Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022 

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov says that Russia will only use its nuclear weapons if the country faces an “existential threat” amid growing concerns that Russia will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. (Reuters) 

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov says that the ongoing ceasefire talks should be “more active and substantial”. (The Moscow Times) 

Danish shipping company Maersk announces its complete withdrawal from the Russian economy and says that it will sell off all of its Russian assets. (Trans.info) 

LG Electronics suspends all shipments to Russia and says that the company “remains committed to supporting humanitarian relief efforts”. (UPI) 

French oil and gas company TotalEnergies announces that it will no longer buy Russian oil by the end of the year and will also terminate additional investments in Russia. (The New York Times) 

Russian President Vladimir Putin orders countries it deems “unfriendly” (mostly European) to pay for its deliveries of natural gas in rubles. (Bloomberg) 

The Moscow Stock Exchange will reopen in limited capacity on March 24, ending the almost month-long shutdown of its activities. (Bloomberg) 

Four people are injured by a series of Russian strikes on infrastructure in Kyiv. (Euronews) 

Anatoly Chubais, the special envoy of the Kremlin for ties with international organisations, resigns from his post and leaves Russia. (Reuters) 

Russia pushes to take Mariupol as civilians flee Ukrainian city Russia on Tuesday escalated its assault on Mariupol, a key port in eastern Ukraine, as Ukrainian forces fought to hold the city street by street. Russia bombarded the city with airstrikes and artillery, leveling entire neighborhoods as desperate civilians tried to flee. “Everything fell apart,” said Natalia Poluiko after arriving with her 8-year-old daughter in Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeastern Ukraine where hundreds of people arrive from Mariupol daily. “We had a choice to wait there until a bomb fell on our building, or risk trying to get out.” Russian forces are intensifying their bombing by air and sea in an attempt to build momentum in other parts of Ukraine, where their invasion has stalled. The United States and other nations are worried that Russia’s failure to advance will make it more likely to use unconventional weapons. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Russian Navy warships in the Sea of Azov shell Ukrainian-held areas of Mariupol. (ABP Live) 

Ukrainian forces say that they have retaken Makariv, a suburb near Kyiv. (BBC News) 

A laboratory near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is looted and destroyed by Russian soldiers. (CNN) 

Russian court sentences Putin critic Alexei Navalny to 9 more years in prison A Russian court on Tuesday convicted Alexei Navalny, a leading critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, of fraud and contempt of court. The court sentenced Navalny, who survived a 2020 nerve-agent poisoning he blamed on the Russian government, to nine more years in prison. His lawyers were briefly detained after the hearing, The Washington Post reported, citing Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. The hearing took place in a penal colony 70 miles east of Moscow where Navalny is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for violating his parole in a previous case when he went to Germany for medical treatment after his poisoning. The fraud allegation involved alleged misuse of donations to his anti-corruption foundation, a charge Navalny’s team said the Kremlin fabricated to silence him. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Australia announces the creation of the Defence Space command, saying it is designed to counter Russia and China’s ambitions in outer space. The new agency’s servicemembers will come from the army, navy, air force, and will also include private contractors. (BBC News) 

 Tesla opens its 1st European assembly plant in Berlin Tesla on Tuesday opened its first European assembly plant on the outskirts of Berlin. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was accompanied by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the ceremony. Musk danced as the electric-car maker made its first Model Y sedans deliveries at the factory. He later tweeted, “Danke Deutschland,” thanking Germany as he launched a direct challenge to the country’s automakers in their home territory. Tesla said the so-called Gigafactory would produce 500,000 vehicles per year once it is operating at full capacity. The facility aims to employ 12,000 people. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the new factory was a sign that EVs could replace gasoline-powered vehicles to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CNN

Poland expels 45 staff workers of the Russian embassy in Warsaw for “spying activities”. (Rzeczpospolita) 

Belarus expels most of the Ukrainian diplomats, accusing Kyiv of interfering in Belarus’s domestic affairs. Only 5 diplomats out of 20+ staff will stay in Minsk; Belarus additionally orders a closure of the consulate of Ukraine in Brest. (AFP via The Straits Times) 

