<h1>First Black Secretary of State - Colin Powell dies at 84 of COVID complications.</h1>The family of former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced on Facebook today that "General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from COVID 19.” Powell was fully vaccinated. Powell was a military man, serving from 1958 to 1993 achieving the rank of General in the US Army and eventually becoming the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Colin Powell was a Bronx-native, raised by Jamaican-immigrant parents, and he graduated from NYC public schools. In 2001, as a Republican under President George Bush - Powell was the first African-American Secretary of State and the highest-ranking African American in the history of the federal government at the time.Powell was an instrumental part of both the Bush and Reagan administrations, but towards the end of his life he became less interested in the Republican party. General Powell endorsed Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden in his old age. He told CNN's Fareed Zakaria "I can no longer call myself a fellow Republican. I'm not a fellow of anything right now." Colin Powell was a model Army-man with strong political intuition. Although his record was spotted from decades within the National Security System, Powell was widely admired by his peers in government, both Republican and Democrat. As Secretary of State Powell was instrumental in the continuation of the Iraq War and would go on to express regret towards his missteps in the Middle East.

First Black Secretary of State, Colin Powell Dies of COVID Complications at 84

Byron Allen

Byron Allen, the owner of the Weather Channel and Local Now, has offered to buy BET from Paramount for $3.5 billion. This deal would be for BET Media Group and would include VH1, BET Studios, and the streaming service BET+, according to a report from&nbsp;<a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/byron-allen-bet-acquisition-offer-paramount-1235847887/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Variety</a>.
Byron Allen reportedly offered $2.7 billion over the summer, but Paramount decided not to sell. At the time, bidders included Allen, Tyler Perry and Sean "Diddy" Combs. Now Allen has since increased his offer.
Acquiring BET Media Group would expand Allen's empire, Allen Media Group, even further. The mogul currently owns 12 cable networks, including the Weather Channel, JusticeCentral.TV, Cars.TV and Pets.TV, a theatrical movie distribution company and a stable of 28 broadcast stations.
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Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 73 television shows, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated TV programming for broadcast stations. The company has nearly 2,300 employees.

this is a new slug 

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Married to Medicine star Dr. Jackie Walters comes under fire after clips of her resurfaced where she accused pregnant Black women of not being taken seriously by medical professionals because they cry wolf and are dramatic.
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In the three-year-old clip, Dr. Walters said, &ldquo;Sometimes as African American women, we&rsquo;re a bit more dramatic. In that, you go the doctor and you complain and you complain and you complain, and you&rsquo;re not taken seriously &rsquo;cause you cried wolf the entire pregnancy.&rdquo;
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She went on to say, &ldquo;As African American women, we want to also make sure you&rsquo;re being serious with your doctor and not playing the game so I can take you off work. Because then, we see you 25 times in the pregnancy, it&rsquo;s hard to believe that there&rsquo;s a true problem when there&rsquo;s a true problem.&rdquo;
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People on social media did not like what she said and shared their opinions about the comments. See what they had to say below.&nbsp;
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<a href="https://x.com/notsonewlywedpc/status/1737802687079391465?s=46&amp;t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q">https://x.com/notsonewlywedpc/status/1737802687079391465?s=46&amp;t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q</a>
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<a href="https://x.com/trapkace/status/1737847140842705399?s=46&amp;t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q">https://x.com/trapkace/status/1737847140842705399?s=46&amp;t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q</a>
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<a href="https://x.com/777_chicky/status/1737197470164066342?s=46&amp;t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q">https://x.com/777_chicky/status/1737197470164066342?s=46&amp;t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q</a>
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<a href="https://x.com/themelaninson/status/1737557938112249888?s=46&amp;t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q">https://x.com/themelaninson/status/1737557938112249888?s=46&amp;t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q</a>
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What are your thoughts on this?

Reality TV Star Dr. Jackie Walters Receives Backlash For Comments About Black Pregnant Women

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Singer-songwriter-producer <a href="https://www.wbls.com/wbls-news/t-pain-to-receive-legend-award-at-soul-train-awards">T-Pain</a> has announced his first residency in Las Vegas!
On Tuesday (December 19), the Nappy Boy Entertainment CEO took to social media to announce his debut residency at Zouk Nightclub and Ayu Dayclub at Resort World Las Vegas. He posted a video to his Instagram timeline that shows him riding around in a black and pink racing suit as he hops into his customized racecar to the tune of his recent single "Baby Got Brap."
His first show will be at Zouk on February 8, 2024 with more dates coming soon.
"2024 is going to be a great year," T-Pain said. "I've been fortunate to have an amazing career and I've always dreamed of having a residency of my own. I've got some special surprises up my sleeve so Vegas, let's turn up!"

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T-Pain joins Jodeci and Wu-Tang Clan, who also recently announced plans for a Vegas residency. Wu-Tang Clan announced their residency last week.
Earlier this year, T-Pain released a covers album called On Top Of The Covers, which included a cut of the country classic &ldquo;Tennessee Whiskey.&rdquo;
On the track, T-Pain offers a unique R&amp;B twist on the 1981 classic without the use of his signature autotuned effects.

https://twitter.com/TPAIN/status/1737596056840393166

The current residency dates for T-Pain are:
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<li>Thursday, Feb. 8 at Zouk Nightclub</li>
<li>Saturday, April 20 at Zouk Nightclub</li>
<li>Sunday, May 25 at Ayu Dayclub</li>
<li>Thursday, July 11 at Zouk Nightclub</li>
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T-Pain Announces His First-Ever Las Vegas Residency

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Taraji P. Henson has recently opened up about her experience in the industry as a Black female actress. She reflected on her journey through Hollywood and broke out in tears when recounting the treatment she had received. Gayle King sat down with Henson and her The Color Purple cast member, Danielle Brooks for a SiriusXM interview. When asked if she had ever thought about quitting acting, Henson shared that she has reached her limit due to being underpaid. https://youtu.be/GUzqD5UcLwo“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson began. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ Well, I have to. The math ain’t math-ing. When you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don’t do this alone. It’s a whole team behind us. They have to get paid.”She continued to explain that although people hear reports of how much an actor got paid for their work, that money is then divided amongst team members as well as government taxes. “I’m only human," she continued. "Every time I do something and break another glass ceiling, when it’s time to renegotiate, I’m at the bottom again like I never did what I just did and I’m tired. I’m tired. It wears on you. What does that mean? What is that telling me?"Brooks chimed in, "And what is that telling me?"Emotional, Henson exclaimed, "If I can’t fight for them coming up behind me then what the f**k am I doing?”She recalled being told that Black actors and stories “don’t translate overseas.”“I’m tired of hearing that my entire career,” she said. “20 plus years in the game and I hear the same thing and I see what you do for another production, but when it’s time to go to bat for us they don’t have enough money. And I’m just supposed to smile and grin and bear it. Enough is enough! That’s why I have other [brands] because this industry, if you let it, it will steal your soul. I refuse to let that happen.”