Authentic Ukrainian ethnic folk attire made a recent appearance on a runway at Metropolitan Fashion Week Seattle, held in the city’s suburb of Woodinville. Natasha Mozgovaya has more.
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As teqball continues its fast growth with its debut at the Southeast Asian Games, the young sport has drawn resentful glances from similar sports in the region that feel it is treading on their turf.

Invented in Hungary in 2012, teqball is a nonmedal exhibition sport at this year’s SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, being played over three days with the finals on Monday. It is also on the schedule for the European Games in Poland in June and July.

Teqball already has more than 140 national federations, leading its backers to call it “the fastest-growing sport in the world.”

Top international football teams, including Spain and Portugal, bond over games of teqball during downtime, and stars such as Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho have become ambassadors for the game.

Played on a curved table, teqball melds elements of football, volleyball and ping-pong. Players — alone or in pairs — trade shots without using their arms. The catch is they cannot use the same body part twice consecutively.

“In Europe, North America, South America, it’s more developed than in Asia,” said Marton Keresztury, from governing body Fiteq. “So here, it’s just starting slowly.”

On Sunday, the much-fancied Thai men’s doubles team ruthlessly saw off their Cambodian opposition, the affront to their hosts compounded by Phakpong Dejaroen’s acrobatic winning shots repeatedly bouncing up and scudding into the home fans.

That set the Thais up for a final on Monday against another Cambodian duo.

In the women’s doubles, the Thai duo of Suphawadi Wongkhamchan and Jutatip Kuntatong also swatted away the opposition on their way to the final.

One reason Thailand excels at the sport is a pre-existing love for the game of sepak takraw, a similar sport popular around the region, played on something more resembling a volleyball court.

Fahrish Khan, of the Singapore men’s doubles team that beat Brunei in their last group game, but did not progress, noted the overlap.

“We play football. So, if you see a lot of them are sepak takraw players. It’s very different,” said the 27-year-old.

“The difference is they know how to kill,” he said, referring to the bouncing winners that the Thai team reeled off with elan.

Keresztury said teqball had more tournaments coming in Asia soon, in China, Thailand, “and maybe Indonesia.”

He noted that the sport risked butting heads with sepak takraw.

“The players who are here, they come from (sepak takraw). Sometimes you have clashes with sepak takraw federations because they don’t want to let their players play teqball. That’s why it’s developing slowly in Asia,” Keresztury said. “I think 80% of the players come from sepak takraw, from all nations.”

But, he added: “It’s easy to get some skills from sepak takraw, but if you want to have all the skills you have to play more teqball.”
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There is nothing like the promise of a chapter closing to draw people to the movie theater, especially when tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This weekend, ” Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which says goodbye to this iteration of the space misfits and its driving creative voice, director James Gunn, earned $114 million in ticket sales from 4,450 locations in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Internationally, where the film opened in 52 territories including China, “Vol. 3” earned $168 million, giving it a $282 million global debut.

Domestically, it’s both an impressive sum for any movie and slightly less than what we’ve come to expect from a Marvel opening. Last year on the same weekend, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” riding on the success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” raked in $187.4 million in its first three days in North America. And in November, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” also opened over $181.3 million.

But things have come back to earth this year, at least by high-flying superhero standards. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” debuted just over $106 million on its way to $474 million worldwide. At rival studio DC/Warner Bros., “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” only made $133.4 million total. The question on some analysts’ minds this weekend is whether it’s because of the specific character or a bigger issue of “superhero fatigue.”

“Guardians Vol. 3″ bumped ” The Super Mario Bros. Movie ” out of first place after four weekends atop the charts and kicked off the summer movie season, a vital and usually profitable corridor for Hollywood that runs through Labor Day and often accounts for 40% of a year’s box office.

For Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, it’s still a solid opening for the summer season, which he said is poised to deliver the most robust profits since 2019.

“Though ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s’ debut may reflect a bit of audience fatigue for the reliable superhero genre, this is just the beginning for what promises to be an irresistible movie marketplace with a killer combination of appealing films for every taste and every audience demographic,” Dergarabedian said.