Nestlé announces it will halt sales of non-essential items in Russia, suspend any capital investments and stop advertising of its products after it was pressured to boycott Russia. (Reuters) 

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is convicted of fraud and sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court, which claims that Navalny stole millions in donations from his supporters. (Sky News) 

Federal officials say they lack funds to buy 4th vaccine dose for all  Biden administration officials say they lack the money needed to buy a fourth coronavirus vaccine dose for all Americans. “Right now, we don’t have enough money for fourth doses, if they’re called for,” White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said on a forthcoming episode of the podcast “In The Bubble With Andy Slavitt” that was recorded Monday and shared with The Washington Post. “We don’t have the funding, if we were to need a variant-specific vaccine in the future.” The Post said administration officials said they had enough doses for a fourth shot for everyone 65 and older, as well as the initial two-shot regimen for children under age 5. Covering everyone with a fourth dose would require a $15 billion funding package stalled in Congress. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Capitol riot suspect Evan Neumann has been granted asylum in Belarus “indefinitely”. He claimed he faced “political persecution” in the United States. (BBC News) 

House Sergeant at Arms William J. Walker and Capitol physician Brian P. Monahan announces a phased reopening of the United States Capitol beginning next week after being closed for 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Hill) 

The Israel Border Police arrests 17 Palestinians which it suspects of taking part in riots last month. (Times of Israel) 

Judge finds Cowboys for Trump co-founder guilty in Jan. 6 trial  A judge on Tuesday found Couy Griffin, a Cowboys for Trump co-founder and Otero County, New Mexico, commissioner, guilty of misdemeanor trespassing on federal grounds during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters. Griffin was arrested on Jan. 18, 2021, and accused of knowingly entering restricted areas without lawful authority. He also was accused of disorderly and disruptive conduct during the riot by Trump supporters hoping to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 election. Judge Trevor McFadden found Griffin not guilty on the disruption charge. He was released on his own recognizance pending sentencing on June 17. CNN 

Canada’s Trudeau strikes deal keeping him in power until 2025 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that he had reached a coalition deal with the country’s left-leaning New Democrats that will keep him and his Liberal minority government in power until 2025. “I’ve thought long and hard about this,” Trudeau said. “It was not an easy decision. With so much instability around us, Canadians need stability.” The agreement calls for the New Democrats to vote with Trudeau’s bloc on issues where they share policy goals, including climate, housing, and health care. The center-left Liberals will have to find support from other parties to pass legislation on defense and other issues where they differ with the New Democrats. POLITICO 

Somali security forces repel an ambush by al-Shabaab jihadists on Mogadishu International Airport. Two terrorists are killed and three police officers are injured. All domestic and international flights are suspended. (Toronto Star) 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tests positive for COVID-19 for the second time. (AP) 

Jen Psaki tests positive for COVID-19 White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday she tested positive for COVID-19 and would not accompany President Biden as he heads to Europe on Wednesday. Psaki said she and Biden participated in two “socially distanced” meetings on Monday. Biden tested negative for COVID-19 in a Tuesday PCR test. Psaki was tested to prepare for the Europe trip, which will include discussions with allies about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Psaki said she had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and was experiencing mild symptoms. Psaki, who tested positive for the coronavirus in late October, is working from home in accordance with White House virus protocols. CNBC 

MacKenzie Scott donates $436 million to Habitat for Humanity MacKenzie Scott has donated $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International and its 84 affiliates, the organization said Tuesday. “We could not be more excited to get the gift at a time when, in some ways, the state of housing affordability is the worst that it has been in modern times,” said Jonathan Reckford, Habitat for Humanity International’s CEO. The gift was Scott’s largest publicly disclosed donation yet. She pledged in 2019 to give away most of her fortune after her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. When she made the pledge, her 4 percent of Amazon shares was worth $36 billion. Since then, Scott has given away $8.8 billion, but the stock has soared and her fortune has grown to nearly $50 billion. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

