(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In today’s news, amid the current sex scandals in the military, President Obama will speak at the U.S. Naval Academy; attorneys for George Zimmerman are questioning Trayvon Martin’s character; and the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America voted to end their ban on gay participants.

Obama to speak at Naval Academy amid sex scandal. [NY Times]

Defense in Trayvon Martin case questions victim’s character. [NY Times]

Boy Scouts votes to end ban on gay youths. [NBC]

Voter fraud in Ohio seen as low. [Toledo Blade]

India native becomes judge on nation’s second-highest court. [USA Today]

Kevin Durant donates $1 million to Oklahoma disaster relief. [BET]

Nine of 10 people stopped and frisked were innocent, report says. [BET]

More than 300,000 displaced in Darfur conflict in Sudan in 2013. [BBC]

Thousands come to mourn Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. [BBC]

New autism campaign targets African-Americans. [BET]

(Photo: John Goodwin/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. will be honored with a non-violence campaign; Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy will sign a tough gun control bill; and North Korea could be planning a missile launch soon.

The 45th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. will be honored with the “50 Days of Nonviolence” campaign. [Reuters]

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy will sign a tough gun control bill that will make over 100 weapons illegal. [CNN]

North Korea could be planning a missile launch soon, a U.S. official said. [CNN]

President Obama will return 5 percent of his salary to the U.S. Treasury. [BET]

The man who gunned down TV personality DJ Megatron was sentenced to 21 years in prison. [BET]

Exonerated football player Brian Banks signed with the Atlanta Falcons. [AP]

Assemblyman Eric A. Stevenson, a New York State lawmaker, was arrested on federal charges of accepting bribes and conspiring to defraud the state. [NY Times]

An Ohio judge sentenced Richard Beasley to death for the murder of three men who responded to an ad on the Craigslist website for a non-existent job. [Reuters]

Fast-food workers staged walkouts at McDonald’s, Burger King and other restaurants in New York City to protest wages that are “not enough.” [NBCNews]

(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]

(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] 

In today’s top news, President Obama urged lawmakers to help him create jobs in last night’s State of the Union address, police believe rogue ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was burned to death after a shootout and two men held for the death of Hadiya Pendleton say they mistook Pendleton and her friends for rival gang members.

President Obama urged lawmakers to work with him on creating jobs in last night’s State of the Union address. [BET]

Police believe rogue ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was burned to death after a shootout with police in Big Bear Lake, California. [BET]

The two men held for the death of Hadiya Pendleton say they mistook Pendleton and her friends for rival gang members. [CBS]

Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake are planning to co-headline a 10-city tour this summer. [BET]

The Senate voted to renew the Violence Against Women Act. [AP]

Barry Bonds is asking a federal appeals court to throw out his felony conviction. [AP]

An Ohio mother was charged with helping her teen daughter beat up a girl at school. [HuffPo]

Stranded passengers on the Carnival Triumph cruise ship face an extra day at sea. [NBCNews]

South Sudan says Sudan is suspiciously bulking up its military along the countries’ contentious border. [AJE]

Canada will not send troops to Mali over worries that the country may become “another Afghanistan.” [Reuters]

In today’s top news, Don Cheadle and Django Unchained won Golden Globe awards, Colin Powell chided the GOP for its “intolerance” and Nas was hospitalized for vertigo.

Don Cheadle and Django Unchained won Golden Globe awards. [BET]

Colin Powell said there is a “darn vein of intolerance” running through some parts of the GOP. [BET]

Nas was hospitalized for vertigo. [BET]

A Missouri court has appointed a lawyer to protect the interests of the late Jovan Belcher’s 4-month-old daughter. [USATODAY]

Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa have decided to call off their divorce. [CNN]

Louis Farrakhan called Django Unchained “preparation for a race war.” [FOX]

An Ohio town will let some school employees bring guns to school once they have received tactical training. [Reuters]

Record low water levels in the Great Lakes are snarling commerce, tourism in the region. [CNN]

French fighter jets began bombing targets in militant strongholds of northern Mali this weekend. [AP]

Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki blocked a bid by legislators to give themselves $100K pay bonuses. [AP]

In today’s top news, state officials predict Jesse Jackson Jr.’s resignation could cost taxpayers $5.1 million, Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge to chair Congressional Black Caucus and retailers expect Americans will spend nearly $1.5 billion in online purchases this Cyber Monday.

