(Photo: Brett Deering/Getty Images)

In today’s news, dozens of people are killed in a dramatic tornado in Oklahoma; President Obama is focusing on the economy in a trip to Baltimore; and the protests are continuing in North Carolina as the NAACP engages in civil disobedience over policies by the state’s Republican legislature and governor.

Scores of people are killed as tornado rips trough Oklahoma. [Washington Post]

President Obama travels to Baltimore to talk about economy. [BET]

North Carolina NAACP continues protests against “right-wing” laws. [BET]

Bigotry against Muslims and Jews on the rise globally. [BBC]

Supreme Court to revisit church and state separation.   [LA Times]

New Jersey to get up to $25 billion in federal Sandy aid. [Star Ledger]

Ivory Coast has come a long way since post-election violence. [The Guardian]

IRS ex-commissioner to make first public appearance since scandal. [Washington Post]

More than 100 militant Islamists planning funeral are arrested in Nigeria. [BBC]

Urban farming invigorates Detroit neighborhood. [Detroit Free Press]

(Photo: AP Photo/Al Behrman)

In today’s news, the ousted official of the Internal Revenue Service will face tough questions from Congress; Michigan is reported to have the nation’s highest unemployment rate for African-Americans; and ex-Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers is to be released from prison.

Ousted IRS official to take tough questions from Congress. [CBS]

Michigan has highest Black unemployment in the nation. [Michigan Chronicle]

Ex-Detroit Councilwoman Conyers ends prison stay. [USA Today]

Amid crises, Obama seeks to shift focus to jobs. [Reuters]

Sanford, Florida, residents say Trayvon Martin case is more than a trial. [WKMG]

University in South Africa makes Zulu compulsory. [BBC]

Many militants are killed in Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis. [BBC]

Obama addresses IRS issue, repeating that he is outraged. [BET]

Detroit schools chief says he will not step down for six months. [BET]

(Photo: Ethan Miller/AP Photo, Pool)

In today’s news, O.J. Simpson speaks in court in an effort to seek a new trial; Roy Roberts, the head of Detroit’s public schools, says he will stay on the job longer than expected; and a whites-only scholarship at Columbia University is being challenged.

Seeking retrial, O.J. Simpson speaks in court, unbowed. [NYTimes]

Detroit schools chief will not step down yet. [Detroit Free Press]

Whites-only scholarship at Columbia challenged. [USA Today]

Los Angeles buildings emptied after devices found. [ABC]

Republicans say they will continue to investigate IRS after resignation. [Fox]

Nigeria declares a “massive” campaign to combat militants. [BBC]

African groups to hold forum on immigration. [LA Wave]

Judge throws out indictment of NYPD cop in Ramarley Graham case. [BET]

Black science student will not be prosecuted. [BET]

Six dead and 18 injured in Rwanda building collapse. [BBC]

(Photo: AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

In today’s news, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced that he will not run for a second term; Nigeria’s president has declared a state of emergency in three of the nation’s states; and New York City’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, issued a report saying that the judge in the stop and frisk trial is biased against police.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing will not run for reelection. [BET]

Nigeria’s president declares state of emergency in three states. [BBC]

NY Mayor Bloomberg says stop and frisk judge biased against cops. [NY Daily News]

O.J. Simpson will take stand in effort to win a new trial. [ABC]

Military sexual assault: Another prevention coordinator investigated. [MSNBC]

Suspect identified in New Orleans Mother’s Day shooting. [BET]

Ariel Castro’s lawyer says he loves his daughters. [USA Today]

Stars react to Angelina Jolie’s mastectomy news. [USA Today]

Congo builds a town to honor founder Patrice Lumumba.   [BBC]

Slave cabin in S.C. to be restored for Black History Museum. [Washington Post]

(Photo: AP Photo/Philadelphia Daily News, Yong Kim, File)

In today’s news, Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of murder; Detroit’s emergency financial manager, Kevyn Orr, says the city’s fiscal health is worse than anticipated; and two waiters were arrested for the death of Malcolm X’s grandson.

Philadelphia abortion doctor guilty of murder in late-term procedures. [NY Times]

Detroit’s emergency financial manager paints a bleak picture. [BET]

Two waiters arrested in killing of Malcolm X’s grandson. [USA Today]

Plano, Texas, elects first African-American mayor. [Pegasus News]

Lawmakers criticize Justice Department over AP phone records grab. [Fox]

Obama attends fundraisers in NY to raise money for 2014. [NY1]

Detroit NAACP sues Michigan over emergency manager. [M-Live]

Thieves target Justin Beiber concert in South Africa. [BBC]

Civil rights groups say assault on voting continues in 2013. [BET]

Ghana’s state media gets infrastructure for digital migration. [Ghana Business News]

(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/Philadelphia Police Department via Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, File)

In today’s news, The White House says it is open to the prospect of increasing funding for air traffic controllers to avoid delays; the Philadelphia abortion doctor who is on trial did not testify; and the House of Representatives voted to award a Congressional Medal of Honor on the four girls who were killed in 1963 at a church in Alabama.

