loading
Beloved ‘Friday’ Actor-comedian John Witherspoon Dies At 77

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor-comedian John Witherspoon, who memorably played Ice Cube’s father in the “Friday” films, has died. He was 77. Witherspoon’s manager Alex Goodman confirmed late Tuesday that Witherspoon died in Los Angeles. No cause of death was released. The actor had a prolific career, co-starring in three “Friday” films, appearing on “The […]

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Debut Novel ‘The Water Dancer’ Among Carnegie Medal Finalists

NEW YORK (AP) — Ta-Nehisi Coates’ first novel, “The Water Dancer,” is among the nominees for an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. Coates’ narrative of an enslaved person’s journey to freedom is a fiction finalist, along with Valeria Luiselli’s “Lost Children Archive” and Myla Goldberg’s “Feast Your Eyes.” The nonfiction nominees are Maria Popova’s “Figuring,” […]

Acclaimed novelist Ernest Gaines dies at 86

By CHEVEL JOHNSON and REBECCA SANTANA undefined NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Novelist Ernest J. Gaines, whose poor childhood on a small Louisiana plantation germinated stories of black struggles that grew into universal tales of grace and beauty, has died. He was 86. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation, which sponsors a literary award in Gaines’ honor, […]