AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

Will Smith, Chris Rock confrontation shocks Oscar audience

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 94th Academy Awardsthat steadily maintained a buoyant spirit was rocked by an unbelievable exchange after Will Smith took offense to a joke made by Chris Rock about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

After Rock joked to Smith that he was looking forward to a sequel to “G.I. Jane,” Smith stood up from his seat near the stage, strode up to Rock and slapped him. After sitting back down, Smith shouted at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your (expletive) mouth.” When Rock, who joked about Jada Pinkett Smith while hosting the Oscars in 2016, protested that it was just a “GI Jane” joke, Smith repeated the same line.

“That was the greatest night in the history of television,” Rock said, before awkwardly returning to presenting best documentary, which went to Questlove’s “Summer of Soul (…or When the Revolution Was Not Televised).”

A few minutes later, rapper Sean Combs — on stage to introduce a tribute to “The Godfather” — tried to play peacemaker and suggested Smith and Rock settle their differences at an Oscars afterparty. “Will and Chris, we’re going to solve that like family at the Gold party,” Combs said.

The moment shocked the Dolby Theatre audience and viewers at home. At the commercial break, presenter Daniel Kaluuya came up to to hug Smith, and Denzel Washington escorted him to the side of the stage. The two talked and hugged and Tyler Perry came over to talk as well.

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Ukraine pleads for help, says Russia wants to split nation

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the West of cowardice Sunday while another top official said Russia was trying to split the nation in two, like North and South Korea.

Zelenskyy made an exasperated plea for fighter jets and tanks to help defend his country from Russia’s invading troops. Russia now says its main focus is on taking control of the eastern Donbas region, an apparent pullback from its earlier, more expansive goals, but one which is raising fears of a divided Ukraine.

Speaking afterU.S. President Joe Biden said in a lacerating speech that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not stay in power — words the White House immediately sought to downplay— Zelenskyy lashed out at the West’s “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets” and other weapons while Russian missile attacks kill and trap civilians.

“I’ve talkedto the defenders of Mariupoltoday. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, referring to the besieged southern city that has suffered some of the war’s greatest deprivations and horrors. “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage.”

Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said.

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Oscars live: Jane Campion wins best director

The Latest on the Oscars (all times local):

8:00 p.m.

Jane Campion has won the best director Oscar for “The Power of the Dog.”

The 67-year-old filmmaker won the Academy Award on Sunday night for the unconventional Western starring Benedict Cumberbatch that was shot in her native New Zealand.

It’s her first best director Oscar. She won a best original screenplay Oscar in 1994 for her film “The Piano,” which also earned her a directing nomination.

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Much of Shanghai locked down as mass COVID-19 testing begins

BEIJING (AP) — China began locking down most of its largest city of Shanghai on Monday as a coronavirus outbreak surges and amid questions about the economic toll of the nation’s “zero-COVID” strategy.

Shanghai’s Pudong financial district and nearby areas will be locked down from early Monday to Friday as citywide mass testing gets underway, the local government said. In the second phase of the lockdown, the vast downtown area west of the Huangpu River that divides the city will then start its own five-day lockdown Friday.

Residents will be required to stay home and deliveries will be left at checkpoints to ensure there is no contact with the outside world. Offices and all businesses not considered essential will be closed and public transport suspended.

Already, many communities within the city of 26 million have been locked down, with their residents required to submit to multiple tests for COVID-19. And Shanghai’s Disney theme park is among the businesses that closed earlier.

Shanghai detected another 3,500 cases of infection on Sunday, though all but 50 were people who tested positive but were not showing symptoms of COVID-19. China categorizes such cases separately from “confirmed cases” — those in people who are sick — leading to much lower totals in daily reports.

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Biden finds no respite at home after returning from Europe

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the last nine, unscripted words of an impassioned speech about Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, President Joe Biden created a troubling distraction, undermining his effectiveness as he returned home to face restive Americans who strongly disapprove of his performance on issues that matter most to them.

His comment that Russia’s Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” — an assertion that his aides were forced to quickly clean up — overshadowed his larger message of solidifying the Western coalition that’s confronting Moscow.

It punctuated another frustrating moment for an administration that’s struggled to regain its footing — and the American electorate’s support — in the face of an ongoing pandemic, escalating inflation and an increasingly complicated foreign policy crisis that raises the specter of nuclear conflict.

Although he’s forged a united front to punish Russia with sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine, polls show Americans feel no better about his leadership as the bloody war continues. Meanwhile, Democrats are in danger of losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, leaving Biden with limited opportunities to advance a progressive domestic agenda that remains stalled.

The president is on the verge of securing the confirmation of the first Black woman, Ketanji Brown Jackson, on the U.S. Supreme Court, yet there’s no clear path forward for him to fulfill other campaign promises around voting rights, criminal justice reform and fighting climate change. While polls show that Jackson is broadly supported by Americans, it hasn’t helped improve Biden’s standing with voters less than eight months before the midterms, which Republicans hope to frame as a referendum on the president.