The next major superhero movie on the schedule is DC’s “The Flash,” set for June 16, which has its own flurry of intrigue around it because of star Ezra Miller’s legal and personal troubles.

“Guardians Vol. 3” sees the return of actors Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. Reviews have been mostly positive, but a little more divided than previous installments. And it remains difficult to compare a pre-pandemic opening such as Vol. 2’s $146 million debut (May 2017) with a post-pandemic one.

“Vol. 3” is Gunn’s last Guardians/Marvel movie as he turns his focus to leading DC Studios.

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” added $18.6 million in its fifth weekend to take second place, bringing its domestic total to $518.1 million. Globally, it has now surpassed $1.1 billion.

Third place went to “Evil Dead Rise” with $5.7 million, and in fourth place was “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” with $3.4 million — both were holdovers.

Studios left the weekend mostly clear for the superhero behemoth, but Screen Gems and Sony did debut their new Priyanka Chopra Jonas romantic comedy “Love Again” (featuring Celine Dion and some new songs) in 2703 locations. It made a modest $2.4 million to take the fifth place spot.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” $114 million.

2. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” $18.6 million.

3. “Evil Dead Rise,” $5.7 million.

4. “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” $3.4 million.

5. “Love Again,” $2.4 million.

6. “John Wick: Chapter 3,” $2.4 million.

7. “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” $1.5 million.

8. “Air,” $1.4 million.

9. “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant,” $1.2 million.

10. “Sisu,” $1.1 million.
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Newton N. Minow, who as Federal Communications Commission chief in the early 1960s famously proclaimed that network television was a “vast wasteland,” died Saturday. He was 97.

Minow, who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, died Saturday at home, surrounded by loved ones, said his daughter, Nell Minow.

“He wanted to be at home,” she told The Associated Press. “He had a good life.”

Though Minow remained in the FCC post just two years, he left a permanent stamp on the broadcasting industry through government steps to foster satellite communications, the passage of a law mandating UHF reception on TV sets and his outspoken advocacy for quality in television.

“My faith is in the belief that this country needs and can support many voices of television — and that the more voices we hear, the better, the richer, the freer we shall be,” Minow once said. “After all, the airways belong to the people.”

Minow was appointed as FCC chief by President John F. Kennedy in early 1961. He had initially come to know the Kennedys in the 1950s as an aide to Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson, the Democrats’ presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956.

Minow laid down his famous challenge to TV executives on May 9, 1961, in a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters, urging them to sit down and watch their station for a full day, “without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you.”

“I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland,” he told them. “You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, Western bad men, Western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence and cartoons. And, endlessly, commercials — many screaming, cajoling and offending.”

As he spoke, the three networks were just about all most viewers had to choose from. Pay television was barely in the planning stage, PBS and Sesame Street were several years away, and HBO and niche channels such as Animal Planet were far in the future.

The speech caused a sensation. “Vast wasteland” became a catch phrase. Jimmy Durante opened an NBC special by saying, “Da next hour will be dedicated to upliftin’ da quality of television. … At least, Newt, we’re tryin’.”

Minow became the first government official to get a George Foster Peabody award for excellence in broadcasting. The New York Times critic Jack Gould (himself a Peabody winner) wrote, “At long last there is a man in Washington who proposes to champion the interests of the public in TV matters and is not timid about ruffling the industry’s most august feathers. Tonight some broadcasters were trying to find dark explanations for Mr. Minow’s attitude. In this matter the viewer possibly can be a little helpful; Mr. Minow has been watching television.”

CBS President Frank Stanton strongly disagreed, calling Minow’s comments a “sensationalized and oversimplified approach” that could lead to ill-advised reforms “on the ground that any change is a change for the better.”

For the criticism over his speech, Minow said he didn’t support censorship, preferring exhortation and measures to broaden public choices. But he also said a broadcasting license was “an enormous gift” from the government that brought with it a responsibility to the public.

