NOREEN NASIR

LSU's Angel Reese, left, and Iowa's Caitlin Clark, right, pose for a photo before the WNBA basketball draft, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)

The darker side of the rise of women’s sports: With more visibility comes more online harassment

As women’s sports set new records for attendance and viewership this year, longtime fans have watched with both optimism and unease.

Canada's Philip Kim, known as B-Boy Phil Wizard competes during the B-Boys gold medal battle for the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Canadian b-boy Phil Wizard takes gold in Olympic breaking final

Canadian b-boy Phil Wizard (Philip Kim) took gold in the first Olympic men’s breaking tournament Saturday. Hometown favorite French b-boy Dany Dann won silver, and American b-boy Victor took the bronze after taking out Japanese b-boy Shigekix.

Australia's Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

Cringy moves and a white b-girl’s durag prompt questions about Olympic breaking’s authenticity

From the Australian b-girl with the meme-worthy “kangaroo” dance move to the silver-medal winning Lithuanian in a durag, breaking’s Olympic debut had a few moments that raised questions from viewers about whether the essence of the hip-hop art form was captured at the Paris Games.

Refugee Team's Manizha Talash, known as Talash, wears a cape which reads "free Afghan women" as she competes during the B-Girls Pre-Qualifier Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Afghan refugee breaker disqualified for wearing ‘Free Afghan Women’ cape at Paris Olympics

Team Refugee breaker Manizha Talash, or “b-girl Talash,” was disqualified from the first-ever Olympic breaking competition on Friday, after she wore a cape that said “Free Afghan Women” during her pre-qualifier battle against India Sardjoe — known as “b-girl India.”

Japan's Ami Yuasa, known as B-Girl Ami, competes during the B-Girls quarterfinals at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

Japan’s b-girl Ami wins Olympic breaking’s first gold medal

FILE - Jeffrey Louis works out with teammates during a breaking practice session at the Team USA training facility at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Eaubonne, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

It’s all about style and individuality as the world’s best breakers take the Olympic stage

The breaking, or breakdancing, competition begins Friday at the Paris Games with the b-girls battling each other in the dance form’s Olympic debut. The b-boys take the stage Saturday.

FILE - Logan Edra of the United States, known as B-Girl Logistx, competes during the World Breaking Championships in Leuven, Belgium, Sunday, Sept 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)

It’s more than just the windmill. What to watch for as breaking kicks off at the Olympics

On Friday, the breakers, or breakdancers, begin syncing their moves to the DJ’s breakbeat in front of the biggest audience breaking has ever known.

FILE - Victor Montalvo, also known as B-Boy Victor, of the United States, competes in the B-boy Red Bull BC One World Final at Hammerstein Ballroom, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, in New York. “I’m really excited to represent a whole country, but I’m more excited to represent my dance, my artform and I’m super excited to bring the hip-hop culture to the Olympics,” Montalvo. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

Breaking is finally set to make its Olympic debut. How will the competitors be judged?

Breaking, or breakdancing, is the only completely new sport at the Paris Games. But at its root, it’s also an art form that connects mind, body and soul.

Former swimmer Janet Evans of the United States, gestures as she speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

As the Paris Olympics wind down, Los Angeles swings into planning for 2028

From the City of Love to the City of Angels, planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is well underway and organizers are paying close attention to what’s worked, and what hasn’t, so far in Paris.

Stephen Nedoroscik, of the United States, competes during the men's artistic gymnastics individual pommel finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

From ‘monkey boy’ to ‘horse guy’, Stephen Nedoroscik is soaking up the limelight

Stephen Nedoroscik is leaning into his newfound stardom as a geeky, bespectacled, Rubik’s Cube-solving video gamer who just won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics.

Algeria's Imane Khelif, celebrates after defeating Hungary's Anna Hamori in their women's 66kg quarterfinal boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/John Locher)

For female athletes of color, scrutiny around gender rules and identity is part of a long trend

Female athletes of color have historically faced disproportionate scrutiny and discrimination when it comes to sex testing and false accusations that they are male or transgender.

Alexandre Sazy breakdances in a gymnasium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Yasin Dar)

The Olympics are giving breaking a global stage in Paris. Not everyone is celebrating

Breaking is debuting as a sporting event in the 2024 Paris Games as part of an effort to attract younger viewers.

