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On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with USA Today Woman of the Year 2023 honoree Jade Piros de Carvalho.

<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p4fEi-BuxTE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with USA Today Woman of the Year 2023 honoree Jade Piros de Carvalho.

🎤 Forward Ever: USA Today Woman of the Year 2023 honoree Jade Piros de Carvalho

On this episode of the Post Podcast Amy B. chats with Letters from Home performers, prior to their Friday night performance in downtown Hays.

<div><iframe title="Letters from Home comes to Hays Friday" allowtransparency="true" height="600" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=tu3pa-13cfaa5-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=600" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast Amy B. chats with Letters from Home performers, prior to their Friday night performance in downtown Hays.

🎙 Post Podcast: Letters from Home comes to Hays Friday

Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau

ABILENE - Race organizers are preparing for the 2023 Eisenhower Marathon.

The Marathon will be April 29, in Abilene. The race will start in Old Abilene Town and offers 5k, 10k, Half-Marathon, and Full-Marathon options.

READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/62d4f736-5616-4cc5-bdf3-879d18d785e0">More than 700 runners already registered for Salina Crossroads Marathon</a>

The race began in 2003 under the leadership of June DeWeese and was one of only a handful of marathons in the Midwest. Today, Steve Cathey serves as race organizer. A Boston Marathon Qualifying Course, runners from 27 states are registered for the “fast and mostly flat” race.

&nbsp;“People love running the Eisenhower Marathon,” Cathey said. “Many people set personal records on this course.”

&nbsp;Another reason runners love coming to Abilene is the hospitality.&nbsp;

“The event&nbsp;provides big race swag and small-town hospitality; runners coming to town become part of the Abilene family!” he said. “Over the past three years of being the director, we have had many returning runners due to the amazing support of our staff on race day, making everything enjoyable for the participants!”

A race of this size wouldn’t be possible without community support.

“Thank you to all of our sponsors for their continued support,” Cathey said.

For more information about the Eisenhower Marathon or to volunteer, contact Steve Cathey at (785) 280-0705 or visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.eisenhowermarathon.net/" target="_blank">www.EisenhowerMarathon.net</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1678983370510.jpeg" alt="A previous Eisenhower Marathon.&nbsp;Photo courtesy&nbsp; Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau" />
 <figcaption>A previous Eisenhower Marathon.&nbsp;Photo courtesy&nbsp; Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau</figcaption>
 </figure>Abilene Convention and Visitors BureauABILENE - Race organizers are preparing for the 2023 Eisenhower Marathon.The Marathon will be April 29, in Abilene. The race will start in Old Abilene Town and offers 5k, 10k, Half-Marathon, and Full-Marathon options.READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/62d4f736-5616-4cc5-bdf3-879d18d785e0">More than 700 runners already registered for Salina Crossroads Marathon</a>The race began in 2003 under the leadership of June DeWeese and was one of only a handful of marathons in the Midwest. Today, Steve Cathey serves as race organizer. A Boston Marathon Qualifying Course, runners from 27 states are registered for the “fast and mostly flat” race.&nbsp;“People love running the Eisenhower Marathon,” Cathey said. “Many people set personal records on this course.”&nbsp;Another reason runners love coming to Abilene is the hospitality.&nbsp;“The event&nbsp;provides big race swag and small-town hospitality; runners coming to town become part of the Abilene family!” he said. “Over the past three years of being the director, we have had many returning runners due to the amazing support of our staff on race day, making everything enjoyable for the participants!”A race of this size wouldn’t be possible without community support.“Thank you to all of our sponsors for their continued support,” Cathey said.For more information about the Eisenhower Marathon or to volunteer, contact Steve Cathey at (785) 280-0705 or visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.eisenhowermarathon.net/" target="_blank">www.EisenhowerMarathon.net</a>.

Runners headed to Abilene in April for Eisenhower Marathon

Lovegrass
Music Festival brings ‘experience’ to Defiance Brewing Co. Saturday for free event featuring new beer

At 3
p.m. Saturday, The Lovegrass Music Festival Association and Defiance Brewing,
2050 Old Highway 40, are teaming up to bring a “Lovegrass Experience” to Hays.

The day will
feature food, games, a benefit raffle and area bands to raise awareness and
funds for the annual fall bluegrass music festival at the Wilson Lake State
Park.

“We are
a 501(c)3, and so we're a nonprofit, and we like to keep our festival free,” said
organizer Aimee Riegel.

She said that over the last few years maintaining the festival has been challenging, but it
has continued and grown with events like Saturday’s benefit helping spread awareness
and funds.

“Besides
our festival — which is our main culminating event each year — we have in the
last two years broadened our scope to provide music not just at the lake but
also in other areas, such as Hays. We've done some activities over Wilson at
the Midland Hotel. We are also partnering with Great Bend Alive at the end of
April for an event down there as well.”

While The Lovegrass Music festival
may center on music, Saturday’s event will also feature a popular area
activity.

“Branson
Kyle from the Hays Cornhole League is going to be organizing a cornhole tournament,”
Riegel said. “They're very passionate about this project, and you can sign up
ahead of time.”

The tournament
will kick off the day’s festivities at the brewery’s taproom, with signup beginning
at 3 p.m.

“There
are two different leagues, pro and then social league,” Riegel said. “That's
the first event, and then we've got music kicking off at four o'clock with
three bands.”

Bartlett
will open the musical offerings at 4 p.m., followed by 80 Proof Alice and
Haymakers. Each band will perform for about an hour.

“Both of
those bands are going to be playing for absolutely no charge as a donation to
the festival,” Riegel said. “So, if you come on out, bring some money to tip
the bands. That way, they can make it worth their time.”

She said
she is especially excited to bring Haymakers to Hays.

“They're
doing a fundraiser down in Garden City for the Tumbleweed Festival, (which is) run by
Valerie Smith,” Riegel said. “They're doing that on Friday. And then, funny
enough, they're coming here to do our fundraiser the next day.

“They play
more blues, bluegrass, folk-type music and Americana. They're really
wonderful.” 

Haymakers
are set to take the stage at 7 p.m.

Following
their set, Riegel said they would host a jam session open to everyone.

“If you
have an instrument and you want to come play, we're going to keep the taproom
open as long as there are folks out there that want to play and partake,” she
said. “Come out, bring your guitar, bring your banjo, bring your spoons,
whatever it might be, and join us for some jamming.”

Defiance Brewing Brand Master
Brett Straight said hosting an event like the Lovegrass Experience is a part of
their mission.

“Any
time we get an opportunity to support local music, and live music, we're all
about it,” he said.

And with the upcoming event, they
hope to support the organization.

“What we
were focused on was just being able to provide an experience where people can
come out,” Straight said. “There's no obligation that you have to spend any money.
You can just come out and enjoy the festival, but what we hope is going to
happen is that people are going to purchase the custom-made pint glasses that
we had made.”

Custom
stickers were also designed for the event and will be available. 

“There's
been some wonderful people that donated some great prizes,” Straight said. 

“We really
had an outpouring of sponsorships,” Riegel said. “I think it's really
interesting, considering our festival is in Wilson at Wilson Lake in Russell
County, we usually target those areas for sponsorships for our main festival.
But for the smaller events, I believe, getting the word out and collaborating
with Defiance, and having that known name and recognition has been really
helpful for us to be able to procure certain sponsorships.”

“People
have been really wonderful. And helping this event, I was really blown away,
actually. So, we want to thank all of those that have made this possible, and
especially Defiance. They are going to be helping out too, they've just been
wonderful to work with.”

Part of
the support included the brewing of a beer to match the event.

“We
wanted to try something that is oriented around Bluegrass,” Straight said. “So,
we came up with a Blueberry Pie Gose. It's called Tap That Grass, and we will
be showcasing that on Saturday.”

For more information about the
Lovegrass Music Festival, visit <a href="https://www.lovegrassmusicfestival.com/">lovegrassmusicfestival.com.</a>

