These Black 'Bachelorette' stars found love in each other. They also made TV history

Reality TV stars Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko just turned a new chapter in their love story, and they made a little bit of "Bachelorette" history while doing so.

During Monday's finale of "The Bachelorette" Season 20, Lawson and Olubeko became the series' first monoracial Black couple to get engaged. In an intimate moment overlooking the verdant Fiji landscape, Olubeko told Lawson, "the love that we have is perfect.

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Monday

RADNOR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 28, 2023--

The man who became known as “Joe the Plumber” after he gained fame during the 2008 U.S. presidential election has died. The family of Samuel Wurzelbacher says he died Sunday in Wisconsin. He was 49 and had pancreatic cancer. He was thrust into the political spotlight after questioning Barack Obama about his economic policies during the 2008 presidential campaign. He went from toiling as a plumber in suburban Toledo, Ohio, to life as a media sensation when he asked Obama about his tax plan during a campaign stop.

A 32-year-old man was arrested after detectives discovered Sunday what they initially thought was a deadly crash was actually a fatal shooting, according to Dallas police.

The judge who will determine where Mark Meadows and at least four other defendants in Georgia’s election subversion case should be tried has been on the federal bench for 12 years and is no stranger to high-profile cases.

Detroit News. August 26, 2023.

Donald Trump will be arraigned on racketeering and election interference charges in Georgia on Sept. 6 at 9:30 a.m., authorities announced Monday morning.

Cleveland Plain Dealer. August 27, 2023.

Another season of “And Just Like That” has come to an end, and what a wild ride it has been.

A federal judge has set a trial date of March 4 for former President Donald Trump’s federal election case trial.

Judicial officials say two Russian citizens who were recently detained in Beirut on suspicion of spying for Israel were referred to an investigative military judge who issued arrest warrants for them. The officials said Monday that two Russians were detained “several weeks ago” in Beirut as they were leaving the country through the capital’s international airport. A Lebanese newspaper reported that the Russians were sent to spy on the militant Hezbollah group. Israel and Hezbollah fought to a draw in a month-long war in Lebanon in 2006. Hezbollah has in the past claimed downing Israeli drones, and Israel’s military also has said in the past that they have shot down Hezbollah drones.

Legendary musician Elton John was briefly hospitalized over the weekend after falling at his home on the French Riviera.

The box office results are in and Sony’s racing movie “Gran Turismo” won the weekend over “Barbie” after all. On Sunday, “Gran Turismo” appeared to be neck-and-neck with “Barbie,” with both hovering just over $17 million. But Monday actuals reported by the studios provided a clear winner. “Gran Turismo” ended up with $17.4 million from North American theaters against “Barbie’s” $15.1 million. It was an unusual weekend in multiplexes. U.S. movie theaters held the second annual National Cinema Day on Sunday, offering $4 tickets. This might have been part of the reason why the Sunday estimate for “Barbie” was perhaps a bit too bullish.

Civil rights advocates have filed a lawsuit challenging an Indiana law that prohibits gender-affirming surgery for inmates. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law in April. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Corrections in federal court on Monday. The lawsuit alleges that the law violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. The ACLU maintains that transgender surgery can be lifesaving. Health experts have found that gender dysphoria can lead to an increased risk of suicide. A spokesperson for the corrections department declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Hawaiian Electric Company released a statement Sunday in response to Maui County’s lawsuit blaming the utility for failing to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions. Hawaiian Electric called that complaint “factually and legally irresponsible,” and said its power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours before the second blaze started. Maui County didn't immediate respond.

DETROIT — It was the Summer of Taylor.

France’s education minister has announced a ban on long robes in classrooms starting with the new school year, saying the garments worn mainly by Muslims are testing secularism in the nation’s schools. Critics say that abayas, worn by women, and khamis, the male garb, are no more than a fashion statement — not an ostentatious sign of religion banned from classrooms by a 2004 law. For education chief Gabriel Attal, the garments are “an infringement on secularism,” a foundational principle for France, and, in some cases, a bid to destabilize schools.

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Keke Palmer celebrated her birthday this weekend with ex(?)-boyfriend Darius Jackson following reports that the actor and the fitness instructor had parted ways.

“Dancing With the Stars” judge and former pro Derek Hough wed longtime girlfriend and fellow dancer Hayley Erbert on Saturday.

The European Council president says the European Union should make a “bold move” in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine and accept new members by 2030. With some countries waiting in the EU membership line for more than 20 years, Charles Michel says it's time to give them a clear timetable for joining the bloc. He was speaking at an international strategic forum in Slovenia which was attended by Western Balkan leaders. EU officials fear that Russia could try to destabilize the Balkans, which went through a bloody war in the 1990s.