His daughter, Nell Minow, told The Associated Press in 2011 that her father loved television and wished he would have been remembered for championing the public interest in television programming, rather than just a few words in his much broader speech.

“His No. 1 goal was to give people choice,” she said.

Among the new laws during his tenure were the All-Channel Receiver Act of 1962, that required that TV sets pick up UHF as well as VHF broadcasts, which opened up TV channels numbered above 13 for widespread viewing. Congress also passed a bill that provided funds for educational television, and measures to foster communications satellites.

In a September 2006 interview on National Public Radio, Minow recalled telling Kennedy that such satellites were “more important than sending a man into space. … Communications satellites will send ideas into space, and ideas live longer than people.” On July 10, 1962, Minow was one of the officials making statements on the first live trans-Atlantic television program, a demonstration of AT&T’s Telstar satellite.

Children’s programming was a particular interest of Minow, a father of three, who told broadcasters the few good children’s shows were “drowned out in the massive doses of cartoons, violence and more violence. … Search your consciences and see if you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guide so many hours each and every day.”

Minow resigned in May 1963 to become executive vice president and general counsel for Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. in Chicago.

Nell Minow said her father also was instrumental in getting presidential debates televised, starting with Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon, after watching Stevenson struggle to use the new medium during his 1956 presidential run.

“Minow was appalled by … the whole charade of having to image-make on television,” said Craig Allen, a mass communications professor at Arizona State University who wrote a 2001 book about Minow.

In 1965, Minow returned to his law practice in Chicago, and later served as board member at PBS, CBS Inc. and the advertising company Foote Cone & Belding Communications Inc. He was director of the Annenberg Washington Program in Communications Policy Studies of Northwestern University.

He also gave Barack Obama a summer job at the law firm, where the future president met his wife, Michelle Robinson. Minow also was one of Obama’s earliest supporters when the then-Illinois senator considered running for president, Nell Minow said.

Television is one of our century’s most important advances “and yet, as a nation, we pay no attention to it,” Minow said in a 1991 Associated Press interview.

He continued to push for reforms such as free airtime for political ads and more quality programming while also praising advances in diversity in U.S. television.

“In 1961, I worried that my children would not benefit much from television. But in 1991 I worry that my grandchildren will actually be harmed by it,” he said. 
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The commuter trains that take wearied workers out of Moscow every day can be difficult — a long and slow trip in close quarters with strangers, some of them drinking alcohol or sprawled sleeping across the seats.

But a few days a week, riders might get a lift when Oksana comes aboard to soothe them with her violin artistry. Classics, jazz, Russian folk music and children’s songs all flow as she glides her bow across the strings.

It’s not just her repertoire that raises the passengers’ spirits, but her instruments themselves. She makes her own violins from kits and decorates them with intricate, colorful paintings of flowers and winding vines.

The 49-year-old Oksana, who did not want her surname reported out of safety concerns, once worked at a cultural center in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don but moved to Moscow after she lost that job. There was a house loan to pay off along with support for her two children, who live with their father.

At first she worked as a dishwasher. One day she fell into conversation with a street musician after giving him some money and he encouraged her to follow his example, saying it would likely pay more than her scullery job.

She took his advice, except that she chose the trains known as elektrichki as her venue rather that the street. They have been her stage for the past four years.

It’s not lucrative. In a good month she can take in 80,000 rubles ($750), but that’s enough to pay for her room on the Moscow outskirts and to send some money to her kids.

She could make more, but standing for hours on the swaying trains while playing is hard on her legs and she plays only two or three times a week.
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King Charles III’s coronation is a chance to unite people with the history and pageantry of the monarchy, but those traditions are also full of potential controversies as he tries to show that the monarchy still has a role to play in modern Britain.

The new king has already recognized these challenges by adjusting the coronation festivities to the realities of today.

This coronation will be shorter and more inclusive than his mother’s in 1953. Faith leaders from outside the Church of England will take an active role in the ceremony for the first time. And people from all four nations of the United Kingdom, as well as the Commonwealth, will take part.

Here are five artifacts that will play a central role in Saturday’s events.

