culture

Now that Hollywood’s award season has come to a close, perhaps it was inevitable that the fawning over media darling and Academy Award winner for best supporting actress Lupita Nyong’o would come to an end as well. The Hollywood Reporter put the official nail in the cliched coffin with its latest print issue, which asks…

The 36-year-old nephew of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta reality actor Ray “Benzino” Scott will be arraigned Monday in Plymouth, Mass., on charges of assault with intent to murder his uncle, the Boston Herald reports. According to several news stations, Gai Scott shot several times into a vehicle that was carrying his uncle, Ray Scott,…

ESPN radio host and TV commentator Stephen A. Smith told Arsenio Hall on his talk show over the weekend that Kobe Bryant was “right on point” in his assessment that he wasn’t comfortable with Miami Heat players protesting in support of Trayvon Martin without knowing all of the facts. Bryant was quoted in the upcoming…

When the train tracks clink, I know that in about two minutes my train will come roaring into view—unless it’s the R train. The R comes when it wants to. To date, I have taken every train the MTA has to offer, many of its buses and even New Jersey Transit. One might guess that…

Editor’s note: This weekend, Morehouse College hosted the inaugural summit in a White House-sponsored series of events aimed at addressing educational outcomes for African-American students. The Morehouse event, called the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans: Addressing the Socio-Cultural Factors Impacting the Academic Achievement and Development of African American Males, focused on…

Saturday Night Live returned last night after a two-week hiatus, featuring as host comedian Louis C.K., who drew constant laughs throughout the night. In one sketch, he played the role of a professor of African-American studies (from Brigham Young University, no less) who was a contestant on Black Jeopardy! It was hosted by Alex Treblack…

Nearly 7 million people have signed up for private insurance plans under President Barack Obama’s beleaguered health care law, reflecting a crush of enrollments just days before Monday’s deadline, the Chicago Tribune reports. The surge comes even after federal officials announced Tuesday evening that all consumers who have begun to apply for coverage on HealthCare.gov,…

A 35-year-old homeless Arizona mother who was arrested last week on felony child abuse charges after leaving her young children in a hot car while she went to a job interview, is receiving an outpouring of social media and financial support. Shanesha Taylor was arrested Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz., after police said she left the…

Last week, the nation heard about 18-year-old Chad Thomas, a senior at Booker T. Washington Senior High in Miami, who received 150 scholarship offers for his prowess on the football field and ability to play nine instruments. This week brings Avery Coffey, a senior at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Washington, D.C., who applied…

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice married his longtime fiancee, Janay Palmer, Friday, just a day after he was indicted on third-degree assault charges for reportedly knocking her unconscious during an incident last month, the Baltimore Sun reports. The two have been receiving counseling and therapy, say Ravens officials, who have stayed in contact with…