'2000 Meters to Andriivka' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and Best Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

I decided I had enough in me to continue my series on the nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards today, so I'm going right after the category with the most nominated documentary.

Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
Antidote
FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Passion Pictures | Bellingcat | Impact Partners | Channel 4 | M4 Studios]
Life After
Independent Lens
Multitude Films | PBS [ITVS | Straw House Production]
Lost in the Jungle
Little Monster Films [National Geographic]
2000 Meters to Andriivka
FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Associated Press]
Thoughts & Prayers
HBO Documentary Films [Tony Tina]

2000 Meters to Andriivka leads all documentaries with six nominations, including Best Documentary. Life After follows with four, also including Best Documentary. Antidote, Lost in the Jungle, and Thoughts & Prayers tie at two to round out the category. I think this is the first category where every nominee has at least one other nomination — such quality! Not even Best Documentary can claim that distinction for its nominees. This will mean 2000 Meters to Andriivka winning, which I expect, will mean that much more.

As per usual, I am embedding the trailers in the above order, beginning with 2000 Meters to Andriivka (official trailer) | FRONTLINE.

From the Oscar®-winning team behind 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA documents the toll of the Russia-Ukraine war from a personal and devastating vantage point.

Following his historic account of the civilian toll in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov turns his lens towards Ukrainian soldiers — who they are, where they came from, and the impossible decisions they face in the trenches as they fight for every inch of their land.

Amid a failing counteroffensive in 2023, Chernov and his AP colleague Alex Babenko follow a Ukrainian brigade battling through approximately one mile of a heavily fortified forest on their mission to liberate the Russian-occupied village of Andriivka. Weaving together original footage, intensive Ukrainian Army bodycam video and powerful moments of reflection, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA reveals with haunting intimacy, the farther the soldiers advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that, for them, this war may never end.

That's every bit as gripping as I thought it would be.

Now for the other Best Documentary nominee, Life After Official Trailer.

LIFE AFTER is a gripping investigative documentary that exposes the tangled web of moral dilemmas and profit motives surrounding assisted dying. Disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport uncovers shocking abuses of power while amplifying the voices of the disability community fighting for justice and dignity in an unfolding matter of life and death.

I still expect 2000 Meters to Andriivka will win, but I would not be surprised if this upsets it. If so, it might upset 2000 Meters to Andriivka in every category in which it's nominated, because it's competing against my pick to win in all four. Otherwise, it will likely come home empty-handed, because I expect 2000 Meters to Andriivka to sweep.

Moving on to the other FRONTLINE nominee, Antidote | Trailer | Laemmle [Theatres].

What is the cost of speaking truth to power? In Putin’s Russia, it could mean your life. An immersive and chilling documentary, Antidote follows in real time a whistleblower, Vladimir Kara-Murza, from inside Russia's poison program as he attempts to escape. He is a prominent political activist who is poisoned twice and now stands trial for treason. Also profiled is his wife Evgenia and Christo Grozev, the journalist exposing Putin's murder machine. He too is under threat and is forced to flee.

Antidote's other nomination is for Outstanding Graphic Design: Documentary, and it shows in the trailer.

Next, Lost in the Jungle | Official Trailer | National Geographic Documentary Film.

After a deadly plane crash strands four young siblings deep within the Colombian rainforest, a dramatic rescue mission unfolds, uniting Indigenous trackers and the military in a race against time. For the first time ever, LOST IN THE JUNGLE offers the exclusive account of this incredible true story directly from the children themselves and the rescuers who scoured the Amazon rainforest for a grueling 40 days and nights to find them. From National Geographic Documentary Films and Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, along with Emmy® Award-winning director Juan Camilo Cruz, LOST IN THE JUNGLE is a gripping tale of survival, courage and hope.

Lost in the Jungle's second nomination is for Outstanding Sound: Documentary and I can hear it in the trailer.

Thoughts and Prayers | Official Trailer | HBO is the final trailer for today.

How to survive an active shooter in America.

The HBO Original Documentary #ThoughtsAndPrayers captures the current landscape of safety rituals in schools and communities across America.

I first cited the statistic that "gun violence was the number one cause of death among U.S. children and teens in 2020, passing auto accidents" in 'Teenage Dream' and 'The Lost Class' — two PSAs about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards. It's depressing that it's still true.

I'm not going to recycle all the other categories in which these documentaries earned nominations; my readers can go through the posts below and read my opinions, which haven't changed. In the meantime, stay tuned for the nominees for Best Documentary whose trailers I haven't yet embedded tomorrow.

Previous posts about the 57th News & Doc Emmy Awards

• 'Sally' leads Science and Technology Documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards
• 'Secrets of the Penguins' leads Outstanding Nature Documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Earth Day
• 'Underdogs' earns four News & Doc Emmy Award nominations
• 'Songs from the Hole' leads arts and culture documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards
• 'Prime Minister' leads nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards
• 'Katrina: Come Hell and High Water' leads social issue documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Flashback Friday
• 'The Stringer' leads nominees for Outstanding Investigative Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Flashback Friday
• Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina subjects of leading nominees for Outstanding Historical Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

Spectacular nature films nominated at the 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards

As I promised yesterday, I'm beginning my examination of the nominees at the Tenth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Science and nature first!

