Week In Review

By Caroline Solochewicz Edited by Elissa D. Hecker

Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Technology/Media, and General News:

Entertainment Johnny Depp and Amber Heard to Face Off in Defamation Trial Johnny Depp takes his defamation complaint against Amber Heard originally filed in March 2019 to a jury in Virginia. The complaint is based on an op-ed by the actress in The Washington Post, where she claims that she was a "public figure representing domestic abuse." https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/arts/johnny-depp-amber-heard-trial.html

Cuba Gooding Jr. Pleads Guilty to Forcible Touching Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was accused by more than 20 women of forcible touching and has plead guilty. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/nyregion/cuba-gooding-jr-guilty.html#:~:text=Cuba%20Gooding%20Jr.,Touching%20%2D%20The%20New%20York%20Times

Coachella Kicks Off a High-Stakes, Still Uncertain Concert Season Although some are still hesitant, the live industry is expecting a record year as shows return post pandemic cancellations and shutdowns leading with Coachella. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/14/arts/music/coachella-summer-concerts-covid.html

Disney, Built on Fairy Tales and Fantasy, Confronts the Real World Although hesitant, as of late Disney has been more willing to take stances on cultural issues which has brought on pressure due to political divide. Given Disney's strong presence in Florida, it has found itself in midst of scrutiny over a new Florida law that among many things restricts classroom instruction through third grade on sexual orientation and gender identity. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/17/business/disney-politics-florida.html

Arts New York Lets 'Fearless Girl' Hold Her Ground, for Now After voting, officials extended the permit for the New York sculpture of "Fearless Girl" on Wall Street, however, they are requiring stakeholders to reconvene in 6 months to decide its permanent location. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/11/arts/design/fearless-girl-statue-new-york.html

Broadway Bets Big on a Spring Rebound. Will the Virus Cooperate? More than 16 productions are planning their return to Broadway, although the industry is still experiencing complications, including variants causing positive tests in leading actors. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/theater/broadway-reopening-omicron-covid.html

Most Broadway Theaters Will Drop Vaccine Checks, but Not Mask Mandate Broadway has decided to stop checking vaccination status of patrons, however, all will continue to require audience members to wear masks inside of theaters. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/theater/broadway-coronavirus-mask-vaccine.html

Actors in 'Waitress' Tour Seek to Join Labor Union A group of actors and state managers are seeking improved compensation and safety protocols, saying that a union version of the same musical pays better. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/theater/waitress-actors-equity-union.html

Bringing Consent to Ballet, One Intimacy Workshop at a Time Intimacy directors are being hired by dance companies in an effort to consult narrative-driven productions and help dancers enforce their boundaries to feel comfortable on set. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/arts/dance/intimacy-directors-ballet.html

How Barnes & Noble Went From Villain to Hero Once a threat to independent booksellers, Barnes & Noble has now proven essential to the business of books. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/arts/barnes-noble-bookstores.html

War Brings New Iron Curtain Down on Russia's Storied Ballet Stages The careers of Russian dancers are dramatically changing. Olga Smirnova is an example of one of many ballet dancers who have expressed their strong disdain for Vladimir Putin's actions and seek residential opportunities outside of their hometowns, joining companies in cities such as Amsterdam. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/arts/olga-smirnova-ballet-bolshoi-ukraine-war.html

French Authorities Seize Oligarch's Painting Before It Leaves for Russia A painting owned by Russian Oligarch was used for an art show in Paris and will not be returned to Russia after being seized by France. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/arts/design/morozov-collection-russia-sanctions.html

Sports Congress Refers Commanders' Alleged Financial Malfeasance to Federal Trade Commission A congressional committee passed along allegations from a former employee who said that the National Football Leage (NFL) Washington Commanders withheld ticket revenue from both fans and the league. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/sports/football/washington-commanders-dan-snyder-congress.html

Alyssa Nakken Adds Yet Another First by Coaching First Base The San Francisco Giants coach became the first woman to take an on-field role in a Major League Baseball game. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/sports/baseball/alyssa-nakken-giants.html

'This Is American History': The Hall of Fame Reconsiders Race The Hall of Fame has begun a 2-year project to create a permanent exhibit on Black baseball. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/14/sports/baseball/jackie-robinson-hall-of-fame.html

