Editor’s Pick: Three Notable Washington, D.C. Benefits For Ukraine

WASHINGTON -- Jen Psaki had been White House press secretary less than two weeks when a reporter asked whether Twitter's ban of Donald Trump had made President Joe Biden's life easier.“We don’t spend a lot of time talking about or thinking about President Trump here," she responded, then added for emphasis: “Former President Trump.”It was an early indication of what was to come with this press secretary. Her briefings were professional and typically congenial, but could turn pointed in a hurry.

Eurovision Song Contest.The act are currently favourites to win the overall contest, which takes place this week in Turin amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.Last night (May 10) the first semi-finals were held ahead of Saturday’s (May 14) grand final, with Ukraine progressing along with Armenia, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk said following their qualification: “We understand we need to stay focused because we want to promote Ukrainian culture and let everyone know about it, This is our goal.”Here's the 10 qualifiers from the First Semi-Final! #Eurovision #ESC2022 pic.twitter.com/qxqezFuY9g— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 10, 2022Kalush Orchestra, a rap group who formed in 2019, replaced Ukraine’s original entrant Alina Pash, who withdrew from the competition in February, for Eurovision 2022. The group’s track ‘Stefania’ is an ode to powerful mothers.Speaking to NME this week, Psiuk explained how their taking part was a “huge responsibility”, given the ongoing war with Russia.“To represent Ukraine in the international arena is always a responsibility, but to represent it during the war is just the highest responsibility possible,” he said.“The song [‘Stefania’] was composed and dedicated to my mother, but after the war the song has acquired lots of nuances because a lot of people are perceiving it as if Ukraine is my mother,” said Psiuk.

Ukraine have been tipped as the favourites to win this years Eurovision Song Contest. Kalush Orchestra, who are representing Ukraine, have been given special permission to leave the country to travel to the contest, taking place in Turin, Italy. The rap trio Kalush formed in 2019 and they have joined forces with Ukrainian folk flute player Vitalii Duzhyk and vocalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Oleksandr Slobodianyk to create Kalush Orchestra and their entry song Stefani.

Marta Balaga Paris-based Celluloid Dreams has boarded Antonio Lukich’s upcoming feature “From Ukraine to Luxembourg,” currently in post-production and aiming to premiere in the fall.The Ukrainian director debuted in 2019 with “My Thoughts Are Silent,” a dramedy about a sound recordist asked to record animal sounds from Western Ukraine. But here is the catch: his mother decides to join him. The film was awarded a Special Jury Prize at Karlovy Vary’s East of the West section.In “From Ukraine to Luxembourg,” starring Ramil Nasirov, Amil Nasirov, Natalia Gnitii and Liumyla Sachenko, two twin brothers have to deal with the disappearance of their father.

Eurovision 2022 is just around the corner, so music fans don't have much longer to wait for a night brimming with exuberant performances and whacky costumes.

Journalists from Ukraine were recognized with a 2022 Pulitzer Prize special citation, while judges for journalism’s top honors also recognized coverage of the January 6th attacks on the Capitol, the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Surfside condominium collapse in Florida.

Eurovision Song Contest.Kalush Orchestra, a rap group who formed in 2019, replaced Ukraine’s original entrant Alina Pash, who withdrew from the competition in February. The group’s track ‘Stefania’ is an ode to powerful mothers.The Grand Final of Eurovision 2022 will take place at the PalaOlimpico in Turin, Italy this weekend (May 14), with Kalush Orchestra’s odds currently sitting at 8/11 (via Oddschecker).Written by frontman Oleh Psiuk, ‘Stefania’ is also the most watched on YouTube among the 35 contenders.

Ukraine, it has become an anthem to the nation's war-ravaged motherland.“Stefania” is the most-watched song on YouTube among the 35 national entries that will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest next week in Italy's northern industrial city of Turin. While some oddsmakers and data analysts have pegged others to win, the song by Kalush Orchestra is quickly becoming a sentimental favorite.“I’ll always find my way home, even if all roads are destroyed,’’ Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk wrote in “Stefania.”The lyrics have become more poignant as Russian missiles pound Ukrainian cities and villages, forcing over 11 million to flee the country already.“Indeed, some stuff in here was written long before the war, and it was dedicated to my mother,’’ Psiuk told The Associated Press at his hotel in Turin, wearing a bright bucket hat that makes him instantly recognizable to anyone who has streamed “Stefania.”“After it all started with the war and the hostilities, it took on additional meaning, and many people started seeing it as their mother, Ukraine, in the meaning of the country.

Ukraine, reporters in the field face a daily tightrope walk between getting the story and potentially getting killed. At least 14 journalists have already died in the conflict, which broke out when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb.

Marvel's Harry Styles and Florence Pugh are in the middle of a conspiracy in the first trailer for Don't Worry Darling. The duo, who are in the MCU in Eternals and Black Widow respectively, star in the science fiction thriller as a couple whose idyllic 1950s marriage is a facade for a dark reality.

Vladimir Putin has lost his ninth general to the war in Ukraine along with 15,000 Russian troops killed over the course of the invasion, according to reports.

Liev Schreiber is using his platform to highlight the war in Ukraine.

Hollywood actress and U.N. humanitarian Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday, the Lviv regional governor said on Telegram. According to Maksym Kozytskyy, Jolie — who has been a UNHCR Special Envoy for Refugees since 2011 — had come to speak with displaced people who have found refuge in Lviv, including children undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the missile strike on the Kramatorsk railway station in early April.

The Foreign Secretary has called for Western allies to "double down" in their efforts to support Ukraine and push Russia out of the war-torn country.

Ed Sheeran has released a remix of his song ‘2step’ featuring Lil Baby, with income from the track being donated to the Ukraine relief effort.The video for this new version of the track was filmed in Ukrainian capital Kyiv in December last year, before the Russian invasion began.“I filmed the video for ‘2step’ in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine before the devastating acts of violence started to take place”, says Sheeran. “It was my first time visiting the country and I felt so welcomed during my stay there – everyone from the production crew to the many people I met across my days off”.“Ukraine is a proud and resilient country and I’m grateful to have had the chance to film my video there”, he adds.