Pittsburgh Pirates Home Opener: What you need to know
Pittsburgh Pirates Home Opener: What you need to know
It's always a special day in Pittsburgh when baseball is back!
The Pirates are just hours away from being back in play for the 25th year at PNC Park against the New York Yankees.
And there are some big changes fans will see this year.
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From scoreboard upgrades to reimagining the riverwalk experience in the outfield to upgrading the concourse.
There are also new food experiences, including Polish cannonballs, a burnt almond torte and a fried chicken sandwich on a croissant.
Fans will also notice a new and improved team store, featuring more throwback clothing, and for the kids, a Build-a-Bear pirate parrot.
Officials with the Pirates say it's a great opportunity for the fans.
'The goal is to have a connection and a connection with the fan. To have an experience they remember and that's heartwarming to them,' said Terry Walcutt, General Manager of Fanatics.
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Some things to keep in mind if you're coming down today:
The game starts at 4:12 p.m.
Fans will be able to enter PNC Park at 2 p.m. with the pregame scheduled to begin at 3:35 p.m.
If you get there early, a block party on Federal Street starts at 1 p.m.
The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown out by Pittsburgh native, Marc Fogel, who was welcomed back to the U.S. in February after being detained in a Russian prison.
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'Ukrainians have been stripped of illusion of control' — Filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai on Russia's war, cinema and reclaiming the narrative
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, film director Kateryna Gornostai found herself questioning whether she would continue working. "I had this feeling that life — at least professionally — had come to an end," she says. "Who needed directors or screenwriters, then? At most, volunteers were needed, but hardly anyone involved in filmmaking." The urgency of documenting the war soon became clear, but emotionally picking up a camera didn't come easily. The 36-year-old filmmaker struggled with fear and doubt, knowing any shot she filmed could be her last. "It felt scary that you're filming, and these could be your last shots because now a missile will hit here. And that's all that will be left of you." Yet, she did return. In 2023, Gornostai began working on her first film following the start of the full-scale war. Her latest documentary "Timestamp," was screened at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival — making her the first Ukrainian director in nearly three decades to compete for the Golden Bear. The last was Kira Muratova's "Three Stories" in 1997. Gornostai attended the Berlinale only briefly, arriving just for the film's screening on Feb. 20, days after giving birth to her son. "Timestamp" follows students and teachers across different parts of Ukraine, including cities regularly pounded with Russian missiles and drones, showing what everyday school life looks like in the war-torn country. The film is both intimate and unflinching, offering a glimpse into how kids endure the hardship of growing up under constant bombardment. Gornostai dedicated the film to her younger brother Maksym, killed in action in 2023 while she was still filming. On June 11, the movie premiered in Ukraine. "It should be both fun and sad at the same time," she told the Kyiv Independent days before the screening. "That's what we hope for." Read also: Author Yuri Andrukhovych on Ukrainian dissident art in Soviet times Themes of school and adolescence are in the spotlight of Gornostai's work, with autobiographical and personal elements running through it. Just over a month before Russia launched its all-out invasion, Gornostai's debut feature film "Stop-Zemlia" premiered in Ukraine in January 2022. The movie earned recognition both at home and abroad, winning the Crystal Bear in the Berlinale Generation 14plus section, a category for movies that explore the life of children and teenagers. "Timestamp" has the same focus, yet different story, showing a new reality that Ukrainian education is facing — remote learning, damaged infrastructure, constant air raids, studying in the subway, and the psychological trauma of kids at war. One of the most important scenes in the film for Gornostai is the funeral of the school principal in the town of Romny, Sumy Oblast, killed in a Russian drone strike on the local school in August 2023. It's the only moment in the film where Russia is directly accused of aggression against Ukraine, the phrase spoken by a priest. "Because already, so much pain has touched nearly every person. Everyone has experienced some kind of loss — from their homes to their loved ones. Many have lost the most precious thing of all: life itself." "This school didn't live to see its hundredth anniversary, which would've been next year. It survived World War II, but it didn't survive this war," Gornostai says. