culture

 For Thembi Duncan, it seemed like the kind of opportunity best described as golden. A popular Washington, D.C., radio talk show wanted Duncan—the new producing artistic director of the African Continuum Theatre Company—for an interview on the air. As recently as 2011, the African Continuum, once billed as D.C.’s only professional black theater company, had…

The holiday parade in Semmes, Ala., is usually a predictable affair, with marchers, floats and carolers, but not this year. Some members of the town erupted in furor Saturday when one of the acts turned out to be a group of black drag queens, the Raw Story reports. The troupe, known as the Prancing Elite,…

Two cable channel executives have said they would gladly broadcast Duck Dynasty if the A&E channel decides to drop the hit reality-TV series. Executives at the Christian-affiliated Hunt Channel and the outdoorsy Pursuit Channel told TMZ that they believe in the freedom of speech and would like to air the show, which came under fire after a…

Ninety-four-year-old Clara Gantt’s wait to be reunited with her husband ended before dawn Friday on a tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Calif. But it was not the ending she had hoped for after six decades, NBC Los Angeles reports. Her husband, Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Gantt, died as a prisoner of war…

Justine Sacco, the fired public relations executive, released a statement apologizing for her racially insensitive tweet that touched off a maelstrom in the world of social media, ABC News reports. In the statement, Sacco says she is a native of South Africa. Until recently, she worked for InterActive Corp., which owns websites like Match.com, Dictionary.com…

An 11-year-old South Side Chicago boy was killed Saturday when a carjacker fleeing from police slammed into his family’s vehicle, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Donovan Anthony Turnage was headed to the barbershop with his father and older brother to get a Christmas haircut when the crash occurred about 12:30 p.m., the report shows. The incident…

Barack Obama says he does not plan to hover over daughters Sasha and Malia when they begin dating, saying it’s intimidating enough for a young man to ask out the daughter of the president, Reuters reports. He told comedian and talk show host Steve Harvey during a television interview that aired on Friday that Malia,…

A judge ruled Friday in favor of the family of a 13-year-old brain-dead California girl, saying that she could remain on life support, the Associated Press reports. California Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo ruled that Jahi McMath could stay on a ventilator, the report shows. The ruling came after Children’s Hospital Oakland decided to disconnect life support…

Updated: Saturday, Dec. 21, 4:58 p.m. ET: Justine Sacco has been fired from her job as director of corporate communications at IAC, according to a statement released by the company. “The offensive comment does not reflect the views and values of IAC,” the email statement reads. “We take this issue very seriously, and we have…