Becker Found Guilty of Four Charges in Bankruptcy Trial German tennis great Boris Becker declared bankruptcy in 2017. This month he was found guilty of 4 charges, including failing to disclose, concealing, and removing significant assets. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/becker-found-guilty-four-charges-bankruptcy-trial-reports-2022-04-08/

U.S. Crackdown Targets Boxing Figure Accused of Organized Crime Daniel Kinahan, who has been involved with boxers such as Tyson Fury, has been accused of leading an Irish organized crime group. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/sports/daniel-kinahan-sanctions-boxing.html

Public Foots Most of the $1.4 Billion for a Stadium. Buffalo Fans Cheer. In an effort to keep the Bills, the state agreed to a record-setting budget that will assure that the team will stay in Buffalo, NY for the next 30 years. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/16/nyregion/new-buffalo-bills-stadium.html

Women's Tennis Association Head Simon Says Players Should Not Be Banned Over Ukraine Crisis Although players are not banned, Russian and Belarusian players may not play under the name or flag of their countries following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/wta-head-simon-says-players-should-not-be-banned-over-ukraine-crisis-2022-03-16/

Some Ultimate Fighting Championship Fighters Have Ties to a Chechen Leader Loyal to Putin Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, is facing U.S sanctions and is accused of brutal abuses while some Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters continue to keep ties with him. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/sports/ufc-kadyrov-khamzat-chimaev.html

Super League Bitterness Now Playing in a New York Court American soccer entrepreneur Charlie Stillitano says the head of European soccer declared "war" on him to prevent him from organizing a series of exhibition games in North America that would feature 3 prominent teams - Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/sports/soccer/charlie-stillitano-relevent-sports-lawsuit.html

British Territory Freezes $7 billion in Assets Believed to Be Tied to Roman Abramovich British authorities continue to seize assets of Russian oligarchs and have found a vast fortune of Roman Abramovich in Jersey, a British territory in the Channel Islands. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/business/abramovich-sanctions-ukraine-russia.html

Media/Technology Twitter Grapples With an Elon Musk Problem and Counters With a Time-Tested Barrier Since becoming majority shareholder of Twitter, Elon Musk plans on buying out the whole company and focusing on how it handles speech.This idea may have serious implications for political discourse around the world. Twitter is adamant about not being in the hands of Elon Musk and has adopted a mechanism known as a poison pill. Its intention is to flood the market with new stock that all shareholders except Musk could buy at a discounted price. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/11/technology/twitter-elon-musk-problem.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/14/technology/elon-musk-twitter-bid.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/business/twitter-poison-pill-elon-musk.html

Activision Tells Regulators It Will Cooperate With Insider Trading Investigation Activision received requests for information that appeared to be related to investigations into whether investors knew that the chief executive, Bobby Kotick, traded Activision stock before a deal with Microsoft was made public. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/technology/activision-sec-insider-trading.html

U.S. and Ukrainian Groups Pierce Putin's Propaganda Bubble U.S backed news outlets and Ukrainian activists use Cold War techniques and high-tech tactics to get news about the war to Russians. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/us/politics/russia-propaganda-ukraine-war.html

Where Russians Turn for Uncensored News on Ukraine Since Russia has silenced independent news media and banned social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, Russians have had to find an alternative. Telegram is a chat app that allows its users to post to their feeds and is used by Russians seeking to escape the propaganda web, sharing opinions and information freely. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/16/world/europe/russian-propaganda-telegram-ukraine.html

Russian Tech Industry Faces 'Brain Drain' as Workers Flee Russian tech workers have been fleeing Russia since the outbreak of the war. Undoubtedly, this will have a long term impact on both the tech industry and its presence in Russia. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/technology/russia-tech-workers.html

Kashmir Journalists Face Forbidding Pattern: Arrest, Bail, Rearrest Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan has been granted bail after waiting trial for close to 4 years. Indian authorities held Sultan in jail while rights activists say that he is being used as a weapon against free speech. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/16/world/asia/india-kashmir-journalists-arrested.html

General News Lt. Gov. Benjamin Resigns Following Campaign Finance Indictment Brian Benjamin, who is second in command to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, was charged with bribery, fraud, and falsification of records while a state senator and has since resigned. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/nyregion/brian-benjamin-resigns-indicted.html