(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/The Times-Picayune, Lauren McGaughy)

In today’s news, a shooting at a Mother’s Day parade in New Orleans left 19 people injured; the victims of the kidnapping in Cleveland have asked that they be allowed privacy; and Black and Latino lawyers are underrepresented in arguing before the Supreme Court.

Shooting at New Orleans Mother’s Day parade leaves 19 injured. [USA Today]

Cleveland kidnapping victims request privacy. [Wall Street Journal]

Black and Latino lawyers underrepresented in appearing at Supreme Court. [Fox News]

Florida A&M student pleads no contest in band hazing death. [BET]

Desmond Tutu said he will no longer vote for South Africa’s ANC. [Mail & Guardian]

Nigerian doctors shut down hospital in protest. [BBC]

There is a lack of Black pitchers and catchers in Major League Baseball. [Baseball Nation]

George Zimmerman’s lawyer wants jury sequestered in Trayvon Martin trial. [BET]

Malcolm X’s grandson killed in Mexico. [BET]

Minnesota is expected to become 12th state to adopt same-sex marriage. [Chicago Tribune]

(Photo: AP Photo/Abdukareem Haruna)

In today’s news, the United States is weighing an overhaul of wiretap laws to extend to the internet; President Obama will dine with congressional Democrats; and more than 50 people were killed in a militant raid in Nigeria.

America is weighing overhaul of wiretap laws. [NY Times]

Obama to dine with House Democrats. [USA Today]

More than 50 killed in Nigeria militant raid. [BBC]

Florida A&M names alumnus as new band director. [USA Today]

Delaware becomes 11^th state to approve same-sex marriage. [Fox]

Catholics in Kenya oppose advertisement for condoms. [BBC]

Ja Rule released from prison. [TMZ]

Leader of Black farmers strikes back at New York Times article. [BET]

Louisiana Supreme Court rules voucher funding violates state constitution. [Nola.com]

Cleveland dishwasher becomes national hero in kidnapping case. [BET]

(Photo: Joe Burbank - Pool/Getty Images)

In today’s news, George Zimmerman waived his right to immunity under Florida’s controversial stand your ground law; Jason Collins is praised for how he announced he is gay; and voters want one party running the White House and Congress.

Zimmerman waives right to immunity under stand your ground. [BET]

Jason Collins is lauded for the way he came out. [NY Daily News]

Voters in poll want one party running White House, Congress. [Bloomberg]

Obama marks first 100 days in second term with press conference. [BET]

Bloomberg strongly defends police department and stop and frisk. [AP]

Central Park Five prosecutor is at center of controversy. [BET]

Paul Ryan now supports gay adoptions. [Washington Times]

Satellite images show Nigeria army abuse. [BBC]

Majority want death penalty for Tsarnaev if convicted of Boston bombing. [Washington Post]

An Asian-American fraternity is under fire for blackface video. [Jet]

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: AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In today’s news, one suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing is dead as the city is effectively closed during the dragnet for a second suspect; President Obama turns from scolding the Senate to comforting Bostonians; and the father of Hadiya Pendleton slams the Senate for not voting for background checks bill.

One suspect in the Boston Bombing is dead. [NYTimes]

Boston is shut down in hunt for potential assailant. [Boston Globe]

Obama turns from scolding to comforting in Boston. [Christian Science Monitor]

Hadiya Pendleton’s father condemns Senate gun vote defeat. [BET]

Authorities recover 12 bodies after Texas fertilizer plant explosion. [Fox]

Eight people were shot within 24 hours in Chicago. [Chicago Tribune]

Derek Jeter will not be back with the Yankees until after the All-Star break. [ESPN]

Eight people were killed in Kenya gun attack. [BBC]

Jon Stewart slams CNN for Boston suspect reporting.  [Politico]

Nigeria’s president is looking at opening talks with militant Islamic group. [BBC]

(Photo: MPI/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, President Obama will declare a new national monument for Harriet Tubman, Obama has arrived in Jordan to meet with King Abdullah and Nigerian author Chinua Achebe is dead at 82.

President Obama will declare five new national monuments on Monday, including one for Harriet Tubman. [Washington Post]

Obama arrived in Jordan today where he will meet with King Abdullah. [Voice of America]

Chinua Achebe, Nigerian author and one of Africa’s most widely-known novelists, is dead at 82. [NYTimes]

Gen. Lloyd Austin became the first African-American to lead the U.S. Central Command. [BET]

The stop-and-frisk trial in New York City revealed a new tape recording of an officer demanding racially biased stop-and-frisk searches. [Village Voice]

Chicago parents are slamming 13-year-old rapper Lil Mouse’s appearance at a club that was recently shot up. [TheGrio]

The Sapphires, a Dreamgirls-like film about an Australian Aboriginal singing group, hits U.S. theaters. [LA Times]

A Marine shot and killed two of his fellow service members at a Virginia base Thursday night and then killed himself. [CNN]

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, is stepping down. [AP]

President Bashar al-Assad vowed on Friday to purge Syria of “extremist forces.” [Reuters]

(Photo: Courtesy Watkins Family via CBS News)

In today’s top news, Jonylah Watkins will be laid to rest, Lil Wayne was released from the hospital and graduation rates have improved for Black NCAA tournament players.

The funeral for Jonylah Watkins, the 6-month-old who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago, will be held today. [Chicago Tribune]

Lil Wayne has been released from a Los Angeles hospital where he was taken in after having seizures. [BET]

On the 10-year anniversary of the Iraq war, 57 people were killed in bombings throughout Baghdad.  [AP]

Graduation rates have improved for NCAA tournament players, especially African-Americans. [TheGrio]

Bobbie Smith, the former lead singer of the group the Spinners, has died. He was 76. [Billboard]

Officers involved in the shooting of Kimani Gray have previously been sued for civil rights violations. [WNYC]

At least seven U.S. Marines were killed and several others were injured at a Nevada training site. [USA Today]

The housing market has shown signs of improvement in February as the number of new permits for construction climbed to the highest level since 2008. [Reuters]

Two teenage girls were charged with menacing for allegedly threatening the victim in the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case via Twitter and Facebook. [ABC]

Two suicide bombers killed at least 22 people in an attack on a bus station in the Northern Nigerian city of Kano yesterday. [Bloomberg]

Pope Francis set the tone for a new, humbler papacy on Tuesday with a call for the defense of the weak and the environment. [Reuters]