No. 1 Ashleigh Barty retires from tennis at 25 Ashleigh Barty, who spent more than two straight years at No. 1 in the women’s tennis rankings, announced her retirement Wednesday at age 25. The Australian athlete, who won the Australian Open title two months ago, said she was grateful for everything tennis has given her but it was time to “chase other dreams.” “I just know at the moment … this is right,” Barty said in a six-minute video posted on Instagram. “I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want, and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top level anymore,” Barty, who won three Grand Slam titles, added during an informal interview with her former doubles partner, Casey Dellacqua. “I am spent.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

BuzzFeed News top editors resign ahead of staff cuts BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Mark Schoofs announced in a staff email Tuesday that he would step down. The departure of Schoofs and two other top editors came as the newsroom braced for staff cuts as Buzzfeed, which has subsidized its news division for years, moves to make it profitable. “That will require BuzzFeed News to once again shrink in size,” Schoofs said. He said the company would try to use voluntary buyouts rather than layoffs to reduce the staff, with buyout offers going out to employees on the investigations, science, politics, and inequality desks. BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti said in a separate email to staff that the news division would have to “prioritize the areas of coverage our audience connects with the most.” THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Disney workers protest company’s position on ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill A small percentage of Disney employees staged a walkout Tuesday to protest the entertainment giant’s response to Florida’s recently passed Parental Rights in Education law, which critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Many employees protested at Disney headquarters in Burbank, California, and pockets of workers participated at other locations, including near Orlando’s Walt Disney World and Walt Disney Animation Studios in California. The bill, which is awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature, bars teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade. The protesters criticized Disney for not speaking out against the bill before state lawmakers passed it. The company said it had decided it would be more effective lobbying against it behind the scenes. CNN 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres says that there is diplomatic progress on several key issues in the situation in Ukraine in an effort to end the “unwinnable” war. (TASS) 

Four people are killed and two others are injured during a vehicle-ramming and mass stabbing attack in Beersheba, Southern Israel. The attacker, an Islamic State supporter, was shot dead by a bus driver. (Haaretz) 

Five Ancient Egyptian tombs are discovered in Egypt. (Jerusalem Post) 

Kylie Jenner’s son is no longer named Wolf Kylie Jenner is the girl who cried “Wolf.” Jenner and Travis Scott welcomed their second child together in early February, and the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star later revealed his name: Wolf Webster. But they apparently had some second thoughts, as Jenner has now announced they changed the baby’s name. “Our son’s name isn’t Wolf anymore,” Jenner wrote on Instagram. “We just really didn’t feel like it was him. Just wanted to share because I keep seeing Wolf everywhere.” Last month, People reported the couple “picked a name together” but didn’t make it public at first because Jenner wanted to “make sure she loves the name” before announcing it. Well, so much for that! Jenner didn’t reveal what her son’s new name is, presumably not wanting to make the same mistake and leaving open the possibility it could get tweaked three or four more times before kindergarten.  TMZ 

Amanda Bynes officially freed from her conservatorship Bring in the dancing lobsters. A judge on Tuesday officially ended Amanda Bynes’ conservatorship after nearly a decade, saying it’s “no longer required.” Bynes, who has said she is bipolar, was placed under a conservatorship in 2013 after she started a fire in a neighbor’s driveway. But last month, she filed to end the conservatorship, arguing it’s no longer necessary. A judge has now agreed. Bynes “provided facts that the conservatorship is no longer needed,” the judge said. In contrast to the Britney Spears case, Bynes immediately received full support from her parents. After the judge’s ruling, Bynes told People she’s been “working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently” and will “continue to prioritize my well-being in this next chapter.” She also thanked her parents “for their support” and fans for their “love and well wishes,” adding, “I am excited about my upcoming endeavors.” Might it finally be time for a long-awaited reboot of Moody’s Point?  TMZ 

