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High blood pressure plagues many Black Americans
Combined with COVID, it’s catastrophic
Charles Thomas was unwell but he had no time for rest. He was on the cusp of a management promotion and a move to Florida to begin a new chapter that would alter his family’s financial future and break the cycle of generational poverty. Yet, as his family’s prospects improved, concerns about his health grew.

TikTok sues to block law that could ban the platform
TikTok and its Chinese parent company are challenging a new American law that would ban the popular video-sharing app in the U.S. unless it’s sold to an approved buyer, saying it unfairly singles out the platform and is an unprecedented attack on free speech.

Officer, once beaten by colleagues, to lead Boston Police
A former Boston Police officer who was beaten more than 25 years ago by colleagues who mistook him for a shooting suspect will be the new leader of the city’s police department, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday.

Welfare scandal highlights contrasts in long-poor Mississippi
In Mississippi, where elected officials have a long history of praising self-sufficiency and condemning federal anti-poverty programs, a welfare scandal has exposed how millions of dollars were diverted to the rich and powerful — including pro athletes — instead of helping some of the neediest people in the nation.

President Biden says tech companies must ensure AI products are safe
President Biden said Tuesday it remains to be seen if artifi- cial intelligence is dangerous, but that he believes technology companies must ensure their products are safe before releasing them to the public.

No knee now
Kaepernick saga continues with surprise public workout
Colin Kaepernick’s saga took another surreal turn last Saturday — a last-minute audible to nix an NFL-arranged workout and a quick dash 60 miles to the other side of Metro Atlanta, where the exiled quarterback staged his own impromptu passing display on a high school field in dwindling light as hundreds of fans cheered him on from behind a chain-link fence.

Pregnant Rihanna soars in Super Bowl halftime performance
Rihanna was above it all. And pregnant to boot.

Harris cites climate ‘crisis,’ pushes $1B for floods, storms
Vice President Kamala Harris called climate change an “immediate” and “urgent” crisis on Aug. 1 as she detailed more than $1 billion in federal spending to respond to disasters such as deadly flooding in Kentucky and wildfires ravaging her home state of California.

Historically Black fraternity drops Florida for convention because of DeSantis policies
The oldest historically Black collegiate fraternity in the U.S. said it is relocating a planned convention in two years from Florida because of what it described as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration’s “harmful, racist and insensitive” policies toward African-Americans.

Medical examiner: Jayland Walker was shot dozens of times
Jayland Walker, the 25-year-old Black man who died last month at the hands of police in Akron, Ohio, was shot dozens of times on June 27, with 26 bullets recovered from his body, according to a preliminary autopsy report released July 15.

Black support for Deion Sanders and Colorado is just as much about representation as it is wins
One of Trevon Hamlet’s core memories from attending the University of Colorado is living on campus his freshman year and being able to count on one hand how many Black people he’d see in a day.

A lifetime of racism makes Alzheimer’s disease more common in Black Americans
Constance Guthrie is not dead yet, but her daughter has begun to plan her funeral.

Minority-owned companies waited months for federal COVID-19 relief loans
Thousands of minority-owned small businesses were at the end of the line in the government’s coronavirus relief program as many struggled to find banks that would accept their applications or were disadvantaged by the terms of the program.

Virginia students protest Youngkin transgender policies
Student activists held school walkouts across Virginia on Tuesday to protest Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed changes to the state’s guidance on transgender student policies, revisions that would roll back some accommodations.

’I think she’s out,’ deputy says after violent arrest
A woman who pulled off a road to change drivers during a trip with her father and three young children was knocked unconscious and arrested by two Northern California sheriff’s deputies, who then lied about the encounter to responding paramedics and on official reports, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.

102-year-old WWII veteran from segregated mail unit honored
Millions of letters and packages sent to U.S. troops had accumulated in warehouses in Europe by the time Allied troops were pushing toward the heart of Hitler’s Germany near the end of World War II. this wasn’t junk mail — it was the main link between home and the front in a time long before video chats, texting or even routine long-distance phone calls.

Justices mull latest challenge to landmark voting rights law
The Supreme Court on Tuesday took up an Alabama redistricting case that could have far-reaching effects on minority voting power across the United States and seemed likely to divide the court along ideological lines.

76ers’ Doc Rivers merges Black history lessons into camp
Doc Rivers is at ease using his platform as an NBA coach to fight bigotry and racial injustice, campaign for politicians he believes in and advocate for social change on themes ranging from poverty to police brutality. Sometimes, his speeches sound like they were delivered by someone running for office. Might the 60-year-old Coach Rivers, the son of a Chicago police officer, someday stump for change as an actual politician?

Music Review: Beyoncé's epic 'Act II: Cowboy Carter' defies categorization, redefines American style
“Nothin’ really ends / For things to stay the same they have to change again,” Beyoncé sings on “Act ll: Cowboy Carter,” the opening lines of the opening track, “Ameriican Requiem.” “Them big ideas, yeah, are buried here / Amen.”

Movie review: ‘The Color Purple’ is a stirring big-screen musical powered by its spectacular cast
Exuberant performances from a cast led by Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks breathe life into Blitz Bazawule’s stirring “The Color Purple,” adapted from the Tony-winning Broadway production.