By Barbara Goldberg

(Reuters) -A Connecticut judge on Wednesday held conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in contempt and fined him $25,000 a day until he sits for a deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed by relatives of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.

Jones, founder of the right-wing Infowars website who claimed the shooting was a hoax, failed to comply with court orders to appear at a deposition on March 23 and 24, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis said during an online hearing.

His lawyers had sought to explain his absence by claiming that “Jones was remaining at home under his doctor’s supervision when, in fact, he was working at his studios and broadcasting his show,” Bellis said, referring to a podcast produced by Jones.

She set an April 15 deadline for Jones to complete a two-day deposition, a goal that would “purge” the contempt ruling. Starting April 1, the court would assess a fine of $25,000 each weekday until he sits for the deposition, the judge ruled.

“Alex Jones willfully and in bad faith violated without justification several clear court orders requiring his attendance at his depositions,” the judge said.

The defamation suit has already been decided in favor of the families of the shooting victims, with the judge saying in November that Jones defaulted by failing to provide documents and is responsible for damages to the plaintiffs.

The online hearing on Wednesday took place a day after Sandy Hook families rejected an offer by Jones to pay $120,000 to each of the 13 plaintiffs to settle the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are suing Jones in response to his claims that the shooting, which left 20 children and six school employees dead, never happened. He had claimed the incident at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was fabricated by gun-control advocates and mainstream media.

In response, several parents sued Jones and Infowars, as well as its parent company, for defamation in both Austin, Texas and in Waterbury, Connecticut. Infowars is based in Texas.

According to court records, his rejected offer to the plaintiffs included a statement that read in part: “Mr. Jones extends his heartfelt apology for any distress his remarks caused.”

Each of the plaintiffs immediately turned down the offer, saying it was “a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to escape a public reckoning under oath with his deceitful, profit-driven campaign against the plaintiffs and the memory of their loved ones lost at Sandy Hook.”

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New YorkEditing by Marguerita Choy)

Bob Sagetis gone, but his legacy will never be forgotten if his fans have their way.

Furious Academy Award watchers took to social media and aired out their grievances after the late comedian was snubbed during the Oscars in memoriam segment on Sunday night.

Saget is known for his iconic television role as Danny Tanner on Full House, but some might be unaware that he has an Academy Award win under his belt.

The actor — who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 65 on February 9 — scored a student Oscar in 1977 for his documentary, Through Adam’s Eyes. He was only 21 years old at the time.

Saget also appeared in a handful of movies, including Richard Pryor’s 1987 film Critical Condition.

While the Oscars failed to include the Academy Award winner, his fans made their displeasure over the decision known.

“No Bob Saget #Inmemoriam ? Really lame, #Oscars,” one person wrote on Twitter. “Actually leaving Bob Saget out of the In Memoriam was the most outrageous part of the Oscars,” shared another.

Others pointed out that Saget wasn’t the only star not included.

The Oscars also snubbed Norm Macdonald, who appeared in movies like Dr. Dolittle, Grown Ups, Billy Madison, and more. Macdonald died in September at the age of 61 after a battle with cancer.

The program also forgot Ed Asner, Sex and the City star Willie Garson, Robert Downey Jr.’s director father, Robert Downey Sr, and others.

“They didn’t do Bob Saget or Norm Macdonald or Monica Vitti this is bulls—,” someone tweeted. “Norm Macdonald and Bob Saget weren’t in the Oscar death montage. Perhaps it’s because they weren’t primarily known as “movie people.” Or perhaps it’s because, despite this, they made the greatest movie of all time, Dirty Work (1998), and Hollywood never forgave them for it,” posted another.

As Radar reported, Saget’s body was discovered inside his Ritz-Carlton hotel room in Orlando, Florida, last month. The stand-up comedian reportedly fell, hitting his head on something before going to bed. He never woke up.

According to the medical examiner, he died of head trauma.

Law enforcement’s working theory is that Saget nailed his head on the headboard of his bed, but some experts believe evidence photos taken at the scene paint a different picture.

Fans sent an outpouring of loving comments to Liza Minnelli after Lady Gaga accompanied the film legend on stage in a wheelchair while presenting Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars.

The two performers handed out Sunday night’s biggest award at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, sharing a sweet moment that was likely missed by some due to the Will Smith and Chris Rock saga.