<div><iframe title="Defiance Brewing, Lovegrass Music Festival team up for weekend event" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=v4cwd-13caeae-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680007122524.jpeg" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Lovegrass
Music Festival brings ‘experience’ to Defiance Brewing Co. Saturday for free event featuring new beer</h2>By JAMES BELL Hays PostAt 3
p.m. Saturday, The Lovegrass Music Festival Association and Defiance Brewing,
2050 Old Highway 40, are teaming up to bring a “Lovegrass Experience” to Hays.The day will
feature food, games, a benefit raffle and area bands to raise awareness and
funds for the annual fall bluegrass music festival at the Wilson Lake State
Park.“We are
a 501(c)3, and so we're a nonprofit, and we like to keep our festival free,” said
organizer Aimee Riegel.She said that over the last few years maintaining the festival has been challenging, but it
has continued and grown with events like Saturday’s benefit helping spread awareness
and funds.“Besides
our festival — which is our main culminating event each year — we have in the
last two years broadened our scope to provide music not just at the lake but
also in other areas, such as Hays. We've done some activities over Wilson at
the Midland Hotel. We are also partnering with Great Bend Alive at the end of
April for an event down there as well.”While The Lovegrass Music festival
may center on music, Saturday’s event will also feature a popular area
activity.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680007017649.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“Branson
Kyle from the Hays Cornhole League is going to be organizing a cornhole tournament,”
Riegel said. “They're very passionate about this project, and you can sign up
ahead of time.”The tournament
will kick off the day’s festivities at the brewery’s taproom, with signup beginning
at 3 p.m.“There
are two different leagues, pro and then social league,” Riegel said. “That's
the first event, and then we've got music kicking off at four o'clock with
three bands.”Bartlett
will open the musical offerings at 4 p.m., followed by 80 Proof Alice and
Haymakers. Each band will perform for about an hour.“Both of
those bands are going to be playing for absolutely no charge as a donation to
the festival,” Riegel said. “So, if you come on out, bring some money to tip
the bands. That way, they can make it worth their time.”She said
she is especially excited to bring Haymakers to Hays.“They're
doing a fundraiser down in Garden City for the Tumbleweed Festival, (which is) run by
Valerie Smith,” Riegel said. “They're doing that on Friday. And then, funny
enough, they're coming here to do our fundraiser the next day.“They play
more blues, bluegrass, folk-type music and Americana. They're really
wonderful.” Haymakers
are set to take the stage at 7 p.m.Following
their set, Riegel said they would host a jam session open to everyone.“If you
have an instrument and you want to come play, we're going to keep the taproom
open as long as there are folks out there that want to play and partake,” she
said. “Come out, bring your guitar, bring your banjo, bring your spoons,
whatever it might be, and join us for some jamming.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680200134811.jpeg" alt="Dustin Arbuckle and Matt Woods perform at the Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson during a Lovegrass Experience event. (Courtesy photo)" />
 <figcaption>Dustin Arbuckle and Matt Woods perform at the Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson during a Lovegrass Experience event. (Courtesy photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>Defiance Brewing Brand Master
Brett Straight said hosting an event like the Lovegrass Experience is a part of
their mission.“Any
time we get an opportunity to support local music, and live music, we're all
about it,” he said.And with the upcoming event, they
hope to support the organization.“What we
were focused on was just being able to provide an experience where people can
come out,” Straight said. “There's no obligation that you have to spend any money.
You can just come out and enjoy the festival, but what we hope is going to
happen is that people are going to purchase the custom-made pint glasses that
we had made.”Custom
stickers were also designed for the event and will be available. A fundraiser
raffle is also planned.“There's
been some wonderful people that donated some great prizes,” Straight said. “We really
had an outpouring of sponsorships,” Riegel said. “I think it's really
interesting, considering our festival is in Wilson at Wilson Lake in Russell
County, we usually target those areas for sponsorships for our main festival.
But for the smaller events, I believe, getting the word out and collaborating
with Defiance, and having that known name and recognition has been really
helpful for us to be able to procure certain sponsorships.”“People
have been really wonderful. And helping this event, I was really blown away,
actually. So, we want to thank all of those that have made this possible, and
especially Defiance. They are going to be helping out too, they've just been
wonderful to work with.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680200435901.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Part of
the support included the brewing of a beer to match the event.“We
wanted to try something that is oriented around Bluegrass,” Straight said. “So,
we came up with a Blueberry Pie Gose. It's called Tap That Grass, and we will
be showcasing that on Saturday.”For more information about the
Lovegrass Music Festival, visit <a href="https://www.lovegrassmusicfestival.com/">lovegrassmusicfestival.com.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680200265495.jpeg" alt="Lovegrass Music Festival 2022. (Courtesy photo)" />
 <figcaption>Lovegrass Music Festival 2022. (Courtesy photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>

🎙 Beer and Bluegrass on tap this weekend in Hays

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn’t at fault for the crash.

A jury dismissed the complaint of a retired optometrist who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.boston.com/culture/celebs/2019/01/29/gwyneth-paltrow-sued-over-utah-ski-crash/">sued Paltrow</a>&nbsp;over injuries he sustained when the two crashed on a beginner run at Deer Valley ski resort, siding with Paltrow after eight days of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-0d1bf78d45d65d86eafcd0e6bc21ae38">live-streamed courtroom testimony</a>&nbsp;that made the case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-b748dfec3d0cc7ba7281355a21a4f6ff">a pop culture fixation.</a>

Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, Paltrow looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury’s verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amber-heard-johnny-depp-entertainment-ae1cbc0ff84940adf857355ec956723e">actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off</a>&nbsp;last year.

The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case. Paltrow’s attorneys described the complaint against her as “utter B.S.” and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/travel-entertainment-ap-top-news-us-news-lawsuits-89356b1afe574eee890e7f31cb193b86">unfair, frivolous lawsuits</a>&nbsp;due to her celebrity.

Paltrow took the witness stand during the trial to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-utah-ski-collision-trial-3f3b25539799e4537f2157ee3679d202">insist the collision</a>&nbsp;wasn’t her fault, and to describe how she was stunned when she felt “a body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise.”

Throughout the trial, the word&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-2d9de9365c38">“uphill” became synonymous with “guilty,</a>&nbsp;” as attorneys focused on a largely unknown skiing code of conduct that stipulates that the skier who is downhill or ahead on the slope has the right of way.

Worldwide audiences followed the celebrity trial as if it were episodic television. Viewers scrutinized both Paltrow and Sanderson’s motives while attorneys directed questions to witnesses that often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client’s reputations.

The trial took place in Park City, a resort town known for hosting the annual&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival">Sundance Film Festival,</a>&nbsp;where early in her career Paltrow would appear for the premieres of her movies including 1998’s “Sliding Doors,” at a time when she was known primarily as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer. Paltrow is also known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love” and the “Iron Man” movies.

The jury’s decision marks a painful court defeat for Terry Sanderson, the man who sued Paltrow for more than $300,000 over injuries he sustained when they crashed on a beginner run. Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him.

He filed an amended complaint after an earlier $3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. Paltrow in response countersued for $1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift’s response to a radio host’s defamation lawsuit. Swift was awarded $1 in 2017.

Paltrow’s defense team tried to paint Sanderson as an angry, aging and unsympathetic man who had over the years become “obsessed” with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn’t at fault in the crash and also said, regardless of blame, that Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680216584319.png" alt="Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court during an objection by her attorney during her trial, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)" />
 <figcaption>Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court during an objection by her attorney during her trial, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)</figcaption>
 </figure>PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn’t at fault for the crash.A jury dismissed the complaint of a retired optometrist who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.boston.com/culture/celebs/2019/01/29/gwyneth-paltrow-sued-over-utah-ski-crash/">sued Paltrow</a>&nbsp;over injuries he sustained when the two crashed on a beginner run at Deer Valley ski resort, siding with Paltrow after eight days of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-0d1bf78d45d65d86eafcd0e6bc21ae38">live-streamed courtroom testimony</a>&nbsp;that made the case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-b748dfec3d0cc7ba7281355a21a4f6ff">a pop culture fixation.</a>Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, Paltrow looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury’s verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amber-heard-johnny-depp-entertainment-ae1cbc0ff84940adf857355ec956723e">actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off</a>&nbsp;last year.The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case. Paltrow’s attorneys described the complaint against her as “utter B.S.” and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/travel-entertainment-ap-top-news-us-news-lawsuits-89356b1afe574eee890e7f31cb193b86">unfair, frivolous lawsuits</a>&nbsp;due to her celebrity.Paltrow took the witness stand during the trial to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-utah-ski-collision-trial-3f3b25539799e4537f2157ee3679d202">insist the collision</a>&nbsp;wasn’t her fault, and to describe how she was stunned when she felt “a body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise.”Throughout the trial, the word&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-2d9de9365c38">“uphill” became synonymous with “guilty,</a>&nbsp;” as attorneys focused on a largely unknown skiing code of conduct that stipulates that the skier who is downhill or ahead on the slope has the right of way.Worldwide audiences followed the celebrity trial as if it were episodic television. Viewers scrutinized both Paltrow and Sanderson’s motives while attorneys directed questions to witnesses that often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client’s reputations.The trial took place in Park City, a resort town known for hosting the annual&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival">Sundance Film Festival,</a>&nbsp;where early in her career Paltrow would appear for the premieres of her movies including 1998’s “Sliding Doors,” at a time when she was known primarily as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer. Paltrow is also known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love” and the “Iron Man” movies.The jury’s decision marks a painful court defeat for Terry Sanderson, the man who sued Paltrow for more than $300,000 over injuries he sustained when they crashed on a beginner run. Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him.He filed an amended complaint after an earlier $3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. Paltrow in response countersued for $1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift’s response to a radio host’s defamation lawsuit. Swift was awarded $1 in 2017.Paltrow’s defense team tried to paint Sanderson as an angry, aging and unsympathetic man who had over the years become “obsessed” with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn’t at fault in the crash and also said, regardless of blame, that Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries.

Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault for ski collision, jury decides

On this episode of the Post Podcast Amy B. speaks with Autumn Ragland, lead singer of Ragland, as she shares information about their upcoming performance in Hays.

<div><iframe title="Ragland to perform in downtown Hays Thursday" allowtransparency="true" height="600" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=hxzqx-13cdddc-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=600" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast Amy B. speaks with Autumn Ragland, lead singer of Ragland, as she shares information about their upcoming performance in Hays.

🎙 Post Podcast: Ragland to perform in downtown Hays Thursday

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20LEICESTER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press</a>

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — “Attention. Air raid alert,” the voice says with a Jedi knight’s gravitas. “Proceed to the nearest shelter.”

It's a surreal moment in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine-war">an already surreal war</a>: the grave but calming baritone of actor Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars,” urging people to take cover whenever Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on Ukraine.

The intrusion of Hollywood science-fiction fantasy into the grim daily realities of war in Ukraine is a consequence of Hamill's decision to lend his famous voice to “Air Alert” — a downloadable app linked to Ukraine's air defense system. When air raid sirens start howling, the app also warns Ukrainians that Russian missiles, bombs and deadly exploding drones may be incoming.