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
The Americas (NBC)
Checkpoint Zoo (Abramorama)
The Last Rhinos: A New Hope (National Geographic)
Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)
Octopus! (Prime Video)
Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey (Netflix)

I begin by bragging: "I think I will see [Octopus!] and maybe The Americas at another awards show, whether it's the EMA Awards, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, or even next year's News & Doc Emmy Awards." First, both of them earned nominations at the 2025 Environmental Media Association (EMA) Awards and The Americas won its category and now both of them earned nominations here. Two for two so far! Joining them are EMA Award nominee The Last Rhinos: A New Hope, Checkpoint Zoo, Ocean with David Attenborough, and Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey.

I couldn't find a trailer for The Last Rhinos: A New Hope, but I did find 66-Day Fetus Of Northern White Rhino Marks A Moment Of Hope For A Species On The Brink from IFLScience, the next best thing.

There are just two northern white rhinos left in the world: Najin and Fatu, a mother and daughter pair. They can’t continue the species alone, but a world-first attempt was made to bring a new northern white rhino calf into the world using frozen samples, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and a surrogate southern white rhino.

That surrogate was called Curra, and the successful world-first attempt at this kind of cross-species IVF was achieved by BioRescue, an initiative developing advanced reproduction technologies for saving critically endangered mammals. Jan Stejskal was one of the people who had just landed in Kenya to check on the status of her pregnancy when they received a worrying call: Curra was sick, and it was happening fast.

They’d never get to check if she was pregnant, as she died within an hour of falling ill. The team would later learn that this was the devastating outcome of a chain of unfortunate events. First, there was the shift in El Niño, which caused very heavy rains. Then, those rains washed away the top layer of soil in Kenya, resurrecting mummies that had been stored in the ground for centuries. Inside those carcasses was Clostridia bacteria that can live for 500 years, and that bacteria releases an extremely powerful toxin that can kill a rhino in just 60 minutes.

It was a devastating loss for the BioRescue team and even more so for the guardians who had cared for Curra and the other rhinos on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. There came, however, just one small glimmer of hope.
During an autopsy, the team found a 66-day fetus. It was a male northern white rhino, the last seen since the death of Sudan in 2018. There was nothing that could be done to save Curra or the developing fetus inside her, but it was proof that this kind of IVF was possible – something that had never been proven before.

This story of loss and hope is explored in the new National Geographic film, The Last Rhinos: A New Hope, which premieres Aug. 24 at 8/7c and streams next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

No wonder this earned an EMA Award nomination. I hope it gets nominated at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards next year.

Now for the real trailers, beginning with Checkpoint Zoo | Official Trailer from Leonardo DiCaprio.

Checkpoint Zoo documents a daring rescue led by a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers, who risked their lives to save thousands of animals trapped in a zoo behind enemy lines during the initial days of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

Drawing from first-hand footage, Award-winning filmmaker Joshua Zeman's Checkpoint Zoo showcases a story of human compassion, bravery, and sacrifice during Ukraine's darkest hours -- shining a light on the best of humanity when it is all too easy to focus on the worst.

That's inspiring!

Next, Ocean with David Attenborough | Official Trailer | National Geographic.

The world’s leading natural historian draws on a lifetime of knowledge to reveal how Earth’s vast, interconnected waterways can be restored.

This has a second nomination for Best Cinematography and the trailer shows it.

I close the trailers with Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey | Official Trailer | Netflix.

A man finds new purpose when he helps rescue a baby pangolin, one of the most trafficked animals in the world, in a sting operation in South Africa. He leaves the city and embarks on a heartfelt mission to rehabilitate and prepare the vulnerable animal for a life of freedom in the wild. From the Academy Award-winning director of My Octopus Teacher comes Pangolin: Kulu's Journey, a poignant exploration of the connection between humans and the creatures we share our world with.

Netflix makes great trailers and this is no exception.

Based on the trailers and the second nomination for cinematography, I think Ocean with David Attenborough is the favorite, followed by The Americas, and Emmy winner Octopus! Both of the latter have second nominations for narration. No matter which film wins, all of them are ones I can recommend to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Follow over the jump for the second nominations for The Americas, Octopus!, and Ocean with David Attenborough.

Elon Musk crashes the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in last night's cold open

Happy Sunday! As I promised, here are the highlights of last night's Saturday Night Live beginning, like the show, with Elon Musk Cold Open.

Elon Musk (Mike Myers) interrupts a heated meeting with Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), JD Vance (Bowen Yang), Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Ukraine President Zelensky (Mikey Day).

I'll let the top comment on the video speak for me: "This was less chaotic and embarrassing than the real thing." That's even with Mike Myers playing Elon Musk as an Austin Powers villain crashing the meeting.

The satire of the event continued in Weekend Update: Trump Scolds Ukraine President Zelensky, Kisses Elon Musk's Feet in AI Video.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a U.S. appeals court blocking a Biden-era student debt relief plan.

That was a good summary of this week's "shock and awful" and "Elon Musk's...Chainsaw Massacre of our federal workforce."

Weekend Update covered even more ridiculous news in Couple Sits Next to Dead Body on Plane, Man Hides $10K Worth of Cocaine in Wig.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Dunkin' Donuts announcing they will stop charging more for plant-based milk.

The stories about the ceiling collapsing during a screening of Captain America: Brave New World and the CBS soap opera Beyond the Gates alone qualified this entry as the Sunday entertainment feature, but there was more movie content in The Movie Guy Shares His 2025 Oscars Predictions.

The Movie Guy (Marcello Hernández) stops by Weekend Update to discuss his predictions for the 2025 Oscars.

No, it's not going to be Wicked winning Best Picture tonight. Maybe next year.

Weekend Update closed with Jane Wickline Gives Dating Advice.