Nicolas Cage bought a two-headed snake for $80,000 Owning a two-headed snake was too much even for Nicolas Cage. In a new GQ profile, the actor chatted about his career, embracing being a meme, and … dropping tens of thousands of dollars on a two-headed snake. “I was having dreams about two-headed eagles,” Cage said. “And then the next day, somebody calls me and says, ‘Oh, I have a two-headed snake you might be interested in buying.’ And I’m dreaming about two-headed eagles. And it costs like 80 grand. I said, ‘I’ll do it. Here, I’ll take it.’” But Cage got more than he bargained for and eventually had to give the snake to a zoo, as needing to “put a spatula between the two heads” to give “them two different mice and let them eat separately” became “too much for me to handle.” The rest of the interview includes Cage discussing becoming a living meme, partially due to insane anecdotes like this. But he said he wanted to refute the “misconception that I’m crazy.”  GQ 

Tuesday,  March 22nd, 2022 

Ketanji Brown Jackson pledges to rule ‘without fear or favor’ on Supreme Court  Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson told senators on the first day of her historic confirmation hearings Monday that she takes “very seriously” her “duty to be independent” as a judge. “I evaluate the facts and I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me without fear or favor,” Jackson said, “consistent with my judicial oath.” She faces her first round of questions Tuesday. The Senate confirmed Jackson last year to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, she will be the first Black woman to serve on the high court and the first justice with experience as a public defender. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Russia steps up strikes against Ukraine cities Russian forces escalated strikes against Ukrainian cities on Monday, with one attack leaving a once-busy Kyiv shopping mall in ruins. Residents in the besieged southern city of Mariupol endured a fresh wave of airstrikes after Ukrainian authorities rebuffed Russia’s ultimatum for them to surrender the strategically important port city. “A neighbor said that God left Mariupol,” said Nadezhda Sukhorukova after escaping. “My city is dying a painful death.” President Biden heads to Europe this week to discuss the Ukraine war with U.S. allies. Russia’s foreign ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, John Sullivan, to warn that Biden’s recent remarks calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “murderous dictator” were pushing “Russian-American relations on the verge of breaking.” THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Russian soldiers disperse Ukrainian protesters with stun grenades Russian troops on Monday used stun grenades and warning shots to disperse Ukrainians demonstrating against Russia’s invasion in the southern city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said. “Russian security forces ran up, started throwing stun grenades into the crowd and shooting,” the Ukrainian armed forces press service said. Video footage showed several hundred protesters running away as projectiles landed around them in Kherson’s Freedom Square. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the protesters’ courage after they confronted Russian forces occupying their city. “There is no need to organize resistance,” Zelensky said. “Resistance for Ukrainians is part of their soul.” He said the war and commitment to defending the country has turned ordinary Ukrainians into heroes. THE ASSOCIATED PRESSREUTERS 

Biden urges CEOs to prepare for Russian cyberattacks President Biden on Monday told leaders of U.S. companies they had a “patriotic obligation” to invest in bolstering their defenses against cyberattacks that Russia could launch as it continues to face harsh sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Biden warned that the United States has “evolving intelligence” that “Russia may be planning a cyberattack against us. … The magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential, and it’s coming.” Biden told members of the Business Roundtable that federal assistance was available to companies if they needed it. He added that his administration was “doing its part” to prepare for such an attack. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Biden reportedly sending Ukraine old Soviet air-defense weapons After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the U.S. went on a secret buying spree to collect “a small number of Soviet missile defense systems so that they could be examined by U.S. intelligence experts and help with training American forces,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Now the U.S. is sending some of those air defense systems to Ukraine to help Ukrainian forces shoot down Russian fighter jets and missiles. Ukrainian soldiers already know how to operate old Soviet weapons systems. President Biden was authorized to give Ukraine and NATO allies the weapons systems from the secret Soviet stockpile under the annual spending bill he recently signed, and Congress has been notified about these transfers, the Journal reports, citing U.S. officials. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

