EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Two steps before she reached the finish line, Sha’Carri Richardson started pounding her chest.

She knew she had it won. Anyone who doesn’t see her as the sprinter to beat later this summer at the Paris Olympics should probably think again.

Richardson notched the latest stop on her “I’m Not Back, I’m Better” tour with a 10.71-second sprint in the 100 meters at U.S. track trials on Saturday that makes her the fastest woman in the world this year and officially earned her a trip to France where the women start racing Aug. 2.

The final marked the third time in this meet that Richardson did not get off to a stellar start. It also marked the third time in the meet she finished well in the clear.

She was .09 seconds ahead of training partner Melissa Jefferson, the 2022 U.S. champion. Another sprinter in coach Dennis Mitchell’s camp, Twanisha Terry, finished third and also earned a spot on the women’s 100-meter team.

“I feel honored,” Richardson said. “I feel every chapter I’ve been through in my life prepared me for this moment.”

A few seconds after her line-crossing celebration, she was down on a knee, clearly caught up in emotion.

“The emotion was just joy because of the hard work I put in, not just physically on the track, but mentally and emotionally to grow into the mature young lady I am today,” she said.

It has been quite a ride for the 24-year-old Texan. Three years ago, she won this race, too (in 10.86 seconds), only to see the victory stripped because of a positive marijuana test that laid bare everything from her own struggles with depression to an anti-doping rulebook that hadn’t changed with the times.

That’s when the hard work began. What emerged, Richardson said, was a better and more in-tune person than the one who lit up this same Hayward Field back in 2021 — her orange hair flowing, looking like this sport’s breakout star.

It took nearly two years for the results to show up on the track again. But she won the national championship in 2023 and declared “I’m not back, I’m better,” then backed that up a month later with the world title.

“I’d say the message I’m sending out is to believe in yourself no matter what,” Richardson said, echoing much the same thoughts from last year in Budapest. “You want to remain solid in yourself. Stay grounded in yourself and your hard work.”

It’s risky business to hand her the gold medal in Paris given the competition she’ll face. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and two-time defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah have 19 Olympic medals between them — Richardson has never been to the games — and all are slated to run at next weekend’s Jamaican trials.

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A recent injury to Thompson-Herah has mixed up that math. Meanwhile, Fraser-Pryce has been a rarely seen commodity in 2024 and Jackson is the two-time world champion at 200 meters — a race Richardson finished third in at worlds and is entered in next week at trials.

Back in the U.S., the Americans are feeding off each other, and Mitchell, a huge name in sprinting in the 1990s, pulled off a rarity by placing all three of his best sprinters in the Olympics.

“The odds of getting all three is probably a point-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-something,” Mitchell said. “But those girls didn’t care about those odds. They went out there and had a plan and they executed well and they deserve everything they got.”

Given she bettered the season’s best time despite a mediocre start and after pounding her chest and pulling up before the end of the race, it’s hard to argue that Richardson is the favorite. Asked if she had a time in mind for the Olympics, she did not bite.

“I just know that if I execute and run the race I’m trained to prepare for that the time will come with it,” she said.

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Chloe Bailey isn’t shying away from the tough topics. In a recent interview with Nylon Magazine, the singer delivered a powerful message about artistic freedom and racial bias in the music industry.

Bailey cites the legendary Whitney Houston as a major inspiration, praising her ability to defy genre limitations. This theme of pushing boundaries carries weight throughout the interview. Bailey reveals a preference for creating music that’s innovative, even if it takes listeners time to catch on. “I like making music that feels ahead of the curve,” she explains, referencing how her previous work with sister Halle eventually gained widespread appreciation.

But Bailey’s honesty goes beyond musical preferences. She tackles the persistent issue of racial bias in music categorization. “My music gets automatically labeled R&B because I’m Black,” she says. “The same music from someone who isn’t Black might land in pop.” This powerful statement exposes a crucial discussion – the need to dismantle racial disparities within music classification systems.

