(Photo: AP Photo/Lulamile Feni-Daily Dispatch)

In today’s top news, Nelson Mandela is recovering positively in hospital; President Obama urged the nation and Congress into action against gun violence Thursday; and both suspects pleaded not guilty in the killing of Hadiya Pendleton.

Nelson Mandela is recovering positively after being admitted to the hospital yesterday for a lung infection. [BBC]

President Obama is shaming the nation and Congress into action against gun violence Thursday. [CNN]

Both men pleaded not guilty in the killing of Hadiya Pendleton. [BET]

The EPA plans to unveil a proposal that aims to clean up automobile emissions, a plan that may lead to higher gas prices. [Fox News]

7,000 patients who visited a Tulsa, Oklahoma, dentist may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis. [CNN]

Rep. Don Young of Alaska said he “meant no disrespect” when he used the term “wetbacks” to refer to the migrant laborers who worked on his father’s farm. [ADN]

(Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin tackling same-sex marriage cases, the former office of Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll has been shut down, and Sherry West, mother of slain baby wants killers dead.

The U.S. Supreme Court will tackle an appeal of California’s ban on same-sex marriage. [CNN]

Florida’s lieutenant governor’s office has been shut down since former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigned. [Miami Herald]

Sherry West, mother of the slain baby in Brunswick, Georgia, demands “a life for a life” for the infant’s killer. [WPTV]

Italy’s Supreme Court ruled Amanda Knox should be retried for the death of her ex-roommate. [ABCNews]

2.2 million troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have struggled to readjust to American life according to a new report. [NBC News]

Chicago public school students march against school closing plan. [Chicago Tribune]

Pedro Quezada, a 44-year-old New Jersey man won the $338 million lottery ticket. [NBC News]

North Korea threatens to strike U.S. mainland. [Al Jazeera]

The bullets that killed Colorado prison chief Tom Clements came from the gun found with an inmate. [CNN]

Eight suicide bombers stormed a police compound in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, killing five police officers and injuring four. [LATimes]

(Photo: AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

In today’s top news, Florida’s lieutenant governor Jennifer Carroll has resigned for ties to a company linked to illegal gambling, two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio, go on trial for rape charges and a study states new voter ID laws have discriminated against young Black and Latino voters.

Florida’s lieutenant governor Jennifer Carroll has resigned because of her ties to an Internet cafe company that is now under federal investigation. [AP]

In Steubenville, Ohio, two high school football players go on trial on charges of raping a 16-year-old girl last summer. [NY Times]

A new study says that new voter ID laws disproportionately impacted young Black and Latino voters. [International Business Times]

House Republicans are sending mixed signals in an agreement to meet with President Barack Obama for talks over the budget. [AP]

The search continues for Terrilynn Monette, a New Orleans teacher, who has been missing for two weeks. [CNN]

A Chicago man has launched a social media campaign to end gun violence. [NBC Chicago]

Johnny Williams of Oakland, California, is free after spending 14 years in prison for a rape he never committed. [NBC Bay Area]

Dennis Rodman is in Rome supporting Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana to be the first Black pope. [AP]

The London Teaching Pool is complaining about inquiries from schools appearing not to want teachers of color. [BBCNews]

Cardinals will begin another round of voting to select the next pope. [Washington Post] 

(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, President Obama will sign an updated version of the Violence Against Women Act; the Seattle public school system is under investigation for racial bias in disciplining students; and an African-American man’s DNA has been traced back 338,000 years.

President Obama will sign an updated version of the Violence Against Women Act that includes new requirements for how colleges handle allegations of sexual assault. [NPR]

The Seattle public school system is under federal investigation for alleged racial bias in disciplining students. [AP]

DNA from an African-American man living in South Carolina has been traced back 338,000 years. [Discovery News]

Tia Norfleet, the ‘first and only African-American female licensed by NASCAR,’  has been overstating claims about her success. [Yahoo! Sports]

A petition is going around demanding the National Anthem be changed to R. Kelly’s “Ignition” Remix. [TheGrio]

A 24-year-old interning at a California Cat Haven was mauled to death by her favorite lion. [CNN]

North Korea threatened the United States on Thursday with a  nuclear strike before the United Nations approved new sanctions against the country. [Reuters]

An Italian court sentenced ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to one year in jail over a leaked wiretap transcript published in his family’s newspaper. [BBCNews]

The party of Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, wants to halt the election vote-counting process on claims votes were “doctored.” [NYTimes]

In today’s top news, President Obama warned that hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose jobs unless Congress takes action soon, mentally impaired Georgia inmate Warren Hill was spared from execution and four are dead after a California man went on a shooting spree.

President Obama warned that hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose jobs unless Congress takes action before March 1. [BET]

Mentally impaired Georgia inmate Warren Hill was spared from execution by final-hour stays from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Georgia Court of Appeals. [CNN]

Four are dead after a California man went on a shooting spree during a series of carjackings before taking his own life. [Reuters]

A natural gas explosion caused a massive fire in Kansas City, Missouri, injuring 14. [NBCNews]

Real Husbands of Hollywood star Kevin Hart will host Saturday Night Live. [BET]

Tracey Edmonds and BET founder Robert Johnson will launch a faith-based digital network. [Grio]

Quincy Jones has launched a music education app. [AP]

A member of the Navy Seal Team Six crew that killed Osama bin Laden says he listened to Game’s “Red Nation” before killing the terrorist leader. [BET]

France is urging its citizens to leave Cameroon after seven French tourists were kidnapped. [BBC]

The U.N. warned that four million Syrians are in need of assistance amid civil war and a typhoid outbreak. [AJE]

In today’s top news, the Baltimore Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII, 34-31; Muhammad Ali’s daughter says rumors that her father is near death are untrue; and eight people were killed and 38 injured in a California tour-bus crash.