Minnelli was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cabaret, and Gaga was more than happy to help her throughout their presenting duties during the 94th Academy Awards.

When the acclaimed EGOT winner sorted through her note cards on stage and said, “I don’t understand,” Gaga kindly told her, “I got it,” before announcing the nominees. CODA ultimately took home the coveted prize.

“Oh #lizaminnelli,” one fan tweeted with a crying emoji. “Thank goodness for @ladygaga literally taking her by the hand & leading her through that. It was hard to see her looking so very frail. #Oscars2022.”

“I can only hope and pray that when or if I’m BLESSED enough to reach the age of #LizaMinnelli someone whispers in my ear… ‘I got you’ like @ladygaga just did,” another wrote.

“To end a chaotic night with such a beautiful example of companionship, love and togetherness … yeah, this is what we should remember about these awards,” a third tweeted as many others praised their heartwarming exchange, raving over how Gaga “comforted a visibly nervous Minnelli.”

Doctors predicted in 2000 that Minnelli would spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair after suffering a case of viral encephalitis, but she still managed to perform her solo show Liza’s Back following her diagnosis, illustrating yet again how the star has always been a force to be reckoned with.

“She’s a survivor,”Marisa Berenson, who portrayed Natalia Landauer in Cabaret and has been one of Minnelli’s closest friends for nearly half a century, told Variety. “She’s like a phoenix, always spreading her wings and being reborn. I think she’s one of the strongest people I know. It’s really glorious to watch. She does have this incredible strength and courage.”

Will Smith will reportedly not be facing any charges after slapping Chris Rock in the face during the Oscars in retaliation for a joke the comedian made about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The news that Rock will not be pressing charges also comes following claims made by rapper Diddy suggesting that the two celebrities quickly made up after the Academy Awards ceremony ended.

As Radar reported, while Rock presented the award for Best Documentary at the 94th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, he made a joke that Will and Jada were not amused about.

“Jada, love you, G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” Rock joked about Jada’s bald head — a look that she sports after emotionally revealing she suffers from alopecia.

While Smith seemingly laughed at the joke, his demeanor quickly changed. Seconds later, he was on the stage and slapping Rock across the face before returning to his seat and telling the comedian: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth!”

The LAPD was on the scene at the time of the assault and reportedly spoke to Rock immediately after the ceremony ended — which is when the comedian allegedly chose not to press charges against Smith for smacking him in front of not only the entire Dolby Theatre, but also millions of viewers watching from home.

“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,” the department revealed in a statement after speaking with Rock.

“The incident involved one individual slapping another,” they continued. “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.”

While Rock opted not to press charges against Smith, he reportedly still has up to six months to file a report if he were to change his mind on the matter. According to Diddy, that seems unlikely. The stand-up comic and the King Richard Oscar winner allegedly made up and put the whole situation behind them shortly after the Academy Awards ceremony ended.

“That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that,” Diddy reportedly told Page Six regarding Rock and Smith making up at the Vanity Fair after-party. “It’s all love. They’re brothers.”

While the comedian and actor reportedly worked their beef out after the show, many are wondering why Smith — who apologized to a slew of people during his acceptance speech after winning the Best Actor award for King Richard — chose not to include Rock in his apology.

“I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all of my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment, and I’m not crying for winning an award,” Smith said. “It’s not about winning an award for me; it’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.”

Kirill Shamalov, the former son-in-law to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has reportedly fled Moscow for Dubai along with the wealthy daughter of one of Putin’s top generals.

The news of Shamalov fleeing Russia comes just days after the Russian billionaire businessman and former economic advisor was sanctioned by the West for his close links to Putin, Moscow, and the Kremlin as the country continues the invasion into their neighboring nation of Ukraine.

According to Daily Star, 40-year-old Shamalov and his 33-year-old partner Anastasia Zadorina reportedly made their secret move from Russia to the United Arab Emirates sometime last week in the wake of the latest sanctions against him and a number of Russian oligarchs.

Shamalov was formerly married to Putin’s 35-year-old acrobat daughter Katerina Tikhonova before the two split up in 2018 after five years of marriage.

Now, Shamalov – who is widely considered Russia’s youngest billionaire – has been in a relationship with Zadorina, who just happens to be the daughter of a top general in the Russian Federal Security Service.

But while Shamalov seemingly escaped the sanctions recently placed on him by the United States and other Western countries, his fleeing of Russia with Zadorina evidently came as no surprise, because just last week she reportedly hosted a luxurious and exclusive 40th birthday party for him in Dubai.

