(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In today’s news, the nation’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent, a four-year low; the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing said the explosions were initially planned for July 4; and the New York City Police commissioner says that African-Americans are “understopped” and defended stop and frisk.

U.S. jobless rate falls to 7.5 percent, four-year low. [NY Times]

Black unemployment dips again in April. [BET]

Boston suspect said bombing was initially planned for July 4. [Washington Post]

African-Americans are “understopped,” NY police chief says. [International Business Times]

Former Black Liberation Army member is first woman on list of most wanted terrorists. [ABC]

Roy Roberts steps down as emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools. [Crain's Detroit Business]

Black jockey Kevin Krigger looks to win Kentucky Derby. [Washington Post]

Clarence Thomas: Obama says what elites expect from a Black person. [Fox]

In Chicago, 20 shootings, three killed, in one day. [BET]

Mali court drops case against editor Boukary Daou. [BBC]

(Photo: AP Photo/ABC, Eric McCandless)

In today’s news, Jason Collins of the Washington Wizards became the first openly gay member of an NBA team; the appointment of Anthony Foxx as transportation secretary adds diversity to Obama’s cabinet; and the Congressional Black Caucus wants to end the expense of calls from prison.

Jason Collins is first openly gay NBA player. [Sports Illustrated]

Obama cabinet has the diversity of his first term. [Bloomberg]

Congressional Black Caucus wants to end expensive prison calls. [BET]

Karzai confirms accepting CIA cash monthly for 10 years. [Wall Street Journal]

South Africa’s ANC defends its filmed visit to Mandela. [BBC]

Colleges adapt online courses to ease burden for students. [NYTimes]

Darfur to host large soccer tournament. [BBC]

Michael Jordan marries ex-model. [Jet]

Hurricane Sandy dumped 11 billion gallons of sewage in waterways. [USA Today]

Harold Washington remembered 30 years after becoming mayor of Chicago. [BET]

(Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

In today’s news, President Obama is planning to appoint Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx as transportation secretary; the wealth gap between white and minority Americans widened since the recession; and the new suspect in the ricin case is scheduled to appear in court.

Charlotte Mayor Foxx to become Obama’s transportation secretary. [Politico]

Wealth gap among races widened since the recession. [NYTimes]

New suspect in ricin case to appear in court. [Wall Street Journal]

Black voter turnout exceeded whites in 2012 election. [Fox]

Hadiya Pendleton’s parents create foundation in her name. [BET]

Rihanna’s fans are forgiving of relationship with Chris Brown [NYTimes]

Ethiopian Airlines flies first Boeing 787 to return to the air. [BBC]

After student protest, Chicago schools return to normal. [BET]

Mugabe gives Zuma team cold shoulder ahead of Zimbabwe elections. [Mail & Guardian]

Caribbean economies among the world’s fastest growing. [The Gleaner]

In today’s news, the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing appear to have had their sights on additional targets; the surviving suspect in the bombing is said to be too ill for questioning; and budget cuts are not reducing the number of air traffic controllers.

Bombing suspects seemed set to attack beyond Boston. [NYTimes]

Marathon suspect not well enough for questioning. [Fox]

Budget cuts force air traffic control furloughs. [ABC]

Five people killed in Seattle apartment complex shooting. [Washington Post]

Nearly 200 people killed in Nigeria fighting. [BBC]

Chicagoans react to eight shootings in 24 hours. [BET]

Trayvon Martin’s parents send letter to family of 8-year-old Boston victim. [BET]

Kenya’s Priscah Jeptoo wins the London Marathon. [BBC]

Caribbean airline BWIA is having fiscal troubles. [NY Amsterdam News]

Robin Roberts hospitalized, expected to return to TV soon. [Jet]

(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, Michelle Obama went home  to Chicago to discuss gun violence; Ben Carson has withdrawn as Johns Hopkins Medical school’s commencement speaker; and Anthony Weiner hints that he may run for mayor of New York.

Michelle Obama traveled to her hometown of Chicago to give an emotional speech about gun violence and the need for youth programs. [BET]

South Korea, U.S. remain on edge over North Korea missile crisis. [Reuters]

Ben Carson, the African-American pediatric neurosurgeon, has withdrawn as commencement speaker at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine after negative reaction to derogatory comments he made about marriage equality. [The Washington Post]

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg launches immigration lobby group. [The Guardian]

Django Unchained opening cancelled in China. [BBC]

After resigning from Congress in an internet sex scandal, Anthony Weiner is hinting that he is interested in running for mayor of New York City. [NYTimes]

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are displeased by the prospect of President Obama’s budget plans calling for reductions in entitlement programs. [BET]

Duke student wrote Kenya’s President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta’s victory speech. [NYAmsterdamNews]

Officials in Major League Baseball are looking for ways to increase the participation of African-American fans, whose support has sunk to a record low. [USAToday]

2,000 invited to Margaret Thatcher funeral, but not Argentina’s president. [Yahoo News]