The Baltimore Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII, 34-31. [BET]

Muhammad Ali’s daughter says rumors that her father is near death are untrue. [BET]

Eight people were killed and 38 injured in a California tour-bus crash. [NBCNews]

President Obama plans to spend the day in Minnesota campaigning for his gun proposals. [AP]

Convicted murderer Steven Robbins was re-captured after Chicago authorities mistakenly released him. [CNN]

The president says the Boy Scouts should lift its ban on gays. [AP]

Beyoncé received rave reviews for her Super Bowl halftime performance. [BET]

Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old girl shot by the Taliban, speaks out for the first time since the incident. [Yahoo!]

Somalian militant group al-Shabab is back on Twitter. [BBC]

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo now say peace may be reached by March. [AJE]

In today’s top news, today marks the start of Black History Month, the Black unemployment rate slipped to 13.8 percent in January and a student was taken into custody for the shooting of a 14-year-old student at an Atlanta middle school.

Today marks the start of Black History Month. [BET]

The Black unemployment rate slipped to 13.8 percent in January. [BET]

A student was taken into custody for the shooting of a 14-year-old student at an Atlanta middle school. [USATODAY]

At least three people are dead after a suicide bombing outside the U.S. embassy in Turkey. [CNN]

Beyoncé sang the national anthem live and admitted to lip-syncing at President Obama’s inauguration. [BET]

California’s Hispanic population is expected to outnumber whites by 2014. [Reuters]

The Arkansas senate approved a bill to ban some abortions as early as five weeks into the pregnancy. [Reuters]

A 5-year-old boy in Alabama has been held hostage in an underground bunker for four days, as of today. [NBCNews]

Gambia is giving public sector workers a four-day work week so citizens have more time to “pray, socialize and tend to fields.” [BBC]

French president Francois Hollande will visit Mali on Saturday. [AJE]

In today’s top news, Rep. Charles Rangel called the lack of diversity in President Obama’s cabinet “embarrassing as hell,” Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio was withdrawn from Obama’s inauguration over anti-gay remarks and Tyler Perry is offering a $100k reward for information in the case of two Florida men that went missing in 2003.

Rep. Charles Rangel called the lack of diversity in President Obama’s cabinet “embarrassing as hell.” [BET]

Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio was withdrawn from President Obama’s inauguration over anti-gay remarks. [BET]

Tyler Perry is offering a $100k reward for information in the case of two Florida men that went missing in 2003. [AP]

President Obama signed a law giving himself lifetime Secret Service detail. [Yahoo!]

Entertainment companies agree to hold dialogue on gun violence. [L.A.Times]

A student was shot at a Taft, California, high school Thursday. [AP]

Beyoncé announces new Destiny’s Child music. [BET]

Donald Trump crowns a Black Miss USA, Nana Meriwether. [E!News]

Rebels in the Central African Republic have agreed to a one-week truce with the government. [BBC]

France says its ready to intervene in Mali to stop militants in the country’s north. [BBC]

(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NAACP)

In today’s top news, Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar Evers, will speak at the inauguration; many will miss out on a chance to attend the inaugural ball after a Ticketmaster mix-up; and Chief Keef’s stepbrother was shot and killed in Chicago.

Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar Evers, will speak at the inauguration. [CNN]

Many will miss out on a chance to attend the inaugural ball after a Ticketmaster mix-up. [BET]

Chief Keef’s stepbrother was shot and killed in Chicago. [BET]

An Alabama teen was arrested for his plot to blow up Black classmates. [ABCNews]

Oxygen network distances itself from proposed Shawty Lo reality show All My Babies’ Mamas amid protest. [AP]

A company is selling Django Unchained slave action figures. [Daily Beast]

The U.S. Supreme Court will allow embryonic stem cell research to continue. [NBCNews]

A California Boy Scout group is challenging the organization’s ban on homosexuals. [Reuters]

Keenan Ivory Wayans and Eddie Murphy have plans to return to stand-up comedy. [BET]

Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebels declared a ceasefire ahead of peace talks. [BBC]

Ghana’s main opposition party boycotted John Mahama’s inauguration. [BBC]

In today’s top news, the Black unemployment rate rose to 14.0 percent in December; NAACP President Ben Jealous says new GOP senator Tim Scott doesn’t care about civil rights; and a sixth man plead guilty to federal hate crime charges for targeting African-Americans in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Black unemployment rate rose to 14.0 percent in December. [BET]

NAACP President Ben Jealous says new GOP senator Tim Scott doesn’t care about civil rights. [BET]

A sixth man plead guilty to federal hate crime charges for targeting African-Americans in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2011. [USATODAY]

GM is recalling more than 69,000 full-sized trucks and vans that could easily roll away. [Reuters]

Frank Ocean was busted for speeding and marijuana possession in California. [BET]

Philadelphia’s Mummers parade features Blackface. [Grio]

A California lawyer gives his house to a homeless family for a year. [NYDN]

Congressional supporters seek to revive the Violence Against Women Act. [CNN]

Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebels threaten to end peace talks with the government. [BBC]

A mysterious martian meteorite is found in the deserts of Morocco. [BBC]