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Los Angeles-area gang leader accused of killing hip-hop music legend Tupac Shakur in 1996 in Las Vegas will ask a judge this week to let him out of jail to prepare for his trial on a murder charge.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ attorney filed documents Thursday and a judge scheduled a hearing Tuesday at which Davis will ask permission to post $750,000 bond to be freed to house arrest with electronic monitoring.

Davis’ defense attorney, Carl Arnold, and a spokesperson did not immediately respond Friday to email and telephone messages about the court filing.

Davis has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and has remained jailed at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas since his arrest last Sept. 29. His trial is scheduled Nov. 4. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Prosecutors asked Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny to require a “source hearing” for Davis to demonstrate that any funds used to secure his release are obtained legally.

Representatives at Crum & Forster Insurance and North River Insurance Co., the Morristown, New Jersey-based backer of the bond identified in the court filing, did not respond Friday to telephone messages.

Davis is originally from Compton, California, but has lived in recent years with his wife and son in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb.

He and prosecutors say he is the only person still alive among four people who were in a car from which shots were fired in the September 1996 shooting that killed Shakur and wounded rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight at an intersection just off the Las Vegas Strip. Knight is serving 28 years in a California prison for an unrelated case, the use of a vehicle to kill a Los Angeles-area man in 2015.

In the 27 years since the Shakur killing, Davis has publicly described himself as the orchestrator of the shooting, but not the gunman. A renewed push by Las Vegas police to solve the case led to a search warrant and raid at his Henderson home last July.

Prosecutors say they have strong evidence that Davis incriminated himself during police and media interviews since 2008, and in a 2019 tell-all memoir of his life leading a Compton street gang.

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In the book, Davis wrote that he was promised immunity when he told authorities in Los Angeles what he knew about the fatal shootings of Shakur and rival rapper Christopher Wallace six months later in Los Angeles. Wallace was known as The Notorious B.I.G., or Biggie Smalls.

Arnold maintains that Davis’ word can’t be trusted and his accounts were told so he could make money.

“He himself is giving different stories,” Arnold told reporters outside a courtroom in April.

Arnold has said he does not expect Davis will testify at trial, but he intends to call Knight to testify. The defense attorney said police and prosecutors lack proof Davis was in Las Vegas at the time of Shakur’s killing and don’t have key evidence including the gun or car used during the shooting.

Philadelphia is known as a time-tested stomping ground for the Democratic Party — along with having the highest concentration of Black folks in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump held a rally at Philly’s Temple University Saturday night in an attempt to change the former.

But that’s probably not happening: Trump has a shaky past with Philadelphia. He didn’t win the popular vote in the 2016 or 2020 elections. In 2018, he uninvited the city’s NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, to the White House after many of the Super Bowl champions declined Trump’s invitation. The former president has also insinuated that “bad things” happen in the mostly Black city.

Also, the Democratic National Committee is not taking Trump’s attempts to sway Black voters lightly. Posters and billboards were placed all around Philly identifyiing how another Trump term would be detrimental for Black folks.

A billboard set up near the Temple campus reminded people that Trump “was a disaster for Black Americans” and that “If Trump wins, Black families lose.” It also read that Trump “left [office] with nearly 10% Black unemployment” and will “sabotage Obamacare, [pass] tax breaks for the rich, and slash Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”

Trump denied all of those claims during the rally, saying “the people of our country are looking for hope, whether they’re white, brown, Black or anything else,” which he claims to represent.

Dave McCormick — the Pennsylvania Republican nominee for Senate looking to unseat Democratic Sen. Bob Casey — joined Trump for the rally. In true Trump fashion, he gave a special shout out to local Philly rapper OT7 Quanny during his speech. Quanny, who has been seen rocking a MAGA hat, hung out with the former president before and after the rally.

Temple’s president, Richard M. Englert, stated that the Liacouras Center — the college venue where Trump’s event took place — is “managed and operated by a third-party firm.” In that same statement, he also explained that Temple didn’t covering any costs from the rally.

