On a Positive Note: Long Island Gymnast Continues Down Historic Path at HBCU
Daily news headlines can often be jarring, overwhelming and leave people feeling a sense of hopelessness, but Cheddar News is looking to capture those feel good moments as well.
Kayla McDonald, 19, a budding collegiate gymnast, is paving her own path and doing it with some history tacked along. McDonald and her Fisk University teammates have become the first historically Black college or university to compete in gymnastics at the collegiate level. She said she and her teammates initially didn't realize how big of a deal it was until they started going viral on social media.
McDonald's historic path to collegiate gymnastics didn't just begin at Fisk. She was the first person from Long Island's Valley Stream South High School to ever compete in state competition for four consecutive years and achieve All-American status. Former teammates even expressed their admiration for her and achievements. "There's just very few people who look like you doing it, so when it comes to that, it's so nice to have other people look like you, doing it and that you can share that moment with," Milan Morris, former high school teammate, said.
Kendall Tichner, founder and CEO of Wild Captives Archery Range in Brooklyn, NY, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she got started after going viral with her skills during the pandemic and how it led her to open her archery range where she wants to cater to more women and LGBTQ+ communities.
Emmy-winning actor Andre Braugher, best known in TV shows like 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' and 'Homicide: Life on the Street,' died on Monday at the age of 61.
The Emmy-winning actor died at age 61 after a brief illness. Braugher was best known for starring as Det. Frank Pembleton in the critically acclaimed 1990s series "Homicide: Life on the Street" and as the deceptively stone-faced Capt. Ray Holt on the comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" in 2013-2021.