96-year-old Holocaust survivor killed by Russian strike in Ukraine The Buchenwald concentration camp memorial institute confirmed Monday that 96-year-old Holocaust survivor Borys Romanchenko was killed Friday by a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The memorial said it was “stunned” by the death of Romanchenko, who survived the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald, Peenemünde, Dora, and Bergen-Belsen during World War II. It said he had worked “intensively on the memory of Nazi crimes and was vice-president of the Buchenwald-Dora International Committee.” Yulia Romanchenko, Borys’ granddaughter, told CNN that she asked locals for news of her grandfather’s house after learning through social networks about shelling in his neighborhood. “They sent me a video of a burning house.” CNN 

Search continues for victims, black boxes from China plane crash Thousands of firefighters and police continued to search Tuesday for victims and the flight recorders of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet that crashed in mountainous terrain in southern China on Monday. All 132 passengers and crew were feared dead. Debris was scattered across slopes that were charred by fire that erupted when the aircraft hit. The plane crashed near Wuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, state broadcaster CCTV reported. It was flying from Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan, to the port city of Guangzhou when it plunged from cruising altitude. “Accidents that start at cruise altitude are usually caused by weather, deliberate sabotage, or pilot error,” Dan Elwell, a former Federal Aviation Administration head, told Reuters. REUTERS 

Biden urges CEOs to prepare for Russian cyberattacks President Biden on Monday told leaders of U.S. companies they had a “patriotic obligation” to invest in bolstering their defenses against cyberattacks that Russia could launch as it continues to face harsh sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Biden warned that the United States has “evolving intelligence” that “Russia may be planning a cyberattack against us. … The magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential, and it’s coming.” Biden told members of the Business Roundtable that federal assistance was available to companies if they needed it. He added that his administration, which has faced Russian cyberattacks before, was “doing its part” to prepare for a fresh wave of such attacks. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Powell says Fed could accelerate rate hikes to fight inflation Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Monday that the central bank would speed up its interest-rate hikes if necessary to bring down high inflation, which has reached its highest pace in 40 years. “There is an obvious need to move expeditiously to return the stance of monetary policy to a more neutral level, and then to move to more restrictive levels if that is what is required to restore price stability,” Powell said to a conference of business economists. The Fed last week hiked rates for the first time since 2018. It raised them a quarter-point from near zero, where it has kept them since the start of the coronavirus pandemic sent the economy into a recession. The Fed also signaled at the end of last week’s two-day meeting that it would raise rates six more times this year. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Switzerland seizes vacation home of Russian oligarch Swiss authorities came under increasing pressure by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders of Poland over the last several days to do more to confiscate assets of people believed to be supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Authorities in long-neutral Switzerland reportedly have seized a luxury mountain home believed to belong to a Russian oligarch, Petr Aven, a close confidant of Putin’s and a big shareholder in a group that owns Alfa, Russia’s biggest private bank. The property is a three-bedroom apartment in a luxury golf resort in Bernese Oberland, a picturesque area surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Aven, 67, did not immediately comment, but he said last month that he would fight any European Union sanctions that Switzerland enforces. REUTERS 

Berkshire Hathaway agrees to buy insurer Alleghany for $11.6 billion Berkshire Hathaway announced Monday that it had agreed to buy insurer Alleghany Corp. for about $11.6 billion. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s conglomerate will pay $848.02 per share of Alleghany, a 16 percent premium on the company’s average stock price over the last 30 days and a 25.3 percent premium over its Friday closing price of $675.75. The deal will boost Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance arm, which includes Geico. It will be Buffett’s biggest purchase since 2016. Berkshire Hathaway made no large acquisitions in 2021, ending the year with $146.7 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term Treasury bills. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Alleghany will have a 25-day “go-shop” period to seek a better offer. CNBC 

Monday,  March 21st, 2022 

West Texas Intermediate $112 

A Russian airstrike destroys a shopping mall in Kyiv, killing at least eight people. (The Washington Post) 

Russia gives Ukraine a 5 a.m. (3 a.m. UTC) deadline to surrender the city of Mariupol. (The Guardian) 