“Don’t be careless," Hamill’s voice advises. “Your overconfidence is your weakness.”

The actor says he's admired — from afar, in California — how Ukraine has "shown such resilience ... under such terrible circumstances." Its fight against the Russian invasion,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-one-year-ba61809330c132929a6da34fe99ddab2">now in its second year</a>, reminds him of the “Star Wars” saga, he says — of plucky rebels battling and ultimately defeating a vast, murderous empire. Voicing over the English-language version of the air-raid app and giving it his “Star Wars” touch was his way of helping out.

“A fairy tale about good versus evil is resonant with what’s going on in Ukraine,” Hamill said in an interview with The Associated Press. “The Ukrainian people rallying to the cause and responding so heroically ... It’s impossible not to be inspired by how they’ve weathered this storm."

When the dangers from the skies pass, Hamill announces via the app that “the air alert is over." He then signs off with an uplifting: "May the Force be with you.”

Hamill is also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mark-hamill-ukraine-drones-46cfb2c53d43e7e1b4e270d0292a5f32">raising funds</a>&nbsp;to buy reconnaissance drones for Ukrainian forces on the front lines. He autographed “Star Wars”-themed posters that are being raffled off.

“Here I sit in the comfort of my own home when in Ukraine there are power outages and food shortages and people are really suffering," he said. “It motivates me to do as much as I can.”

Although the app also has a Ukrainian-language setting, voiced by a woman, some Ukrainians prefer to have Hamill breaking the bad news that yet another Russian bombardment might be imminent.

On the worst days, sirens and the app sound every few hours, day and night. Some turn out to be false alarms. But many others are real — and often deadly.

Bohdan Zvonyk, a 24-year-old app user who lives in the repeatedly struck western city of Lviv, says he chose Hamill's voiceover rather than the Ukrainian setting because he is trying to improve his English. He's a “Star Wars” fan, too.

“Besides," he said, “we could use a little bit of the power that Hamill wishes us.”

After one alert, Zvonyk was riding a trolley bus when Hamill's voice rang out from his phone. He said the man in front “turned to me and said, smiling: ‘Oh, those damn Sith,'" to describe Russian forces. The Sith are the malevolent enemies of the do-gooding Jedi.

Olena Yeremina, a 38-year-old business manager in the capital, Kyiv, said Hamill's “May the Force be with you" signoff at first made her laugh. Now its enduring humor gives her strength.

“It’s a very cool phrase for this situation,” she said. “I wouldn’t say that I feel like a Ukrainian Jedi, but sometimes this phrase reminds me to straighten my shoulders and keep working.”

Sometimes it can be wise to shut Hamill off. Yeremina forgot to do that on a trip outside Ukraine — to Berlin — and paid for the error when the alarm started shrieking at 6 a.m. and, again, when she rode the subway in the German capital. She wasn't alone. Another person in the subway car also had the app and it erupted, too. The two of them first cursed, but then “it made both me and that person smile,” Yeremina recalled.

Ajax Systems, a Ukrainian security systems manufacturer that co-developed the app, hopes Hamill's star power will encourage people outside Ukraine to download it — so they get a taste of the angst heaped on Ukrainians by nerve-shredding alarms and airborne death and destruction.

“With Mark's approach, it won’t be so terrifying," said Valentine Hrytsenko, the chief marketing officer at Ajax. “But they will understand somehow the context.”

In the invasion's first year, air-raid alarms sounded more than 19,000 times across the country, so “of course people are getting tired,” he said. The app has been downloaded more than 14 million times. Hrytsenko is among those who use its English-language setting to hear Hamill’s voice.

“For Star Wars fans, it sounds really fantastic," he said. “It’s kind of a Ukrainian mentality to find some humor even in the bad situation or to try to be positive.”

Hamill is pleased that the sci-fi saga is again transporting people, even if just temporarily, to its galaxy far, far away.

“It does inspire people,” he said. “Everyone flashes back to being 6 years old again. And if the movie can help people get through hard times, so much the better.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20LEICESTER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press</a>KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — “Attention. Air raid alert,” the voice says with a Jedi knight’s gravitas. “Proceed to the nearest shelter.”It's a surreal moment in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine-war">an already surreal war</a>: the grave but calming baritone of actor Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars,” urging people to take cover whenever Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on Ukraine.The intrusion of Hollywood science-fiction fantasy into the grim daily realities of war in Ukraine is a consequence of Hamill's decision to lend his famous voice to “Air Alert” — a downloadable app linked to Ukraine's air defense system. When air raid sirens start howling, the app also warns Ukrainians that Russian missiles, bombs and deadly exploding drones may be incoming.“Don’t be careless," Hamill’s voice advises. “Your overconfidence is your weakness.”The actor says he's admired — from afar, in California — how Ukraine has "shown such resilience ... under such terrible circumstances." Its fight against the Russian invasion,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-one-year-ba61809330c132929a6da34fe99ddab2">now in its second year</a>, reminds him of the “Star Wars” saga, he says — of plucky rebels battling and ultimately defeating a vast, murderous empire. Voicing over the English-language version of the air-raid app and giving it his “Star Wars” touch was his way of helping out.“A fairy tale about good versus evil is resonant with what’s going on in Ukraine,” Hamill said in an interview with The Associated Press. “The Ukrainian people rallying to the cause and responding so heroically ... It’s impossible not to be inspired by how they’ve weathered this storm."When the dangers from the skies pass, Hamill announces via the app that “the air alert is over." He then signs off with an uplifting: "May the Force be with you.”Hamill is also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mark-hamill-ukraine-drones-46cfb2c53d43e7e1b4e270d0292a5f32">raising funds</a>&nbsp;to buy reconnaissance drones for Ukrainian forces on the front lines. He autographed “Star Wars”-themed posters that are being raffled off.“Here I sit in the comfort of my own home when in Ukraine there are power outages and food shortages and people are really suffering," he said. “It motivates me to do as much as I can.”Although the app also has a Ukrainian-language setting, voiced by a woman, some Ukrainians prefer to have Hamill breaking the bad news that yet another Russian bombardment might be imminent.On the worst days, sirens and the app sound every few hours, day and night. Some turn out to be false alarms. But many others are real — and often deadly.Bohdan Zvonyk, a 24-year-old app user who lives in the repeatedly struck western city of Lviv, says he chose Hamill's voiceover rather than the Ukrainian setting because he is trying to improve his English. He's a “Star Wars” fan, too.“Besides," he said, “we could use a little bit of the power that Hamill wishes us.”After one alert, Zvonyk was riding a trolley bus when Hamill's voice rang out from his phone. He said the man in front “turned to me and said, smiling: ‘Oh, those damn Sith,'" to describe Russian forces. The Sith are the malevolent enemies of the do-gooding Jedi.Olena Yeremina, a 38-year-old business manager in the capital, Kyiv, said Hamill's “May the Force be with you" signoff at first made her laugh. Now its enduring humor gives her strength.“It’s a very cool phrase for this situation,” she said. “I wouldn’t say that I feel like a Ukrainian Jedi, but sometimes this phrase reminds me to straighten my shoulders and keep working.”Sometimes it can be wise to shut Hamill off. Yeremina forgot to do that on a trip outside Ukraine — to Berlin — and paid for the error when the alarm started shrieking at 6 a.m. and, again, when she rode the subway in the German capital. She wasn't alone. Another person in the subway car also had the app and it erupted, too. The two of them first cursed, but then “it made both me and that person smile,” Yeremina recalled.Ajax Systems, a Ukrainian security systems manufacturer that co-developed the app, hopes Hamill's star power will encourage people outside Ukraine to download it — so they get a taste of the angst heaped on Ukrainians by nerve-shredding alarms and airborne death and destruction.“With Mark's approach, it won’t be so terrifying," said Valentine Hrytsenko, the chief marketing officer at Ajax. “But they will understand somehow the context.”In the invasion's first year, air-raid alarms sounded more than 19,000 times across the country, so “of course people are getting tired,” he said. The app has been downloaded more than 14 million times. Hrytsenko is among those who use its English-language setting to hear Hamill’s voice.“For Star Wars fans, it sounds really fantastic," he said. “It’s kind of a Ukrainian mentality to find some humor even in the bad situation or to try to be positive.”Hamill is pleased that the sci-fi saga is again transporting people, even if just temporarily, to its galaxy far, far away.“It does inspire people,” he said. “Everyone flashes back to being 6 years old again. And if the movie can help people get through hard times, so much the better.”

Feel the Force: Hamill carries 'Star Wars' voice to Ukraine

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOCELYN%20NOVECK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer</a>

“You’re not a lot of fun, are you,” notes barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) to brave fighter Xenk (Regé-Jean Page) in the new “Dungeons &amp; Dragons” film, making two jokes at once.

The first is that Xenk, a paladin (or holy knight) in “D&amp;D” lingo, is everything BUT fun — gorgeous, noble, heroic, smart, and did we mention gorgeous? He’s just REALLY not fun, or funny. He’s so not funny, it’s hilarious.

The second, broader joke is that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGvv-Hhft3U">“Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,”</a>&nbsp;hotly awaited by devotees of the decades-old role-playing game, makes darned sure to be fun, and funny — enough to laugh at itself. And that's the thing that makes it work.