The Coronation Chair and Stone of Scone

King Charles III will sit atop more than 1,500 years of Irish, Scottish and English history when he is crowned Saturday at Westminster Abbey.

The crown will be placed on Charles’ head as he sits in the Coronation Chair suspended over the Stone of Scone (pronounced “scoon”) — the sacred slab of sandstone on which Scottish kings were crowned. The chair has been part of every coronation since 1308.

The 2.05-meter-tall chair is made of oak and was originally covered in gold leaf and colored glass. The gold has long since worn away and the chair is now pocked with graffiti, including one message that reads “P. Abbott slept in this chair 5-6 July 1800.”

Edward I had the chair built specifically to enclose the Stone of Scone, known by Scots as the Stone of Destiny, after he forcibly took the artifact from Scotland and moved it to the abbey in the late 13th century. The stone’s history goes back much further, however. Fergus Mor MacEirc, the founder of Scotland’s royal line, reputedly brought the stone with him when he moved his seat from Ireland to Scotland around 498, Westminster Abbey said. Before that time, it was used as the coronation stone for Irish kings.

In 1996, Prime Minister John Major returned the stone to Scotland, with the understanding that it would come back to England for use in future coronations. In recent days, the stone was temporarily removed from its current home at Edinburgh Castle in a ceremony overseen by Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, then transported to the abbey, where a special service was held to mark its return.

Coronation spoon

The gold-plated silver coronation spoon is the only piece of the coronation regalia that survived the English Civil War. After King Charles I was executed in 1649, the rest of the collection was either melted down or sold off as Parliament sought to abolish the monarchy forever.

The spoon is central to the most sacred part of the coronation ceremony, when the Archbishop of Canterbury will pour holy oil from an eagle-shaped ampulla, or flask, into the spoon and then rub it on the king’s hands, breast and head.

The ceremony has roots in the biblical story of the anointing of King Solomon and was originally designed to confirm that the sovereign was appointed directly by God. While the monarch is no longer considered divine, the ceremony confirms his status as supreme governor of the Church of England.

The 26.7-centimeter spoon is believed to have been made during the 12th century for either King Henry II or King Richard I and may have originally been used for mixing water and wine, according to the Royal Collection Trust.

The Cullinan Diamond

Two stones cut from the Cullinan Diamond — the largest rough diamond ever found — will feature prominently in the coronation, fueling controversy the royal family would rather avoid.

For many in South Africa, where the original stone was found in 1905, the gems are a symbol of colonial oppression under British rule and they should be returned.

Cullinan I, a huge drop-shaped stone weighing 530.2 carats, is mounted in the Sovereign’s Scepter with Cross. On Saturday, the scepter will be handed to Charles as a symbol of his temporal power.

Cullinan II, a cushion-shaped gem of 317.4 carats, is mounted on the front of the Imperial State Crown that Charles will wear as he leaves Westminster Abbey.

Charles sidestepped a similar controversy when Buckingham Palace announced that his wife, Camilla, wouldn’t wear the crown of Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother, on coronation day.

That crown contains the famous Koh-i-noor diamond that India, Pakistan and Iran all claim. The gem became part of the Crown Jewels after 11-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh was forced to surrender it after the conquest of the Punjab in 1849.

St. Edward’s Crown

The crowning moment of the coronation ceremony will occur, literally, when the Archbishop of Canterbury places St. Edward’s Crown on Charles’ head.

Because of its significance as the centerpiece of the coronation, this will be the only time during his reign that the monarch will wear the solid gold crown, which features a purple velvet cap, ermine band and criss-crossed arches topped by a cross.

After the ceremony, Charles will swap the 2.08-kilogram crown for the Imperial State Crown, which weighs about half as much, for the procession back to Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II once said that even the lighter crown was tricky because it would fall off if she didn’t keep her head upright while reading the annual speech at the state opening of Parliament.

“There are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things,” the late queen told Sky News in 2018, flashing a smile.

The current St. Edward’s Crown was made for the coronation of King Charles II in 1661 and has been used in every coronation since then. It is a replica of the original crown, which was created in the 11th century and melted down after the execution of Charles I in 1649.