Ukraine rejects the Russian ultimatum to surrender its control of Mariupol, with Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk saying “we have already informed the Russian side about this”. (BBC News) 

An ammonia leak occurs at the Sumykhimprom chemical plant in Sumy. (The Kyiv Independent) 

The Moscow Stock Exchange reopens for bond trading after being closed for almost a month following the invasion. (BBC News) 

Norway will provide financial support to students from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. (Schengen Visa) 

A China Eastern Boeing 737NG crashes near Wuzhou, Guangxi, China, killing all the 132 people on board. The plane descended more than 20,000 feet (6,100 m) in just over a minute. (CSB News) 

Ontario removes their mask mandate for most settings with the exception of public transportation, long-term care and retirement homes, congregate care and living facilities, homes for individuals with developmental disabilities, other healthcare settings, shelters, and jails. (Global News) 

New Orleans lifts their COVID-19 vaccine mandate for bars and restaurants. (NOLA.com) 

Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces that beginning next month, Hong Kong will lift its COVID-19 restrictions, and will also end its ban on flights from the U.S. and eight other countries. (NBC News) 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he will consider dropping Ukraine’s request to join NATO exchange for a ceasefire. (Axios) 

The United States formally recognizes the Rohingya genocide committed by the Myanmar Army. (Reuters) 

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei expresses his support for negotiations and efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. He also says that the Iranian economy should not be tied to efforts to ease U.S. sanctions against the country. (Reuters) 

Corsican nationalist leader Yvan Colonna dies several weeks after being assaulted in prison by another inmate. The attack resulted in riots on the French island, which injured dozens of people. (Digital Journal) 

The Royal Gibraltar Police seize a superyacht docked at the Port of Gibraltar, which is owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky. Pumpyansky is currently sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the European Union. (Reuters) 

The Liberal Party of Canada reaches a tentative confidence-and-supply agreement with the New Democratic Party (NDP) that would see the NDP prop up the minority Liberal government until 2025 in exchange for progress on longtime NDP policy priorities. (CTV News) 

A Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram for “extremism”. (The Moscow Times) 

The Roskomnadzor, the Russian media regulator, blocks Euronews. (Novaya Gazeta) 

Russian racewalker Elena Lashmanova is banned from the Olympics for two years and will be stripped of her gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics following doping allegations against her. (ESPN) 

Rachel Zegler wasn’t invited to the Oscars Here’s some oh-so-pretty baffling news about the Oscars. West Side Story star Rachel Zegler revealed over the weekend she’s “not invited” to Sunday’s Academy Awards, even though she stars in one of the movies nominated for Best Picture. “I will root for West Side Story from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did 3 years ago,” Zegler wrote on Instagram. “I hope some last minute miracle occurs and I can celebrate our film in person but hey, that’s how it goes sometimes, I guess.” It wasn’t clear what the holdup with getting her an invite is, and although the Oscars will be slightly scaled back due to the pandemic, there will still be about 2,500 people in the audience — and among those who do get to come are Travis Barker, Tony Hawk, and DJ Khaled. Sure, makes sense! But Variety points out that film studios are usually given a certain number of tickets to the Oscars that they hand out to stars, meaning it might be Disney that fans should be angry at. What else is new, right?  THE WEEKVARIETY 

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are buying a house with 17 bathrooms Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are buying a house that has a bathroom for every person who saw Gigli. After officially reviving Bennifer last year, Affleck and Lopez are dropping over $50 million on a 20,000 square foot estate in Los Angeles, and the home “has 10 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms,” TMZ reports. It also includes a theater, gym, a pool, and more — and apparently, the original list price was actually $65 million. Over the weekend, the couple spent time visiting the house with Lopez’s daughter, Emme, according to TMZ, which openly speculates this means Affleck and Lopez will probably be getting engaged — again — sometime soon. Either way, though, Affleck’s new home will definitely leave him plenty of room for those snails from Deep Water.  TMZTHE NEW YORK POST 