“The presence of any speaker on campus is not an endorsement from Temple University, just as the views expressed by any speaker do not necessarily reflect those of the university’s administration, faculty, staff, or students,” Englert said. “Temple will continue to be a space for open dialogue and the exchange of ideas integral to the election process.”

Pennsylvania is a key battleground state for Biden and Trump during this year’s election. In 2020, Biden won the Commonwealth — Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia — which helped him secure the presidency.

This latest stunt to win Black voters comes on the heels of an attempt to do the same thing at a church in Detroit last week, where Trump launched his “Black Voter Coalition Group” aiming to rally Black support, according to NBC.

In addition to the group’s formation, Trump is hitting the road to garner support in historically Black cities, including Philadelphia. His attempts make sense considering Black people were key to Biden’s win in 2020. Only 12 percent of the Black vote going to Trump then, according to the Roper Center.

Trump’s rally comes less than a week before he is set to face Biden in their first Presidential debate Tuesday (June 27.)

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Florida rapper Foolio, real name Charles Jones, was shot and killed early Sunday morning in Tampa, according to his lawyer, Lewis Fusco. Jones had just celebrated his 26th birthday.

The shooting reportedly occurred following a party at an Airbnb rental. Fusco says Jones and his crew were asked to leave the residence. They then checked into a nearby Holiday Inn, where Jones was allegedly ambushed in the parking lot.

The Tampa Police Department confirmed the shooting and identified the victim as Charles Jones, but are awaiting positive identification from the Medical Examiner’s Office. At least three other people were injured in the incident.

Jones, who rose to fame in 2018 with his single “Coming Up,” was a prominent figure in Florida’s hip-hop scene. He was known for rapping about the hardships he faced in life. He had a large social media following, with nearly 1 million followers on Instagram and over 600,000 subscribers on YouTube.

This is not the first time Jones has been involved in a shooting. In 2021, he was also shot near his hometown of Jacksonville. The suspects in that case remain at large.

The Tampa Police Department is asking anyone with information regarding the shooting to call 813-231-6130 or share a tip via Tip411 or the TampaPD app.

Foolio’s death has sparked outrage among his fans.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris says “everything is at stake” with reproductive health rights in November’s election as the Biden campaign steps up its focus on contrasting the positions taken by Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump on the issue before their debate this week.

Harris’ comments come as the campaign announced it would hold more than 50 events in battleground states and beyond to mark Monday’s second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned the federal legal right to an abortion. Biden and his allies are trying to remind voters that the landmark decision in 2022 was made by a high court that included three conservative justices nominated during Trump’s White House tenure.

“Every person of whatever gender should understand that, if such a fundamental freedom such as the right to make decisions about your own body can be taken, be aware of what other freedoms may be at stake,” Harris said in a joint MSNBC interview with Hadley Duvall, an abortion rights advocate from Kentucky who was raped by her stepfather as a child. Part of the interview aired Sunday.

The Biden campaign believes that abortion rights can be a galvanizing issue in what is expected to be a close general election.

Trump has taken credit for Dobbs with his conservative base while stopping short of supporting a national abortion ban sought by supporters on the religious right, should he return to the White House.

In April, Trump said he believed the issue should be left to the states. He later stated in an interview that he would not sign a nationwide ban on abortion if it was passed by Congress. He has declined to detail his position on women’s access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

At a campaign event Saturday, Trump said his administration did “something that was amazing” with Dobbs, while acknowledging the political peril of pressing further on the issue at the moment.

“Every voter has to go with your heart and do what’s right, but we also have to get elected,” he said.

Biden has begun private preparations at Camp David for the debate Thursday night in Atlanta. Trump is expected to hold meetings at his Florida estate this week as part of an informal prep process.

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Duvall of Owensboro, Kentucky, first told her story publicly last fall in a campaign ad for the governor’s race in her home state, discussing the consequences of abortion restrictions, particularly those without exceptions for rape or incest.

