Headlines: Venus Williams Makes History

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TONY COX, host:

From NPR News, this is NEWS & NOTES. I'm Tony Cox in for Farai Chideya.

Happy Friday, everybody. Today we'll take a closer look at why some parents are keeping their kids in school this summer. We'll also talk with Crystal Wadsworth, the first white student to graduate from an historically black Alabama high school.

But first let's kick things off with headlines. Today we start in Washington, D.C. Every year about this time President Bush proclaims June Black History Month - Black Music Month, we should say. And this year is no exception. Yesterday, President Bush issued a statement saying, quote, "borne out of great pain and strong faith, that music has helped African-Americans endure tremendous suffering and overcome injustice with courage, faith and hope," end quote.

To mark Black Music Month, NEWS & NOTES kicks off a new series on the past and future of hip-hop. Later in the show, we'll sit down with the author of a new Dr. Dre biography, and Monday we'll have an interview with rap mogul Russell Simmons. You will not want to miss that.

But first, another headline, this one from Paris and the French Open. On Wednesday, tennis star Venus Williams hit a ball into the record books. She fired off the fastest serve for any women's tennis main draw match in history. And how fast was it? You ready? One hundred twenty nine miles-per-hour. Needless to say, Venus went on to win the match. The previous match record of 127 miles an hour is held by - you guessed it - another Williams, Venus' sister Serena.

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