Jane Wickline stops by Weekend Update to share some tips about wooing potential love interests.

On the one hand, I'm recycling what I wrote in 'SNL' spoofs the VP debate in its cold open, the first time I saw Wickline sing: "Now I'm wondering if this song is eligible for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics at next year's Emmy Awards. I'll have to wait until July to find out!" On the other, I don't think that's a good solution to the Trolley Problem if you want to favorably impress a potential romantic partner.

SNL was not done with making fun of the news, so I'm closing this entry with Mid-Day News 2.

Things go off the rails as anchors of a news channel (Shane Gillis, Kenan Thompson, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim) cover the latest news.

Listening to all that reminded me of Science confirms my opinion of life in the country: "I've lived out in exurbia and semi-rural areas for more than a decade. In that time, I've witnessed more crime and depravity there than in all my time in the city." I'm with Kenan and Ego on this one.

That concludes today's comedy entry, where my readers and I laugh at the news because it hurts too much to cray. Stay tuned for World Wildlife Day.

'20 Days in Mariupol' and 'The ABCs of Book Banning' leading documentary nominees according to Gold Derby

I told my readers "Gold Derby hasn't made any predictions for the Razzies or the Oscars yet. When they do, I'll return with their odds. Stay tuned" to conclude 'Exorcist: Believer' and 'Expend4bles' tie for most Razzie nominations as the Golden Raspberry Awards' poor math skills strike again! Gold Derby's editors and experts have made their Oscar predictions, so I'm making good on my promise for today's Sunday entertainment feature, beginning with the nominees for documentaries.

Both the editors and experts are picking 20 Days in Mariupol to win, with eleven editors ranking it first and the twelfth choosing Four Daughters. Eighteen experts have also made 20 Days in Mariupol their first choice, while two have picked The Eternal Memory and one choosing Four Daughters. I'm with them on this, for the same reasons that helped Icarus and Navalny win this category before, the quality of the films and the importance of their subject matter, which made a political points at Putin's expense. The bulk of entertainment professionals in Hollywood have neither forgotten nor forgiven Putin for his role in the 2016 election and what he's done in Ukraine has only incensed the members of the Motion Picture Academy even more.

Speaking of what has happened in Ukraine, watch 20 Days In Mariupol (trailer) | FRONTLINE.

Ukrainian filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov offers a window into the practices of conflict zone reporters and an unflinching, anguishing account of the 20 days he and colleagues spent covering Mariupol. "20 Days in Mariupol" is a @frontline and @AssociatedPress collaboration. The documentary premieres in select theaters this summer and comes to PBS this fall.

Seeing that this is a Frontline documentary makes me sorry that there is a rule prohibiting Oscar nominees from being eligible for Emmy Awards: "programs that have received an Oscar® nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) are ineligible for submission to any Emmy® award contest administered by NATAS." This includes the News & Documentary Emmys. Darn. Otherwise, I would have expected 20 Days in Mariupol to earn multiple nominations later this year. Not happening, not that Frontline is lacking in potential documentary nominees.

Gold Derby interviewed '20 Days in Mariupol' filmmakers Mstyslav Chernov and Raney Aronson: 'This is a symbolic story'.

'20 Days in Mariupol' filmmakers Mstyslav Chernov and Raney Aronson: 'This is a symbolic story.' The director and producer are nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 96th Academy Awards. Gold Derby editor Denton Davidson hosts this webchat.

In addition to winning the DGA Award, which Denton Davidson mentioned, 20 Days in Mariupol won 24 other awards, including two Critics Choice Documentary Awards, two Cinema Eye Honors Awards, one Online Film Critics Society Award, one Cinema for Peace Award, one of the Top Five Documentaries by the National Board of Review, and a number of film festival and local critics groups awards, including the Audience Award at the Sundance Film festival. Wow!

As for the Oscar and other awards, including today's BAFTA Award for Documentary, which all eighteen Gold Derby experts and eleven Gold Derby editors have predicted will go to 20 Days in Mariupol, bringing more visibility to the film, I believe they will, but the film has plenty of viewers already, with the upload of the entire documentary already having 1,582,039 views on Frontline's YouTube channel. Again, wow!

I'll get to the rest of the nominees later, especially after Gold Derby and Factual America upload more interviews with their creators. Until then, follow over the jump for the trailer for The ABCs of Book Banning, a report from MSNBC, and an interview of its director.

Bill Nye joins the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists as the Doomsday Clock remains at 90 seconds to midnight

As I wrote yesterday, "Stay tuned for the Doomsday Clock." Watch NBC News report Doomsday Clock stays at 90 seconds to midnight for second straight year.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has kept the Doomsday Clock set to 90 seconds to midnight for the second straight year, largely attributed to the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and the threat of artificial intelligence. The clock is a symbolic indication of humanity’s perceived proximity to human-caused catastrophe.

The PRESS RELEASE: Doomsday Clock remains at 90 seconds to midnight elaborated on the threats.

The Doomsday Clock was reset at 90 seconds to midnight, still the closest the Clock has ever been to midnight, reflecting the continued state of unprecedented danger the world faces. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, stewards of the Doomsday Clock, emphasized in their announcement that the Clock could be turned back, but governments and people needed to take urgent action.

A variety of global threats cast menacing shadows over the 2024 Clock deliberations, including: the Russia-Ukraine war and deterioration of nuclear arms reduction agreements; the Climate Crisis and 2023’s official designation as the hottest year on record; the increased sophistication of genetic engineering technologies; and the dramatic advance of generative AI which could magnify disinformation and corrupt the global information environment making it harder to solve the larger existential challenges.