A year after George Zimmerman was arrested for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman’s mother has written a letter of thanks to supporters of her son. [WESH.com]

The Midwest is being hit hard by storms, with tornadoes creating hazardous conditions in the St. Louis area. [USAToday]

(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Democrat and former Illinois state legislator Robin Kelly will replace Jesse Jackson Jr. after winning a special election Tuesday night. [BET]

Sean “Jay-Z” Carter is selling his stake in the Brooklyn Nets and will move forward as a sports agent. [BET]

Dylan Quick will undergo a psychiatric evaluation after being charged in the Lone Star College stabbing in Texas. [Houston Chronicle]

The postal service’s board said that it will continue to deliver mail six days a week.  [CNN Money]

A 6-year-old boy who was accidentally shot in the head by a 4-year-old playmate has died from his wounds. [Huffington Post]

A week after the death of “Buckwild” reality-TV star Shain Gandee, MTV has decided to cancel the series. [LATimes]

Former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, who resigned after tweeting lewd pictures of himself, is considering a run for New York City mayor. [Reuters]

South Korea said there was a “very high” probability that North Korea would test-launch a medium-range missile at any time as a show of strength. [Al Jazeera]

Cuba handed over an American couple to U.S. officials who allegedly kidnapped their two sons and sailed to Havana. [CNN]

In today’s top news, all of Urban Prep Academy’s senior class is college-bound for the fourth year, Louisville’s Kevin Ware is recovering from surgery after a gruesome leg injury and the White House is expecting 35,000 people at the 135th Easter Egg Roll.

Urban Prep Academy, an all-Black male charter school in Chicago, is sending all of its students to college for the fourth year. [Chicago Sun Times]

Louisville’s Kevin Ware is recovering from surgery after a gruesome leg injury in last night’s game against Duke. [ABCNews]

A crowd of 35,000 is expected to show up to the White House lawn for the 135th Easter Egg Roll. [NBC Washington]

Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for James Holmes, who was accused in last year’s movie theater massacre in Colorado. [Washington Post]

Philip Banks III, an African-American, is the new highest-ranking uniformed officer in the NYPD. [The Grio]

The Supreme Court is weighing in on race as they address the affirmative action and voting rights cases. [AP]

Conservatives attack Google for using its homepage to celebrate Cesar Chavez’s birthday and not Easter. [Politico]

Elwin Wilson, a former KKK supporter who apologized for years of violent racism toward Blacks, has died at 76. [AP]

The number of female tourists arriving to India has dropped by 35 percent in the past three months since the fatal Delhi rape. [The Guardian]

An Afghan teenager killed an American soldier by stabbing him in the neck while he played with a group of local children. [USA Today]

(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: AP Photo, File)

In today’s top news, Nelson Mandela is hospitalized again, George Zimmerman’s lawyer Mark O’Mara believes Robert Zimmerman’s controversial tweets will harm defense and two Georgia teens have been indicted for the murder of a 1-year-old.

Nelson Mandela was hospitalized again for a lung infection. [BET]

George Zimmerman’s lawyer Mark O’ Mara believes Robert Zimmerman’s tweets about Trayvon Martin will harm the defense. [CNN]

Two Georgia teens have been indicted for the murder of a 1-year-old. [CNN]

A rally will be held in D.C. on Good Friday to increase national awareness of racial disparities in incarceration. [Afro American]

In the stop-and-frisk trial, a NYPD officer testified that he detained and taunted an innocent 13-year-old. [Wall Street Journal]

Search warrants say Adam Lanza killed 26 people and himself in five minutes in the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre. [USA Today]

Miami Heat’s winning streak ends with loss to the Chicago Bulls, 101-97. [ESPN]

Jamie Foxx will play the president in the upcoming action film White House Down. [The Grio]

(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, the U.S. Supreme Court convenes to hear second gay marriage case; the Chicago Teachers Union will rally against planned school closings; and the location has been approved for a museum honoring Black firefighters in Chicago.

The U.S. Supreme Court convenes to hear second gay marriage case. [Reuters]

The Chicago Teachers Union is planning a rally against planned school closings. [Chicago Tribune]

Chicago approves location for future museum honoring the city’s African-American firefighters. [ABC Chicago]

None of the groups that raised money for the reward in the capture of Christopher Dorner want to pay up. [ABC]

Julia Pierson is the first woman to lead the Secret Service. [Newsday]

Two teen girls that made online attacks against the Steubenville rape victim will appear in court today. [CBSNews]

Former Pittsburgh Steelers player Kordell Stewart has filed for divorce from his reality TV star wife, Porsha Williams. [BET]

A plan to have unarmed students patrolling the campus of Towson University has sparked accusations of racism. [NBC Washington]

North Korea said it was cutting off a key military hotline with South Korea amid high tensions between the two sides. [CNN]

An earthquake killed at least one person and injured 19 other people in central Taiwan. [Wall Street Journal]