“While everyone in the country is tightening their belts, and business and industry are entrusted with key roles in saving the economy, Vladimir Putin’s former son-in-law, billionaire shareholder of Sibur [a Russian petrochemicals giant] Kirill Shamalov, is burning his life,” a Russian telegram channel recently revealed.

“[His 40th birthday party] was only for the elite and was held in conditions of increased secrecy, given the current events in Ukraine”, the program continued. “Along with Shamalov, guests were received by his new passion – FSB general’s daughter Anastasia Zadorina. Sources say there will be a wedding soon.”

As Radar reported, Putin’s former son-in-law is hardly the only Russian to be sanctioned by the West because of links to the Kremlin.

On Thursday, the “step-daughter” of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was sanctioned and banned from the United Kingdom in connection to her suspected ties to both Lavrov and Moscow.

Polina Kovaleva, who is the daughter of Lavrov’s alleged mistress and “unofficial wife,” is suspected of benefitting from Lavrov’s position of power in the Russian government.

Many also believe her multi-million-dollar Kensington, England flat was paid for by Lavrov and, despite being sanctioned and therefore banned from the United Kingdom, the 26-year-old is still reportedly living in Kensington

By Andrew Galbraith and David Stanway

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China’s financial hub of Shanghai launched a two-stage lockdown of its 26 million residents on Monday, closing bridges and tunnels and restricting highway traffic in a scramble to contain surging COVID-19 cases.

The snap lockdown, announced by the local government late on Sunday, will split China’s most populous city roughly along the Huangpu River for nine days to allow for “staggered” testing by healthcare workers in white hazmat suits.

It is the biggest COVID-related disruption to hit Shanghai, and sent prices of commodities including oil and copper lower on fears that any further curbs could hurt demand in China, the world’s second-largest economy.

Residents east of the Huangpu were confined to their homes. Some said healthcare workers arrived to conduct tests as early as 7 a.m. on Monday.

Those in the west rushed to stockpile food and other goods as they prepared for a similar fate from April 1. Delivery services were overwhelmed and supermarkets ran low on supplies. Several social media users posted images of what they had managed to buy.

“Many wholesale markets are now closed,” Bi Yingwu, a 50-year old stallholder, said. “Some vendors are reluctant to buy in vegetables. If we cannot get vegetables from wholesalers or the wet market is closed, we are finished.”

The curbs mark a turnaround for Shanghai’s authorities, who as recently as Saturday denied the city would be locked down as it pursued a more piecemeal “slicing and gridding” approach to try to rein in infections.

Wu Fan, a member of Shanghai’s expert COVID team, said recent mass testing had found “large scale” infections throughout the city, triggering the stronger response.

“Containing the large scale outbreak in our city is very important because, once infected people are put under control, we have blocked transmission,” she told a briefing.

Infection and death numbers are low by global standards. But China has imposed a zero-COVID policy that has all but closed its borders to travellers for two years, and rushes to shut off every chain of infection.

Shanghai recorded a record 3,450 asymptomatic COVID cases on Sunday, accounting for nearly 70% of the nationwide total, along with 50 symptomatic cases.

RESTRICTIONS

Shanghai said earlier this month its daily testing capacity was around 3 million, but Chen Erzhen, a doctor in charge of a city quarantine facility, warned it still might not be enough to outpace the spread of the virus.

“When case numbers reach a certain level, the difficulty of relying upon previous staff deployments increases by a large degree,” he told government newspaper Liberation Daily.

The new lockdown should at least ensure the “stillness” required to bring the outbreak under control, he added.

Wu had told a briefing on Saturday that Shanghai could not be locked down for long because of the important role it played in the national and even global economy.

But following Sunday’s about-turn, mass testing disrupted transport, healthcare and a wide range of economic activities, with citywide land sales also halted on Monday.

Shanghai’s Public Security Bureau said it was closing cross-river bridges and tunnels, and highway tollbooths concentrated in the city’s east until April 1. However, ports and the city’s two airports remained open.

Shanghai also ordered firms to shut, exempting those offering public services or supplying food, although factories that managed to put in “closed-loop” systems could continue production. Some hospitals also suspended services as they release staff and other resources to assist with mass testing.