At least, for a newbie like me. I’ve never played the game, I confess. But this is a movie, not a game, and I’m here to tell you how it works for over two hours at the multiplex. Which is to say, surprisingly, sometimes delightfully well — even if you have no clue what a paladin or Red Wizard or Harper is, or if the term “Dungeon Master” sends your mind straight to “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

The most obvious reason for this success, besides fleet-footed direction by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, is star Chris Pine, whose sunny charisma and smooth knack for comedy, plus an ability to seem like he’s both inside the movie and outside looking in, keeps everything bubbling.

He’s ably assisted by Rodriguez, plus young accomplices Justice Smith as a confidence-challenged (but sweet) wizard and Sophia Lillis as a shape-shifting druid. And then we have a graying Hugh Grant, playing the heck out of yet another comic villain role — a character almost as curmudgeonly as he was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAHZqLAuo_M">on the Oscar red carpet.</a>

Plus there’s a cameo from another big star, but more on that in a minute. Because first we have to mention the pudgy dragon. Yes, pudgy. Whatever dragons eat, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eater.com/2019/4/24/18512398/what-do-the-game-of-thrones-dragons-eat">we can only try to imagine,</a>&nbsp;he’s had too many.

But back to Pine, aka the bard Edgin, whom we first meet in a dank, freezing prison cell. He’s — well, he's knitting. Nearby sits Holga (Rodriguez), and her own hobby is eating. She's not a cordial sort, especially when food supply is at risk.

An appearance in front of a judicial council, begging for a pardon, gives Edgin the chance to tell his backstory. Turns out he wasn't always a criminal; he was a Harper, part of a spy guild acting for the greater good, but he attracted the ire of the Red Wizards of Thay, which led to the tragic murder of his wife.

Teaming with Holga, he sets out to find the magical Tablet of Reawakening that would return his wife to him and especially their baby daughter Kira (played by Chloe Coleman as a youngster). But they get captured, and their accomplice Forge (Grant), who somehow escapes, swears to take care of Kira.

Edgin, a master planner, devises a jailbreak right during the pardon hearing. They discover Kira is now living in a walled city with Forge, a con-man who turns out (gasp!) to have planned the whole thing, and has convinced her that Dad betrayed her for riches. And now he’s allied with Sofina, a terrifying sorceress (Daisy Head). Forge not only refuses to give Kira back but sends Edgin and Holga to their deaths. Holga, however, quickly dispatches all the soldiers meant to kill them — all while Edgin tries, and fails, to untie a rope.

Now they need that tablet, but first they need a magical helmet (bear with us.) The quest, upon which they're joined by Simon (Smith) and Doric (Lillis), leads to the film’s most entertaining scenes. One of these is an impressive, fast-paced sequence where shape-shifter Doric infiltrates enemy lines and then, chased by Sofina, morphs seamlessly into various animal forms and back to herself again.

Another is a comic bit where Pine’s Edgin tries to elicit key information from a series of corpses. Summoned to life by an increasingly effective Simon, each corpse can answer five questions before returning to the grave forever. Edgin keeps wasting his chances with questions like “Did that count as a question?”

And a prime comic moment comes from none other than Bradley Cooper (see, worth the wait!). We'll reveal nothing but the observation that this cameo is small, but packs a punch.

Finally we have Xenk (Page), perfectly cast as a paladin so, well, perfect that he delivers babies in between vanquishing enemies, and provides the crucial help Edgin needs. But for all sorts of reasons, Edgin can’t bring himself to like the guy. Most of all, he can't deal with his lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm, and especially humor.

He’s probably right. Heroism is all well and good, but humor is crucial. That’s a lesson this film has, luckily, already figured out.

“Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” a Paramount Pictures release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America “for fantasy action/violence and some language.” Running time: 134 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOCELYN%20NOVECK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer</a>“You’re not a lot of fun, are you,” notes barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) to brave fighter Xenk (Regé-Jean Page) in the new “Dungeons &amp; Dragons” film, making two jokes at once.The first is that Xenk, a paladin (or holy knight) in “D&amp;D” lingo, is everything BUT fun — gorgeous, noble, heroic, smart, and did we mention gorgeous? He’s just REALLY not fun, or funny. He’s so not funny, it’s hilarious.The second, broader joke is that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGvv-Hhft3U">“Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,”</a>&nbsp;hotly awaited by devotees of the decades-old role-playing game, makes darned sure to be fun, and funny — enough to laugh at itself. And that's the thing that makes it work.At least, for a newbie like me. I’ve never played the game, I confess. But this is a movie, not a game, and I’m here to tell you how it works for over two hours at the multiplex. Which is to say, surprisingly, sometimes delightfully well — even if you have no clue what a paladin or Red Wizard or Harper is, or if the term “Dungeon Master” sends your mind straight to “Fifty Shades of Grey.”The most obvious reason for this success, besides fleet-footed direction by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, is star Chris Pine, whose sunny charisma and smooth knack for comedy, plus an ability to seem like he’s both inside the movie and outside looking in, keeps everything bubbling.He’s ably assisted by Rodriguez, plus young accomplices Justice Smith as a confidence-challenged (but sweet) wizard and Sophia Lillis as a shape-shifting druid. And then we have a graying Hugh Grant, playing the heck out of yet another comic villain role — a character almost as curmudgeonly as he was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAHZqLAuo_M">on the Oscar red carpet.</a>Plus there’s a cameo from another big star, but more on that in a minute. Because first we have to mention the pudgy dragon. Yes, pudgy. Whatever dragons eat, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eater.com/2019/4/24/18512398/what-do-the-game-of-thrones-dragons-eat">we can only try to imagine,</a>&nbsp;he’s had too many.But back to Pine, aka the bard Edgin, whom we first meet in a dank, freezing prison cell. He’s — well, he's knitting. Nearby sits Holga (Rodriguez), and her own hobby is eating. She's not a cordial sort, especially when food supply is at risk.An appearance in front of a judicial council, begging for a pardon, gives Edgin the chance to tell his backstory. Turns out he wasn't always a criminal; he was a Harper, part of a spy guild acting for the greater good, but he attracted the ire of the Red Wizards of Thay, which led to the tragic murder of his wife.Teaming with Holga, he sets out to find the magical Tablet of Reawakening that would return his wife to him and especially their baby daughter Kira (played by Chloe Coleman as a youngster). But they get captured, and their accomplice Forge (Grant), who somehow escapes, swears to take care of Kira.Edgin, a master planner, devises a jailbreak right during the pardon hearing. They discover Kira is now living in a walled city with Forge, a con-man who turns out (gasp!) to have planned the whole thing, and has convinced her that Dad betrayed her for riches. And now he’s allied with Sofina, a terrifying sorceress (Daisy Head). Forge not only refuses to give Kira back but sends Edgin and Holga to their deaths. Holga, however, quickly dispatches all the soldiers meant to kill them — all while Edgin tries, and fails, to untie a rope.Now they need that tablet, but first they need a magical helmet (bear with us.) The quest, upon which they're joined by Simon (Smith) and Doric (Lillis), leads to the film’s most entertaining scenes. One of these is an impressive, fast-paced sequence where shape-shifter Doric infiltrates enemy lines and then, chased by Sofina, morphs seamlessly into various animal forms and back to herself again.Another is a comic bit where Pine’s Edgin tries to elicit key information from a series of corpses. Summoned to life by an increasingly effective Simon, each corpse can answer five questions before returning to the grave forever. Edgin keeps wasting his chances with questions like “Did that count as a question?”And a prime comic moment comes from none other than Bradley Cooper (see, worth the wait!). We'll reveal nothing but the observation that this cameo is small, but packs a punch.Finally we have Xenk (Page), perfectly cast as a paladin so, well, perfect that he delivers babies in between vanquishing enemies, and provides the crucial help Edgin needs. But for all sorts of reasons, Edgin can’t bring himself to like the guy. Most of all, he can't deal with his lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm, and especially humor.He’s probably right. Heroism is all well and good, but humor is crucial. That’s a lesson this film has, luckily, already figured out.“Dungeons &amp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” a Paramount Pictures release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America “for fantasy action/violence and some language.” Running time: 134 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Review: 'Dungeons & Dragons' puts the funny in fantasy

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MATT%20O%27BRIEN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MATT O'BRIEN AP Technology Writer</a>

William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform.

They could get the marks back by paying up to $11 a month. But some longtime users, including 92-year-old Star Trek legend Shatner, have balked at buying the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/twitter-api-eca5709035a08d2ebed8fac673809ea8">premium service</a>&nbsp;championed by Twitter's billionaire owner and chief executive Elon Musk.

After months of delay, Musk is gleefully promising that Saturday is the deadline for celebrities, journalists and others who'd been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-software-mobile-phones-b9110ad02f8d5e17d130b259fa19d852">verified for free</a>&nbsp;to pony up or lose their legacy status.

"It will be glorious," he tweeted Monday, in response to a Twitter user who noted that Saturday is also April Fools' Day.

After buying Twitter for $44 billion in October, Musk has been trying to boost the struggling platform's revenue by pushing more people to pay for a premium subscription. But his move also reflects his assertion that the blue verification marks have become an undeserved or "corrupt" status symbol for elite personalities and news reporters.

Along with verifying celebrities, one of Twitter's main reasons to mark profiles with a free blue check mark starting about 14 years ago was to verify politicians,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-science-social-media-a7e2e3214abb4470dcb6e2837aa39c2e">activists</a>&nbsp;and people who suddenly find themselves in the news, as well as little-known journalists at small publications around the globe, as an extra tool to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-politics-european-union-0f912b92a70742ba8ad280cde2f935d9">curb misinformation coming from accounts</a>&nbsp;that are impersonating people.