FILE - Victor Montalvo, also known as B-Boy Victor, of the United States, competes in the B-boy Red Bull BC One World Final at Hammerstein Ballroom, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, in New York. “I’m really excited to represent a whole country, but I’m more excited to represent my dance, my artform and I’m super excited to bring the hip-hop culture to the Olympics,” Montalvo. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

Breakers weigh pressure and excitement as they make their Olympic debut at the Paris Games

Team USA breakers are set to take the stage for breaking’s Olympic debut next month, with four athletes officially qualifying for the Paris Games.

Dawud Assad, 92, stands in front of Palestinian decor in his home in Monroe Township, N.J., on May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Noreen Nasir)

Palestinians recount painful history with war in Gaza as a reminder

Dawud Assad still has nightmares of the day Jewish militias attacked his village of Deir Yassin outside Jerusalem 76 years ago, killing more than 100 people.

Pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment is seen at the Columbia University, Friday, April 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Columbia protesters say they’re at an impasse with administrators and will continue anti-war camp

Columbia University students who inspired pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country say they have reached an impasse with administrators and intend to continue their encampment until their demands are met.

Hillary Amofa listens to others member of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. "I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping," said the 18 year-old senior, "And I'm just like, this doesn't really say anything about me as a person." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions.

For Native American activists, the Kansas City Chiefs have it all wrong

Dozens of Indigenous activists have traveled to Las Vegas to gather outside the Super Bowl and demand the Kansas City Chiefs change the team name and ditch its logo and gametime rituals.

FILE - The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background on Jan. 21, 2019, in Washington. In a nod to Martin Luther King's historic 1963 March on Washington, several Muslim American groups have organized what they are calling a "March on Washington for Gaza" to call for a ceasefire in the region. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

War in Gaza and US election factor into some of the many events planned for MLK holiday

As communities across the U.S. celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday this weekend, some people are taking a cue from the civil rights icon’s history of protest amid the war in Gaza and the looming presidential election.

Cydney Wallace poses for a photo in Chicago, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Cydney Wallace is a Black Jewish woman who recently went on a trip to Israel and the West Bank through a trip called "Black Jerusalem" that was focused on exploring "the sacred geography of Jerusalem through a framework that privileges a Black American and an African lens." (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish allies

A growing number of Black Americans see the struggle of Palestinians reflected in their own struggles for racial equality and civil rights.

Demonstrators march during a pro-Palestinian protest, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Palestinian Americans watch with dread as family members in Gaza struggle to stay alive

For Palestinian Americans, there’s a sense of helplessness and hopelessness as many struggle to hear from their families in Gaza.

Rev. Al Sharpton addresses the audience as he gives the Eulogy during the memorial service for Dollar General shooting victim Angela Carr, as Bishop Rudolph McKissick, Jr., back, and his wife Pastor Kimberly McKissick, listen during a memorial service at The Bethel Baptist Church, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, in Jacksonville, Fla. Uber driver Carr was one of three people killed in the racially motivated shooting. (Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

As Jacksonville shooting victims are eulogized, advocates call attention to anti-Black hate crimes

The motivations of a shooter who recently targeted and killed Black people in Jacksonville, Florida, have revived concerns about the threat of hate violence and domestic terrorism. Experts say most hate crime victims in the U.S. are Black.

Majora Carter, owner of the Boogie Down Grind, poses for a portrait in the Bronx in New York on Monday, July 24, 2023, in New York. Hip-hop rose from the ashes of a borough ablaze with poverty, urban decay and gang violence. From breaking to graffiti “writing” to MC-ing or rapping, the block parties and various elements of hip-hop served as an outlet for creativity and an escape from the hardships of daily life. Carter, 56, said “I do find it ironic that one of the richest parts of American culture comes from a place that is still one of the poorest parts of our country.” (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)

Hip-hop was born in the Bronx amid poverty, despair. 50 years later, there’s pride, still hard times

Hip-hop was born in the Bronx, rising from the ashes of a borough ablaze with poverty, urban decay and gang violence.

Kenosha unrest causes $2M in damage to city-owned property

Officials say damage to city-owned property from violence that erupted over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is estimated at nearly $2 million so far.

Chicago Latinos see higher rates of COVID-19 infections

Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood is known as the heart of Mexican culture in the city. It’s also located in a ZIP code with one of the highest rates of positive coronavirus cases in the city.