(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/Carolyn Kaster)

In today’s news, President Obama offered a highly personal speech about the responsibility of men at a commencement address at Morehouse College; a young African-American film director is gaining a following at the Cannes Film Festival; and the NAACP’s protests of changes in North Carolina laws will continue this week.

Obama gets personal about race and manhood at Morehouse. [Washington Post]

Young African-American director creates buzz at Cannes. [France 24]

NAACP protests at North Carolina General Assembly over voting rights will continue. [WSOC-TV]

Train derailments in Connecticut could affect travel all week. [Wall Street Journal]

Despite troubles, Obama’s poll ratings remain steady. [Washington Times]

Ivory Coast massacre suspect held in custody. [BBC]

Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf defends record on good governance. [Reuters]

Former Congressman Allen West joins Fox News. [BET]

Two FBI agents killed in training accident. [ABC]

One winning ticket for $590.5 million Powerball sold in Florida. [Chicago Tribune]

Woman kicked off airplane for singing Whitney Houston song. [Jet]

In today’s top news, lawmakers agreed to an 11th hour deal that kept the tax-raising fiscal cliff at bay, President Obama resumed his Hawaii vacation following resolution of the fiscal cliff crisis and doctors are confident Hillary Clinton will make a full recovery from the blood clot she suffered.

Lawmakers agreed to an 11th hour deal that kept the tax-raising fiscal cliff at bay. [BET]

President Obama resumed his Hawaii vacation following resolution of the fiscal cliff crisis. [ABC News]

Doctors are confident Hillary Clinton will make a full recovery from the blood clot she suffered as the result of a concussion. [BET]

Ten states raised the minimum wage between 10 to 35 cents an hour. [Reuters]

Sandy Hook students and teachers prepare to return to class for the first time since the horrific school shooting. [NBCNews]

Jay-Z has beeb tapped to score upcoming film The Great Gatsby. [MTV]

Shawty Lo’s reality show All My Babies’ Mamas is being boycotted. [MTV]

Celebs rally behind Django Unchained after harsh criticism. [BET]

Ivory Coast called for three days of mourning after a New Year’s Eve stampede killed 61 in Abidjan. [BBC]

Regional troops have intervened in the Central African Republic where rebels have advanced toward the capital, Bangui. [AJE]

In today’s top news, Evelyn Lozada has filed for divorce from Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Vice President Joe Biden said Mitt Romney’s policies would “put y’all back in chains” and George Zimmerman won’t rely on a “Stand Your Ground” defense at trial.

Evelyn Lozada has filed for divorce from Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. [BET]

Vice President Joe Biden said Mitt Romney’s policies would “put y’all back in chains.” [CNN]

George Zimmerman’s attorney says he won’t rely on a “Stand Your Ground” defense in his upcoming murder trial. [FOX]

Condoleezza Rice is hitting the campaign trail on behalf of rising GOP star Mia Love. [BET]

The oldest Black church in the U.S. celebrates 225 years. [BET]

Four million Bumbo Baby infant seats have been recalled amid reports of infant skull fractures. [AP]

The U.S. government is considering the use of battlefield blimps along the Mexican border. [MSNBC]

Starting today, undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children may now apply for work without danger of deportation. [CNN]

Olympic athletes from Ivory Coast and Guinea have been added to the roster of those gone AWOL in London. [ThisDay]

IBM plans to open a research lab in Kenya to help combat staggering traffic jams. [BBC]

Ivory Coast Stampede Kills 22
A stampede during a World Cup qualifying match killed at least 22 people in the Ivory Coast Sunday, reports the BBC. More than 130 were hurt. The stadium, Houphouet-Boigny arena, was packed with 36,000 fans on hand to see the home nation take on Malawi. The problems started when thousands attempted to squeeze into the venue. “Lots of fans showed up. They started pushing to get in because the match was about to start and each and every one of them wanted to get in,” Ivorian Interior Minister Desire Tagro told local media. The weight caused a wall to collapse, reports say. This sent fans into a frenzy. Stadium authorities attempted to calm the crowd; police reportedly even sprayed the fans with tear gas. The incident happened before the match, but the game was allowed to continue and Ivory Coast ended up beating Malawi 5-0. Even though the stadium recently had been renovated, the massive crush of people overwhelmed its infrastructure. 