Lewinsky tweeted a screenshot Sunday of all the people impersonating her, including at least one who appears to have paid for a blue check mark. She asked, “what universe is this fair to people who can suffer consequences for being impersonated? a lie travels half way around the world before truth even gets out the door.”

Shatner, known for his irreverent humor, also tagged Musk with a complaint about the promised changes.

“I’ve been here for 15 years giving my (clock emoji) &amp; witty thoughts all for bupkis,” he wrote. “Now you’re telling me that I have to pay for something you gave me for free?”

Musk responded that there shouldn't be a different standard for celebrities. “It’s more about treating everyone equally,” Musk tweeted.

For now, those who still have the blue check but apparently haven’t paid the premium fee — a group that includes Beyoncé, Stephen King, Barack and Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, Tucker Carlson, Drake and Musk himself — have messages appended to their profile saying it is a “legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”

But while “the attention is reasonably on celebrities because of our culture,” the bigger concern for open government advocate Alex Howard, director of the Digital Democracy Project, is that impersonators could more easily spread rumors and conspiracies that could move markets or harm democracies around the world.

“The reason verification exists on this platform was not simply to designate people as notable or authorities, but to prevent impersonation,” Howard said.

One of Musk's first product moves after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-san-francisco-business-204237cbfdc7a2bb11d3457f6de6c19e">taking over Twitter</a>&nbsp;was to launch a service granting blue checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month. But it was quickly inundated by imposter accounts, including those impersonating Nintendo, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Musk’s businesses Tesla and SpaceX, so Twitter had to temporarily suspend the service days after its launch.

The relaunched service costs $8 a month for web users and $11 a month for iPhone and iPad users. Subscribers are supposed to see fewer ads, be able to post longer videos and have their tweets featured more prominently.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MATT%20O%27BRIEN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MATT O'BRIEN AP Technology Writer</a>William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform.They could get the marks back by paying up to $11 a month. But some longtime users, including 92-year-old Star Trek legend Shatner, have balked at buying the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/twitter-api-eca5709035a08d2ebed8fac673809ea8">premium service</a>&nbsp;championed by Twitter's billionaire owner and chief executive Elon Musk.After months of delay, Musk is gleefully promising that Saturday is the deadline for celebrities, journalists and others who'd been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-software-mobile-phones-b9110ad02f8d5e17d130b259fa19d852">verified for free</a>&nbsp;to pony up or lose their legacy status."It will be glorious," he tweeted Monday, in response to a Twitter user who noted that Saturday is also April Fools' Day.After buying Twitter for $44 billion in October, Musk has been trying to boost the struggling platform's revenue by pushing more people to pay for a premium subscription. But his move also reflects his assertion that the blue verification marks have become an undeserved or "corrupt" status symbol for elite personalities and news reporters.Along with verifying celebrities, one of Twitter's main reasons to mark profiles with a free blue check mark starting about 14 years ago was to verify politicians,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-science-social-media-a7e2e3214abb4470dcb6e2837aa39c2e">activists</a>&nbsp;and people who suddenly find themselves in the news, as well as little-known journalists at small publications around the globe, as an extra tool to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-politics-european-union-0f912b92a70742ba8ad280cde2f935d9">curb misinformation coming from accounts</a>&nbsp;that are impersonating people.Lewinsky tweeted a screenshot Sunday of all the people impersonating her, including at least one who appears to have paid for a blue check mark. She asked, “what universe is this fair to people who can suffer consequences for being impersonated? a lie travels half way around the world before truth even gets out the door.”Shatner, known for his irreverent humor, also tagged Musk with a complaint about the promised changes.“I’ve been here for 15 years giving my (clock emoji) &amp; witty thoughts all for bupkis,” he wrote. “Now you’re telling me that I have to pay for something you gave me for free?”Musk responded that there shouldn't be a different standard for celebrities. “It’s more about treating everyone equally,” Musk tweeted.For now, those who still have the blue check but apparently haven’t paid the premium fee — a group that includes Beyoncé, Stephen King, Barack and Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, Tucker Carlson, Drake and Musk himself — have messages appended to their profile saying it is a “legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”But while “the attention is reasonably on celebrities because of our culture,” the bigger concern for open government advocate Alex Howard, director of the Digital Democracy Project, is that impersonators could more easily spread rumors and conspiracies that could move markets or harm democracies around the world.“The reason verification exists on this platform was not simply to designate people as notable or authorities, but to prevent impersonation,” Howard said.One of Musk's first product moves after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-san-francisco-business-204237cbfdc7a2bb11d3457f6de6c19e">taking over Twitter</a>&nbsp;was to launch a service granting blue checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month. But it was quickly inundated by imposter accounts, including those impersonating Nintendo, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Musk’s businesses Tesla and SpaceX, so Twitter had to temporarily suspend the service days after its launch.The relaunched service costs $8 a month for web users and $11 a month for iPhone and iPad users. Subscribers are supposed to see fewer ads, be able to post longer videos and have their tweets featured more prominently.

Twitter celebs balk at paying Elon Musk for blue check mark

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22SIAN%20WATSON%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By SIAN WATSON Associated Press</a>

The origin story of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7d1c234eccc740e09b9a165b7bd25681">iconic computer game “Tetris”</a>&nbsp;is more thrilling than you may think.

It involves border crossing, authority dodging, underhand deals, putting your house on the line and — finally — trying to secure the rights for the game from behind the Iron Curtain. And now it's a film,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/streaming-tv-music-movies-video-games-6aa7d7d618e7444866f0edf2c86dfbaa">releasing March 31, on Apple TV+.</a>

After playing an early version of Tetris,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c554c22f6d824ad799819c5211644c54">game designer Henk Rogers</a>&nbsp;(played by Taron Egerton) travels&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/02ebcc0e70fc35835d2542ab8275dade">to the Soviet Union</a>&nbsp;in 1988 to meet Tetris designer Alexey Pajitnov (played by Nikita Efremov), hoping to secure worldwide distribution rights to the game. Rogers was driven by his love of Tetris and his eagerness for the world to experience it, but the transaction was not smooth.

Egerton says he doesn’t have the tenacity of Rogers, who potentially put his life on the line for the sake of the game.

“I have a more developed sense of my own frailty and vulnerability than he does, I think, whereas he’s got this kind of single-minded lack of, sense of self-preservation,” he said in a recent interview.

He added: “I really like his sort of single-minded, determined devil-may-care thing. It makes him an appealing hero, you know, his kind of cowboyishness. But yeah, I probably wouldn’t have done anything like what he did to get the rights to Tetris.”

The movie is directed by Jon S. Baird, who switched projects from action sequel “Kingsman 3" because of the pandemic, bringing his leading man — Egerton — and producer Matthew Vaughn along for the ride.

“We were looking for something to do and the ‘Tetris’ script landed and we thought, ‘Right, that’s great let’s just move everything on to that.’ And that’s really what happened,” he said.

While the pandemic stopped Pajitnov and Rogers from being involved in the actual shoot, the duo was involved heavily in the scriptwriting and in detailing the imagery of Soviet Russia, much of which was recreated in Aberdeen and Glasgow, Scotland.

Baird said he was apprehensive about showing Pajitnov and Rogers the finished movie but was overjoyed at their response.

“I got a text from Maya, who’s Henk’s daughter, who’s obviously personified in the film, too and she was like, ‘They all love it. They all absolutely love the movie.’”

Egerton, known to many for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/68cae4cb0daa40289ca0ed9c867b2258">portraying Elton John in “Rocketman,”</a>&nbsp;says he finds playing a real-life person “odd.” However, he believes that the men he has brought to the screen have all enjoyed his portrayals, smiling that “it hasn’t blown up in my face yet!”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22SIAN%20WATSON%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By SIAN WATSON Associated Press</a>The origin story of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7d1c234eccc740e09b9a165b7bd25681">iconic computer game “Tetris”</a>&nbsp;is more thrilling than you may think.It involves border crossing, authority dodging, underhand deals, putting your house on the line and — finally — trying to secure the rights for the game from behind the Iron Curtain. And now it's a film,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/streaming-tv-music-movies-video-games-6aa7d7d618e7444866f0edf2c86dfbaa">releasing March 31, on Apple TV+.</a>After playing an early version of Tetris,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c554c22f6d824ad799819c5211644c54">game designer Henk Rogers</a>&nbsp;(played by Taron Egerton) travels&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/02ebcc0e70fc35835d2542ab8275dade">to the Soviet Union</a>&nbsp;in 1988 to meet Tetris designer Alexey Pajitnov (played by Nikita Efremov), hoping to secure worldwide distribution rights to the game. Rogers was driven by his love of Tetris and his eagerness for the world to experience it, but the transaction was not smooth.Egerton says he doesn’t have the tenacity of Rogers, who potentially put his life on the line for the sake of the game.“I have a more developed sense of my own frailty and vulnerability than he does, I think, whereas he’s got this kind of single-minded lack of, sense of self-preservation,” he said in a recent interview.He added: “I really like his sort of single-minded, determined devil-may-care thing. It makes him an appealing hero, you know, his kind of cowboyishness. But yeah, I probably wouldn’t have done anything like what he did to get the rights to Tetris.”The movie is directed by Jon S. Baird, who switched projects from action sequel “Kingsman 3" because of the pandemic, bringing his leading man — Egerton — and producer Matthew Vaughn along for the ride.“We were looking for something to do and the ‘Tetris’ script landed and we thought, ‘Right, that’s great let’s just move everything on to that.’ And that’s really what happened,” he said.While the pandemic stopped Pajitnov and Rogers from being involved in the actual shoot, the duo was involved heavily in the scriptwriting and in detailing the imagery of Soviet Russia, much of which was recreated in Aberdeen and Glasgow, Scotland.Baird said he was apprehensive about showing Pajitnov and Rogers the finished movie but was overjoyed at their response.“I got a text from Maya, who’s Henk’s daughter, who’s obviously personified in the film, too and she was like, ‘They all love it. They all absolutely love the movie.’”Egerton, known to many for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/68cae4cb0daa40289ca0ed9c867b2258">portraying Elton John in “Rocketman,”</a>&nbsp;says he finds playing a real-life person “odd.” However, he believes that the men he has brought to the screen have all enjoyed his portrayals, smiling that “it hasn’t blown up in my face yet!”