Bill Nye joined the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, who uploaded Bill Nye on the #DoomsdayClock this morning.


The press release quoted Nye.

Bill Nye, who participated in the 2024 Doomsday Clock announcement, said: “For decades, scientists have been warning us of the dangers facing humankind. We could be facing catastrophe unless we better manage the technologies we’ve created. It’s time to act.”

I think Nye is a good addition to the panel and helps draw attention to the event and the issues it raises. It helps that he's gotten into the apocalypse space with The End is Nye, which won the EMA Award for Reality Television. This reminds me that the EMA Awards are tomorrow, so they're up next. Stay tuned.

Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham after banning 500 Americans from entering country

I found a shinier object than the debt ceiling deal, Russia issues arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham | NewsNation Now.

Russia’s Interior Ministry has issued an arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, after he praised U.S. military aid to Ukraine as “the best money we’ve ever spent.” The South Carolina senator said Monday "it brings me immense joy" to know that his support for Ukraine “has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime.”

I have the same reaction to this news that I had to my ex-wife after she threatened to throw me out 30 years ago: "I can understand you throwing me out after doing the wrong thing. I don't understand you wanting to throw me out for doing the right thing." Russia is threatening to arrest Senator Graham after he did the right thing, so Russia in general and Vladimir Putin in particular can go fly a kite.

That's not to say that Graham may not be arrested in the future. One of the Trump investigations you should actually care about is Donald Trump's other 'perfect call' to the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, which resulted in Graham and others being subpoenaed followed by a grand jury report. Graham may yet face charges for that. If so, I support it, as he would have been caught doing the wrong thing.

This comes after Russia adds Trump's political enemies to sanctions list, as MSNBC reported last week.

Russia has banned hundreds of U.S. citizens, including former President Obama, Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow and Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from entering its territory. The Morning Joe panel discusses.

I used that for the preview image, the subject line, and the description, which connected to what I wrote about Graham and Raffensberger. Joe Scarborough blustered a bit much to be very informative. For that, I'm turning to Joy Reid and her guest, who said ‘Putin is a sending signal to MAGA base’: Fmr. CIA director on Putin's sanctions, including Maddow.

Vladimir Putin has signaled support for Donald Trump with new sanctions targeting Trump’s critics. Putin’s likely subsequent influence on the MAGA base is analyzed by former CIA director John Brennan who tells Joy Reid, "I find it hard to believe in this day and age, particularly after the bloody assault and plundering of Ukraine, that any American would look favorably upon Vladimir Putin[.]”

All of this confirms what I wrote seven years ago: Trump and Putin have a bad bromance. I have something more complementary to say to Graham and the 500+ Americans on Russia's sanction list: Congratulations, you have the right enemies.

'Navalny,' 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,' and 'A House Made of Splinters' — three political and social issue documentaries nominated at the Oscars

I ended 'Fire of Love' and 'All That Breathes' — two Oscar-nominated documentaries I'm recommending to my students with a preview of coming attractions.

The other three Documentary Feature nominees at the Academy Awards are political and social issue documentaries and I plan on getting to them in a future installment. That's when I'll finish my handicapping of the nominees and maybe even make a prediction. Stay tuned.

In reverse alphabetical order, the three nominees are "Navalny," "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed," and "A House Made of Splinters." This also happens to be order of their likelihood of winning, so I begin with CNN telling its viewers to Watch the trailer for award-winning film ‘Navalny”.

The fly-on-the-wall documentary follows Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, through his political rise, attempted assassination and search to uncover the truth.

This is longest and most complete trailer I found on YouTube. That it's by CNN and promoting an HBO Documentary is not an accident. To paraphrase what I wrote in CNN defends Big Bird after Ted Cruz calls one of the character's tweets 'Propaganda,' a pandemic update, CNN is promoting one of the parent company's productions. Doing so is in its interest, which, in this case, helps the public interest by supporting democracy (and opposing Putin). Still, my readers should keep that relationship in mind when watching the clip above. It's not just news value that's driving it.

Gold Derby interviewed Daniel Roher ('Navalny' director): 'The way that this film came together was such a fever dream' after the movie won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.

Daniel Roher ('Navalny' director): 'The way that this film came together was such a fever dream.' The Russian opposition leader Alexei recovered from an assassination attempt and was arrested upon returning to Moscow. Gold Derby's Tony Ruiz hosts this webchat.

In addition to the BAFTA, "Navalny" just won the PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures and won Best Political Documentary and the Bronze Medal at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards beating the next nominee, "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed." Watch ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED - Official Trailer from Neon.

Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.

I wrote the following footnote to the previous entry about the Documentary Feature nominees about this film.

Oscar nominee "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" is about the Sackler family, who are at the center of the opioid crisis, and might just be worth mentioning to my Human Structure and Function class. That way, all my students this semester will have recommended films to watch for extra credit.

I did recommend this to my Human Structure and Function class, although this is more about the activism than the effects of opioids on the human body. In that regard, it's like the last documentary I recommended to the students in that course, "Icarus," which made a political point at Putin's expense. That last phrase is one of the reasons I expect it will lose to "Navalny," which also makes a political point at Putin's expense. The other is that Laura Poitras has already won an Academy Award for "Citizenfour," which also won an Emmy. I'm surprised was even nominated, as I wrote in 'Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution' at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, "The Documentary Branch normally does not [nominate] films by previous winners." They like to spread the recognition around.

