Iconic Television Star Michael K. Williams Dead at 54

Actor Michael K. Williams, best known for his iconic portrayal of stickup artist Omar Little on the hit

Photograph by Eli Joshua Ade/ Courtesy HBO

crime drama “The Wire,” is dead at the age of 54 according to the New York Post. 

The paper reported that the talented thespian — who had just signed to star in a biopic about two-time world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman as his trainer and mentor Doc Broadus — was found dead in his Brooklyn penthouse Monday afternoon.

Reportedly drug paraphernalia was found at the scene, suggesting he may have fatally OD’d, possibly from heroin or fentanyl according to the Post’s sources.

“It is with deep sorrow that the family announces the passing of Emmy-nominated actor Michael Kenneth Williams,” William’s rep Marianna Shafran said in a statement confirming the death. “They ask for your privacy while grieving this unsurmountable loss.”

 

Williams had previously struggled with drugs. In 2016 the actor told the host of NPR’s “Fresh Air” Terry Gross that playing intense characters sometimes takes a psychic toll on him:

 When I wear these characters to the extent that I wear them to, that [energy’s] gotta go somewhere,” he says. “The dark energy of Omar Little, for example, “was a little too close to home.

A five-time Emmy nominee, the Brooklyn, New York, native was also well-known for his role as Chalky White in HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” and is a 2021 Emmy Award nominee as best supporting actor for his role in the network’s pandemic hit “Lovecraft Country.”

Tyra Banks Releases Lionel Richie Inspired Ice Cream Flavor

Lionel Richie has had a reputation as one of the smoothest men on the planet since the 1970s when he first strutted and sang on stage as a member of the legendary funk and soul band the Commodores. 

Once Richie spread his wings as a solo artist in the late 70s and 80s that reputation only grew. He released a string of hit love ballads and disco classics that had people across the world staying up “All Night Long” and “Dancing on the Ceiling,” on the way to him becoming one of the top-selling artists of all time with over 100 million records sold. 

So, it’s no surprise that someone would want to capture a little of that old-school magic and mix it back in today’s hectic world. The only surprise, perhaps, is that the person leading the charge to bring Richie back to the people is Tyra Banks, and the collaboration involved is not a musical one for the supermodel and sometimes singer. 

The SMiZE Cream founder, a lifelong Richie fan who also starred in one of his music videos, announced that her gourmet ice cream company’s newest flavor “All Night Love” was “inspired by Lionel's musical genius and vivacious personality!”

“His music and presence light up any room. And now, Lionel's delectable ice cream flavor will light up your palate!" Banks said, adding that the “decadent” ice cream flavor was devised by Richie and Banks at her home with help from Dr. Maya Warren

So, the question is what does Richie’s brand of Motown Magic taste like? That’s something nobody outside of SMiZE will be able to answer with certainty until September 8 when it becomes available at The SMiZE Cream shop in Santa Monica, California (nationwide shipping available at www.smizecream.com), but a press release from SMiZE paints a tasty picture:

The creamy and dreamy recipe starts with Vanilla Ice Cream, then a Midnight Cookie Crumble Swirls throughout it followed by a Salted Caramel Ribbon, and the most special part of it all - Milk Chocolate-Covered Fudge Hearts. Like all SMiZE Cream flavors, Lionel's also includes a yummy SMiZE SURPRiZE hidden inside made of Rich Caramel-scotch Cookie Dough, the brand's caramel version of butterscotch. And in a unique twist, the container for "All Night Love" features a QR code that links to fun videos featuring Tyra and Lionel or a new illustrated character created in Richie's likeness that comes alive with the technical magic of Augmented Reality.

Whether or not the ice cream lives up to that type of hype is yet to be determined, but for his part Richie is just happy to have some of his favorite hometown tastes featured in the flavor.

“It's been fun to work with the incredible Tyra Banks and to be able to share this special treat with everyone," he said. 

Texas Law Banning Most Abortions Remains in Effect Following Supreme Court Decision

The Supreme Court as composed October 27, 2020 to present. Front row, left to right: Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer, and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Back row, left to right: Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

Doctors, Family Members and Even Uber Drivers Could Potentially be Prosecuted Under New Law

Wednesday at midnight the most restrictive abortion law in the country went into effect in Texas,
effectively banning the procedure for most women and offering private citizens a $10,000 bounty to act as the law’s enforcers.

The law, SB 8 limits the window for abortions in the state to around six weeks, or as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected. 

Following the bill’s passage in May, a triumphant Texas Governor Greg Abbot declared, “This bill ensures that every unborn child who has a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion.”

Opponents rallied to point out that it would be Texas women that would truly suffer under the directive since most women do not know they’re pregnant by then and 85 to 90 percent of procedures occur after six weeks according to abortion advocates. While the president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — which represents 58,000 physicians across the US — said the whole use of the term “heartbeat” in the bill was misleading.

“Arbitrary gestational age bans on abortion at six weeks that use the term ‘heartbeat’ to define the gestational development being targeted do not reflect medical accuracy or clinical understanding,” Dr. Ted Anderson said, adding.

“Pregnancy and fetal development are a continuum. What is interpreted as a heartbeat in these bills is actually electrically induced flickering of a portion of the fetal tissue that will become the heart as the embryo develops.”

There was some hope that the U.S. Supreme court would intervene at the last minute thanks to an emergency appeal from abortion providers, but a 5-4 vote late Wednesday by the 6-3 majority conservative court to allow the ban to remain in effect, dashed them — and may have spelled the beginning of the end for Roe v. Wade protections for the entire country. 

"The Act is a breathtaking act of defiance — of the Constitution, of this Court's precedents, and of the rights of women seeking abortions throughout Texas," Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a blistering dissent. "The Court should not be so content to ignore its constitutional obligations to protect not only the rights of women, but also the sanctity of its precedents and of the rule of law."

President Joe Biden stepped in with a warning of his own Thursday saying the law, "unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts," in a statement directing federal agencies to act to protect the right to abortion enshrined in the high court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, adding, "Complete strangers will now be empowered to inject themselves in the most private and personal health decisions faced by women."

That violation of privacy, ironically, is what has allowed this “heartbeat bill” to go into effect whereas efforts by other states including Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Kentucky and South Carolina have been stopped by the courts.

Under the new law, which does not make exceptions for rape or incest, $10,000 will be rewarded to plaintiffs — who do not have to live in Texas, have any connection to the abortion or show injury from it, for each illegal abortion aided by the defendant. Defendants, even if they prevail, are not entitled to legal fees. 

Targets of such suits could include doctors, clinics, people who provide pay or counseling for the procedure and perhaps even someone who provides transportation, like an Uber or Lyft driver. 

"He believes that it's a woman’s right. It's a woman's body and it's her choice,” White House press sec. Jen Psaki says when asked why Pres. Biden—who is Catholic—would support abortion access. https://t.co/u6gammftjI pic.twitter.com/IkUvkHFa0K

— ABC News (@ABC) September 2, 2021