U.S. automaker Tesla is suspending production at its factory, located in a district impacted by the first stage of the lockdown, for four days, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Volkswagen, however, whose Shanghai plant is in a part of the city that is set to be tested in the second stage, said its production in the city was ongoing. [nP8N2VV00E]

(Reporting by Andrew Galbraith, David Stanway, Xihao Jiang and the Shanghai newsroom; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing; Editing by Jane Wardell, Robert Birsel, Louise Heavens and Andrew Heavens)

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A dark Western, “The Power of the Dog,” will battle feel-good deaf family drama “CODA” for the film industry’s top honor on Sunday when, free of last year’s pandemic restrictions, a large Hollywood crowd gathers for the Academy Awards.

The films are front-runners for the best picture trophy at a red-carpet Oscars ceremony promising a few plot twists. Among them: a win by either movie would mark a milestone by handing the statuette to a streaming service.

Netflix Inc released “Power of the Dog” while “CODA” streamed on Apple TV+.

After past complaints about a lack of diversity, two of this year’s four acting accolades may go to people of color. Will Smith is likely to earn his first Oscar for “King Richard,” awards watchers say, as is Ariana DeBose for “West Side Story.”

Comedians Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes will host, and it is the first time three women have guided the ceremony in its 94-year history. Beyonce and Billie Eilish will perform.

In a bid to draw more viewers, especially younger ones, after years of declining ratings, the three-hour show starting at 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT) will add two awards, the result of fan votes on Twitter for favorite film and scene.

The ceremony, broadcast live on Walt Disney Co’s ABC, will also feature a moment of support for Ukraine. Producers want the show to be celebratory but said they could not ignore the crisis there. [L2N2VR2VN]

In the best picture race, success hinges on whether the 9,900 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences back a gothic psychological thriller or an uplifting story.

“The pundits have always said you never know who’s going to win,” said People magazine movies editor Nigel Smith. “This year, it actually seems to be the case.”

“Power of the Dog,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a repressed cowboy who torments his brother’s new wife, outpaced all movies with 12 nominations. It had been considered the leader until “CODA” landed top honors from the Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild.

“CODA” tells the story of a hearing girl who serves as interpreter for her deaf family but longs to pursue a career in music. CODA is an acronym for “child of deaf adult.”

“I really haven’t spoken to anyone who doesn’t like CODA,” Smith said.

‘IMPORTANT STEPS FORWARD’

A traditional Hollywood studio could score an upset. Awards experts give an outside shot to Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” a film inspired by his childhood in Northern Ireland at the onset of the sectarian conflict known as the Troubles, or Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake.

“King Richard” star Smith is the best-actor favorite for playing the determined father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. Competitors include Cumberbatch and Andrew Garfield for musical “Tick, Tick … Boom!”

Best actress is the most unpredictable. Many experts say Jessica Chastain’s portrayal of TV evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker will triumph, though some give the edge to former “Twilight” vampire Kristen Stewart for playing Princess Diana in “Spencer.”

Previous Oscar winners Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Olivia Colman also are in the running.

While the acting field is not as diverse as last year’s, “it is certainly better than what we saw a few years back with #OscarsSoWhite,” said UCLA dean of social sciences Darnell Hunt, co-author of an annual Hollywood diversity report. “The academy has taken important steps forward.”

In supporting actor categories, Afro-Latina actress DeBose is expected to prevail her portrayal of Anita in “West Side Story.” “CODA” star Troy Kotsur could make history as the first deaf man to win an Oscar.

Jane Campion also could become the third woman in Oscars history to win best director for “Power of the Dog.”

After a scaled-down ceremony at a train station last year, the Oscars have returned to the Dolby Theatre, which will be filled to about three-quarters capacity with 2,500 guests, allowing for some distancing.

To streamline the show, winners of eight categories such as editing and sound will be announced before the live broadcast. Their speeches will be edited into the telecast. Spielberg and others criticized the move as an insult to film craftspeople.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

By Oleksandr Kozhukhar and Pavel Polityuk

LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Russia wants to split Ukraine into two, as happened with North and South Korea, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said on Sunday, vowing “total” guerrilla warfare to prevent a carve-up of the country.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the West to give Ukraine tanks, planes and missiles to help fend off the Russian forces, which the Kyiv government said were increasingly targeting fuel and food depots.

