The Guardian reports: A gay rights activist from Kharkiv, Elya Shchemur was killed during the Russian bombardment of the city centre, her colleagues at Kharkiv Pride said on Thursday. She was killed at the local territorial defence office where she volunteered, they said. “Elya was an activist and a patriot: she participated in all possible actions and democratic events of …

Variety reports: Kanye West has been barred from performing at the Grammy Awards due to his “concerning online behavior,” a rep for the artist confirms to Variety. Reps for the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammys, did not immediately respond to Variety‘s requests for comment on the claim early Saturday. West’s rep cited a report in the Blast posted late …

The Hill reports: Former Presidents George W. Bush and Clinton visited a Ukrainian church in Chicago on Friday, laying down flowers in a show of solidarity with the nation. A video shared by the George W. Bush Presidential Center shows the 42nd and 43rd presidents each carrying yellow sunflowers in their hands, wrapped in blue and yellow cloth to represent …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis released his long-awaited reform program of the Holy See bureaucracy on Saturday that envisages greater decision-making roles for the laity and gives new institutional weight to efforts to fight clerical sex abuse. The document was released Saturday, the ninth anniversary of Francis’ installation as pope and the feast of St. Joseph, an important figure …

The New York Times reports: Four U.S. Marines were killed in Norway during a NATO training exercise, Norwegian police said on Saturday. The Marines had been taking part in a long-planned exercise called Cold Response on Friday when their MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed south of Bodo, in the northern county of Nordland, the Royal Norwegian Air Force said in …

The Washington Post reports: The coldest location on the planet has experienced an episode of warm weather this week unlike any ever observed, with temperatures over the eastern Antarctic ice sheet soaring 50 to 90 degrees above normal. The warmth has smashed records and shocked scientists. “This event is completely unprecedented and upended our expectations about the Antarctic climate system,” …

The Miami Herald reports: When Alin Oteanu was told by Spirit workers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport that he would have to pay a fee for an extra bag on his flight, he had another idea, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office. “I will leave it right there, and by the way, it has a bomb in it,” Oteanu said, …

Law & Crime reports: CNN did not defame Project Veritas by depicting the group’s Twitter ban as part of a social media crackdown on “misinformation,” a federal judge ruled on Friday. On Feb. 11, 2021, CNN anchor Ana Cabrera reported that Twitter permanently banned Project Veritas for “repeated violations of Twitter’s policies prohibiting the sharing—or threats of sharing—of other people’s …

Politico reports: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts last week quietly renamed its “Russian Lounge” — a room featuring the country’s art and culture paid for by one of its richest men, Vladimir Potanin — amid a backlash against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. In 2011, Potanin [photo] donated $5 million to the Kennedy Center. He paid to …

The Greenville News reports: South Carolina is now prepared to carry out executions by firing squad, the state Department of Corrections told the state Attorney General’s office on Friday. Once approval comes from the state Supreme Court, the death sentences facing the state’s 35 death-row inmates can follow. Law passed in May 2021 makes the electric chair the state’s primary …

The Los Angeles Times reports: A federal appeals court on Friday overturned a judge’s ruling that blocked the public’s access to a search warrant for Sen. Richard M. Burr’s cellphone that federal investigators seized in an investigation of his stock trades. The three-judge appeals court panel found that U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had misapplied the law in her May …

The right wing Washington Examiner reports: Ohio Republican Senate candidates Josh Mandel and Mike Gibbons nearly came to blows during a candidate forum Friday evening. Mandel, a former state treasurer and an early front-runner in the race, has targeted Gibbons in recent weeks in the contentious and competitive Republican primary. At a GOP candidate forum organized by FreedomWorks, Mandel claimed …

The Anchorage Daily News reports: Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young died Friday, his office said. His wife, Anne, was by his side, his office said in statement. “It’s with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we announce Congressman Don Young, the Dean of the House and revered champion for Alaska, passed away today while traveling home to Alaska to be …

Variety reports: According to a source close to the production, Pixar’s next feature film, “Lightyear” — starring Chris Evans as the putative real-life inspiration for the “Toy Story” character Buzz Lightyear — does feature a significant female character, Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba), who is in a meaningful relationship with another woman. While the fact of that relationship was never …

Buzzfeed News reports: Former president Donald Trump’s campaign organization was ordered to pay more than $350,000 in legal fees and expenses for trying to enforce an “unenforceable” nondisclosure agreement against former staffer Alva Johnson, according to an order entered this month in a nonpublic arbitration case. An arbitrator found that even though Johnson’s effort to sue Trump failed — she …

The Verge reports: PayPal is expanding the services available to its Ukrainian users and waiving fees to help with humanitarian efforts in the country during Russia’s ongoing invasion. According to a news release, Ukrainians will be able to send and receive peer-to-peer PayPal or Xoom payments, and the company won’t apply its normal fees to either side of the transaction. …

Via email from hate group leader Tony Perkins: Kristen Waggoner doesn’t get usually get nervous. As one of Alliance Defending Freedom’s top attorneys, she’s argued before the Supreme Court, tackled high-profile cases, and spoken in front of her share of hostile crowds. But something about her visit to Yale University Law School last week felt different. “I can count on …

Axios reports: Burger King on Friday said that its business partner controlling approximately 800 restaurants in Russia has “refused” to suspend operations in the country. “We contacted the main operator of the business and demanded the suspension of Burger King restaurant operations in Russia. They have refused to do so,” David Shear, the president of Restaurant Brands International, which owns …

Huntington’s CBS News affiliate reports: Former West Virginia State lawmaker Derrick Evans pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder during a plea agreement hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Friday. He now faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and supervised release of not more than three years. He will also have …

“It looks like Vladimir Putin is channeling his inner Donald Trump. He had a what looked like, it almost looked like the big house in Michigan, their football stadium I think holds a hundred and ten thousand people. “Putin had a massive Moscow rally. By the way, if you didn’t show up you probably got in trouble. “My only guess, …