Anti-Putin and pro-Ukraine sentiment also helped "A House Made of Splinters." Watch its official trailer.

A sobering window into the little lives and high hopes of three children seeking refuge at a temporary shelter in eastern Ukraine.

That's a moving story, but "Navalny" makes a more direct point against Putin. "Navalny" is also more recognized, so I think it's favored.

To determine how favored, I'm turning to Gold Derby, where nine experts, including my two favorites Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen, have it winning. Eight experts currently have "Fire of Love," six have picked "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed," and one lone expert thinks the Oscar will go to "All That Breathes." Looks like it will be close among the top three choices.

Stay tuned for more awards show coverage.

'SNL' sends up Trump's visit to the train derailment site in Ohio in its cold open and Weekend Update

"Saturday Night Live" began last night's episode with Trump Train Visit Cold Open.

Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) delivers a message to the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, following the train derailment.

SNL's writers decided that the best news story for comedy since it shot down the Chinese 'spy balloon' in its cold open and Weekend Update to begin the month was the Ohio train derailment. I'm not surprised. It resumed the roast in Weekend Update: Biden Meets with Zelensky in Ukraine, The Oscars' Crisis Team.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Donald Trump visiting East Palestine, Ohio, after the recent train derailment.

Both The Former Guy and Pete Buttigieg earned laughs for their appearances, although TFG was tacky and Buttigieg was just a little overdressed. I prefer the latter. Both had to wait until Jost and Che invited the audience to have a good laugh at Biden's visit to Ukraine on Presidents Day. That was bigger news, but I guess Jost, Che, and their writers didn't find it as funny as TFG in Ohio.

The mention of the "Oscars crisis team" in the first video of Weekend Update already qualified this post as the Sunday entertainment feature; Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly's Prison Sentences, NBA Slam Dunk Contest leaned heavily into stories about books, movies, music, and sports to further justify its status.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like an alligator being found at Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

Also animals and art, making this a quick-paced roundup of lighter news.

Speaking of lighter news, follow over the jump for a couple of clips from the first show of this month that I'm serving as dessert made of leftovers.

'Russia’s private military force, explained' by Vox for the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

I closed Biden visits Ukraine on Presidents Day with "The first anniversary of Putin's war on Ukraine beginning is this Friday and I might have more to say about it then." Vox did the work for me by uploading Russia’s private military force, explained last week.

Inside the Wagner Group’s playbook.
...
On January 10, 2023, the Ukrainian town of Soledar was reportedly captured. But it wasn’t captured by the Russian army under Vladimir Putin’s command. The announcement came from a relatively unknown man, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who said his troops now controlled the town. The troops are part of the Wagner Group, a private army that has become a prominent force alongside Russian troops in the war against Ukraine.

But they aren’t new. They've been secretly fighting for Russia around the world since 2014. In this video, we take a look at their playbook and examine the three main steps they use to spread Russian influence around the world in brutal ways. We also look at how they’ve transformed from a ghost army to a recognizable private military group with insignias and an online brand, changing the nature of this secret group and its role in the world.

Wagner Group's "Little Green Men" aren't just fighting for Russian interests in Ukraine. They're also in Syria, Mali, and Sudan, a Russian proxy presence on three continents. Wagner Group's mining operations are also all over Africa. Now I'm wondering what the Chinese think of this.

I'm sure I'll be writing more about the war in Ukraine. Stay tuned.

Debbie Dingell delivers paczki and talks about democracy on WDIV in Detroit for Fat Tuesday

Happy Paczki Day AKA Fat Tuesday! Like last year, I begin with Rep. Debbie Dingell delivers paczkis to Local 4 (and tells us what she's working on), an annual tradition of the representative and WDIV/Click On Detroit.

In a well-loved tradition, U.S. Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell brought paczkis to our newsroom for Fat Tuesday -- and she's updating us on what she's currently working on.

I'm glad Dingell is settling into her not-so-new district after the game of redistricting musical chairs that shuffled Michigan's U.S. representatives around last year. I'm also glad that she pointed out that the war in Ukraine has become a war for democracy and that Biden's trip takes him to Poland, where he can eat paczki in their home country. Euronews reports on his arrival in US President Joe Biden in Poland after a surprise visit to Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden arrived in Poland Monday night after making a surprise visit to Kyiv in a show of solidarity with Ukraine just days before the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion.

Looking forward to writing more about Biden's trip in coming days.

I conclude by returning to metro Detroit with CBS Detroit's Detroit bakery prepares for Paczki Day.

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, hundreds of the Polish pasties will be sold, and one bakery in Detroit is preparing for the influx of customers[.]

It wasn't until I moved to Michigan and discovered paczki that I found out why today is Fat Tuesday. Here's to spreading that knowledge to my readers.

Biden visits Ukraine on Presidents Day

Happy Presidents Day! For today's celebration, I'm covering current events as CNN reports Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden made an unannounced trip to Kyiv early for the first time since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.

I'm glad to see Joe Biden paying Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Time's Person of the Year for 2022, a visit in Ukraine instead of having Zelenskyy come to the U.S. It shows how much the U.S. supports his country.

CNN explains what this visit and US support mean in ‘A really big deal’: Retired colonel on Biden’s wartime visit to Ukraine.

CNN military analyst Col. Cedric Leighton (Ret.) explains the significance of President Joe Biden’s surprise trip to Kyiv nearly one year after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

I'm especially glad to hear that Lindsey Graham is calling for training Ukrainian pilots to start as soon as possible. That's a sign of bipartisan support, which Ukraine needs. Now I want to hear that from a member of the Republican House majority.

