHTER JETS, TANKS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again pleaded Sunday for the West to send fighter jets and tanks to help in the fight against the invading Russians, and accused Western nations of cowardice for not having sent them after more than a month of war. Zelenskyy said, "I've talked to the defenders of Mariupol today," speaking about the Ukrainian city that's suffered among the worst, if not the worst, bombardment from Russian forces, adding, "If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had one percent of their courage." He also accused the West of being, quote, "afraid to prevent this tragedy. Afraid to simply make a decision." While the U.S. and Western nations have provided missiles and other military equipment to Ukraine, there's been opposition to sending the fighter jets and tanks Zelenskyy keeps asking for over, as well as refusal to enforce a no-fly zone, over NATO's concerns about being drawn into direct fighting with Russia.


Meanwhile, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, accused Russia of wanting to split Ukraine in two, comparing it to North and South Korea. His statment came as Russia, which has been stymied by Ukrainian forces from its earlier goal of more widely conquering Ukraine and quickly taking the capital Kyiv, has shifted its main focus to take control of the Donbas region in the eastern part of the country, which has been partially controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014. A high-ranking Russian military official said Friday that troops were being redirected to the east from other parts of Ukraine. Russia has been demanding in talks with Ukraine that it acknowledge the independence of Donetsk and the other eastern separatist region of Luhansk.

➤ISIS CLAIMS ATTACK THAT KILLED TWO ISRAELI POLICE OFFICERS: The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed an attack in which two Israeli police officers were shot and killed in the Israeli city of Hadera late Sunday. The two gunmen, who were Israeli Arabs that Israeli intelligence said were local ISIS operatives, were killed by nearby counterterrorism officers. The attack took place as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Egypt's top diplomat, and Arab diplomats from three Arab states that recently normalized ties with Israel were meeting with Israeli officials in the Jewish state for an unprecedented regional meeting.

➤SECOND BLACK BOX FOUND FROM CHINESE PLANE CRASH: The second black box from the China Eastern flight that crashed last week was found on Sunday on a mountain slope about 130 feet from the point of impact. Searchers had been looking for the flight data recorder after finding the cockpit voice recorder four days earlier. The Boeing 737-800 jet suddenly nosedived more than an hour into its flight last Monday and crashed into a remote mountainous area in southern China, killing all 132 people on board.
 

⛽AVERAGE GAS PRICE FALLS AFTER NINE WEEKS OF INCREASES: It's not a lot, but the average U.S. price of a gallon of gas did fall over the last two weeks, dropping by six cents to $4.37 per gallon. That decline comes after nine straight weeks of price increases totaling 98 cents, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday. The highest average price nationwide is $5.99 per gallon in Los Angeles, and the lowest average price in $3.70 per gallon in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The average price is $1.42 higher than it was one year ago.

➤REP. FORTENBERRY TO RESIGN AFTER CONVICTION: Rep. Jeff Fortenberry announced in a letter to supporters Saturday (March 26th) that he will resign from office after being convicted last week of lying to federal officials about an illegal $30,000 campaign contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 fundraiser. The Nebraska Republican said his resignation will be effective on March 31st. Fortenberry had been under pressure to resign, including from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said Friday, "I think he had his day in court. I think if he wants to appeal, he can go do that as a private citizen. But I think when someone's convicted, it's time to resign." A special election will be called to fill his seat.

🎢DOLLYWOOD CLOSES TOWER RIDE AFTER TRAGEDY IN ORLANDO: Tennessee theme park Dollywood is temporarily closing its 20-story drop tower ride after a 14-year-old boy fell to his death last Thursday from a similar ride called OrlandoFreeFall at Florida's ICON Park. Dollywood's ride, Drop Line, was developed by the same manufacturer as the Orlando ride. The park's public relations director said, "Although Dollywood does not have the specific ride involved in this tragic incident, the safety of our guests is our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution, and until further details about the accident at ICON Park are known, we have temporarily closed Drop Line."

➤JANUARY 6TH HOUSE COMMITTEE MOVING FORWARD WITH CONTEMPT CHARGES AGAINST NAVARRO, SCAVINO: The House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol is moving forward with contempt charges against former Donald Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino for their refusal to comply with subpoenas. A committee report released last night said Navarro, who was then-President Trump’s trade adviser, and Scavino, a White House communications aide under Trump, have been uncooperative for months. The panel will meet tonight to discuss whether to hold the two in contempt of Congress, a move that's likely to be approved. A recommendation of criminal charges would then go to the full House, and if approved there would go to the Justice Department, which has final say on prosecution.


🏀ST. PETER'S FALLS TO NORTH CAROLINA, KANSAS TOPS MIAMI IN ELITE EIGHT: Saint Peter's Cinderella run finally came to an end Sunday when the Number 15 team fell to Number 8 North Carolina 69-49 in their Elite Eight game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. North Carolina, which made its record 21st Final Four, will play archrival Duke, led by and its retiring coach and legend Mike Krzyzewski. In yesterday's other Elite Eight game, Number 1 Kansas downed Number 10 Miami 76-50. Kansas will play Villanova in the Final Four, but Villanova will be playing without star Justin Moore. Villanova announced yesterday that Moore tore his right Achilles tendon in their Elite Eight win Saturday over Houston.

🏀STANFORD, SOUTH CAROLINA WIN IN WOMEN'S ELITE EIGHT: Number 1 teams Stanford and South Carolina both won their Elite Eight games in the NCAA women's basketball tournament Sunday (March 27th). South Carolina defeated Number 10 Creighton 80-50, and defending champion Stanford topped Texas 59-50. The two other Elite Eight games are today, with Number 1 NC State playing Number 2 UConn, and Number 1 Louisville facing off against Number 3 Michigan.

⚾PUJOLS REPORTEDLY SIGNING ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH CARDINALS: Albert Pujols is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals, agreeing last night to a one-year, $2.5 million deal, according to reports. The 42-year-old future Hall of Famer will have a part-time role, according to ESPN, in which he'll start at designated hitter against lefty pitchers, and otherwise be a late-game pinch-hitter. Pujols was with the Cardinals for his first 11 major league seasons, winning three National League MVP awards and two World Series, while appearing in nine All-Star Games.

🏌SCHEFFLER WINS MATCH PLAY AND BECOMES NEW NUMBER 1 MEN'S GOLFER: American Scottie Scheffler won the Dell Technologies Match Play on Sunday and also became the new men's Number 1-ranked golfer in the world. The 25-year-old beat out Kevin Kisner with a 4-and-3 victory for the Match Play win at Austin Country Club. He took the top world ranking from Jon Rahm, who'd held it since the British Open, becomign the sixth-youngest player to reach Number 1 since the world ranking began in 1986.

🏒PENGUINS TOP RED WINGS 11-2 IN FIRST 11-GOAL GAME IN NEARLY 30 YEARS: The Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Detroit Red Wings 11-2 last night in the franchise's first 11-goal game in nearly 30 years, since November 1993. Pittsburgh's scoring included a hat trick by Evgeni Malkin. For the reeling Red Wings, it was their ninth loss in 11 games.



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