CDC Issues New Vaccine Guidance for Pregnant Women

Wednesday, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance for pregnant people concerning the COVID-19 vaccine. The agency is now urging pregnant people to get vaccinated after new data did not find that the vaccine posed an increased risk of miscarriage among nearly 2,500 particpants who received it before 20 weeks gestation.

“CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky in a statement. “The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible Delta variant and see severe outcomes from COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people.”

President Biden Announces 8 New U.S. Attorney Nominees

Tuesday, President Joe Biden announces 8 new nominees for U.S. Attorney. Nominees include Damian Williams—who will "be the first African American U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York," according to a White House press release. Also, among the nominees are Jessica D. Aber, Carla B. Freedman, William J. Ihlenfeld, II, Christopher R. Kavanaugh, Darcie N. McElwee, Breon S. Peace, and William S. Thompson.

Ivy Park Announces Kids Collection

Beyoncé and Adidas are expanding the Adidas x Ivy Park brand to children's apparel. Wednesday, the sportswear manufacturer announced that the new Ivy Park Rodeo collection, which was inspired by Black cowboys and cowgirls, will include a kids capsule collection featuring 16 apparel styles. Sizes will range from 2T to XL. The collection launches on August 19th exclusively for 24 hours on the Adidas website. A wider, global launch will follow on August 20th.

Monica Reveals Forthcoming Country Music Album

Monica will be switching things up a bit for her next project. In an interview with Billboard, the "So Gone" singer revealed that she is gearing up to release a country music album. "I grew up loving country music and my stepfather, who raised me, is a Methodist minister, but he also drove buses and he would take us to Nashville, Gatlinburg, and Dollywood in Tennessee," Monica shared. "I became a really big fan of Dolly Parton, at about 8 or 9 years old. That was my real introduction to country music."

Lizzo Says Embracing Natural Hair Was Part of Her Self-Love Journey

While addressing a group of students with the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem last week, Lizzo opened up about her about learning to love and embrace her natural hair. “There were plenty of times where I was almost embarrassed to show my natural hair because people were like, ‘Oh, that’s not cute. It’s not good enough, or it’s not silky enough,’”said Lizzo during the virtual Dove-led My Hair, My CROWN event, according to Vanity Fair. “I actually just recently started getting into my hair-love journey, maybe two or three years ago."