Ben Stiller will reportedly star in a stage version of ‘The Shining’ What is this, an Overlook Hotel for ants? A new stage adaptation of The Shining is in the works, and who might play the Jack Nicholson role? Heeereee’s … Ben Stiller? According to Deadline, Stiller is in talks to play Jack Torrance, which will reportedly be more of an adaptation of the original Stephen King novel than Stanley Kubrick’s iconic horror film. The play from Ivo van Hove is reportedly targeting a 2023 West End debut with rehearsals set to take place in the fall, and Deadline says “an eventual move to Broadway is expected.” Might this mean a remake of The Shining could one day happen with Stiller starring as Jack Torrance, except pretty much just playing him as Derek Zoolander with an ax? We can only hope.  VARIETY 

Julia Fox walks back statement that Kanye West is ‘harmless’ Julia Fox recently assured us all her ex-boyfriend Kanye West is harmless — but she’d now like to add a bit of a caveat. The Uncut Gems star defended West, whom she dated for less than two months, to TMZ as he faced heavy criticism for his disturbing Instagram posts. “Kanye’s harmless,” she said. “I just think that’s his artistic creative expression. I know it’s aggressive, but I think if it really came down to it, I don’t think Kanye would hurt a fly.” Days later, though, Fox walked this defense back, writing that she “had not seen the latest Instagram posts at the time,” as she’s clearly not a Daily Gossip subscriber. “Believe it or not I have a life and a son, and I don’t have google alerts for this man!” Fox said. This post including Fox’s clarification has since been deleted, though, so does that make this a walkback of her walkback?  PAGE SIX

Dolly Parton to star in a movie version of her new novel Moviegoers, get ready to say hello, Dolly. A movie based on Run, Rose, Run, the novel Parton co-wrote with James Patterson, is in the works, and Parton herself is set to star in it. Reese Witherspoon is producing the movie version of the thriller, which just hit bookstores earlier this month. “Dolly Parton is not only an icon to me, but a true inspiration to women and girls everywhere,” Witherspoon said. It’s Parton’s first big movie role in 10 years (unless you count Netflix’s Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square), and she recently told Entertainment Weekly she’d like to star in a Run, Rose, Run film. “I haven’t been in a movie in a long time, so it’s about time,” she said. “This will be very special.” We’ll have to see if the movie could be in consideration for Oscars, though Parton would probably just turn them down anyway.  DEADLINE 

Russia escalates Mariupol assault but Ukraine refuses to surrender city  Russian jets bombed an art school where about 400 Ukrainians were sheltering in the besieged eastern port city of Mariupol on Sunday. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said “no information” was immediately available on casualties or how many people were trapped in the rubble of Art School No. 12. The bombing came as Russian forces pushed into all of the city’s civilian neighborhoods, resulting in house-to-house warfare as Russia and Ukraine fought for control and Ukraine refused Russia’s call to surrender the city. The escalating battle for Mariupol came as Russia’s advance stalled in Kyiv and other cities. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu indicated that peace talks were progressing despite the ongoing assaults. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Zelensky appeals to Israel for more help fighting Russia Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday praised Israel for trying to broker peace with Russia but called for the government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to do more to help Ukraine defend itself against invading Russian forces. “It is possible to mediate between countries,” Zelensky said, “but not between good and evil.” Zelensky, who is Jewish, appealed to Jewish Israelis by invoking times when they were persecuted. Zelensky called for Israel to do more to help Ukraine, asking why Israel had not provided Ukraine with weapons like its Iron Dome anti-rocket missile defense system. Some Israeli lawmakers objected to Zelensky’s comparison of the plight of Ukrainians to that of Jews during the Holocaust. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