The crown glitters with stones including tourmalines, white and yellow topazes, rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, peridot, zircons, spinel and aquamarines.

Until the early 20th century, the crown was decorated with rented stones that were returned after the coronation, according to the Royal Collection Trust. It was permanently set with semi-precious stones ahead of the coronation of George V in 1911.

The Gold State Coach

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will travel back to Buckingham Palace from Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach, a 261-year-old relic that is renowned as much for its uncomfortable ride as its lavish decoration.

The coach was built in 1762 under the reign of King George III and it has been used in every coronation since 1831.

It is made of wood and plated with gold leaf, from the cherubs on the roof to the Greek sea gods over each wheel. About the only things that aren’t gilded are the side panels painted with Roman gods and goddesses and, of course, the interior, which is upholstered in satin and velvet.

But the coach is heavy — 4 tons — and old, meaning it only ever travels at walking speed.

And while it may look luxurious, the coach features a notoriously bumpy ride because it is slung from leather straps rather than modern metal springs.

The late queen wasn’t a fan.

“Horrible! It’s not meant for traveling in at all,” she said in 2018 in an interview with Sky News. “Not very comfortable.”

That’s one reason Charles and Camilla will ride to the coronation in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which is equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers, as well as heat and air conditioning. 
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The ceremony for King Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday will involve historic regalia ranging from sceptres and maces to a ring and a spoon.

Here are details of some of the Crown Jewels that will be used during the ceremony:

St. Edward’s Crown

Charles will be crowned with the historic St. Edward’s Crown that has been used since the coronation of King Charles II in 1661 after the monarchy was restored following the 10-year republic of Oliver Cromwell. It was removed from the Tower Of London in December for modifications.

The crown, which weighs about 2.2 kilograms, is made up of a solid gold frame set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes and tourmalines and has a velvet cap with an ermine band.

It replaced an original crown believed to date back to the 11th century Anglo-Saxon king of England, Edward the Confessor.

Charles will also wear the 1-kilogram Imperial State Crown at the end of the service, the headwear regularly used by British monarchs for official occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament.

Made for the coronation of Charles’ grandfather George VI in 1937, it is set with 2,868 diamonds in silver mounts including the 105-carat Cullinan II, the second biggest stone cut from the Cullinan Diamond, which was given by the government of the Transvaal in South Africa to Edward VII on his birthday in 1907.

The crown also features the large “Black Prince’s Ruby”, along with 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 269 pearls, including some of which are said to have been bought as earrings by Tudor monarch Queen Elizabeth I.

Sovereign’s scepter with cross

The Cullinan 1 diamond, also known as the Star of Africa, which weighs in at 530 carats and is the world’s largest colorless cut diamond, was set in the bejeweled golden scepter which has been used in every coronation since 1661.

The scepter, which has undergone a number of alterations over the centuries, represents the sovereign’s temporal power and is associated with good governance.

Sovereign’s scepter with dove

This is the second scepter used in the ceremony, representing the sovereign’s spiritual role. It also dates from 1661. It is made from a gold rod in three sections, mounted with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and spinels. At the top is an enameled dove with outspread wings, which represents the Holy Ghost.

The Sovereign’s Orb

The Sovereign’s Orb, another item commissioned for Charles II’s coronation, is a globe of gold with a cross mounted on top, surrounded by a band of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls with a large amethyst at the summit. It is a representation of Christian sovereignty.

Coronation ring

The coronation ring, known as “The Wedding Ring of England” and composed of a sapphire with a ruby cross set in diamonds, was made for the coronation of King William IV in 1831. Worn at every coronation since then, it symbolizes kingly dignity.

Swords and maces

A number of swords will feature in the coronation procession.

These include the Sword of State, which symbolizes royal authority and was made in about 1678, and was used at Charles’ investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969. Also to feature will be the Sword of Temporal Justice, the Sword of Spiritual Justice and the Sword of Mercy, which were first used in the coronation of Charles I in 1626.

