An Ignoble Experiment: Team USA sidelines star sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson

By Liza Hearon

TOP STORIES

Wednesday, July 7

TEAM USA SIDELINES STAR SPRINTER Track and field star Sha'Carri Richardson, one of the fastest women of all time, will not be competing in any races at the Tokyo Olympics, a team roster revealed. Richardson, 21, was suspended from the sport last week for 30 days after a drug test detected marijuana in her system. The timing of the suspension had left open the possibility she could run in one of the Olympic events. [HuffPost]

ERIC ADAMS WINS NYC MAYORAL PRIMARY Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has clinched the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, according to The Associated Press. The results are expected to be certified by next Tuesday, although there could be additional court battles. Given that New York City leans heavily Democratic, Adams looks set to become the city's second Black mayor. [HuffPost]

TROPICAL STORM ELSA THREATENS FLORIDA'S GULF COAST Elsa weakened to a tropical storm as it threatened Florida's northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday after raking past the Tampa Bay region with gusty winds and heavy rain. "We ask that you please take it seriously," said Gov. Ron DeSantis. [AP]

SEARCHERS AT COLLAPSED FLORIDA CONDO 'NOT SEEING ANYTHING POSITIVE' Search crews at the site of the Florida condominium collapse sounded increasingly somber Tuesday about the prospects for finding anyone alive, saying they have detected no new signs of life in the rubble as the death toll climbed to 36. Rains from Tropical Storm Elsa complicated their efforts. [AP]

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MITCH MCCONNELL ACKNOWLEDGES BENEFIT FROM AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) acknowledged that his state would receive about $4 billion from the American Rescue Plan, even though he and every Republican in Congress opposed the bill. He suggested that local officials "spend it wisely, because hopefully this windfall doesn't come along again." [HuffPost]

REP. MO BROOKS: WHITE HOUSE MADE ME SPEAK AT JAN. 6 TRUMP RALLY Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) has responded to a lawsuit accusing him of helping to incite the Jan. 6 insurrection by arguing that it was part of his official duties and he wouldn't have done it if the White House hadn't asked him to. Brooks has continued to repeat the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. [HuffPost]

WHAT'S BREWING

HAITIAN PRESIDENT ASSASSINATED AT HOME Breaking news overnight: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, interim Premier Claude Joseph said. Moïse's wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, is hospitalized. The killing late Tuesday comes amid deepening political and economic stability and a spike in gang violence. [AP]

DELTA VARIANT NOW DOMINANT COVID-19 STRAIN IN U.S. The delta variant of the coronavirus is likely the most common strain of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some areas with lower vaccination rates have seen cases linked to the delta variant skyrocket recently. [HuffPost]

NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES REJECTS UNC TENURE OFFER Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer-winning journalist and creator of the "1619 Project," has turned down a tenured position at the University of North Carolina and will be accepting a role at Howard University instead. Ta-Nehisi Coates, former correspondent for The Atlantic, will also join the faculty at the HBCU, which he attended in the '90s. [HuffPost]

BRITNEY SPEARS' ATTORNEY ASKS TO RESIGN Samuel Ingham, the court-appointed attorney who has represented Britney Spears since her conservatorship began in 2008, has asked to resign. Ingham's request follows the resignation of Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph, who said he hadn't spoken to her in two and a half years. [HuffPost]

REPUBLICANS: INSURRECTION? WHAT INSURRECTION? Six months after their leader tried to overturn the election he had lost by more than 7 million votes, Republicans have settled on a message about the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol: Insurrection? What insurrection? HuffPost's S.V. Dáte breaks it down. [HuffPost]

HOLOCAUST MUSEUM VISIT FAILS TO EDUCATE MARJORIE TAYLOR-GREENE Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's visit to the Holocaust Museum just weeks ago apparently has not stopped the Georgia Republican from comparing vaccines to Nazi-era Germany. The far-right congresswoman known for spreading conspiracy theories tweeted on Tuesday claiming that COVID-19 "is a political tool used to control people." [HuffPost]