April 28, 2026
EXCLUSIVE: Feature producer Debra Martin Chase is making a major move in television with a two-year overall deal at ABC Studios. Under the pact, Chase will develop series projects through her company, Martin Chase Prods., with the help of a dedicated TV executive she is in the process of hiring.
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.”
–Maya Angelou, writer, poet and playwright
LONDON — U.S. middleweight Claressa Shields won the Olympic gold medal Thursday, capping her swift rise to the top of women’s boxing with a 19-12 victory over Russia’s Nadezda Torlopova.
The 17-year-old Shields shuffled, danced and slugged her way past her 33-year-old opponent, showing off the free-spirited style and brute strength that made her unbeatable at the London Games.
Shields even stuck her tongue out at Torlopova after ducking a few punches in the final round.
The teenager won the 12-member American team’s only gold medal in London. The winningest nation in Olympic boxing history got no medals from its men’s team for the first time, and flyweight Marlen Esparza won a bronze.
Shields has been on the international boxing scene for less than two years, but the Flint, Mich., native is among its fastest-rising stars. She lost early in the world championships, yet still qualified for the Olympics.
via Claressa Shields Boxing | Breaking News for Black America.
Three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated her hometown, Brittney Reese hoped to give Gulfport, Miss., a medal in the Beijing Games.
She came up short, and was crushed.
“When I placed fifth, I was devastated and cried the whole way back to the (athletes) village,” she said. “I had the whole Gulf Coast behind me … I wanted to come out there and do that for them.”
She delivered four years later with a long-awaited gold medal in the long jump. She repeatedly recalled the struggles her family had been through after Katrina, which produced rains that collapsed the roof on her home and displaced the family for several months.
“We had mold and we were living out of mobile homes and trailers,” she said. “It was a tough time and unless you realize how blessed you are to have neccessities — we didn’t have hot water, and it was hot and we didn’t have air conditioning. It was a real true eye-opener and my city is now rebuilt and we have most of the stuff back.
“But we don’t have a lot of the homes back. This was a great way for me to bring something home to them to show that we can all do this together.”
via Brittney Reese wins gold for hometown Gulfport | theGrio.
Jezebel.com reports that Helen Kinuthia will attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest with a charity climbing expedition in 2014. Kinuthia who is from Kenya was selected from a pool of 150 climbers after she successfully completed an audition climb on Mt. Kenya, Africa’s second-tallest mountain. The climbers will attempt to scale Everest as part of Expedition Everest a charity that organized the climb to raise $500,000 for the Flying Kites Leadership Academy in Njambini, Kenya. The group seeks to raise the standards of care available to children in Africa, giving them the tools they will need to succeed. Currently, Expedition Everest is building the Flying Kites Leadership Academy, a home and school for abandoned, abused and orphaned children.
via Kenyan woman could become the 1st black African woman to scale Mt. Everest | theGrio.
“They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most.”
–Floyd Patterson, the youngest boxer to win the world heavyweight title, and the first heavyweight to regain the title.
LONDON (AP) — Allyson Felix finally won an individual Olympic gold medal, gliding home with her effortless stride to take the 200 meters and end the stranglehold of Veronica Campbell-Brown on the event.
“If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.”
–Marvin Gaye, singer/songwriter, musician & Motown legend
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is joining NBA legend Michael Jordan and an array of basketball stars to raise money for his re-election campaign later this month.
The Obama campaign is planning a fundraising “shoot-around” and dinner in New York on Aug. 22 featuring several NBA stars, including Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, John Wall of the Washington Wizards and others. Jordan, who played for the Chicago Bulls, Obama’s favorite NBA team, and NBA Commissioner David Stern are co-hosting a $20,000-per person fundraising dinner with the president later in the day.
via Michael Jordan, NBA players to raise money for Obama | theGrio.
Forbes magazine has named the hip-hop power couple at the top of their 2012 ‘Highest-Paid Celebrity Couples’ list.
The duo have earned a total of $78 million in the past year. Beyoncé took in $40 million with endorsements, album sales, and royalties, while Jay-Z took in $38 million with his Watch the Throne album sales and tour with Kanye West. The “Crazy in Love” duo managed to accumulate so much and still took time off for the birth of their first child, daughter Blue Ivy.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé replaced last year’s highest earning couple, NFL quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen, who amassed a total of $72 million this year. Third on the Forbes list are soccer player David Beckham and wife fashion designer Victoria Beckham, who earned $54 million. Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie are placed at fourth earning $45 million, and rounding out the list of five are Will and Jada Pinkett Smith with $40 million.
via Forbes: Jay-Z and Beyoncé world’s highest paid celebrity couple | theGrio.