CNN | A father hopes photos of his son can change the world’s view of Black families

Rashod Taylor knows he is raising a son in a country that is not always kind to Black men and boys.

Taylor said he sees how Black men are criminalized, killed by police and portrayed as absentee fathers.

It worries him. One day 6-year-old LJ will grow up and leave home while carrying the weight of his blackness. Taylor said he won’t always be there to protect him.  –read more–

CNN travel | She’s visited every country in the world. Here’s what she learned

(CNN) — As her plane began its descent into the Seychelles on October 6, 2019, Ugandan-American travel influencer Jessica Nabongo peered out of the window, preparing herself for the momentous occasion about to take place.

Not only was she about to become a member of a prestigious club made up of the very few people who’ve traveled to every country in the world, she’d be the first Black woman to have documented doing so.

Nabongo was accompanied by 28 of her friends and family, who had flown in to travel on that last flight with her.  –read more–  

CNN US | Black people are more likely to die from heat stress than White people in New York City, report says

A man sits in the shade a people wait at a bus stop in the Bronx borough of New York, U.S., on Saturday, July 20, 2019. Consolidated Edison Inc. is forecasting record power demand for New York this weekend as a heat wave blankets the city. Photographer: David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(CNN) – There are hundreds of heat-related deaths in New York City each summer but the rate at which Black people die is twice as high compared to other racial and ethnic groups, the city’s health department says.

As millions of people in over a dozen states are under some of type of heat alert and cities continue setting high temperature records, health officials in New York City published a report Thursday examining the deadly impact of heat in recent decades. Heat is the No. 1 cause of weather-related deaths in the United States.  –read more–  

CNN BUSINESS | The couple behind the bag that sold out in 2 minutes

Lug has sold over 15 million products to date.

New York (CNNBusiness) – In 2020, when the pandemic brought all nonessential travel to a grinding halt, Ami and Jason Richter had to think fast. They were running a flourishing business called Lug that sold fun travel bags and accessories and had a growing legion of fans, which included Oprah.

But as travel bans went into effect, households succumbed to lockdowns and work from home quickly become the norm, buying backpacks and shoulder bags was the furthest thing from people’s minds.  –read more–

CNN Opinion | Why Lego is the best toy ever invented

The toy brand Lego is celebrating 90 years on Saturday with Lego Con, a virtual convention streaming live on YouTube.

(CNN) – Lego was my favorite toy as a kid. My best friend and I would spend countless hours crouched over a giant pile of bricks, using our own Lego language — hundreds of names for hundreds of different pieces — to communicate which one we needed and what we were building. Now that I’m a parent I’m doing the same with my own kids, and it means so much more.

Lego has been around for generations. The Lego Group, the company behind the fantastic plastic, is celebrating its 90th anniversary this Saturday, June 18 with Lego Con, a virtual convention streaming live on YouTube from the Lego House in Billund, Denmark — a 130,000-square foot complex shaped like Lego bricks and filled with 25 million of them.  –read more–

CNN politics | 43 million people are waiting for action on student loan debt

Washington (CNN) – About 43 million people are waiting to find out if President Joe Biden will wipe away all or part of their federal student loan debt.

In April, after facing months of pressure from other Democrats to cancel $50,000 per borrower, Biden said he was considering some broad student loan forgiveness, though a smaller amount.

On the campaign trail, Biden said he would support $10,000 in forgiveness. White House officials have indicated that he is also looking at setting an income threshold so that high-earning borrowers would be excluded from the debt relief.  –read more–

F1 | Verstappen braves wet conditions to claim Canadian GP pole ahead of sensational Alonso

In treacherous conditions for qualifying at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix, it was Max Verstappen who kept his head to claim his first pole position of 2022 since Imola – with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso set to join him on the front row after a stunning run from the Spaniard.

Lapping on intermediate tyres on the drying Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Verstappen clocked a time of 1m 21.299s, leaving him a full 0.645s clear of the pack, headed by Alonso – who will make his first front row start since taking pole in Germany 10 years ago.  –read more– 

CNN style Fashion | Paul McCartney at 80: A life of fun-loving fashion

McCartney wears a scarf with a striped blazer and purple trousers at a release party for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, May 19, 1967, in London. Credit: Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images

While the former Beatle may be known for his immeasurable contribution to music, Paul McCartney also has a well-documented penchant for fashion. Largely thanks to the late Linda McCartney, an American photographer and the musician’s first wife, the sometimes kooky and always frolicsome outfits worn by McCartney have been immortalized forever — from his classic 1970s long-lapel shirts to loud knitted sweater vests.

The Liverpudlian star’s life and times can be traced through his sartorial choices, too. Starting with the sharp ’60s suits during Beatlemania and following into his solo career — where ensembles grew more colorful, daring and individual; like McCartney’s premiere look for the 1973 James Bond film “Live and Let Die,” which included a velvet-trimmed tuxedo jacket, bare chest and bow-tie necklace.  –read more–

CNN travel | Unopened wine bottles still on board a royal ship 340 years after it sank

Brothers Lincoln Barnwell (left) and Julian Barnwell measure a cannon on the HMS Gloucester shipwreck.

(CNN) – A warship carrying about 330 people — including James Stuart, future King of England — ran aground and sank on May 6, 1682. Now the shipwreck’s location has finally been revealed off the coast of England 340 years later.

When the HMS Gloucester sank, it became half buried in the seabed. There was no formal passenger manifest, but it’s estimated that 130 to 250 crew and passengers drowned. – read more–

CNN Sports | Golden State Warriors win NBA championship with Game 6 victory over Boston Celtics

MVP Stephen Curry drives past Jayson Tatum of the Celtics in the deciding Game 6 in Boston.

(CNN) – Led by 34 points from Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 103-90 on Thursday night to claim their fourth NBA championship in the last eight seasons.

The victory gives the trio of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green their fourth title together — all under head coach Steve Kerr — adding to their championships from 2015, 2017 and 2018. They’ve won 21 NBA Finals games together, having recently passed Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili (19) for the most NBA Finals wins by a trio over the last 30 years.

Curry, who was in tears on the court after the final whistle, won NBA Finals MVP honors for the first time in his career.  –read more–  

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors raises the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after defeating the Celtics in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals on June 16, 2022 in Boston.