I turn to MSNBC to wrap up this part of Biden's trip with President Biden leaves Kyiv after historic visit.

President Biden has now left Kyiv on his historic visit to Ukraine. NBC News' Richard Engel reports.

The first anniversary of Putin's war on Ukraine beginning is this Friday and I might have more to say about it then. In the meantime, stay tuned for Paczki Day AKA Fat Tuesday tomorrow.

Doomsday Clock is now 90 seconds to midnight, the least remaining time ever — again

It's the time of year to update the Doomsday Clock. Watch The Doomsday Clock Is Closer to Catastrophe Than Ever Before from Time.

The Doomsday Clock, a symbolic tracker that represents the likelihood of human-made destruction, was updated Tuesday to 90 seconds to midnight—the closest to global catastrophe it’s ever been. It was the first time the clock had been updated since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Reuters explained the signficance of this event in What is the 'Doomsday Clock'?

Atomic scientists set the 'Doomsday Clock' in 2023 to 90 seconds to midnight – closer than ever before to the threat of complete annihilation of humanity. But what is the Doomsday Clock?

ABC News gave a historical perspective in Doomsday Clock: A look back.

Scientists revealed that the "Doomsday Clock" has been moved up to 90 seconds before midnight — the closest humanity has ever been to armageddon.

Here are past evaluations of how close we are to the end of the world.

The clock has been at 100 seconds to midnight since 2020, so moving the hands ten seconds closer is a big deal and bad news. I wish I could say I am surprised, but between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and 2022 being the fifth-warmest year on record, demonstrating that climate change remains a threat, the situation has become more dangerous. While the Reuters video showed clips related to the pandemic, I don't think it factored much into the decision to move the hands closer to midnight. On the other hand, artificial intelligence, depicted as a Boston Dynamics robot "dog" instead of the AI art and writing that is making news, may be causing more anxiety than I think the technology deserves, although I think I should still blog about the latest developments in mimicking human creativity. Just the same, this is one of the rare times when I use the doom label seriously.

So ends January 2023's blogging. Stay tuned for the first post of February.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Time's Person of the Year for 2022

It's time, pun intended, to begin my look back at the year about to end with the Today Show's reveal that Volodymyr Zelenskyy Is Time's Person Of The Year For 2022.*

Edward Felsenthal, editor-in-chief of Time, exclusively reveals on TODAY the magazine’s pick for its 2022 Person of the Year: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the spirit of Ukraine.

I'll get to the Women of Iran as Heroes of the Year tomorrow. In the meantime, watch Time Magazine's own video, Volodymyr Zelensky and the Spirit of Ukraine: TIME Person of the Year 2022.

Zelensky’s success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious. It spread through Ukraine’s political leadership in the first days of the invasion, as everyone realized the President had stuck around. If that seems like a natural thing for a leader to do in a crisis, consider historical precedent. Only six months earlier, the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani—a far more experienced leader than Zelensky—fled his capital as Taliban forces approached. In 2014, one of Zelensky’s predecessors, Viktor Yanukovych, ran away from Kyiv as protesters closed in on his residence; he still lives in Russia today. Early in the Second World War, the leaders of Albania, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Yugoslavia, among others, fled the advance of the German Wehrmacht and lived out the war in exile.

There wasn’t much in Zelensky’s biography to predict his willingness to stand and fight. He had never served in the military or shown much interest in its affairs. He had only been President since April 2019. His professional instincts derived from a lifetime as an actor on the stage, a specialist in improv comedy, and a producer in the movie business.

That experience turned out to have its advantages. Zelensky was adaptable, trained not to lose his nerve under pressure. He knew how to read a crowd and react to its moods and expectations. Now his audience was the world. He was determined not to let them down.

I think Zelenskyy is an excellent choice and I hope this honor ages better than Elon Musk as Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2021. That's not looking as good now as it did then. On the other hand, Lizzo as Time's 2019 Entertainer of the Year still holds up well three years later.

Speaking of Entertainer of the Year, I'll get to them for the Sunday entertainment feature after I write about the Women of Iran as Heroes of the Year tomorrow and the Innovator of the Year on Saturday for Nobel Prize Day. Stay tuned.

*I'll be frank; I selected this video and placed it first as much for its preview image as for its content. I'm not above such petty considerations in my blogging.

Weekend Update compares this week's headlines to 'Mad Max' on last night's 'SNL'

I should have known better yesterday, when I wrote "That's it for reality. Stay tuned for the next Sunday entertainment feature, which will likely be another compilation of highlights from tonight's 'Saturday Night Live.'" Weekend Update: Cryptocurrency Crashes, Mitch McConnell Visits Ukraine opened with a litany of unpleasant realities.*

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the nationwide baby formula shortage.

It was just this past Thursday that I referenced "Mad Max," so I guess there's something in the air. It also reminds me of what I wrote last September.

[W]hat once felt like the End Times have just become the times reminded me that my wife remarked after looking at the news over the weekend that it feels like it's one apocalyptic event after another. My response was that the pandemic alone isn't the Apocalypse, but it is an apocalypse. The same with all the rest of the calamitous events this summer.

The summer of 2022 hasn't even begun yet, but I still think and feel this way about the news.

Now for the entertainment news in the second segment of Weekend Update: Ukraine Wins Eurovision, 7,000 NYC Rat Sightings Reported.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Mega Millions announcing the wrong winning number.

Congratulations to Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra on winning Eurovision! May that provide a morale boost to the country in its war with Russia. Also, congratulations on getting me to mention Eurovision for the first time since Oscar nominated scores and songs for National Film Score Day 13 months ago.