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Saniyya Sidney, Jessica Chastain beam on Oscars red carpet

NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Chastain hit the Oscars red carpet in a purple and copper sparkle gown, while the 15-year-old Saniyya Sidney twirled and beamed in a floral-adorned princess look and her “King Richard” castmate Demi Singleton lit up in soft purple Sunday.

Chastain’s Gucci ombre gown included a ruffle hem. The color of her hair, in a high ponytail, matched the burnished bodice of her gown perfectly. Nicole Kidman smooched with her husband, Keith Urban, in a subdued blue gray Armani Prive strapless column gown with a waist ruffle and train.

“This dress, they actually made this color,” Kidman told E!. “I was, like, I really want to wear blue. I love the color.”

Nominee Kristen Stewart, her platinum hair swept to one side, posed quickly for cameras in tiny, rock star black shorts from Chanel. The buttons on her white top opened down to her bellybutton. Penelope Cruise in Chanel went for black in a classic silhouette with a bow sparkling at her neck.

“Instead of a parade of the usual suspects wearing variations on the same theme, the red carpet was filled with individualism, personal style and a sense of play,” said fashion director Zoey Washington, who works with a range of luxury brands.

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Carolina crushes Saint Peter’s, will meet Duke in Final Four

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — America’s favorite underdog, Saint Peter’s, shouldn’t feel all that bad. North Carolina has crushed lots of dreams over the decades.

The Tar Heels ended all hope of a March Madness miracle in the early going Sunday, getting 20 points and 22 rebounds from Armando Bacot in a wire-to-wire 69-49 runaway over 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s.

No. 8 seed Carolina (28-9) made its record 21st Final Four, and this one will be a scene like no other. Next Saturday in New Orleans, it’s North Carolina vs. archrival Duke and its soon-to-be-retiring coach, Mike Krzyzewski. Three short weeks ago, the Tar Heels fractured a different sort of fairy tale — Coach K’s final home game — in a 94-81 beatdown of the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“We want Duke! We want Duke! We want Duke!” the Tar Heels fans shouted as the team cut down the nets in Philly, the same city where Carolina won the East region back in 2016.

“I don’t think anything can be as crazy as the leadup to that game over in Cameron,” coach Hubert Davis said. “We just keep our eyes straight ahead and we ignore all the noise.”

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No. 1 South Carolina women beat Creighton, reach Final Four

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — South Carolina and Aliyah Boston gained what they’d pointed toward all season — a shot at redemption at the Final Four.

Boston scored 19 points to lead the top-seeded Gamecocks to their second straight Final Four with an 80-50 win over Creighton, ending the Bluejays surprise run through the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.

The Gamecocks (33-2) took control early and rarely gave Creighton a chance to get back into the game, which ended with South Carolina getting its fourth Final Four appearance in the past seven tournaments.

Boston lost her streak of 27 double-doubles in a row, as she had seven rebounds in the blowout. She’s happy, though, to have another chance to compete for a national crown and wipe away the disappointment from last season.

That’s when Boston missed a short putback in the closing moments of the Gamecocks’ 66-65 loss to eventual NCAA champion Stanford in the national semifinals. She collapsed in tears on the court and has been almost single-minded in wanting to finish what the team missed out on then.

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‘My personal tragedy’: Ukrainians brace for attack on Odesa

ODESA, Ukraine (AP) — The Black Sea port of Odesa is mining its beaches and rushing to defend its cultural heritage from a feared Mariupol-style fate in the face of growing alarm that the strategic city might be next as Russia attempts to strip Ukraine of its coastline.

The multi-cultural jewel, dear to Ukrainian hearts and even Russian ones, would be a hugely strategic win for Russia. It is the country’s largest port, crucial to grain and other exports, and headquarters for the Ukrainian navy.

Bombardment from the sea last weekend further raised worries that the city is in Russia’s sights.

Residents say Russian President Vladimir Putin would be insane to take Odesa with the brutal approach that has left other Ukrainian cities in ruins. Once a gilded powerhouse of the Russian empire, Odesa includes one of the finest opera houses in Europe and the famed Potemkin Steps between the city and the sea, featured in Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent film masterpiece “Battleship Potemkin.”

But after a month of grueling war, people say they can’t predict anything anymore.

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Will Smith, Chris Rock involved in heated moment at Oscars

Will Smith marched on stage and appeared to smack presenter Chris Rock during Sunday night’s Oscars after Rock made a joke about the appearance of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

The crowd at the Dolby Theatre hushed as Smith twice shouted at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your (expletive) mouth.”

Rock took aim at Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, saying, “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it, all right?”

Pinkett Smith revealed in 2018 that she was diagnosed with alopecia. She has often discussed the challenge of hair loss on Instagram and other social media platforms.

Smith, nominated for best actor for his role in “King Richard,” walked onto the stage and took a swing at Rock with an open palm, generating a loud smack. Smith walked back to his seat and shouted for Rock to leave Pinkett Smith alone. Rock replied that he was just making a “GI Jane” joke — and Smith yelled back at him a second time.