U.S. officials continued efforts to soften comments on Saturday from U.S. President Joe Biden, who said in a fiery speech in Poland that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had no strategy of regime change in Moscow and that Biden had simply meant Putin could not be “empowered to wage war” against Ukraine or anywhere else.

After more than four weeks of conflict, Russia has failed to seize any major Ukrainian city and Moscow signalled on Friday it was scaling back its ambitions to focus on securing the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army for the past eight years.

A local leader in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic said on Sunday the region could soon hold a referendum on joining Russia, just as happened in Crimea after Russia seized the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.

Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to break with Ukraine and join Russia — a vote that much of the world refused to recognise.

“In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine,” Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, said in a statement, referring to the division of Korea after World War Two.

He predicted Ukraine’s army would push back Russian forces.

“In addition, the season of a total Ukrainian guerrilla safari will soon begin. Then there will be one relevant scenario left for the Russians, how to survive,” he said.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson also dismissed talk of any referendum in eastern Ukraine.

“All fake referendums in the temporarily occupied territories are null and void and will have no legal validity,” Oleg Nikolenko told Reuters.

‘CRUEL AND SENSELESS’

Moscow says the goals for what Putin calls a “special military operation” include demilitarising and “denazifying” its neighbour. Ukraine and its Western allies calls this a pretext for an unprovoked invasion.

The invasion has devastated several Ukrainian cities, caused a major humanitarian crisis and displaced an estimated 10 million people, nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s total population.

Tatyana Manyek, who crossed the Danube by ferry into Romania on Sunday with other refugees, said people in her home city of Odesa were “very afraid” but she would have stayed were it not for her daughter.

“It would be very difficult to provide the child with basic living conditions. That’s why we decided to leave,” she said, clutching a pet dog in her arms.

In his Sunday blessing, Pope Francis called for an end to the “cruel and senseless” conflict.

“We must repudiate war, a place of death where fathers and mothers bury their children, where men kill their brothers without even seeing them, where the powerful decide and the poor die,” he said.

Zelenskiy demanded in a late-night television address on Saturday that Western nations hand over military hardware that was “gathering dust” in stockpiles, saying his nation needed just 1% of NATO’s aircraft and 1% of its tanks.

Western nations have so far given Ukraine anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles as well as small arms and protective equipment, without offering any heavy armour or planes.

“We’ve already been waiting 31 days. Who is in charge of the Euro-Atlantic community? Is it really still Moscow, because of intimidation?” Zelenskiy said, suggesting Western leaders were holding back on supplies because they were frightened of Russia.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said Russia had started destroying Ukrainian fuel and food storage centres, meaning the government would have to disperse stocks of both in the near future.

Appearing to confirm that, Russia said its missiles had wrecked a fuel deposit on Saturday as well as a military repair plant near the western city of Lviv, just 60 km (40 miles) from the Polish border.

The British Ministry of Defence said Russian forces appeared to be concentrating their efforts on encircling Ukrainian troops directly facing separatist regions in the east.

“The battlefield across northern Ukraine remains largely static with local Ukrainian counterattacks hampering Russian attempts to reorganise their forces,” the ministry said.

HISTORIC STRUGGLE

Biden drew criticism for his improvised remarks during a speech in Warsaw that sought to frame the war as part of a historic struggle for democratic freedoms.

“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said of Putin. Earlier he called Putin a “butcher”.

U.S. officials tried to walk back the president’s words.

“As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia – or anywhere else, for that matter,” Secretary of State Blinken told reporters during a trip to Jerusalem.

The United Nations has confirmed 1,119 civilian deaths and 1,790 injuries across Ukraine but says the real toll is likely to be higher. Ukraine said on Sunday 139 children had been killed and more than 205 wounded so far in the conflict.

Ukraine and Russia agreed two “humanitarian corridors” to evacuate civilians from frontline areas on Sunday, including allowing people to leave by car from the southern city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

The encircled port, located between Crimea and eastern areas held by Russian-backed separatists, has been devastated by weeks of heavy bombardment. Thousands of residents are sheltering in basements with scarce water, food, medicine or power.

(Reporting by Reuters journalists in Mariupol, Natalia Zinets and Maria Starkova in Lviv, Jarrett Renshaw in Warsaw and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Guy Faulconbridge in London and Matthias Williams; Writing by Aidan Lewis, Crispian Balmer and Lincoln Feast; Editing by William Mallard, Frances Kerry and Gareth Jones)