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Biles makes history in return to competition at U.S. Classic
Time on her hands and a world-class gym at her disposal after the 2020 Olympics were postponed, Simone Biles started experimenting almost as a way to stave off the monotony of training.

Inside Met Gala, where there’s always someone more famous
U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe had just gotten her beverage at the bar at the edge of the room. She looked back at the throbbing crowd of celebrities packed into the center of the airy Petrie Court, where the Met Gala was holding its cocktail reception.

Murder trial of three white men in the death of jogger Ahmaud Abery refocuses national spotlight
The glare of the national spotlight is focused on this small city of 16,000 on the Georgia coast that is the now epicenter of the sensational racial profiling trial of three white men accused of murder in the slaying of an unarmed Black jogger, Ahmaud M. Arbery, who was running in their neighborhood.

50th anniversary: Obama to call for restoration of 1965 Voting Rights Act
With the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, congressional Democrats are commemorating the landmark law with events across the country — from the steps of the U.S. Capitol to the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama.

Obama picks D.C. jurist
President nominates Judge Merrick Garland for U.S. Supreme Court amid GOP pushback
President Obama nominated veteran appellate court Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, setting up a potentially ferocious political showdown with Senate Republicans who have vowed to block any Obama nominee.

Falwell being investigated after resigning as president of Liberty University
Liberty University is opening an independent investigation into Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president, a wide-ranging inquiry that will include financial, real estate and legal matters, the evangelical school’s board announced Monday.

Grammy Award winner Bill Withers dies at 81
Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me,” “Grandma’s Hands” and “Just the Two of Us,” died Monday, March 30, 2020, from heart complications. He was 81.

Joshua Brown, key witness in Botham Jean case, fatally shot
Dallas authorities are insisting that the slaying of Joshua Brown, a key witness in the murder trial of a former Dal- las police officer, was part of a drug deal gone bad and not connected to his testimony in the case against Botham Jean’s killer.

Winsome Earle-Sears wants Supreme Court to limit race-based admissions
Virginia’s Black lieutenant governor and the state Conference of the NAACP are sharply divided over affirmative action in higher education admissions.

It’s not over yet
Just days after the U.S. Senate acquits former President Trump, Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi files a lawsuit to hold him responsible for inciting insurrection at the U.S. Capitol
One thing is for certain, there was no surprise.

Family dispute over Dr. King’s Bible, Nobel Prize medal ends
A Fulton County, Ga., judge has signed an order ending an ownership dispute over Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s traveling Bible and Nobel Peace Prize medal that had pitted the slain civil rights leader’s two sons against their sister. The consent order signed Aug. 15 by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney says the items are to be released to Martin Luther King III as chairman of the board of his father’s estate, but does not indicate what will happen to them after that.

NY Yankees legend Derek Jeter ends stellar career on high note
Derek Jeter stepped to bat for the final time in his magnificent 20-year career Sunday.

Solange Knowles marries former Richmonder
Sunday’s wedding of Solange Knowles, Beyoncé’s younger sister, and Richmond native Alan G. Ferguson will go down in “The Big Easy” as one for the ages.

Lawyer who successfully argued Loving case legalizing interracial marriage dies
Bernard S. Cohen, who won a landmark case that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of laws forbidding interracial marriage and later went on to a successful political career as a state legislator, has died. He was 86.

Small signs of recovery starting after Ida’s devastation
Lights came back on for a fortunate few, some corner stores opened their doors and crews cleared fallen trees and debris from a growing number of roadways Wednesday — small signs of progress amid the monumental task of repairing the damage inflicted by Hurricane Ida.

Trailblazing golfer Lee Elder, the first Black to play in the Masters Tournament, dies at 87
Golfer Lee Elder played through the scourge of racism. He broke down enormous barriers. He carved a path for Tiger Woods and others to follow.

‘Hidden Figures,’ ‘Fences’ win big at SAG Awards
Free Press wire reports HOLLYWOOD, Calif. The cast of “Hidden Figures” rocketed to the Screen Actors Guild top award at a fiery, protest-laden ceremony last Sunday that was dominated by words of defiance and dismay about President Trump’s sweeping immigration ban.

Georgetown begins atonement for role in slavery
Georgetown University apologized for its historical links to slavery and said last week it would give an admissions edge to descendants of slaves whose sale in the 19th century helped pay off the school’s debts.

U.S. Supreme Court rejects conservative challenge in voting rights case
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the method all states use to draw their legislative districts, rejecting a conservative challenge that could have given more clout to white, rural voters.

Nation bids farewell to former President George H. W. Bush
Former President George H.W. Bush was celebrated with high praise and loving humor Wednesday at a farewell to the man who was America’s 41st president and the last president to serve on active duty in wartime.