Before Juneteenth became an official federal holiday, 94-year-old Opal Lee was on a mission. “I’m not just going to sit and rock, you know?” the determined “Grandmother of Juneteenth” told CNN. “The Lord is going to have to catch me.” Days later, the spirited nonagenarian shouted with delight as she watched Congress pass a bill…… MORE
Tennis star Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from this year’s Wimbledon but is planning on returning at the Tokyo Olympics, according to her agent Stuart Duguid. “Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year. She is taking some personal time with friends and family,” Duguid said in a statement on Thursday. “She will be ready for the…… MORE
Police departments in communities northwest of Phoenix, Arizona, told CNN there were multiple shootings in the region Thursday afternoon. “We have two people confirmed shot in random acts,” Surprise Police Sgt. Greg Welch told CNN. He said there were multiple shooting locations but could not provide an exact number. Police in the community of Peoria,…… MORE
Like everything else she’s done, Rita Moreno is an exceptional storyteller, turning “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It” — an “American Masters” documentary hitting theaters first — into a dazzling look at the much-adorned star’s career, and the doors left shut, despite her success, by being a Latina in Hollywood…… MORE
Pixar dips into the ocean once too often with “Luca,” a colorful but thin (and literal) fish-out-of-water tale. Although the movie touches on familiar themes about friendship, overcoming differences and letting children go, there’s roughly enough story for something between an animated short and the film that lands, understandably in hindsight, via Disney+ instead of…… MORE
The Biden administration on Thursday announced it would invest more than $3 billion from the American Rescue Plan to accelerate the discovery, development and manufacturing of Covid-19 antiviral medicines — ideally like a pill someone could easily take at home early in an illness. “Vaccines clearly remained the centerpiece of our arsenal against Covid-19, however,…… MORE
Water in a key California reservoir will fall so low this summer that its hydroelectric power plant will be forced to shut down for the first time, officials said Thursday, straining the state’s already-taxed electric grid. An unrelenting drought and record heat have pushed the water supply at Northern California’s Lake Oroville to deplete to…… MORE
The Justice Department on Thursday charged a US Capitol rioter with bringing a handgun onto Capitol grounds — two days after a hearing where Republican lawmakers downplayed the deadly attack and claimed the pro-Trump rioters were unarmed. The new charge was filed against Guy Reffitt, a Texan whose case received national attention after his own…… MORE
Some Connecticut communities could lose out on their share of a multimillion-dollar grant from the state’s casino fund unless their public schools stop using Native American nicknames or mascots. A provision in the 837-page budget implementer bill that is on its way to Gov. Ned Lamont after clearing the state legislature would bar the communities…… MORE
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declared it is his responsibly to manage security at the US-Mexico border, snapping back during a tense exchange with a GOP lawmaker on the House Homeland Security Committee at a budget hearing Thursday morning. “I am the secretary of Homeland Security, and it is my responsibility to manage the border…… MORE