The bejeweled Sword of Offering, made for the coronation of George IV in 1821, will be presented to Charles, with the message it is a symbol not of might or violence but for the protection of good.

Two maces, made of silver gilt over oak and date from between 1660 and 1695, will also feature. These are the ceremonial emblems of authority which are carried before the sovereign at events such as the State Opening of Parliament.

Ampulla

The golden ampulla, which dates from 1661, is a flask in the shape of an eagle that holds the holy oil, which was consecrated in Jerusalem in March and will be used to anoint the king.

Coronation spoon

The silver-gilt spoon is the oldest piece in the regalia, probably made for Henry II or Richard I in the 12th century. It was used to anoint King James 1 in 1603 and has featured at every coronation since.

Bracelets

Two armills, golden bracelets representing sincerity and wisdom, are placed on the sovereign’s wrists. They are thought to relate to ancient symbols of knighthood and military leadership.

They date back to 1661 and have been used at every coronation from King Charles II’s until King George VI’s in 1937, with new armills specially prepared for Queen Elizabeth in 1953.
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The cast of characters for the 149th Kentucky Derby was rewritten in the days before the race. What didn’t change: Forte is the early 3-1 favorite on Saturday in a seemingly wide-open field of 19 horses.

Four horses were scratched — Practical Move, Lord Miles, Continuar and Skinner — and three horses waiting on the also-eligible list moved into the field. They are Cyclone Mischief, Mandarin Hero and King Russell.

Last year’s Derby was a stunner: 80-1 shot Rich Strike weaved his way through traffic and came rushing up the rail to win. NBC Sports’ overhead replay of the race was viewed more than 36 million times.

A crowd of about 150,000 is expected to jam Churchill Downs to wager and watch the 1 1/4-mile Derby. Post time is 6:57 p.m. EDT.

Forte breaks from the No. 15 post, which has produced six winners. The dark brown colt is trained by two-time Derby winner Todd Pletcher, who also has the second favorite in Tapit Trice, at 5-1.

The Todd Squad includes Kingsbarns, and it’s an impressive trio.

Forte was last year’s 2-year-old champion and has six wins in seven career starts, including five in a row. Tapit Trice is 4 for 5 and Kingsbarns is 3 for 3.

“You could say it’s the deepest squad we’ve brought so far,” Pletcher said.

Louisville-born Brad Cox won his first Derby belatedly when Mandaloun was elevated to first place after Medina Spirit’s disqualification nine months after the 2021 race.

“There’s no thrill of winning the Derby through a phone call,” he said. “There’s no celebration, there’s no winning picture.”

Cox has a leading four chances to make the winner’s circle in person this year: early 8-1 third choice Angel of Empire; Hit Show; Verifying; and Jace’s Road.

“I’m sure it would be a feeling like no other,” he said.

Gary and Mary West, who own Hit Show, are seeking retribution of their own.

Their horse, Maximum Security, crossed the Derby finish line first in 2019, but was disqualified for interference after a 22-minute delay while stewards reviewed video. Country House was awarded the garland of red roses. The Wests sued unsuccessfully to have the stewards’ decision reversed.

“They would like to cross the wire first and stay up,” Cox said. “They got a really live crack. This colt is really doing well.”

A couple of jockeys are looking for similar satisfaction.

Luis Saez rode Maximum Security in 2019 and received a 15-day suspension for interfering with others; he’s seeking his first Derby win aboard Tapit Trice. Florent Geroux, who was on Mandaloun, is on Jace’s Road.

For the second straight year, the Derby is without Bob Baffert. The Hall of Fame trainer with a record-tying six victories is soon to complete a two-year ban by Churchill Downs Inc. He was punished after Medina Spirit flunked a post-race drug test.

Baffert’s shadow still looms large over the Twin Spires. A colt previously trained by him, Reincarnate, will be in the starting gate.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. found himself on the sideline after being indefinitely suspended Thursday by Churchill Downs Inc. His Derby entry, Lord Miles, was scratched. Two of Joseph’s horses died after races at the track in the days leading up to the Derby. No cause of death has yet been found.