Taron Egerton slots Tetris story into place in new biopic

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/doPcPDLJu2o" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason.&nbsp;&nbsp;

🎤 Forward Ever: Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason

Photo courtesy Arts Council of Dickinson County

ABILENE - Learn about eastern European Easter eggs and how to make them during a class Sunday in Abilene.

The Arts Council of Dickinson County is offering a Pysanky class at 1 p.m. Sunday at 401 N. Cedar Street. During the three-to-four-hour class, participants will learn the history of the Pysanky, which is rooted in eastern Europe, as well as design and create their own pieces of artwork.

For more information or to reserve your space in the class, call (785)263-1884, text (785) 280-0543 or email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:artscouncilofdc@gmail.com">artscouncilofdc@gmail.com</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679539146457.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Photo courtesy Arts Council of Dickinson CountyBy SALINA POSTABILENE - Learn about eastern European Easter eggs and how to make them during a class Sunday in Abilene.The Arts Council of Dickinson County is offering a Pysanky class at 1 p.m. Sunday at 401 N. Cedar Street. During the three-to-four-hour class, participants will learn the history of the Pysanky, which is rooted in eastern Europe, as well as design and create their own pieces of artwork.The cost of the class is $40 per person.For more information or to reserve your space in the class, call (785)263-1884, text (785) 280-0543 or email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:artscouncilofdc@gmail.com">artscouncilofdc@gmail.com</a>.

Arts Council of Dickinson County offers Pysanky class

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22The%20Associated%20Press%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By The Associated Press</a>

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.

— The Oscar-nominated “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” was one of the high points in documentary in the past year. In it, Laura Poitras chronicles the pioneering photographer Nan Goldin, juxtaposing an intimate survey of her groundbreaking work in 1970s and 1980s New York and her contemporary crusade against the Sackler family, owners of the Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma. Goldin, who has herself wrestled with addiction, led the campaign to eradicate the Sackler name from many of the world’s top museums. Though the film didn’t win at the Oscars —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nan-goldin-oscars-laura-poitras-all-beauty-bloodshed-sackler-ddce3f39d8da01388bdd4fee3009cedf">something Goldin told me she was surprised to find she wanted</a>&nbsp;— it took the top prize of the Venice Film Festival.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/all-the-beauty-and-bloodshed-film-reviews-venice-festival-entertainment-travel-8b2ba7317de163a98391b272a4d62c19">In her review,</a>&nbsp;AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called the film” a “holistic portrait of an artist’s battle cry.” After debuting Sunday, March 19, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” is available to stream on HBO Max.

— “Top Gun: Maverick” did come away with an Academy Award, for best sound. But one of the biggest box office hits of the year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oscars-academy-awards-2023-0366eeec948d96f3126d0725cdec5074">otherwise struck out at the Oscars.</a>&nbsp;After an uncommonly long run in theaters, a lucrative stop on video on demand and a streaming launch on Paramount+, “Top Gun Maverick” arrives on a larger streaming platform Friday, March 24th, when it touches down on Amazon’s Prime Video.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/top-gun-maverick-film-review-dfe987ecf3250c3f0103da09b3dc76dc">In his review,</a>&nbsp;AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy called “Maverick” “a textbook example of how to make a sequel.”

— This month, the Criterion Channel has been paying tribute to the greatest comic artist of the 20th century: Buster Keaton.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.criterionchannel.com/starring-buster-keaton/season:1">With five features and more than a dozen shorts,</a>&nbsp;the series is an unbeatable feast. You can’t go wrong but a few highlights: Keaton’s glorious Olympic finale in “College”; his deft ladder balancing act in “Cops”; and his escape, through a high window, from an angry police chief-slash-furious-father in “The Goat.” With apologies to Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, nobody did it better.

—&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP">AP Film Writer Jake Coyle</a>

— Fans of Lana Del Rey got two albums in 2021 — “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” and Blue Banisters” but nothing full-length in 2022. Now she’s got “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” set to drop Friday. One of the singles,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYqky795R1s">”A&amp;W,”</a>&nbsp;offers a glimpse at the sing-songwriter’s bleak poetry: “Puts the shower on while he calls me/Slips out the back door to talk to me/I’m invisible, look how you hold me/I’m a ghost now.” The album features Jack Antonoff, Father John Misty, Jon Batiste and more.

— Back in 1984, Phil Collins and Philip Bailey had a hit with the song&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkRKT6T0QLg">“Easy Lover.”</a>&nbsp;These days, UK pop star Ellie Goulding and Big Sean&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDht4fSRLgk">have a song with the same title</a>&nbsp;that’s just as infectiously fun, part of Goulding’s 11-track album “Higher Than Heaven.” The songs marry her ethereal voice to strong dance hooks, from the ’80s-inspired “By the End of the Night” and “Just 4 You” to the modern pop of “Cure for Love.”

— Do you have what it takes to be a country music’s next big star? Then tune into Apple TV+’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-rsqQJ2pXs">“My Kind of Country,”</a>&nbsp;in which Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton and Orville Peck search for talented amateur artists and invite them to Nashville, Tennessee, for a showcase. Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves also are featured in the series, set to premiere globally on Friday.

— 6lack is 6ack! The Atlanta singer-songwriter and rapper known as 6lack — pronounced “black” — returns with “Since I Have a Lover,” his first album in nearly five years.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVgmYNA8J1k">The title track</a>&nbsp;is a airy, sweet ode to love with the lyrics: “Feel like a million bucks or somethin’/ Feel like we need to be up to somethin’/ Not tryna press my luck or nothin’/Don’t wanna love you just for fun.” The artist, raised in Zone 6 of Atlanta, has been doing a lot of collaborations since his last album, including Lil Tjay’s “Calling My Phone” and more recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_75_2fWFhY">Jessie Reyez’s “Forever.”</a>

—&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kennedytwits?lang=en">AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy</a>

— Fans of shows including “Jack Ryan” and “The Recruit,” about low-level government agency workers who get pulled into danger and secret missions, should check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDbnY9Obsfs">“The Night Agent”</a>&nbsp;on Netflix. It follows an FBI agent tasked with manning an overnight emergency phone that surprisingly rings during one of his shifts. A desperate civilian is on the other end of the call and together, they find themselves embroiled in a major government conspiracy. The series stars Gabriel Russo and Luciane Buchanan and is based on the novel by Matthew Quirk. “The Night Agent” debuts Thursday.

— Mae Whitman, best-known for her roles in “Parenthood” and “Good Girls,” demonstrates she can also sing in her new rom-com series&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crhL1eOjf4U">“Up Here”</a>&nbsp;for Hulu. Set in 1999 in New York, Whitman plays Lindsay who falls for Miguel — played by Carlos Valdes (“The Flash” and “Gaslit”) — and the will-they, won’t-they find a happily ever after ensues. The series boasts some major behind-the-scenes musical talent. EGOT winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, behind that little animated film that could “Frozen,” are co-executive producers and wrote the show’s original music. The show has a whimsical, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”-vibe, plus there are fun late-'90s references including Y2K. All eight-episodes drop Friday, the same day the soundtrack lands.

— Kiefer Sutherland is back with another high-stakes TV drama in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfbdNfdmQAY">“Rabbit Hole”</a>&nbsp;for Paramount+. He plays John Weir, a corporate spy skilled in the art of deception – until he finds the rug pulled out from underneath him and he is framed for murder. Weir goes from having total control to none, and unsure of who can be trusted. “Rabbit Hole” premieres with two episodes on Sunday.

— Annapurna Interactive has developed a nearly impeccable reputation among connoisseurs of indie video games, from 2017’s groundbreaking mystery What Remains of Edith Finch to 2022’s futuristic cat sim Stray. The publisher’s latest release is&nbsp;<a href="https://annapurnainteractive.com/en/games/storyteller">Storyteller</a>, a long-brewing project from Argentine designer Daniel Benmergui. The premise is simple: You have a library of characters, objects, events and other plot devices, and your job is arrange them to tell a particular type of tale. It’s a puzzle game that pays homage to classic literature, and the graphics ooze charm. Start spinning your own yarns Thursday on Nintendo Switch and PC.

— Death, the CEO of Death Inc., is burned out. His top minions — the executives in charge of Natural Disasters, Modern Warfare, Toxic Food-Processing and other misery-producing departments — are going about their business way too enthusiastically, and Death needs them to settle down before he drowns in paperwork. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.haveanicedeath.com/en">Have a Nice Death</a>, from France’s Magic Design Studios, you wield Death’s scythe as he hacks and slashes his way through the red tape. The vibrant, angular 2D graphics are reminiscent of the classic Rayman, which some members of Magic Design’s team worked on. The not-so-grim reaping comes to Nintendo Switch and PC on Wednesday.