Even the writers for "SNL" needed a break from the news and they put words to that effect in Kate McKinnon's mouth as Nicole Wallace, who introduced Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Trial Cold Open.

Johnny Depp (Kyle Mooney) and his lawyer (Aidy Bryant) show evidence in the courtroom.

I haven't been following the trial closely, but the viewers that have commented that this wasn't nearly as funny as the real thing and expressed their disappointment. Still, it's a sign that, like me, "SNL" also has "I can't be all DOOM all the time" moods and needed some escapism. I can't say I blame them.

*It's also a list of future blogging topics. Stay tuned to see how many of them I tackle this week.

CNBC explains 'What Happens If There’s A Nuclear Attack' and 'The Big Business of Nuclear Weapons Manufacturing'

I commented on the danger of the international situation in Seth Meyers takes closer looks at the State of the Union and Russian invasion of Ukraine last month.

As for Vladimir Putin making nuclear threats, that's why I wrote "Here's to the Russian invasion of Ukraine not spiraling out of control to prevent next year's parade from happening" yesterday. It's also not how I want him to be the Most Interesting Man in the World.

Since I would be remiss as a doomer blogger in not examining the topic, especially when it's timely, I'm sharing CNBC's What Happens If There’s A Nuclear Attack.

Nearly 70% of Americans surveyed by the American Psychological Association said they worry the invasion of Ukraine could potentially lead to nuclear war and they fear that we could be at the beginning stages of World War III.

Researchers estimate there are about 12,700 nuclear weapons spread between nine countries, with the United States and Russia holding the majority, but experts consider an attack to be unlikely. Watch the video above to learn how a nuclear attack could play out.

All of this is horrifying, but it's not news to me. My interest in events that could cause the end of civilization began when I was eleven or so years old when I started reading about nuclear war and nuclear weapons. Macabre, but learning about it made me less anxious, as I could use my knowledge as a source of power over my fears. That's still true, as it's one of the reasons I blog about possible causes of collapse and decline as well as ways to forestall them. They are still frightening and fascinating and knowing about them gives me a sense of control, however illusory.

The first video showed Alejandra Munoz of PAX mentioning that the nuclear states are still spending money updating their arsenals. CNBC followed up on that in The Big Business of Nuclear Weapons Manufacturing.

Defense companies secure billions of dollars every year from government contracts to maintain and construct nuclear weapons. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the U.S. government could spend $634 billion between 2021–2030 on nuclear forces. Many of these companies like Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have seen a rise in stock prices amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Watch the video above to learn about the companies profiting off of nuclear weapons and how the investor community feels about it.

This video reminded me that my father worked for aerospace and defense companies during most of my youth, so I benefited for spending for weapons growing up. The company that he worked for the longest, Litton Industries, no longer exists as an independent company but is now split between Northrop Grumman and Huntington Ingalls, both of which CNBC mentioned in their video, particularly Northrop Grumman. My father actually started off working in the Ingalls Shipbuilding division before moving to Litton Guidance and Control, now part of Northrop Grumman, so his legacy lives on in two companies.

Enough nostalgia. I have work to do, as final exams began yesterday. Stay tuned for a retrospective tomorrow on Throwback Thursday.

Vox explains 'What Russia's war means for the International Space Station' plus DART and Artemis updates

A belated happy Yuri's Night AKA International Day for Human Space Flight! As I wrote five years ago, this is the day of the year when I celebrate the promise of space. Today is Apophis Day, when I report on the perils of space. Vox uploaded a video this morning that exemplifies both, What Russia's war means for the International Space Station, although the threat is to space exploration from Earth, not from space to the planet.

The International Space Station has been orbiting above us for the last 20 years. It’s been home to astronauts from more than a dozen different countries — but mostly Americans and Russians. The two former “Space Race” countries control the main parts of the station. The science done there has required close collaboration and so it’s been largely insulated from politics on Earth.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may change that. The two countries have agreed to cooperate through 2024… but after that, the future of the space station is uncertain.

So far, Putin's war on Ukraine has not had major effects in space, but that could change if the Russians don't extend their involvement in the ISS beyond 2024. It could speed up the decommissioning of the space station, which is currently expected to happen by 2030. At least there are plans for commercial space stations associated with NASA beyond 2030 along with other projects like Artemis.

Now for the usual subject of Apophis Day, the threat of asteroid impact with an update to PBS NOVA asks 'Can Humans Deflect an Asteroid?' for Asteroid Day 2021 from CBC News: NASA spacecraft en route to smash into asteroid.

NASA has launched a spacecraft that will reach an asteroid in 10 months and smash into it — on purpose — to see if it's possible to change the space rock's orbit.

I'm looking forward to the results of DART's collision with Dimorphos later this year. I expect I'll have an update on the mission for Asteroid Day and again after it happens.

I conclude today's post with "Invincible" by Eddie Vedder, featuring NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission (Official Video), a musical update on the Artemis mission.

Grammy-award winning artist Eddie Vedder's "Invincible" video collaboration with NASA is inspired by our Artemis I Moon mission.

The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft – the only human-rated spacecraft in the world capable of deep-space travel – are planned to lift off from Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the uncrewed Artemis I mission around the Moon. Through the Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence, and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. This video includes footage of various prelaunch tests, along with animations of launch, the orbit around the Moon, and the return to Earth.

Last year, I featured Lindsey Stirling. This year, Eddie Vedder. Stirling didn't surprise me; she's something of a geek goddess. I had no idea Vedder was this into space!