The White House says it is open to reversing furloughs at the FAA. [Mercury News]

Philadelphia abortion doctor doesn’t testify at his trial. [Wall Street Journal]

House votes to award medal to girls killed in 1963 Birmingham bombing. [CBS News]

Obama headed to Texas for fundraising, Bush library opening. [Washington Post]

Detroit seems to be resigned to having financial manager. [BET]

Darfur war crimes suspect killed, defense team said. [BBC]

Congressman Ellison slams colleagues for targeting Muslims. [BET]

Detroit mayor reverses decision to close 51 city parks. [Detroit Free Press]

Obama talks dancing, saying he can “bust a move.” [E! Online]

Fury grows over rapes of underage girls in Liberia. [Front Page Africa]

(Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, North Korea’s muscle flexing continues to dominate the Obama administration’s foreign policy attention; Detroit’s mayor is presenting a new budget with deep cuts; and Trayvon Martin’s parents have criticized a letter written by George Zimmerman’s mother.

Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to South Korea warning North Korea not to proceed with a missile launch. [NYTimes]

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing will present a budget with deep cuts for the cash-strapped city. [Detroit Free Press]

Trayvon Martin’s parents strongly denounced a letter by George Zimmerman’s mother, who said her son was denied justice. [BET]

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir is making his first official visit to South Sudan since it became independent in 2011. [BBC]

A survivor of the bombing of an Alabama church 50 years ago wants compensation. [BET]

Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was robbed on a street in the city he once led. [Star Ledger]

A poll by NBC and the Wall Street Journal indicates that a majority of Americans now support gay marriage. [Newsmax]

The life of Jackie Robinson is remembered on the weekend that a biographical film on the iconic baseball player is released.  [NYTimes]

Sam Martin, publisher of the Montgomery Advertiser, stepped down as the last Black head of the nation’s largest newspaper group. [NY Amsterdam News]

A prominent human rights activist has been granted bail in Zambia after calling for decriminalization of same-sex activities. [BBC]

In today’s top news, police say they are “reasonably sure” fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner died in a cabin fire, Black leaders say they were happy to hear President Obama address urban issues in the State of the Union address and the CDC says there is an “ongoing, severe epidemic” of STDs in the U.S.

Police say they are “reasonably sure” fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner died in a cabin fire. [CNN]

Former L.A. cop Christopher Dorner has a bevy of online supporters. [NYDN]

Black leaders say they were happy to hear President Obama address urban issues in the State of the Union address. [BET]

The CDC says there is an “ongoing, severe epidemic” of STDs in the U.S. [NBCNews]

A controversial lyric of Lil Wayne’s has been condemned by the family of Emmett Till. [BET]

Three men were charges for the brutal, broad-daylight beating of a New Jersey man. [Grio]

Many African-Americans hailed President Obama’s call to raise the minimum wage to $9. [BET]

South African paralympic champion Oscar Pistorious was charged with murder after his girlfriend was found dead in his apartment. [AJE]

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says Michigan’s state government is also to blame for the city’s decline. [Reuters]

Kenyan presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta has asked the International Criminal Court to delay his crimes against humanity trial. [Reuters]

In today’s top news, the U.S. Postal Service will end Saturday mail service to cut costs; a Florida judge denied George Zimmerman’s request to delay his murder trial; and Home Depot announces plans to hire 80,000 more employees for spring.

The U.S. Postal Service will end Saturday mail service to cut costs. [BET]

Home Depot announced plans to hire 80,000 more employees for spring. [CNN]

A Florida judge denied George Zimmerman’s request to delay his murder trial. [BET]

Florida congresswoman Frederica Wilson introduced a resolution honoring Trayvon Martin on his 18th birthday. [Grio]

A proposed bill in Alabama would exonerate the wrongly convicted Scottsboro Boys. [BET]

The city of Detroit may lose up to 51 of its public parks. [Yahoo!]

Students at Duke University are planning to protest a racist, Asian-themed fraternity party. [Yahoo!]

A pregnant prison guard was arrested for having sex with an inmate who faces the death penalty for murder. [NBCNews].

French officials say they are in a “real war” with terrorists in Mali. [BBC]

The U.N. condemned Somalia for convicting a journalist and the rape victim he interviewed. [AJE]