New antidoping and medication rules to be enforced by the sport’s new central governing body won’t take effect until May 22, after the Derby and the Preakness.

Japan is represented by Derma Sotogake and Mandarin Hero, giving the nation two chances to win the Derby for the first time.

Derma Sotogake and Two Phil’s are the most experienced runners in the field, having made eight career starts.

“He has a lot of experience and it has made him tougher and tougher,” said Christophe Lemaire, who will ride Derma Sotogake. “It is important to have that experience with 18 other horses in a high-level race.”

Confidence Game, a 20-1 shot, will try to win coming off an unheard of 10-week layoff.

Saturday’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 25 Celsius.

 
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U.S. director Damien Chazelle, best known for the Oscar-winning La La Land, will lead the jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival, organizers announced Friday.

The 80th edition of the prestigious festival will take place from Aug. 30-Sept. 9 on the swanky, beach-lined Lido island.

“For 10 days each year this city of the arts, of Tintoretto and Titian and Veronese, becomes a city of cinema, and I am humbled and delighted to be invited to lead this year’s jury,” said Chazelle, 38, whose most recent film is Babylon.

Chazelle’s musical about making it in Hollywood, La La Land, opened the Venice festival in 2016, and went on to win six Academy Awards, including for its director, the youngest ever to win the prize.

Heading the jury for Venice’s parallel competition, Orizzonti, will be Italy’s Jonas Carpignano, director of a trilogy (Mediterranea, A Ciambra, A Chiara) based in the Calabrian port city of Gioia Tauro.

Last year, the festival’s top Golden Lion prize went to U.S. director Laura Poitras for All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. The documentary traced the campaign by photographer and activist Nan Goldin to hold the rich Sackler family accountable for the U.S. opioid crisis.

U.S. actress Julianne Moore headed last year’s jury, with Spanish director Isabel Coixet at the helm of Orizzonti.
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Hong Kong police seized an exhibit Friday in connection with what they said was an attempt to incite subversion, with media reporting it was a statue commemorating Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown on democracy protesters in 1989.

Media reported the exhibit was the “Pillar of Shame,” an 8-meter-tall statue depicting dozens of torn and twisted bodies that commemorates protesters killed in the crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square more than three decades ago.

Police did not give details of the exhibit they said they had seized in the Yuen Long district of the former British colony.

“The National Security Department … conducted searches with a warrant this morning. An exhibit related to an ‘incitement to subversion’ case was seized,” police said in a statement.

They did not say who was suspected of wanting to use the statue, which was being kept in storage, to incite subversion.

Tiananmen anniversary looming

The seizure came weeks ahead of the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Hong Kong had traditionally held the largest annual vigils in the world to commemorate the crackdown.

The crackdown is taboo in the rest of China, and Hong Kong’s vigil, traditionally in a city park, was banned beginning in 2020, ostensibly because of coronavirus restrictions.

Statue first exhibited in 1997

The two-ton copper “Pillar of Shame” was first exhibited at a Tiananmen Square commemoration in Hong Kong in 1997, the same year Britain handed the city back to China.

In 2021, the University of Hong Kong dismantled and removed the statue “based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university.” It has since been kept in a cargo container on university-owned land.

Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot, who created the work, said he had not been informed about its seizure by police.

“This is outrageous. This is my sculpture, and nobody has consulted or informed me about anything,” he said in email response to Reuters.

It is not clear if the Tiananmen Square vigil will take place this year.

The city government said this week that sections of Victoria Park, where the rally is usually held, would be closed for maintenance.

The vigil organizer, the Hong Kong Alliance, was disbanded in 2021 after its leaders were arrested and charged with inciting subversion under a national security law imposed by China in 2020 after anti-government protests.

Authorities have been using the law to clamp down on pro-democracy activity in Hong Kong, and about 250 people, including opposition politicians, lawyers and journalists, have been arrested for suspected national security offenses.

Authorities say they are maintaining order necessary for the financial hub’s prosperity.
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