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, around 3,500 educational institutions have been damaged, and around 400 completely destroyed, Deputy Education Minister Yevhen Kudriavets said in late February of 2024. The Euromaidan Revolution was a turning point for Ukraine — and for a new generation of filmmakers, including Kateryna Gornostai. She was studying in Moscow at the time of the Maidan protests in 2013 but returned to Kyiv to document the unfolding events. "We all started making documentaries that explored civil society," she says. "It was a moment of growth — personal and professional. You're filming real events but also thinking about how they'll come together as a story." She made two documentaries during that time — "Maidan is everywhere" and "Euromaidan." Rough Cut, of which she was a co-author. While many turned their cameras toward the front lines of Russia's war in Ukraine's east that followed, Gornostai chose a different path. "I'm very scared," she admits. "Even on Maidan, I couldn't stand between the Berkut (riot police) and the protesters like some of our colleagues. I stayed in the rear, and I remember thinking — there are stories here, too." More than a decade later, she sees that moment as the foundation of a powerful wave of Ukrainian cinema. "(The Euromaidan Revolution became) a separation from that post-Soviet, Eastern European blend — because it used to feel like our cinema was perceived as part of Russian cinema prior. During the interview, Gornostai's tone sharpens when the conversation turns to Russia's cultural influence. For decades, Moscow cast a long shadow over Ukrainian cinema. Even after Ukraine's independence, Russian money and distribution networks kept a grip on the country's film industry. That influence didn't vanish with the invasion — it just evolved. Since the start of the war against Ukraine in 2014, Russia's film industry has shifted to propaganda. Yet, Russian films still screen at major international festivals, and Russian actors who support the war against Ukraine continue to win awards. "Movies are just one small part of a much bigger (Russian) cultural push," Gornostai says. "In fact, there is a huge campaign that has lasted for many, many decades, involving enormous financial resources, all aimed at creating an image (abroad). This is something that we (in Ukraine) have not done. And what we are trying to do now is to build some kind of postcolonial lens through which Ukraine should now be seen." 'Most of the films that have been screened somewhere weren't made thanks to the circumstances in Ukraine, but rather in spite of them.' Abroad, she says, fascination with Russian culture persists, while the understanding of Ukraine still lags behind. "The fact that there are signs of genocide committed by Russia and that the Holodomor could have already been recognized as a genocide a century back — very few people know that abroad. But they do know the great Russian ballet, literature — all those things that were deliberately built up, promoted, and became part of a certain stereotype." 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Many have lost the most precious thing of all: life itself." She believes that once the war ends, there will be a difficult period of collective reckoning — a time when people begin to process their grief. Her film, she says, is an attempt to open that conversation. "There's this ephemeral law that time heals. It works very strangely. It doesn't really heal. That's not the whole phrase," Gornostai says. "Time simply passes, and it's as if layers of new experiences start to build up after that very significant moment in your life — for example, the death of someone close to you. These layers grow, and it's as if they gradually distance you from that moment." "That's the subject I'm grappling with now — and it's a subject many others are facing too," she continues. "How do we grieve that kind of loss? How do we reflect on it? The film deals with many kinds of deaths, but at its core, one of its central elements is the acceptance of your own death — the one that awaits you." One of the central figures in the film is an elderly man who lived through famine and war. As Gornostai speaks, she recalls her two grandfathers who passed away. "Ukrainians have now been stripped of the illusion of control," the filmmaker says. "But still, I'd like to have the privilege of dying at a time when I know that my family will remain here, that people speaking the Ukrainian language will remain here, and that there is peace and life on this land. And that I am leaving it behind. Not dying in a moment of total turbulence and uncertainty about what will happen tomorrow — as if I'm leaving everyone in the middle of that." "So this is another privilege: a privilege to die in a free country. And this is one of the motivations for making this film." Read also: Wondering where to start with Dostoevsky? Try his Ukrainian contemporaries instead Hello there! This is Kateryna Denisova, the author of this piece. As Russia's war against Ukraine grinds on, Ukrainian filmmakers like Kateryna Gornostai are capturing stories that reveal the reality on the ground. I hope many people will watch these films and learn more about Ukrainian cinema and its directors through interviews like this one. Your support helps make this work possible. Please consider contributing to sustain our reporting. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