Chicago officials predict Jesse Jackson Jr.’s resignation could cost taxpayers $5.1 million. [ABCNews]

Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge to chair Congressional Black Caucus. [Plain Dealer]

Retailers expect Americans will spend nearly $1.5 billion in online purchases this Cyber Monday. [ABCNews]

Chris Brown deleted his Twitter account after a nasty exchange with a female comedian. [BET]

A Georgia man suspected of shoplifting at a Walmart dies after a scuffle with employees. [NBCNews]

A seven-year-old girl becomes the country’s youngest medical marijuana patient. [NBCNews]

Chris Brown and Drake won’t face criminal charges for their infamous club brawl. [BET]

Halle Berry’s ex was arrested after an altercation with her new beau on Thanksgiving. [BET]

Millions of Egyptians are called to protest against President Mohamed Morsi. [Times]

Ugandan parliament drops the death penalty from its proposed anti-homosexuality bill. [BBC]

In today’s top news, President Obama was elected to a second term in office, Maine voted in favor of legalizing gay marriage within the state and a nor’easter threatens to dump snow on the East Coast one week after Hurricane Sandy.

President Obama was elected to a second term in office. [BET]

Maine voted in favor of legalizing gay marriage within the state. [BET]

Just one week after Hurricane Sandy ripped through the East Coast, a nor’easter threatens to dump snow on the region. [NBCNews]

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was reelected while on medical leave. [AP]

Donald Trump calls on Americans to revolt in the wake of Obama’s win. [Yahoo!]

Black GOP star Mia Love loses Utah congressional race. [Grio]

World stock prices rose after Obama’s re-election. [AP]

Cleveland’s infamous “uppercut” bus driver was fired from his job as a result of the incident. [Plain Dealer]

Too Short and E-40 announce collab album 10 years in the making. [BET]

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said he looks forward to working with Obama in the future. [BBC]

In today’s top news, President Obama and Mitt Romney will face off in the final presidential debate tonight, Trayvon Martin’s parents say his school records aren’t as relevant as George Zimmerman’s medical records and Ohio’s controversial voter fraud billboards will come down.

President Obama and Mitt Romney will face off in the final presidential debate tonight. [CNN]

Trayvon Martin’s parents say his school records aren’t as relevant as George Zimmerman’s medical records. [BET]

Ohio’s controversial voter fraud billboards will come down. [Reuters]

A Wisconsin man opened fire in a salon, killing three women before taking his own life. [NBCNews]

Voters in three states are set to vote on whether marijuana should be fully legalized and taxed. [NBCNews]

Marlon Wayans says he has “Democratic skin, but a Republican pocket.” [BET]

Flavor Flav is out on bail after a domestic violence arrest. [BET]

Venus Williams wins the Luxembourg Open. [USATODAY]

South African police admit to “overreacting” during August’s deadly platinum mine protest. [AJE]

Pope Benedict XVI named the first Native American saint. [CNN]

In today’s top news, Black lawmakers say Paul Ryan’s policies are harmful to African-Americans, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson lost his endorsement deal with Zico coconut water and Damon Dash says he is willing to help with Aaliyah’s posthumous album produced by Drake.

Black lawmakers say Paul Ryan’s policies are harmful to African-Americans. [BET]

Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson lost his endorsement deal with Zico coconut water in light of domestic violence incident. [ESPN]

Late singer Aaliyah’s former beau, Damon Dash, says he is willing to help with her posthumous album produced by Drake. [BET]

Ohio police say six teens beat up a man “just because they were bored.” [NBC News]

Singer Bobby Brown has checked into rehab for alcohol abuse. [BET]

The Justice Department alleges the town of Meridian, Mississippi, is operating a “school-to-prison pipeline” for Black students. [EJI]

Ecuador grants asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. [CNN]

Man opens fire at conservative organization’s Washington, D.C., office, wounds security guard. [AP]

Nigeria’s president orders an overhaul of the nation’s sports sector after athletes fail to win medals at the Olympics. [BBC]

At least 60 miners were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo when a gold mine collapsed. [BBC]