Bengals linebacker James Harrison speaks during an NFL football news conference, May 14, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Harrison signed with the Bengals as a free agent from the Pittsburgh Steelers. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

by Joe Kay

CINCINNATI (AP) — James Harrison sat in front of the Bengals backdrop, leaned on his right forearm — the one with "James" tattooed length-wise — and thought about his day.

CHUKA UMUNNA

by Robbie Corey-Boulet

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A rising star in Britain's Labour Party, described by some as the "British Barack Obama," Chuka Umunna urged the United Kingdom to more aggressively forge ties with West Africa's fast-growing economies.

Serena Williams returns the ball to Belarus' Victoria Azarenka during their final match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, May 19. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

by Andrew Dampf

ROME (AP) — Serena Williams won her fourth consecutive title of the year in dominating fashion Sunday, beating third-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 in the Italian Open final.

The top-ranked American will enter the French Open, which starts next Sunday, on a career-best 24-match winning streak.

Williams was coming off consecutive titles in Miami; Charleston, South Carolina; and Madrid last week.

She didn't drop a set while winning this title.

Williams' only previous title at this clay-court event came in 2002, when she beat Justine Henin in the final.

That was also the year she won her only title at Roland Garros. Last year in Paris, Williams lost in the opening round of a major for the first time, falling to 111th-ranked Virginie Razzano of France.

Later, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were renewing their rivalry in the men's final at the Foro Italico.

On a pleasant spring day, Williams immediately took control by breaking Azarenka's serve twice to take a 3-0 lead in the opening set.

The 15-time Grand Slam winner slugged winners at will off both Azarenka's first and second serves, stepping into the court to dictate play at every opportunity.

Azarenka grew distraught at the end of the first set, twice slamming her racket on the court in desperation.

After trading breaks midway through the second set, Williams took control again when Azarenka double faulted to hand her a 5-3 lead. Williams then served out the match at love and let out a big scream when she unleashed a backhand winner down the line to close it out.

Williams held a massive 41-12 edge in winners and served nine aces to Azarenka's none.

Williams improved to 12-2 in her career against Azarenka, who spent 51 weeks at No. 1 before Williams reclaimed the top spot in February.

Williams had twice won 21 matches in a row before, although both of those runs came more than a decade ago, in 2002 and the beginning of 2003.

Martina Navratilova established the longest women's winning run in the Open Era at 74 matches in 1984.

At 31, Williams is back at the top of her game after missing 11 months in 2010 and 2011 with a right foot injury and a pulmonary embolism.

It was Azarenka's first final since beating Williams for the title in February at Doha, Qatar. That followed the Belarussian's Australian Open victory. Since then, Azarenka has been slowed by right ankle and left foot injuries.

It was the 51st title of Williams' career. Navratilova also holds the record in that category with a seemingly insurmountable 167 titles. Williams moved within two titles of matching Monica Seles for ninth on the all-time list.

Wiilliams was already first among active players and now has seven more titles than her sister Venus, who is second on the list and watched the final from the stands.

Earlier in the women's doubles final, Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan and Peng Shuai of China upset the top-ranked Italian pair of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.

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Members of the Black Riders Liberation Party arrive at a service for Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X, at the Islamic Center of Northern California in Oakland, Calif., May 17, 2013. Authorities say Shabazz was beaten to death last week in a dispute over a $1,200 bar bill in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
 
by Terry Collins
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds gathered Friday to remember the late grandson of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X as mourners said Malcolm Shabazz was well on his way to cementing his own legacy.

More than 200 people attended a traditional Islamic service in Oakland for the 28-year-old Shabazz, who authorities say was beaten to death last week over a $1,200 bar bill in Mexico City.

The service, which lasted more than two hours, featured plenty of prayer, songs, spoken word and tears. Many among the procession of speakers said while they initially connected with Shabazz because of his famous grandfather, they learned to appreciate a man they called "Young Malcolm" as a leader in his own right.

"If I could put into one word how I feel about Malcolm, it would be, 'inspiration,'" Hussein Mekki, 32, of Houston, Texas, told fellow mourners. "Hopefully that will continue, and he can inspire us for the rest of our lives."

Despite troubles early in life, from setting a blaze in his grandmother's apartment that resulted in the death of Malcolm X's widow, Betty Shabazz, to stints in juvenile hall and prison, mourners said Shabazz was seeking redemption with plans to write a memoir and another book denouncing youth violence.

Abdel Malik Ali, 55, a community activist from Oakland, said "Young Malcolm" appeared ready to fuse the history of Malcolm X along with his own experiences he described as "Generation Next."

Shabazz, who also was the father of a young girl, wanted to help build mosques and education centers across America, Ali said.

"He was looking for his own voice, his own place in this world," Ali said. "He had his struggles just like everybody else, but he eventually took on a huge responsibility in embracing his family's legacy that's harder than anybody could ever imagine."

While Shabazz was originally from New York, he settled in the Bay Area more than three years ago after taking a spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca at the advice of friends and local political activist Yuri Kochiyama, who knew his grandfather and wrote to Shabazz while he was incarcerated.

Close friend Hashim Ali Alauddeen, a doctoral student in Islamic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, said Friday that Shabazz had plans to attend community college in the area and eventually seek a bachelor's degree in African-American studies at Berkeley.

"His heart was sincere. He strived to do what's right," Alauddeen said tearfully as he stood over Shabazz's casket while delivering his friend's eulogy. "He did his best to purify his soul. His intention and his sincerity were to serve God."

Shabazz died May 9 after he was beaten outside a bar near Plaza Garibaldi, a downtown square that is home to Mexico City's mariachis. Before his trip to Mexico, Shabazz had connected with a labor and construction group in California, and he traveled to Mexico to meet with one of its organizers who had been deported in April.

Labor activist Miguel Suarez, who was traveling with Shabazz, told The Associated Press last week that he and Shabazz were lured to the bar by a young woman who spoke to Shabazz in English.

Authorities in Mexico City say Suarez told investigators that he and Shabazz drank about a dozen beers and then the waiters demanded they pay a tab of 15,000 pesos, or about $1,200.

Mexico City's top prosecutor said two waiters arrested in the case had served Shabazz earlier. An autopsy found Shabazz died of blows to the head, face and torso.

Alauddeen said Shabazz's body will be buried in New York next to his grandparents.