—&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/lkesten">Lou Kesten</a>

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22The%20Associated%20Press%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By The Associated Press</a>Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.<h2>MOVIES</h2>— The Oscar-nominated “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” was one of the high points in documentary in the past year. In it, Laura Poitras chronicles the pioneering photographer Nan Goldin, juxtaposing an intimate survey of her groundbreaking work in 1970s and 1980s New York and her contemporary crusade against the Sackler family, owners of the Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma. Goldin, who has herself wrestled with addiction, led the campaign to eradicate the Sackler name from many of the world’s top museums. Though the film didn’t win at the Oscars —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nan-goldin-oscars-laura-poitras-all-beauty-bloodshed-sackler-ddce3f39d8da01388bdd4fee3009cedf">something Goldin told me she was surprised to find she wanted</a>&nbsp;— it took the top prize of the Venice Film Festival.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/all-the-beauty-and-bloodshed-film-reviews-venice-festival-entertainment-travel-8b2ba7317de163a98391b272a4d62c19">In her review,</a>&nbsp;AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called the film” a “holistic portrait of an artist’s battle cry.” After debuting Sunday, March 19, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” is available to stream on HBO Max.— “Top Gun: Maverick” did come away with an Academy Award, for best sound. But one of the biggest box office hits of the year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oscars-academy-awards-2023-0366eeec948d96f3126d0725cdec5074">otherwise struck out at the Oscars.</a>&nbsp;After an uncommonly long run in theaters, a lucrative stop on video on demand and a streaming launch on Paramount+, “Top Gun Maverick” arrives on a larger streaming platform Friday, March 24th, when it touches down on Amazon’s Prime Video.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/top-gun-maverick-film-review-dfe987ecf3250c3f0103da09b3dc76dc">In his review,</a>&nbsp;AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy called “Maverick” “a textbook example of how to make a sequel.”— This month, the Criterion Channel has been paying tribute to the greatest comic artist of the 20th century: Buster Keaton.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.criterionchannel.com/starring-buster-keaton/season:1">With five features and more than a dozen shorts,</a>&nbsp;the series is an unbeatable feast. You can’t go wrong but a few highlights: Keaton’s glorious Olympic finale in “College”; his deft ladder balancing act in “Cops”; and his escape, through a high window, from an angry police chief-slash-furious-father in “The Goat.” With apologies to Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, nobody did it better.—&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP">AP Film Writer Jake Coyle</a><h2>MUSIC</h2>— Fans of Lana Del Rey got two albums in 2021 — “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” and Blue Banisters” but nothing full-length in 2022. Now she’s got “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” set to drop Friday. One of the singles,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYqky795R1s">”A&amp;W,”</a>&nbsp;offers a glimpse at the sing-songwriter’s bleak poetry: “Puts the shower on while he calls me/Slips out the back door to talk to me/I’m invisible, look how you hold me/I’m a ghost now.” The album features Jack Antonoff, Father John Misty, Jon Batiste and more.— Back in 1984, Phil Collins and Philip Bailey had a hit with the song&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkRKT6T0QLg">“Easy Lover.”</a>&nbsp;These days, UK pop star Ellie Goulding and Big Sean&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDht4fSRLgk">have a song with the same title</a>&nbsp;that’s just as infectiously fun, part of Goulding’s 11-track album “Higher Than Heaven.” The songs marry her ethereal voice to strong dance hooks, from the ’80s-inspired “By the End of the Night” and “Just 4 You” to the modern pop of “Cure for Love.”— Do you have what it takes to be a country music’s next big star? Then tune into Apple TV+’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-rsqQJ2pXs">“My Kind of Country,”</a>&nbsp;in which Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton and Orville Peck search for talented amateur artists and invite them to Nashville, Tennessee, for a showcase. Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves also are featured in the series, set to premiere globally on Friday.— 6lack is 6ack! The Atlanta singer-songwriter and rapper known as 6lack — pronounced “black” — returns with “Since I Have a Lover,” his first album in nearly five years.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVgmYNA8J1k">The title track</a>&nbsp;is a airy, sweet ode to love with the lyrics: “Feel like a million bucks or somethin’/ Feel like we need to be up to somethin’/ Not tryna press my luck or nothin’/Don’t wanna love you just for fun.” The artist, raised in Zone 6 of Atlanta, has been doing a lot of collaborations since his last album, including Lil Tjay’s “Calling My Phone” and more recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_75_2fWFhY">Jessie Reyez’s “Forever.”</a>—&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kennedytwits?lang=en">AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy</a><h2>TELEVISION</h2>— Fans of shows including “Jack Ryan” and “The Recruit,” about low-level government agency workers who get pulled into danger and secret missions, should check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDbnY9Obsfs">“The Night Agent”</a>&nbsp;on Netflix. It follows an FBI agent tasked with manning an overnight emergency phone that surprisingly rings during one of his shifts. A desperate civilian is on the other end of the call and together, they find themselves embroiled in a major government conspiracy. The series stars Gabriel Russo and Luciane Buchanan and is based on the novel by Matthew Quirk. “The Night Agent” debuts Thursday.— Mae Whitman, best-known for her roles in “Parenthood” and “Good Girls,” demonstrates she can also sing in her new rom-com series&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crhL1eOjf4U">“Up Here”</a>&nbsp;for Hulu. Set in 1999 in New York, Whitman plays Lindsay who falls for Miguel — played by Carlos Valdes (“The Flash” and “Gaslit”) — and the will-they, won’t-they find a happily ever after ensues. The series boasts some major behind-the-scenes musical talent. EGOT winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, behind that little animated film that could “Frozen,” are co-executive producers and wrote the show’s original music. The show has a whimsical, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”-vibe, plus there are fun late-'90s references including Y2K. All eight-episodes drop Friday, the same day the soundtrack lands.— Kiefer Sutherland is back with another high-stakes TV drama in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfbdNfdmQAY">“Rabbit Hole”</a>&nbsp;for Paramount+. He plays John Weir, a corporate spy skilled in the art of deception – until he finds the rug pulled out from underneath him and he is framed for murder. Weir goes from having total control to none, and unsure of who can be trusted. “Rabbit Hole” premieres with two episodes on Sunday.— Alicia Rancilio<h2>VIDEO GAMES</h2>— Annapurna Interactive has developed a nearly impeccable reputation among connoisseurs of indie video games, from 2017’s groundbreaking mystery What Remains of Edith Finch to 2022’s futuristic cat sim Stray. The publisher’s latest release is&nbsp;<a href="https://annapurnainteractive.com/en/games/storyteller">Storyteller</a>, a long-brewing project from Argentine designer Daniel Benmergui. The premise is simple: You have a library of characters, objects, events and other plot devices, and your job is arrange them to tell a particular type of tale. It’s a puzzle game that pays homage to classic literature, and the graphics ooze charm. Start spinning your own yarns Thursday on Nintendo Switch and PC.— Death, the CEO of Death Inc., is burned out. His top minions — the executives in charge of Natural Disasters, Modern Warfare, Toxic Food-Processing and other misery-producing departments — are going about their business way too enthusiastically, and Death needs them to settle down before he drowns in paperwork. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.haveanicedeath.com/en">Have a Nice Death</a>, from France’s Magic Design Studios, you wield Death’s scythe as he hacks and slashes his way through the red tape. The vibrant, angular 2D graphics are reminiscent of the classic Rayman, which some members of Magic Design’s team worked on. The not-so-grim reaping comes to Nintendo Switch and PC on Wednesday.—&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/lkesten">Lou Kesten</a>

What to stream this weekend from ‘Top Gun' to Lana Del Rey

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HILLEL%20ITALIE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Attempted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lgbtq-book-bans-91b2d4c086eb082cbecfdda2800ef29a">book bans and restrictions</a>&nbsp;at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association released Thursday.

More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total from 2021 and by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago.

“I've never seen anything like this,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. “The last two years have been exhausting, frightening, outrage inducing.”

Thursday's report not only documents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/libraries-american-library-association-book-banning-af7c9f312266b572c3dc189b1d109de4">the growing number of challenges</a>, but also their changing nature. A few years ago, complaints usually arose with parents and other community members and referred to an individual book. Now, the requests are often for multiple removals, and organized by national groups such as the conservative Moms for Liberty, which has a mission of “unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”

Last year, more than 2,500 different books were objected to, compared to 1,858 in 2021 and just 566 in 2019. In numerous cases, hundreds of books were challenged in a single complaint. The ALA bases its findings on media accounts and voluntary reporting from libraries and acknowledges that the numbers might be far higher.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-censorship-american-library-association-ea9804d9a573cd987dd86b40e074be25">Librarians around the country</a>&nbsp;have told of being harassed and threatened with violence or legal action.

“Every day professional librarians sit down with parents to thoughtfully determine what reading material is best suited for their child’s needs,” ALA President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada said in a statement. “Now, many library workers face threats to their employment, their personal safety, and in some cases, threats of prosecution for providing books to youth they and their parents want to read.”

Caldwell-Stone says that some books have been targeted by liberals because of racist language — notably Mark Twain's “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” — but the vast majority of complaints come from conservatives, directed at works with LGBTQIA+ or racial themes. They include Maia Kobabe's “Gender Queer,” Jonathan Evison's “Lawn Boy,” Angie Thomas' “The Hate U Give” and a book-length edition of the “1619 Project,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning report from The New York Times on the legacy of slavery in the U.S.

