(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: 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]

(Photo: UPI/via Newscom/Landov)

In today’s top news, George Zimmerman’s lawyers want to question Trayvon Martin’s friend who spoke to him before he was killed, President Obama says today is “the best of times and worst of times” for Black Americans and Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail.

Defense lawyers in Trayvon Martin case want to question friend who was on the phone with him before he was killed. [AP]

President Obama says today is “the best of times and worst of times” for Blacks on Rev. Al Sharpton radio show.  [The Grio]

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of killing his girlfriend, has been granted bail. [CNN]

Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa welcomed their baby boy to the world Thursday. [BET]

The family of Emmett Till has penned an open letter to Lil Wayne for his controversial lyrics referencing Till. [TheGrio]

Blacks are consuming 15 percent of their calories from fast food, compared to 11 percent for whites. [BET]

Ted Nugent says President Obama is “the clear and present engineer of the destruction of Black America.” [Black Voices]

Democrats say Virginia’s new voter bill will disenfranchise the poor, elderly and African-Americans. [BET]

In Haiti, the U.N. will not compensate families of those who died in a 2010 epidemic blamed on U.N. peacekeepers. [Al Jazeera]

Fighting continues in Sudan’s Darfur region, with 21 people dead and 33 injured. [Reuters]

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, President Obama called for concrete proposals on how to end gun violence by January, police are on the hunt for two escaped bank robbers in Chicago and Al Sharpton stressed the nation’s need to limit access to high-powered weapons.

President Obama called for concrete proposals on how to end gun violence by January. [NBCNews]

Police are on the hunt for two escaped bank robbers in Chicago. [GMA]

Al Sharpton stressed the nation’s need to limit access to high-powered weapons. [BET]

Wacka Flocka Flame was ordered to pay $500,000 to a shooting victim. [BET]

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is launching a vodka line soon. [BET]

HBO has plans to adapt the Alicia Keys-produced play Stick Fly into a film. [Grio]

An Australian resort owner has banned Tiger Woods. [Yahoo!]

A Texas state trooper has been suspended for subjecting two women to roadside cavity searches. [NBCNews]

Ben Affleck testified before Congress, urging action in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [VOA]

A group of extremely tall Sudanese basketball players have been cleared to play at an Illinois high school. [NBCChicago]

In today’s top news, President Obama is scheduled to visit hurricane ravaged New Jersey today, experts say Hurricane Sandy is unlikely to stall the election and Stacey Dash tweets a photo of her and Paul Ryan.

President Obama is scheduled to visit hurricane ravaged New Jersey today. [MSNBC]

Experts say Hurricane Sandy is unlikely to stall the election. [NBC]

Stacey Dash tweets a photo of her and Paul Ryan. [USWeekly]

Queen Latifah’s daytime talk show is set to debut in fall 2013. [BET]

Toni Braxton says Oprah was mean to her in a 1998 interview. [BET]

Toni Braxton has been accused of transferring money to avoid paying creditors. [TMZ]

A study shows teens with smartphones may be more sexually active. [NBCNews]

Iranian warships leave the coast of Sudan after a four-day post. [Reuters]

Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire was sentenced to eight years in jail on charges stemming from the 1994 genocide. [AP]

In today’s top news, Lil Wayne was hospitalized after suffering a seizure aboard a private jet, President Obama and Mitt Romney are both on track to raise nearly $2 billion in campaign donations and Condoleezza Rice defended Mitt Romney’s position on women’s issues.

Lil Wayne was hospitalized after suffering a seizure aboard a private jet. [BET]

President Obama and Mitt Romney are both on track to raise nearly $2 billion in campaign donations. [NYT]

Condoleezza Rice defends Mitt Romney’s position on women’s issues. [Politico]

Oprah Winfrey is reportedly developing a drama series for HBO. [WaPo]

Hurricane Sandy is headed for the East Coast. [NYT]

A Texas high school has begun tracking students with computer chips. [NBCNews]

Rapper Angel Haze opens up about being raped on new song. [BET]

A video surfaced showing Chief Keef associate Lil Reese brutally beating a young woman. [BET]

Angola launched a $5 billion sovereign wealth fund to diversify its economy. [CNN]

Sudan plans to report Israel to the U.N. over an alleged airstrike that caused an explosion. [BBC]

(Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, Jay-Z says he feels like he has achieved the “American Dream,” police are investigating racist hate mail sent to GOP Congressional candidate Mia Love and Bronx’s District Attorney vows to cut back on prosecuting certain stop-and-frisk cases.

Jay-Z says he feels like he has achieved the “American Dream.” [AP]

Police are investigating racist hate mail sent to GOP congressional candidate Mia Love. [Politico]

The Bronx’s District Attorney vows to cut back on prosecuting certain stop-and-frisk cases. [BET]

Two women were caught trying to smuggle cocaine in weaves at New York’s JFK International Airport. [DailyCaller]

Swizz Beats is named global ambassador for the NYC Health and Hospitals Corp. [BET]

DMX dismisses Fredro Starr’s diss, calling him a “midget rapper.” [BET]

Study: Black girls under stress gain more weight. [USN]

Bobbi Kristina Brown was involved in a “mysterious” car accident with her boyfriend. [Yahoo]

The South African gold mine strike continues to spread. [BBC]

Sudan and South Sudan sign a groundbreaking deal. [AJE]

(Photo: AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

In today’s top news, Michelle Obama calls voting rights activism the “march of our time,” voting laws in 23 states may keep more than 10 million Latino voters from the ballot and polls show President Obama is leading Mitt Romney in key battleground states.

Michelle Obama calls voting rights activism the “march of our time.” [Politico]

New voting laws in 23 states may keep more than 10 million Latino voters from the polls. [Reuters]

Polls show President Obama is leading Mitt Romney in key battleground states. [CNN]

Gas prices drop for the first time since July. [Reuters]

A draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was put on display at President Lincoln’s Cottage. [AP]

Jamie Foxx says he is ready to get behind the camera and try his hand at directing. [BET]

DMX says that he doesn’t want to beat up Drake. [BET]

Kanye West is worried about the possible release of a sex tape with a Kim Kardashian look-alike. [BET]

A suicide bomber attacked a northern Nigerian church, killing two and injuring 48. [BBC]

Sudan and South Sudan seek peace at a U.N. brokered summit. [AJE]

In today’s top news, Barack Obama officially accepts the nomination for president of the United States, Chicago is bracing for a massive teacher strike, and Secret Service arrest a North Carolina man for Twitter threats against President Obama.

Barack Obama officially accepts the nomination for president of the United States. [BET]

Chicago is bracing for a massive teacher strike. [Reuters]

The Secret Service arrest a North Carolina man for Twitter threats against President Obama. [CNN]

BET CEO Debra Lee says the Republican party is “pandering” to African-Americans and women. [Politico]

Chris Lighty’s family orders a second autopsy. [BET]

Alicia Keys releases a collection of shoes for Reebok. [BET]

Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, will be buried at sea. [Reuters]

U.S. government lawyers say BP sought to blame the “blue-collar rig workers” for the Gulf oil spill. [Reuters]

U.S. officials warn of a new border conflict brewing between Sudan and South Sudan. [BBC]

Mexican authorities say U.S. Border Patrol agents fatally shot a Mexican citizen for throwing rocks across the border. [CNN]