JACKSON BEACH PARK, San Juan Island — More than 300 people gathered Sunday at a park in the heart of the home waters of the southern resident orcas to pay tribute to the life of Tokitae.

At a Planning and Design Commission Meeting last week, associate city planner Laura Tuller disclosed that Sacramento will back off — at least for now — on enforcing what has been touted as a key policy in combating climate change.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 28, 2023--

Friends and family of the late Bob Barker are honoring his last wishes following his death, which included not having a funeral.

Shuwaski Young, the Democratic nominee for Mississippi secretary of state, will withdraw his candidacy ahead of the November general election as he battles health issues. Young had secured the Democratic nomination to take on Republican incumbent Michael Watson after running unopposed in the Aug. 8 primary election. Young says he is suffering from a “hypertensive crisis” that is being exacerbated by his busy campaign schedule. The Neshoba County native had centered his campaign around reforms that he said would make voting easier. Watson was elected secretary of state in 2019 after three terms in the state Senate.

Police officials in an Ohio suburb say officers shot and killed a pregnant woman suspected of shoplifting after she accelerated her car toward an officer trying to stop her. Twenty-one-year-old Ta’Kiya Young died Thursday in Blendon, outside Columbus. Police Chief John Belford says the officers were at a supermarket on an unrelated matter when an employee told them people were trying to flee with stolen items. One officer went to the driver’s side of Young’s car and told her to stop, while the other moved in front of the vehicle. Belford says Young accelerated forward and the officer in front of the vehicle fired one shot through the front windshield, killing her.

NFL

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has more than tripled since late June amid a small resurgence of the coronavirus as health officials prepare to push the latest version of the vaccine this fall.

Former President Donald Trump and the 18 people indicted along with him in Georgia are scheduled to be arraigned next week on charges they participated in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Fulton County court records on Monday show all 19 defendants have been scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 6, when they may enter pleas. Other defendants include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. A Trump spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a question about whether the former president intended to waive his appearance.

As the end of her 2020 mayoral campaign neared, Sheila Dixon said she wouldn’t run for mayor again if she lost the race. Three years later, however, the former Baltimore mayor may be staging another potential comeback.

Author and TV show host Baratunde Thurston discovered nature amidst the concrete and steel of the nation's capital. “I was born in Washington, D.C., in 1977, very much a city kid who lived close enough to a park to have easy access to it,” he recalls.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has asked China to urge its citizens to halt acts of harassment, including crank calls and stone throwing at Japanese diplomatic facilities and schools, in response to Japan's release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. The discharge of the wastewater into the ocean, which began Thursday and is expected to continue for decades, has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and by neighboring countries. China immediately banned all imports of Japanese seafood. In South Korea, thousands of people joined rallies over the weekend to condemn the discharge. All seawater and fish sampling data since the release have been way below set safety limits.

The dearth of Black coaches leading major college football programs routinely draws scrutiny. This season 14 of 133 major college programs and seven of 69 Power Five conference teams will have Black head coaches. Just as notable is how drastically under-represented African-Americans are among offensive coordinators, the job mostly likely to lead to a head-coaching gig. Only seven Black coaches will be offensive coordinators at Power Five schools this season, and only nine across all of the top tier of Division I.

BLAKELY, Pa., Aug. 28, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — NEPA Builders is excited to announce that they are hosting a grand opening at their new location: 2808 Scranton Carbondale Hwy, Blakely, PA 18447 on September 9 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They’re inviting the public to visit and meet their team …

Speaking to a ballroom full of Young Republicans, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw urged them to embrace traditional conservatism.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will call on lawmakers to pass legislation proactively protecting key provisions in the Affordable Care Act during a speech Wednesday where she'll outline her legislative priorities for the second half of the year. Whitmer is directing that the plan include measures that prohibit insurer’s from denying or limiting coverage based on preexisting conditions and would further protect a range of no-cost preventive services. Whitmer also wants legislation that requires all insurers to cover a set of “essential” services, including ambulance services, birth control, maternity care and mental health. It comes as one of the Affordable Care Act’s most popular provisions that requires insurers to cover preventive services faces a threat in federal court.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis urged all Florida residents to prepare for a dangerous Category 3 Hurricane Idalia that forecasters say could strike the state on Wednesday.

In the coming weeks, a Grant County judge will decide whether the criminal case against Joseph Zamora will continue, 6 1/2 years after police nearly beat him to death, or whether charges should be dropped because the prosecution is vindictive.

Kari Newell — whose role at the center of a Kansas newspaper raid has cast her as a villain — sat on the front porch of her cafe, Kari’s Kitchen, holding a cellphone full of strangers’ hate texts from across the country.