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Barry Michael Cooper, the celebrated writer best known for the iconic movies he penned in the 1990s, has died at 66. According to TMZ, the Maryland Chief Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Cooper’s death, which occurred on Tuesday in Baltimore, Maryland.

Among his many projects, Cooper wrote New Jack City, starring Wesley Snipes and Chris Rock. In 1994, he also wrote Sugar Hill and Above the Rim, starring Tupac Shakur. Cooper worked with Spike Lee to produce the TV series She’s Gotta Have It on Netflix in 2017.

Before becoming a writer, Cooper worked as a journalist, producing stories for well-known publications such as Spin magazine and The Village Voice. While working as an investigative journalist for The Village Voice, Cooper highlighted drug problems in Detroit with a story titled “Kids Killing Kids: New Jack City Eats Its Young.” Another one of Cooper’s popular pieces was “Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing: Harlem Gangsters Raise a Genius.” The 1987 article detailed how Teddy Riley and Uptown Records made a lasting impact on R&B and hip-hop, Revolt reported.

Cooper, who found his inspiration for writing while growing up in Harlem, made his directorial debut in 2005 with a web series titled Blood on the Wall$. The series revolved around the tumultuous life of a TV reporter, Variety reported. Three years later, Cooper produced the Larry Davis episode for the third season of American Gangster.

Cooper, who is survived by his son Matthew, paid tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. on Instagram a few days before his death. The 66-year-old writer posted a selfie and a quote inspired by Dr. King, saying, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”

Cooper’s cause of death has not been confirmed.

‘The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals’ “I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde, the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, said, according to The New York Times. […]

The latest wildfire in Los Angeles County, dubbed the Hughes Fire, has already burned over 5,000 acres in about two hours near the suburb town of Castaic. According to CNN, residents were ordered to evacuate shortly after the fire broke out on Wednesday in Castaic, which is located in the foothills on the north side of Los Angeles County.

1. Brown, 35, filed the complaint on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging the documentary’s producers intentionally used sexual assault claims and evidence tampering from an unreliable accuser. The lawsuit also claims the company relied on accounts from several […]

Following an tweet of by Sexyy Red, the rapper has apologized to Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Bernice King.

On Monday, the St. Louis artist retweeted an AI photo of the late civil rights leader and herself face-to-face in a nightclub. She also uploaded a picture of herself in a revealing red dress walking next to him during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 

While Sexyy Red found it innocently funny, King’s youngest child responded to the tweet in disappointment. 

“This is intentionally distasteful, dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful to my family and my father, who is not here to respond himself because he was assassinated for working for your civil and human rights and to end war and poverty. Please delete,” Bernice King wrote.

This is intentionally distasteful, dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful to my family and my father, who is not here to respond himself because he was assassinated for working for your civil and human rights and to end war and poverty. Please delete. https://t.co/g1S726qSMf— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 21, 2025

While some tried criticizing Sexyy Red, Bernice said, “Please don’t project your thoughts onto me. I don’t believe Sexyy Red to be a ‘degenerate,’ ‘ghetto,’ or ‘trash.’ I have spoken out in the past about the use of and comparison to either of my parents to denigrate other people.”

“I just don’t understand this type of use of my father’s image (on #MLKDay, no less), in a way that does not convey what we know to be true about his service and sacrifice. Even if you disagree with him or with his tactics or even believe things said about him by people who hated him, why do this?” she added. 

Upon discovering the picture was distasteful, Sexyy Red responded, “You ain’t wrong, never meant to disrespect your family my apologies. Just resposted something I saw that I thought was innocent 🙏🏽.”

You ain’t wrong, never meant to disrespect your family my apologies. Just resposted something I saw that I thought was innocent 🙏🏾 https://t.co/3rGQreJNOT— Sexyy Red (@SexyyRed314_) January 22, 2025

“Thank you for your apology, which I sincerely accept. Please know that it was not my intention that you be denigrated. I value you as a human being. I hope you understand my concerns about the image,” Bernice shared.

Thank you for your apology, which I sincerely accept. Please know that it was not my intention that you be denigrated. I value you as a human being. I hope you understand my concerns about the image. I know that my father has become a bit of a caricature to the world and that…— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 22, 2025

“I know that my father has become a bit of a caricature to the world and that his image is often used with no regard to his family, his sacrificial work, or to the tragic, unjust way in which he died (a state-sanctioned assassination).

Unfortunately, I regularly challenge the disregard.

I earnestly wish that people would imagine what it would feel like to see their deceased, murdered father repurposed for party fliers, unjust legislation, etc.

All the best to you, young lady,” Bernice concluded. 

The FBI is investigating after a U.S. Border Patrol agent and another person were shot and killed Monday afternoon in Coventry, Vermont, just south of the Canadian border, according to federal officials.

Last December, Pastor Kristina Java was invited to speak at a church in New York by her spiritual father and the founder of Kingdom Embassy Church, Prophet Passion Java. Excited about the opportunity, she published a video on Instagram of the […]

On Monday, Underwood performed an a cappella version of “America the Beautiful” after Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America inside the US Capitol Rotunda. Afterward, the country superstar immediately walked over to […]