First lady Jill Biden planned to hold a campaign event with Duvall in Pittsburgh on Sunday evening. Harris is scheduled to mark Monday’s anniversary of the Dobbs decision with campaign events in Arizona and Maryland. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, is headed to Michigan on Monday.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was heading to Wisconsin on behalf of the Biden campaign with Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who was initially denied an abortion after being told she had a condition that meant her baby would not survive. Zurawski was forced to wait until she was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of sepsis before being provided an abortion.

“If there is a woman who is in that reproductive age, then her life is at stake during this election,” Duvall said in the MSNBC interview. “And it does not matter if you have never voted Democrat in your life. It’s get off your high horse, because women, we don’t get to choose a whole lot, and you at least can choose who you can vote for.”

The Associated Press does not normally identify sexual assault victims, but Duvall, 22, chose to be identified and has spoken out publicly about her experience and its connection to the debate over abortion.

Judge Christina J. Peterson is facing a felony charge after being arrested at a north Atlanta nightclub. According to a report obtained by Fox 5, the Douglas County judge allegedly hit an officer on the head early Thursday morning at Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge.

Peterson, 38, “appeared to be under the influence” and refused to identify herself, which led to her being jailed. She is charged with willful obstruction of law enforcement officers by use of threats or violence and simple battery against a police officer and was released Thursday afternoon on a $5,000 bond, according to Fulton County Jail records.

In several Instagram posts, Peterson has called her arrest a “setup” and insisted she was “trying to help a woman who was being attacked by men” when she accidentally hit the officer. Peterson alleges she has “bruises, [a] black eye, [and a] swollen knee” from the incident. Two witnesses have come forward in Peterson’s defense.

“Wow. They will stop at nothing to tarnish my character.” Peterson wrote on Instagram.

In her role as probate judge, Peterson presides over cases involving vital records including wedding certificates and wills, which typically do not attract media attention. Since her election to office, however, Peterson has made her way to headlines multiple times.

She became the first Black person to be elected as Douglas Country’s probate judge back in 2020. Since then, Peterson has been accused of ethical misconduct totaling 50 charges against her, 20 of which have been dismissed. These accusations include abusive conduct towards county personnel and obstructing access to public records. Peterson is also one of the highest paid judges in Georgia, which raised the eyebrows of panel members investigating her.

The Judicial Qualifications Commission investigating the judge unanimously recommended her removal from office, stating she shows “‘systemic judicial incompetence’ and a disregard for the law.” During the 2023 hearing, an emotional Peterson took the stand, saying “I was never celebrated or congratulated” for making history as the first Black probate judge in Douglas County.

Since these accusations, Peterson’s approval rate has declined, which led to her ultimately losing the Democratic vote in a recent Georgia primary.

Just weeks before the alleged nightclub assault, incumbent Peterson lost to Douglasville, Georgia attorney Valerie Vie in the May 21 primary election. As the new Democratic nominee, Vie is set to be the only name on the November ballot.

The Georgia Supreme Court has yet to decide if Peterson should remain in office through her term ending this year.

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OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today that their freshman dating series,”The Never Ever Mets,” has been greenlit for a second season ahead of its season finale airing tonight, Friday, June 21st at 8/7c.

The show, hosted by actress and musician Ta’Rhonda Jones, quickly became a ratings smash, ranking as Friday night’s #1 original series on ad-supported cable in its time slot across all key African American demographics. Not only that, but it consistently grew its viewership throughout the season, reaching nearly 4 million total viewers on the OWN network to date.

“The Never Ever Mets’ impressive growth and its position as the top Friday night series among African American viewers clearly resonated with our audience,” said OWN President Tina Perry. “This strong reception validates the need to bring a second season to our fans.”

The series follows a unique concept: seven couples who have been dating virtually, some for months and others even for years, are brought together to live in the same house and navigate real-world challenges. With the help of Jones and a team of relationship experts, the couples participate in therapy sessions, bonding activities, and other exercises designed to test their virtual connections and see if their love can survive face-to-face encounters.

Tonight’s season finale promises a culmination of self-discovery and relationship insights for the remaining five couples.

“The Never Ever Mets” is produced by Bunim Murray Productions for OWN.

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