Here’s all the news you need to know:
Queen Latifah says “it’s just a matter of time” before fans get a Girls Trip sequel. With the film’s success at the box office last summer, viewers have wondered if there could possibly be a follow-up on the way. Latifah says, “We’re actually working it all out. I know they’re writing it and we’re all down, so it’s just a matter of time. We’re just waiting for a script, script, script, script, script, script. ” And, while a destination for the next Girls Trip hasn’t been figured out, Latifah says she’s not ruling out a return to ESSENCE Fest. (The Times-Picayune)
Tiffany Haddish, Kendrick Lamar, and Jada Pinkett Smith are among the 928 invitees that have been asked to join the Academy of Motion Pictures. To boost diversity, 49 percent of those invites were sent out to women, while 38 percent of invitees were people of color. (Complex)
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring after more than 30 years on the bench. Kennedy sided largely with liberals on hot-button, historical issues, but with his seat vacant effective July 31, President Trump will have an opportunity to nominate Kennedy’s successor, which could potentially put the Court more in favor of the right. (CNN)
Three Black trans women have been killed in Jacksonville, Florida and local activists fear the trans community is being targeted. Celine Walker, 36, was killed on Feb. 4; Antash’a English, 38, was found shot in the abdomen and died on June 1; and Cathalina Christina James, 24, was found dead June 24 in a hotel room 10 miles from where Walker was murdered. The Sheriff’s Office doesn’t believe the killings are linked, but trans activist Gina Duncan says, “They do not feel protected on their own streets.” (The Root)
James Alex Fields Jr., the man accused of driving into a crowd at Charlottesville’s ‘Unite the Right’ rally, killing one woman and injuring dozens, has been charged with 30 federal hate crimes, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday (June 27). Fields is already facing state charges, including first-degree murder, and has been in custody since the rally. (NBC News)
Tuskegee researchers have developed a new test to detect an aggressive form of breast cancer in Black women. Dr. Clayton Yates and his team created a fourth testing marker used to subtype breast cancer and potentially detect the disease earlier and more precisely. The next step in testing is to obtain approval from the FDA to conduct clinical trials. The hope is for the test to become standardized care for breast cancer treatment and detection. (Tuskegee)
Oprah Winfrey recorded a hidden voice-cameo for this week’s The Handmaid’s Tale. In the episode, June, portrayed by Elizabeth Moss, tunes into “Radio Free America,” a resistance radio station hosted by Winfrey. The media mogul is a huge fan of the show, so creator and showrunner Bruce Miller says getting Lady O to record was “a lovely, easy process.” (Vulture)