It’s been a busy week for Queen Latifah. Fresh off receiving the National Medal of Arts from President Joe Biden, the hip-hop icon and actress has change into the newest star Good American’s “American Icons” campaign.. Known for her legacy of women’s empowerment and inspiring women to embrace their individuality, Latifah shared her appreciation for Good American’s commitment to size inclusivity.

“I have been wearing Good American for a long time in various projects. I wore their jeans in The Equalizer. I wore their suit to the Super Bowl and the after party. The other day, for my bodyguard’s 60th birthday, I wore a denim outfit. We had fun all night,” she said Hollywood reporternoting how the brand’s products resonate with many people in her life. “It works for me, the women and the people I talk to.”

When it involves her personal style, Latifah says her approach to fashion is “classic in many ways, but very (avant-garde)”. Mixing classic pieces with daring, unexpected and colourful pieces, the star says the ultimate goal is to wear things that make you are feeling comfortable.

“Style is a never-ending story because in my opinion, style is a matter of mindset,” she explained. “Style is everywhere. That’s all. It’s emotions, it’s attitude. But it’s timeless in a way.”

Having experienced “many, many styles,” Latifah is amused by the re-emergence of ’90s style trends. But fashion is not the only area where the star appreciates a bit of nostalgia. Latifah recently announced plans to release a biopic about her life in collaboration with Will Smith.

“I hope this will be an inspiration to any artist or any person who is planning to do something that hasn’t been done before or is wondering if they can achieve what they want,” she said. “Maybe after they see what we went through to get where we’re, they may know that nothing happened overnight, that we were also very lucky and blessed in some ways. So go.

Even though she has previously kept her private life hidden from the public eye, Latifah says she is excited to share the ups and downs of her story. Produced by her company Flavor Unit Entertainment, Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Jesse Collins Entertainment, the “UNITY” singer’s film will reportedly be the first of many independently financed hip-hop biopics.

“We’ve been talking about this for a while,” Latifah added. “We’ve seen so many people tell our stories that weren’t there, and we really have no idea how much more engaged those stories are. It is important to see how it all happened from the perspectives of those who were actively involved in the room.”

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Not all heroes wear capes; some wear MTA uniforms. This week, a five-year-old girl was reunited with the bus driver in New York who saved her from wandering the streets alone.

On September 11, bus operator Luis Jimenez, 60, found Adaline “Addy” Gonzalez walking alone in Harlem as he finished his morning shift. This morning, the New York Police Department (NYPD) reportedly responded to a 911 call a couple of missing child in the Harlem neighborhood. While officers began searching the area, Jimenez says he spotted the unattended child and observed him for a couple of block before telling one in all his passengers to call 911. By stopping the bus and contacting his dispatcher, the bus driver was in a position to put Addy on the road. by bus until the police arrive.

The officers managed to trace down and stop the bus carrying the missing woman. The emergency medical team responded to the scene and assessed her at the scene. No injuries were reported consequently of this incident,” an NYPD spokesman said People Magazine about the incident.

For Jimenez, helping the five-year-old get home safely made going to work worthwhile. The bus driver told the story ABC affiliate WABC that he was considering calling in sick that day. This small decision had a big impact on the Gonzalez family.

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“I felt very good,” Jimenez told a neighborhood news outlet. “I was looking forward to meeting her and her parents because something like this should be celebrated, she could come home,” she added.

“We were totally terrified,” added Adda’s mother, Julissa Gonzalez. “We didn’t know what to think. You know, we were terrified because she was our little girl.

When asked what happened, Addy revealed that she had sneaked out of college on a mission to seek out a brand new fish to interchange the recently dead fish. So in light of their touching reunion, Jimenez gave the young girl a goldfish.

“I decided to name my new fish… Luis,” Addy said, sharing her response to the gift. “I was excited and happy, it was perfect.”

In return, the Gonzalez family gave the MTA bus driver a customized New York Jets hat with the words “Adda’s Hero” written on it.

“She was always very determined to do what she wanted,” explained her father, Cesar Gonzalez. “It’s great to fulfill Luis. And she is a very beautiful person. And thank God. Thank him. You know, she’s here with us today.

A popular Washington, D.C.-area pizza chain is facing backlash after introducing a recent dessert earlier this week based on the infamous drug possession arrest of former D.C. Mayor the late Marion Barry.

Local franchise &Pizza announced the addition of powdered berry-stuffed dough knots, called “Marion Berry Knots,” and showcased them at an event at the Hive Hotel. Shortly thereafter, city leaders and members began calling for a boycott of the fast casual chain, which led them to remove the item from the menu.

Prior to its launch, the Dessert Knots were advertised as “a new secret menu item inspired by none other than the city’s vibrant political scene.” Washington Eater reported. From that point on, the marketing of the mistaken treat became more direct. According to Eater, the release said, “The Marion Berry Knots have enough powdered sugar to make customers bump elbows when ordering and even make the DEA double-check.”

For DC News Nowadditional marketing language boasted that knots “may not be the perfect dessert, but they are the perfect dessert for DC”

Promotional photos included a shot of a silver tray covered in a mound of white powder.

The marketing gimmick was a reference to the infamous 1990 arrest of then-Mayor Marion Barry for using crack cocaine, which ultimately led to the politician’s possession conviction and 6 months in prison. Thirty years later, this legacy continues to be complicated for a lot of in the region, especially the Black community and Barry’s family.

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On Monday, Barry’s widow, Cora Masters Barry, spoke to DC News Now about the distasteful dessert.

“I just think it’s racist. It’s outrageously racist in this city,” she told the website, adding: “It’s racist and disrespectful.”

IN entry on X on Monday, At-Large DC Councilmember Christina Henderson said, “This is not smart marketing (and pizza). It’s tone deaf and damn disrespectful.”

On Tuesday, District 8 Councilmember Trayon White called for a boycott in a post about: Instagram for “shameless and tasteless exploitation of Marion S. Barry’s legacy.”

After & Pizza CEO Mike Burns initially issued statements that seemingly ignored the growing controversy in the Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine, community leaders held a rally and press conference on Wednesday. Organizers used the hashtag #KNOTINDC, and Ronald Moten of Don’t Mute DC gave an impassioned speech.

“We just want you to know that we are coming as a united front. It’s not one person. It’s not two people. It (isn’t) black. It (isn’t) white. This is Washington and we want to tell you: not in Washington,” Moten said, based on Eater.

Later Wednesday, Burns finally apologized in a statement, promising to contact community leaders to learn the way he could higher work with them in the future.

“Although humor was our intention, unfortunately it did not come out well,” Burns wrote. “The parody of the former mayor and the portrayal of addicts was inappropriate. We have read countless messages and social media posts and understand the frustration this has caused – especially for the Barry family.”