Bills facilitating the restriction of books have been proposed or passed in Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma, among other states. In Florida, where&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-florida-ron-desantis-school-boards-libraries-da50c9c4091868e121484425d290385b">Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved laws</a>&nbsp;to review reading materials and limit classroom discussion of gender identity and race books pulled indefinitely or temporarily include John Green's “Looking for Alaska,” Colleen Hoover's “Hopeless,” Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel “The Handmaid's Tale” and Grace Lin's picture story “Dim Sum for Everyone!”

More recently, Florida's Martin County school district removed dozens of books from its middle schools and high schools, including numerous works by novelist Jodi Picoult, Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning “Beloved” and James Patterson's “Maximum Ride” thrillers, a decision which the bestselling author has criticized on Twitter as “arbitrary and borderline absurd.”

DeSantis has called reports of mass bannings a “hoax," saying in a statement released earlier this month that the allegations reveal “some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination.”

Some books do come back. Officials at Florida's Duval County Public Schools were widely criticized after they removed “Roberto Clemente: The Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates,” a children's biography of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-los-angeles-dodgers-tampa-bay-rays-pittsburgh-pirates-4f05e3aee406b2c0c4a8b8717db7b770">the late Puerto Rican baseball star</a>. In February, they announced the book would again be on shelves, explaining that they needed to review it and make sure it didn't violate any state laws.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HILLEL%20ITALIE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Attempted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lgbtq-book-bans-91b2d4c086eb082cbecfdda2800ef29a">book bans and restrictions</a>&nbsp;at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association released Thursday.More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total from 2021 and by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago.“I've never seen anything like this,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. “The last two years have been exhausting, frightening, outrage inducing.”Thursday's report not only documents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/libraries-american-library-association-book-banning-af7c9f312266b572c3dc189b1d109de4">the growing number of challenges</a>, but also their changing nature. A few years ago, complaints usually arose with parents and other community members and referred to an individual book. Now, the requests are often for multiple removals, and organized by national groups such as the conservative Moms for Liberty, which has a mission of “unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”Last year, more than 2,500 different books were objected to, compared to 1,858 in 2021 and just 566 in 2019. In numerous cases, hundreds of books were challenged in a single complaint. The ALA bases its findings on media accounts and voluntary reporting from libraries and acknowledges that the numbers might be far higher.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-censorship-american-library-association-ea9804d9a573cd987dd86b40e074be25">Librarians around the country</a>&nbsp;have told of being harassed and threatened with violence or legal action.“Every day professional librarians sit down with parents to thoughtfully determine what reading material is best suited for their child’s needs,” ALA President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada said in a statement. “Now, many library workers face threats to their employment, their personal safety, and in some cases, threats of prosecution for providing books to youth they and their parents want to read.”Caldwell-Stone says that some books have been targeted by liberals because of racist language — notably Mark Twain's “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” — but the vast majority of complaints come from conservatives, directed at works with LGBTQIA+ or racial themes. They include Maia Kobabe's “Gender Queer,” Jonathan Evison's “Lawn Boy,” Angie Thomas' “The Hate U Give” and a book-length edition of the “1619 Project,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning report from The New York Times on the legacy of slavery in the U.S.Bills facilitating the restriction of books have been proposed or passed in Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma, among other states. In Florida, where&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-florida-ron-desantis-school-boards-libraries-da50c9c4091868e121484425d290385b">Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved laws</a>&nbsp;to review reading materials and limit classroom discussion of gender identity and race books pulled indefinitely or temporarily include John Green's “Looking for Alaska,” Colleen Hoover's “Hopeless,” Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel “The Handmaid's Tale” and Grace Lin's picture story “Dim Sum for Everyone!”More recently, Florida's Martin County school district removed dozens of books from its middle schools and high schools, including numerous works by novelist Jodi Picoult, Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning “Beloved” and James Patterson's “Maximum Ride” thrillers, a decision which the bestselling author has criticized on Twitter as “arbitrary and borderline absurd.”DeSantis has called reports of mass bannings a “hoax," saying in a statement released earlier this month that the allegations reveal “some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination.”Some books do come back. Officials at Florida's Duval County Public Schools were widely criticized after they removed “Roberto Clemente: The Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates,” a children's biography of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-los-angeles-dodgers-tampa-bay-rays-pittsburgh-pirates-4f05e3aee406b2c0c4a8b8717db7b770">the late Puerto Rican baseball star</a>. In February, they announced the book would again be on shelves, explaining that they needed to review it and make sure it didn't violate any state laws.

Book ban attempts hit record high in 2022, library org says

The Hays
Arts Council is preparing for a busy spring season with events planned for area
school children and the community.

Among
those events is the annual Creative Writing Contest, currently underway. 

“That's
actually off in the hands of our judges now,” said Hays Arts Council Executive
Director Brenda Meder. “And bless their hearts that a variety of staff members
from the Fort Hays English department, faculty and staff there take those
entries and judge them.”

As students
await the results of that contest, others are prepping for Famous Figures, a
chance for Ellis County Fifth graders to learn about and perform as a positive
role model from history for the 27th year.

The contest
is limited to two fifth-grade students per classroom and will conclude with a
county-wide competition from 8:20 to 11:45 a.m. May 5 in the Beach/Schmidt Performing
Art Center on the Fort Hays State University campus. Competitor names and their
chosen characters are due to the Arts Council by April 28.

And later this week, area fourth and
fifth graders will have the opportunity to see live productions from the Wichita
Children’s Theater on March 24.

“In the
morning, we will be having … I think we'll have about 175 students in Beach/Schmidt
from fourth and fifth grades with their production of Yankee Doodle,
which is a really wonderful homage to Americana history and significant
movers and shakers.”

Students
from Hays, Ellis, Victoria, Plainville and Russell will be in
attendance.

“And in
the afternoon, we've got The Three Little Kittens for kindergarten and
first graders,” Meder said.

Another
performance will be hosted that at 7 p.m., again in Beach/Schmidt.

“It's
highly entertaining, very audience participatory engagement,” Meder said. “So the kids absolutely love it. And there's a lot of little kids that aren't in
those grades we touch, and we want them to come back with their families or an
older grade where this is still wonderfully suitable, but they're not part of
the mix. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623877479116.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JAMES BELL Hays PostThe Hays
Arts Council is preparing for a busy spring season with events planned for area
school children and the community.Among
those events is the annual Creative Writing Contest, currently underway. “That's
actually off in the hands of our judges now,” said Hays Arts Council Executive
Director Brenda Meder. “And bless their hearts that a variety of staff members
from the Fort Hays English department, faculty and staff there take those
entries and judge them.”The
award ceremony is set for April 30. <div><iframe title="Preparations underway for children’s programing at Hays Arts Council" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=wvdys-13bd074-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>As students
await the results of that contest, others are prepping for Famous Figures, a
chance for Ellis County Fifth graders to learn about and perform as a positive
role model from history for the 27th year.The contest
is limited to two fifth-grade students per classroom and will conclude with a
county-wide competition from 8:20 to 11:45 a.m. May 5 in the Beach/Schmidt Performing
Art Center on the Fort Hays State University campus. Competitor names and their
chosen characters are due to the Arts Council by April 28.And later this week, area fourth and
fifth graders will have the opportunity to see live productions from the Wichita
Children’s Theater on March 24.“In the
morning, we will be having … I think we'll have about 175 students in Beach/Schmidt
from fourth and fifth grades with their production of Yankee Doodle,
which is a really wonderful homage to Americana history and significant
movers and shakers.”Students
from Hays, Ellis, Victoria, Plainville and Russell will be in
attendance.“And in
the afternoon, we've got The Three Little Kittens for kindergarten and
first graders,” Meder said.Another
performance will be hosted that at 7 p.m., again in Beach/Schmidt.“It's
highly entertaining, very audience participatory engagement,” Meder said. “So the kids absolutely love it. And there's a lot of little kids that aren't in
those grades we touch, and we want them to come back with their families or an
older grade where this is still wonderfully suitable, but they're not part of
the mix. “There
will be no fee for that. We do pay for these companies, so there's a fee with
that, but we will be offering this as a gift to the community because of the
sponsorship and the support that we've gotten.”Following
the performance, she said a cast meet-and-greet is scheduled in the lobby.While the
children’s events approach, work in the gallery for their latest exhibition
is also underway, a Master of Fine Arts Thesis exhibition from Cassie Rebman. “It's
going to be a very unique a different kind of big sculptural thesis exhibition,”
Meder said. "Putting together some of what you would think of its disjointed
materials and the way they flow from one item to the next. So I think
that's going to be very cool.”The
exhibition is scheduled to open with a reception from 6:30 to 9 p.m. March 31.“And
what's cool about that evening is we're also hosting a professional development
exhibition, again for Fort Hays students in our annex,” Meder said. “While we're talking about great things across the
community, down in the Moss Thorns Gallery is the annual student honors
exhibition. And so all three of those shows celebrating the talent and
creativity and instruction and everything out of Fort Hays State University
will be on full display.”Moving
through the season, the Art Center will also work to prepare for the Spring Art
Walk, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 29. Throughout the day, participating
locations will display various art forms in lobbies and storefronts as hundreds
of area residents explore exhibitions throughout downtown and beyond.While it
might be more than a month away, Meder said participating artists and businesses
are connecting now.“We take
all comers, if it is your original creations, we take all comers,” Meder said. “That's
what we want, is to celebrate individual creativity. And so, all you have to do
is hook up with any place across our wonderful community.”In order
to be included in the printed event announcement, she said, participants have until
April 14.“Plenty
of time to make this happen,” Meder said.