Samantha Bee updates Ginni Thomas's texts and Alexander Vindman's account of the 'perfect call'

I'm revisiting Stephen Colbert on missing Trump White House phone records and Ginni Thomas's texts updates the attempt to overturn the 2020 election today with Samantha Bee's New Evidence From the January 6th Investigation Continues Not to Disappoint.

Missing emails, a seven hour gap in phone logs, and a text chain to overthrow the election. This season of True Crime: January 6th is riveting!

This was an even more complete and focused account than Colbert included in his monologue last week, so I'm glad I shared it. It also focuses more on the Thomases and less on The Former Guy, even though he would have been the beneficiary of Ginni Thomas's actions. It also gives me another reason to dislike Justice Thomas beyond his history with Monsanto.

Bee also updated Vox explains the phone call that could get Trump impeached (it did) and Time names the public servants who testified at the impeachment hearings 2019's Guardians of the Year with The Spy Who Called Me: Alexander Vindman and the Call That Sparked the Russian War on Ukraine.

Sam sits down with the star of Trump’s first impeachment hearing, Alexander Vindman to talk about the infamous 2019 Trump/Zelenskyy phone call that paved the way for Putin’s war on Ukraine.

This piece was produced by Razan Ghalayini with Adam Howard and edited by Andrew Mendelson.

I think Americans need to be reminded about how The Former Guy's first impeachment related not only to 2020 election and Joe Biden, but also led to Putin's war on Ukraine. Also, I can relate to Bee saying "we all have to be watchdogs against corruption and engage in protecting our democracy at the local, state, and federal level. Oh, my God, why does it end up being the moral of every single piece I do?" That's the moral of a lot of my posts as well and why I turn to comedians like Bee as inspirations for my blogging. It's an important message.

That's it for today's civics lesson through comedy. Stay tuned for another retrospective tomorrow for Throwback Thursday. Natural disasters, anyone?

'SNL' satirizes 'Fox & Friends' in its Supreme Court cold open

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for another bonus retrospective tomorrow" at the end of the body for Ramadan begins, a holiday special. That's because half of last year's top ten posts featured clips from "Saturday Night Live" including all of the top three and four of the top five! I'm listing them and explaining how they got their page views over the jump. Right now, I'm kicking off the post with Fox & Friends Cold Open: Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings.

Steve Doocy (Alex Moffat), Ainsley Earhardt (Heidi Gardner) and Brian Kilmeade (Mikey Day) interview Justice Clarence Thomas (Kenan Thompson), his wife Ginni Thomas (Aidy Bryant [sic — actually Kate McKinnon]) and Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson).

Once again, 'SNL' lampoons Fox News in its cold open. While the sketch began mocking Fox News's take the Supreme Court hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, I think it really got going when satirizing Ginni Thomas's texts. I just wonder if listing Aidy Bryant instead of Kate McKinnon was supposed to be an April Fools joke or if it reflected a last-minute casting change. Cecily Strong's Jeanine Pirro was spot-on as always, although I found the subject bizarre even for Fox News. I'm going to have to examine the right wing's attack on Disney; it's surreal. Finally, James Austin Johnson's Trump is still enough to make me not miss Alec Baldwin.

Follow over the jump for Weekend Update and one other bonus clip plus the top four "SNL" posts.

Vox explains Putin's war on Ukraine

Two months ago, I posted CNBC asks 'Can Sanctions Deter Russia From Invading Ukraine?' The answer to that question was no. To understand why, watch Putin's war on Ukraine, explained.

Ukraine is under attack.
...
On February 24th, Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin called it a “special military operation,” but the scale of the attack shows this is a full-scale war that has already caused more than 100 casualties and forced more than half a million Ukrainians to flee their homes.

Ukraine and Russia’s conflict goes back to 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and Russian-backed separatist forces took over parts of southeastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. But to understand the full context behind the invasion, it’s important to go even farther back, to the time when Europe’s current-day divisions began, and see how that shaped Europe’s power balance today.

To understand the current conflict’s history in less than 10 minutes, watch the video above.

After examining the Russian invasion of Ukraine through comedy, it was time to share a serious news and history perspective, which Vox provided.

I'll have more on the war later. In the meantime, stay tuned for International Women's Day.

'SNL' lampoons Fox News in its Ukraine cold open

Last weekend, "Saturday Night Live" opened with the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York. Last night, "SNL" put on a full skit for Fox News Ukraine Cold Open.

Fox News' Laura Ingraham (Kate McKinnon) and Tucker Carlson (Alex Moffat) host a Ukrainian Invasion Celebration Spectacular with special guests Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), Steven Seagal (Bowen Yang), Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day) and Kimberly Gui[l]foyle (Cecily Strong).

Alex Moffat's Tucker Carlson impression is dead-on and reminds me that I still haven't watched John Oliver's video about Carlson yet. James Austin Johnson's Trump is also very good and enough to make me not miss Alec Baldwin. Kate McKinnon as Laura Ingraham, Cecily Strong as Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr. all looked the part and Strong certainly captured Guilfoyle's energy on stage. She should sing more often. Seeing Bowen Yang as Steven Seagal reminded me that my ex-wife went to school with Seagal's older sister in Fullerton, California, and she was not impressed with him at the time. As for the real victims being the oligarchs, that's very on-brand for Fox News. So was the list of sponsors, which made me realize that the advertisers on MSNBC cater to a slightly younger viewership. I don't feel quite as old now.

Follow over the jump for last night's Weekend Update.