Author: Shekari Philemon

Cuba is in the dark, and not just figuratively. A total collapse of the national power grid plunged the Caribbean island into blackout this week, deepening an already devastating economic crisis fueled by a U.S. oil embargo that has choked the country’s energy supply since the start of the year. For a nation of 9.6 million people already navigating chronic shortages and crumbling infrastructure, the timing could not have been worse. Against that backdrop, President Donald Trump made his most pointed declaration yet about the island, telling reporters at the White House that he believes he will have the honor…

Breonna Taylor was 26 years old when Louisville police executed a no-knock warrant at her apartment just after midnight on March 13, 2020. She never made it to morning. Six years later, the federal protections her death helped inspire are already being dismantled, and the timing could not feel more deliberate. Days before the anniversary of her killing, the Trump administration quietly reversed a Biden-era policy that had placed firm limits on the type of warrant used the night Taylor died. There was no press conference, no public debate and no national conversation. Just a memo that changed everything. What…

Lizzo is adding a new title to her resume, and this one has nothing to do with music charts. The Grammy-winning singer and classically trained flautist announced Monday that she has written her first children’s picture book, set for release in September. The project, titled Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’, will be published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers and will arrive alongside an original song she wrote specifically for the book. The announcement came via social media, where the 37-year-old artist, born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, shared the news with characteristic energy, describing the project as a…

Teyana Taylor walked the red carpet at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles wearing a black spaghetti-strap Chanel gown that left little question about who had shown up. A sheer panel exposed her famously sculpted midsection, adorned with black and pearl crystals and white accents. The skirt fell into black-and-white feathers before extending into a dramatic train. It was an entrance designed to be noticed, and it was. The 35-year-old actress and R&B artist had earned her seat at the ceremony with a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role as…

Stephen Curry turned 38 on Saturday, and like most milestones in the life of a working NBA player, his birthday arrived in the middle of a road trip with little room for celebration. The Golden State Warriors were scheduled to play the New York Knicks on Sunday, and while Curry remains sidelined with a knee injury he has been managing through rehabilitation, he traveled with the team. It turned out to be the detail that made a birthday visit possible. Ayesha Curry made the trip to New York to spend time with her husband, but the window was narrow. She…

Kyla Pratt built one of the most recognizable faces of early 2000s television as the sharp and spirited Breanna Barnes on the sitcom One on One. More than two decades later, she is revisiting that chapter of her career from a vantage point she could not have imagined at the time, seated on a couch beside her own daughters, watching it all over again. Pratt, now 39, spoke at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards in Los Angeles on March 12, 2026, about what the family rewatch experience has actually been like. The event drew a celebrated group of…

Not every viral moment is one worth celebrating. On Friday, March 13, Keke Palmer was midway through a live panel at South by Southwest in Austin when a man in the audience stood up, dropped to one knee, and proposed marriage. The actress and host, who was there to discuss her Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast alongside the cast of her film I Love Boosters, had not been given any warning. Neither had anyone else in the room. Palmer responded with the composure that has become something of a trademark. She told the man clearly and without hostility that…

Not every performer can stop a show mid-song, address a brawl in the crowd, and walk away funnier than when she started. Cardi B did exactly that during a recent concert, and the moment has been making the rounds online ever since. What started as a potential disruption ended up becoming the most talked-about clip of the night. When Cardi spotted fans fighting in the crowd, she did not ignore it, and she did not get angry. She stopped performing, looked out at the crowd, and addressed the situation with the kind of self-aware humor that is hard to rehearse.…

It was the silence that said the most. Days after the New England Patriots dropped a painful 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2026 Super Bowl, wide receiver Stefon Diggs posted a 20-slide Instagram carousel filled with quotes, game imagery, and what many fans took as deeply personal messaging. Then he turned the comments off entirely, and the internet went to work. The post landed at a moment when scrutiny around Diggs was already elevated. In addition to the championship loss, rumors had begun circulating online that his high-profile relationship with rapper Cardi B was on the rocks.…

Oprah Winfrey is done letting the internet have the last word. The media mogul recently addressed the wave of online mockery that followed her appearance at Paris Fashion Week, where critics on social media poked fun at the way she and her longtime best friend Gayle King were walking as they arrived at the Chloé fashion show. To hear Winfrey tell it, the real story is far more entertaining than anything the trolls came up with. The clip of Winfrey’s explanation made the rounds on Instagram earlier this month and quickly gained traction. Winfrey later reshared it herself, clearly unbothered…