Train Crash Kills 15 in Tanzania
A train crash in Tanzania Sunday left at least 15 people dead. The tragedy occurred in the nation’s Dodoma region when a passenger train ran into a stationary cargo train, reports the BBC. The bodies of more victims might still be trapped in the wreckage, leading some, like Dodoma’s regional commissioner William Lukuvi, to worry that the death count could go up. “We are investigating the cause of the accident, which has already claimed at least 15 lives. Cranes have been ordered to help separate the crumpled wreckage and retrieve bodies,” Lukuvi told The Associated Press. The African nation saw its worst train accident back in 2002 when a train crashed into a passenger train, killing 200.

Prison protest ends in Ivory Coast. Police in the Ivory Coast have shut down a huge protest in the nation’s main prison, according to prison authorities. The ruckus began when prisoners in two blocks decided to revolt, prompting officials to call police. About 100 police officers fired guns into the air in an effort to break up the crowds of inmates, some of whom were throwing rocks at security guards. The prisoners protesting were some of the facility’s most dangerous inmates, according to the prison’s director. Police restored calm in the area around the prison after several hours. Six prisoners were injured as a result. The reason for the protest is in dispute. Officials say it was because the inmates were angry about a change in visiting hours implemented to prevent escapes. But rights groups say they were protesting overcrowding and poor conditions, reports the BBC. “You know that this place is overpopulated. The prison is around three or four times the maximum capacity, so the conditions for the prison guards and the prisoners themselves are quite difficult,” Drissa Traore, who heads the Ivorian Movement for Human Rights, told the news service. And, according to the BBC, 2,000 out of the 5,200 inmates in the prison have not been tried for the crimes for which they are incarcerated. Some have waited 10 years to be tried.

Somalia’s president axes prime minister. Somalia’s President Abdullahi Yusuf says he fired the country’s prime minister because he didn’t do his job, reports CNN. But the former prime minister, Hassan Hussein, says he has no right to fire him without the approval of Parliament. Hussein, who has just been on the job for 13 months, has reportedly butted heads with Yusuf over a proposed reconciliation agreement with the Islamic opposition. According to the nation’s constitution, the president would need the Parliament’s no-confidence vote to get rid of Hussein. Fighting in the nation between Islamic militias and government forces (with the support of Ethiopian troops) has forced more than 1 million Somalis from their homes. The waters aren’t safe either, with international ships continuously being hijacked by Somali pirates. Since Ethiopian forces pushed Islamist forces out of the nation’s capital, Mogadishu, in 2006, the country has been operating under a U.N.-sponsored transitional government.

Twelve are tried for poisoning in the Ivory Coast. Twelve people are being tried for dumping tons of toxic chemical waste in the Ivory Coast that allegedly resulted in the deaths of 17 people. The incident happened two years ago when a shocking 500 tons of waste from the oil industry was dumped in the nation’s largest city, Abidjan. Locals complained of breathing difficulties and rashes soon after. The head of a local company that entered an agreement with Dutch company Trafigura, to treat the waste, along with port and customs authorities face charges that include poisoning and complicity to poison, reports the BBC. While the victims’ family members are excited to see the trial begin, some are upset that no one from the Dutch company is charged. Some are also wondering why more of the higher-ranking government and port officials, who they accuse of ignoring the crime, aren’t in court either. But the Dutch company refuses to take responsibility for the poisoning since, they say, they trusted the local company they had the agreement with to dispose the waste safely. They did, however, pay the Ivorian government $200 million out of “sympathy.” Even now, two years later, the waste has not been removed and residents still claim to be suffering sickness and children born with defects due to it.

Charity will cut back on food aid to HIV positive. The World Food Program will have to cut back on aid to HIV-positive people in Uganda because funds are decreasing, reports The Monitor. The cuts are expected to hit 1.5 million people, not including the children currently receiving food from the school-feeding program. The organization will keep providing aid to people in the nation who are HIV-positive, but they should be in certain categories (like new moms and their babies, and some homeless people). Stanlake Samkange, the charity’s Ugandan representative, said if more money came their way they would be “happy to help” those who needed it. But he doesn’t want the group to promise aid when it isn’t sure it can provide it. A spokesman for the government’s AIDS Commission also stated that aid received from the program was never meant to be permanent anyway and that a replacement would need to be found soon so the needy won’t suffer. AIDS activists, of course, are not happy with the program’s announcement. One advocate said the patients are especially vulnerable. “They are not strong enough to engage in agriculture to feed themselves,” he said.