(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In today’s news, the Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed for a measure to expand background checks for gun buyers; an explosion in a Texas fertilizer plant left several people dead and hundreds injured; and President Obama travels to Boston for a memorial service for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

The Senate blocked the drive for gun control. [NYTimes]

Mississippi man arrested for poison ricin mailings. [LA Times]

Obama to travel to Boston for interfaith service. [Fox]

Several dead and hundreds injured in Texas fertilizer explosion. [NBC]

North Korea hints at conditions for talks. [Washington Post]

Egyptian ex-President Mubarak is ordered back to prison from hospital. [BBC]

Ivory Coast wants drone to monitor Liberia border. [BBC]

Martin Luther King’s Birmingham Jail letter is commemorated in Alabama. [BET]

FBI releases details on Boston bombing devices. [BET]

Three quarters of D.C. residents want marijuana legalized. [Politico]

In today’s top news, Americans are hitting the polls to choose the country’s next president, Jay-Z sings “99 problems but a Mitt ain’t one” at a last-minute Obama rally, and Beyoncé penned an open letter to President Obama on the eve of the election.

Today is Election Day. [BET]

Jay-Z sings “99 problems but a Mitt ain’t one” at a last-minute Obama rally. [Yahoo!]

Beyoncé penned an open letter to President Obama on the eve of the election. [Grio]

Michelle Obama encouraged Florida voters saying, “Don’t let anybody push you out of line.” [NBCNews]

In a rare move for most states, a Washington, D.C., jail helped its inmates vote. [USATODAY]

Polls in Hurricane Sandy-hit areas in New York and New Jersey show voters are undeterred by the storm’s damage. [AP]

Mary J. Blige helped raise $23 million for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. [BET]

Natina Reed of Blaque was laid to rest in Georgia. [BET]

50 Cent admits that his beef with Floyd Mayweather was a publicity stunt. [BET]

South Africa rolls out Nelson Mandela bank notes. [BBC]

Flooding in Nigeria has displaced 2 million people. [BBC]

In today’s top news, The Wire cast will be hosting a fundraiser for the Obama campaign, the International AIDS conference has kicked off in Washington, D.C., and the Colorado massacre gunman may face the death penalty.

The Colorado massacre gunman James Holmes may face the death penalty. [BET]

The International AIDS conference kicked off in Washington, D.C., this week. [BET]

The Wire cast will be hosting a fundraiser for the Obama campaign at Martha’s Vineyard. [NYDN]

The European Union announces plans to vacate sanctions against Zimbabwe if a “credible” referendum is held. [Aljazeera]

Rapper Ice-T defends the right to bear arms: “That’s the last form of defense against tyranny.” [Politico]

An Olympic hopeful launches Nigeria’s first bone marrow registry. [NPR]

Team USA basketball team honors the 1992 Dream Team during close game against Argentina. [FOX Latino]

Mariah Carey officially signs on to be on the American Idol judge panel. [BET]

The Jackson family is still at odds about Katherine Jackson’s whereabouts. [CNN]

Georgia Supreme court halts the execution of a death-row inmate who may be mentally ill. [MSNBC]

In today’s top news, Nicki Minaj deletes her Twitter account after fans leak music, the number of Blacks in major league baseball has dipped to the lowest point since the sport was newly integrated and a British peer Lord allegedly offered a ten million pound bounty for the capture of Presidents Obama and Bush.

Nicki Minaj deletes her Twitter account after fans leak music. [BET]

The number of Blacks in major league baseball has dipped to the lowest point since the sport was newly integrated. [USATODAY]

British peer Lord allegedly offered a ten million pound bounty for the capture of Presidents Obama and Bush. [Telegraph]

GOP donor says he wonders if President Obama’s “teleprompters are bullet-proof.” [LATimes]

President Obama raised $53 million for his campaign and the democratic party in March. [NPR]

Several U.S. Secret Service officers are on leave today after allegedly hiring prostitutes while on detail in Colombia with the president. [CBS]

A deadly weekend tornado in Oklahoma claimed six lives. [CNN]

Three elite NYPD gun-unit officers accused of treating Black suspects like “animals.” [NYDN]

The world’s armies are eying control of the natural resources buried under the melting arctic circle. [AP]

Nigeria is the third fastest growing economy in the world. [Vanguard]

In today’s top news, music loses legend Jimmy Castor, boxing great Muhammad Ali celebrates his 70th birthday and the Occupy Movement marches on in Washington.

Funk legend Jimmy Castor dies at 64. [BET]

Muhammad Ali celebrates his 70th birthday today. [BET]

‘Occupy’ protesters plan to take on Congress. [MSNBC]

Gingrich gets grilled at a Black church. [AP]

Lil Boosie pens jailhouse letter to fans. [BET]

U.S. Border Patrol to toughen southern border policy. [AP]

Death toll rising in European cruise ship wreck. [CNN]

Holder vows to protect voting rights in an MLK day speech. [CNN]

Nigerian fuel agency is being investigated for corruption. [BBC]

2011 was a good year for beating down credit card debt. [CNN]

(Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, Herman Cain speaks directly to Black folks, Occupy D.C turns up the heat in the nation’s capitol and Beyoncé may soon be shelling out big bucks to a video-game developer.

Herman Cain speaks directly to Black America. [BET]

U.S. government admits to testing AIDS drugs on foster kids. [MSNBC]

Occupy D.C. “Takes Back the Capitol.” [CNN]

African-American 15-year-old girl is youngest to fly plane cross-country. [DAILYNEWS]

Macy’s worker fired for kicking transgender customer out of fitting room. [KENS5]

Widow of slain cop says she is okay with Mumia’s death penalty being lifted. [AP]

Weave bandits plague Atlanta beauty shops. [FOX5]

New Orleans struggled with rampant homicides. [NYT]

Report: 274 U.S. troop remains dumped at landfill. [BBC]

Beyoncé sued for $100 million after video-game developer says she “double crossed” them. [BET]

A Washington D.C Police detective is on desk duty for pointing his gun at a crowd during a snowball fight.

The cop said he pulled out his gun because someone hit his personal vehicle with a snowball.