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Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of sexual assault in New York, after a sex crimes conviction in the state was overturned last year. A panel of seven female and five male jurors deliberated for five days in the six-week trial before unanimously voting to convict the disgraced film mogul on one of three counts. The jury found him not guilty of an additional sexual assault charge, and have yet to return a verdict on a charge of rape. The conviction is in addition to a 16-year sentence that Weinstein has yet to serve after being convicted of sex crimes in Los Angeles. The trial was based on the testimony of three women - former television production assistant Miriam Haley, actress Jessica Mann, and model Kaja Sokola. All three accused Weinstein of using his power in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse them. On Wednesday, the jury found Weinstein guilty of assaulting Ms Haley, but found him not guilty of assaulting Ms Sokola. They have yet to return a verdict on a rape charge involving Ms Mann, and plan to resume deliberations on Thursday. An appeals court overturned Weinstein's previous conviction for sex crimes in New York last April, finding the 73-year-old did not receive a fair trial in 2020 because a judge allowed testimony from women who made allegations against him beyond the charges at hand. Weinstein was then indicted on new sexual assault charges in the state in September. In a statement, Weinstein's spokesperson said the trial was "fair until we got to the jury deliberations". "More than one juror had complained that other jurors had preconceived notions and are using their beliefs of Harvey's life as evidence of guilt," the spokesperson said. "We believe there are serious appellate issues and they will be explored." Jury deliberations have been plagued with tensions over the past week. This week, the foreperson accused some jurors of "attacking" other people and trying to change their minds. He said jurors were considering Weinstein's past and other allegations outside the realm of the case in making decisions. There were also allegations that one juror had threatened to fight another juror. In the end, the judge said he would give the jury an instruction about only considering the allegations in the case, and nothing else. Weinstein - who has cancer and diabetes - stayed at Bellevue Hospital rather than Riker's Island jail during the course of the trial. He sat in a wheelchair for the proceedings. 'For the sake of truth': A Weinstein victim's decision to take the stand again Jurors in Harvey Weinstein trial reportedly fighting among themselves Harvey Weinstein begs for earlier retrial for sex crimes Harvey Weinstein timeline: How the scandal has unfolded The retrial in New York centred on two women who brought allegations against Weinstein for his 2020 trial, Ms Mann and Ms Haley. It also included new allegations from Ms Sokola, a Polish former model and actress, who accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her when she was 19. The jury on Wednesday found him not guilty in that assault. Reacting to the verdict, Ms Sokola said she was 'relieved that Harvey Weinstein will be held accountable for some of his crimes'. 'Coming forward was the hardest thing I've ever done. I owed it to myself, and to the other women who survived him, to make sure that the world knows what kind of man Harvey Weinstein is. 'Speaking out was an act of power and it allowed me to reclaim the pride and confidence he tried to take from me,' she added in a statement. The three women testified for days about the sexual abuse they alleged they endured at the hands of Weinstein. All three said they met Weinstein when they were young and looking for work opportunities in the entertainment industry. He then forced himself on them during private meetings at hotels and his homes, the women alleged. His legal team argued that his sexual encounters with the women were all consensual and a sort of "friends with benefits" arrangement. Weinstein's attorneys attempted to chip away at the credibility of the women, showing warm messages some of the women exchanged with the film mogul after the alleged assaults. In total, Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct, assault and rape by more than 100 women. While not all reports resulted in criminal charges, the California conviction means he is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. The decision by his accusers to come forward, and his subsequent conviction in New York, galvanised the #MeToo movement against sex abuse by powerful men. Before the allegations against him emerged, Weinstein and his brother Bob were among Hollywood's ultimate power players. Weinstein co-founded Miramax film studio, whose hits included Shakespeare in Love, which won best picture at the Academy Awards, and Pulp Fiction. 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