Photo: Joan Marcus Brittany Johnson is officially “Popular.” The actress debuted as the first full-time Black Glinda in Broadway’s Wicked, per CNN. Johnson, who has previously understudied the role, had her first performance as the production’s lead, Glinda, on Monday, Feb. 14. The show opens with Glinda floating down in …

Beloved actor and literacy enthusiast LeVar Burton has inspired generations of youngsters to love books, spending decades reading aloud to America’s children as the host of Reading Rainbow. Coincidentally, the long-running series launched a year after a contentious 1982 U.S. book-banning battle—but what might that widely watched storytime have looked …

The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has turned a parking garage into a makeshift morgue to deal with a significant backlog of bodies. According to a WMAR report, more than 200 bodies await autopsy, and the number keeps growing. The backlog is holding up funeral services, criminal investigations, …

Richard Williams watches daughter Venus compete in the Acura Classic at the La Costa Resort and Spa August 3, 2007 in Carlsbad, California. Williams’ grandson, Alphonse Williams, 21, died by an apparent suicide on Feb. 3, in Las Vegas.Photo: Lisa Blumefeld (Getty Images) A nephew of tennis stars Venus and …

PINEVILLE, La. — A woman who was once rescued from the Superdome on a helicopter during Hurricane Katrina has gone on to become the Louisiana Army National Guard’s first Black female pilot. Warrant Officer Tatiana Julien of New Orleans pilots a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in B Company, 1-244th Assault …

Taji Johnson, an 8-year old boy from Trenton, South Carolina, is helping homeless people in his community by providing them tents for shelter. I just kept thinking about people who don’t have homes,” Taji told WJBF. He started Taji’s Tents last January to raise funds to purchase tents for the homeless. …

Photo: Scott Dudelson/FilmMagic (Getty Images) The Kanye West saga is never-ending, but isn’t it different this time? One day he’s saying he won’t perform at Coachella unless Billie Eilish apologizes to Travis Scott, the next he’s saying his daughter cannot use TikTok without his consent, not to mention him wanting …

The acclaimed Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked has cast its first Black leading lady in Brittney Johnson, who — as of Monday — began starring as Glinda the Good Witch.  “I’m really excited for people to be able to see someone who looks like them onstage, wearing the crown,” Johnson, who has …

NFL free agent Adrian Peterson says he’s “mind blown” after being arrested for a domestic dispute he had with his wife at Los Angeles International Airport. Peterson was arrested early Sunday morning over allegations of domestic violence aboard an aircraft bound for Houston, ESPN reports. Police responded to a call …

Simone Biles is officially off the market. The superstar gymnast announced that she’s engaged to her boyfriend, Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens. The four-time Olympic gold medalist posted to social media Tuesday that Owens proposed. “WOKE UP A FIANCÉE,” Biles wrote on Twitter. “I can’t wait to spend forever & …