White House says Biden to visit Poland but not Ukraine The White House announced Sunday night that President Biden will travel to Warsaw, Poland, on Friday to meet Saturday with Polish President Andrzej Duda and discuss “the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created.” Poland is hosting thousands of U.S. troops under the auspices of NATO, and has also taken in about 2 million Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion. Poland, which spent the Cold War behind the Soviet Union’s “iron curtain,” joined NATO in 1999. Biden will travel to Europe on Wednesday to meet with the leaders of NATO member nations Thursday on strengthening the alliance’s deterrence and defense following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would not travel to Ukraine itself. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Russia’s Ukraine invasion threatens to increase world hunger Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is threatening to cause global food shortages and increase world hunger, The New York Times reported Sunday. The war has left much of the world’s supply of wheat, corn, and barley stuck in Russia and Ukraine, pushing up wheat and barley prices by 21 percent and 33 percent, respectively, since Russian forces attacked Ukraine nearly a month ago. The cost of some fertilizers has jumped 40 percent, the Times reported. Prices of other commodities, including metals and oil, also have surged. “Ukraine has only compounded a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe,” said David Beasley, executive director of the United Nations’ World Food Program. “There is no precedent even close to this since World War II.” THE NEW YORK TIMES 

China Eastern airliner crashes with 132 on board, state media says A China Eastern airliner with 132 people on board crashed in southern Guangxi province on Monday, state broadcaster CCTV reports. The Boeing 737, apparently Flight MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed in mountains near the city of Wuzhou. There has been no news on casualties. According to FlightRadar24, the aircraft rapidly lost speed and entered a sharp descent before it stopped transmitting data at 2:22 p.m. local time. China’s airline industry has among the best safety records in the world, Reuters reports. The Boeing 737-800 airplane that reportedly crashed Monday had been flying for six years. China’s last fatal civilian air crash was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people aboard a Henan Airlines Embraer E-19 crashed at Yichun’s airport. REUTERS 

Houthi rebels launch strikes against Saudi oil facilities Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who are battling a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, targeted Saudi energy and water desalination facilities with missile and drone strikes, briefly slowing production at a refinery, the Saudi energy ministry said Sunday. The attacks hit a petroleum distribution terminal, a natural gas plant, and the Yasref refinery in Yanbu, a Red Sea port. The ministry said existing inventory could offset the production loss. Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, said in a call on the company’s earnings that the adjustments would prevent any reduction in deliveries to customers. Oil prices rose by more than 3 percent early Monday after the attack, as European nations consider joining a Russian oil embargo in response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion. REUTERS 

Shanghai Disneyland closes as China fights coronavirus surge Shanghai Disneyland closed Monday as the biggest coronavirus outbreak in two years hit China’s most populous city. Shanghai, which is home to 24 million people, has appealed to people to stay home but stopped short of ordering a lockdown. Bus service into the massive city has been suspended. Jilin, a city of two million in northeastern China, ordered residents to stay home, and, along with the city of Changchun, ordered citywide coronavirus testing. Jilin province, where Jilin and Changchun are located, reported 1,542 of China’s 2,027 new cases on Sunday, up from 1,737 the day before. The southern business center of Shenzhen eased its week-long lockdown, allowing shops and offices to reopen. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Canadian railway shuts down as labor negotiations hit a wall Canadian Pacific Railway trains stopped running on Sunday after contract negotiations with the company and its conductors and engineers hit an impasse. The Canadian Pacific and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, the union that represents more than 3,000 of the railway’s conductors, engineers, and yard workers, has been pressing for increased wage and pension benefits, and more rest periods in negotiation and mediation that have been ongoing since September. A spokesperson for Canada’s labor minister, Seamus O’Regan, said the two sides restarted talks on Sunday. The dispute, however, threatened to delay global shipments of some manufactured goods and commodities, including fertilizers. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Chevron replaces union workers at refinery ahead of strike Chevron Corp. removed more than 500 United Steelworkers union members out of an oil refinery near San Francisco on Sunday night and replaced them with non-union workers ahead of the first labor strike at the plant in 42 years. The existing labor contract at the Richmond, California, refinery expired Feb. 1. The union is asking for a 5 percent pay increase above what its peers have agreed to due to the high cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. No new contract talks are scheduled and the two sides remain “far apart,” local union officials said. Chevron said it had taken steps to continue normal operations at the plant, which produces gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, and remained “committed to continuing to negotiate toward an agreement.” REUTERS 

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