Alicia Keys launching HIV campaign aimed at women

You know her best as a multi-platinum recording artist and a 14-time Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter and producer.

But Alicia Keys has also made quite a name for herself as a philanthropist and AIDS advocate.

It was in 2003, on her first trip to Africa, when Keys witnessed firsthand the disease's devastation.

When she returned to the United States, she co-founded "Keep a Child Alive," an organization that has raised millions to care for HIV/AIDS patients in Africa and India.

Chris Rock calls Jason Kidd gay, confuses social media

It would be safe to assume that most of what comes from Chris Rock's Twitter feed is a joke, but when he tweeted, "I'm so proud of Jason Kidd for coming out of the closet and announcing that he's Gay. This is a great day for sports," the morning after NBA player Jason Collins announced that he was gay, not everyone was laughing.

Although plenty of folks were amused, some thought the statement was an unfunny joke, others genuinely thought he'd mixed up Kidd and Collins, and others took it as a breaking-news item about Kidd, who lent support to Collins yesterday and plays for the New York Knicks. He posted the same comment to his Facebook page, garnering similar results. Too soon, perhaps?

Judge limits Jackson siblings’ attendance at wrongful death trial

LOS ANGELES – Just one of Michael Jackson's brothers and sisters can sit in the courtroom at one time in the family's wrongful death suit against AEG Live, a judge ordered Tuesday.

AEG Live lawyers argued at the start of the second day of the trial that there was "a risk in allowing any of them in the courtroom."

AEG expects to call Janet, Jermaine, Jackie, Tito, La Toya, Rebbie and Randy Jackson as witnesses in its defense. Only Jackson brother Marlon is not on the defense witness list.

Zimmerman to argue self-defense

George Zimmerman, set to stand trial in the 2012 shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin, on Tuesday waived his right to a "stand your ground" pretrial immunity hearing. Zimmerman's attorneys have decided they will try this as a self-defense case.

Florida's deadly force law, also called "stand your ground," was passed in 2005. It allows people to meet "force with force" if they believe they or someone else is in danger of being seriously harmed by an assailant. Under the law, a person can use deadly force anywhere as long as he is not engaged in an unlawful activity; is being attacked in a place he has a right to be; and reasonably believes that his life and safety are in danger as a result of an overt act or perceived threat committed by someone else.

Source: Charlotte Mayor to be Transportation Dept. nominee

President Barack Obama will tap Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday to become his next transportation secretary, a White House official with knowledge of his decision said Sunday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would replace Ray LaHood, who said in January he wouldn't serve a second term. Foxx, first elected mayor in 2009, helped lead last summer's Democratic National Convention in the Queen City.

He also championed the completion of an additional runway at the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, though Foxx doesn't have any specific experience as a transportation executive.

NAACP chief: A GOP path to black votes

Earlier this month Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) visited Howard University to take a swing at repairing relations between African Americans and the Republican Party.

As famed sportscaster Harry Kalas would have said, it was largely a swing and a miss.

Paul struck out when he tried to equate today's Republican Party with the party of Abraham Lincoln, while ignoring much of the 150 years in between. (He even acknowledged his mistakes shortly after). But his willingness to step up to the plate can provide a lesson for a GOP struggling to get on top.

Charges dropped against Miss. ricin suspect

Charges against the Mississippi man accused of sending ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and other officials were dropped Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams said, citing "new information" that has been uncovered.

Authorities now are investigating whether someone may have tried to falsely implicate Paul Kevin Curtis, according to a law enforcement source, speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity.

Curtis said he wants to "get back to being normal" after being falsely accused.

A false tweet heard around the web

WASHINGTON – A tweet by the nation's largest newswire about a catastrophe at the White House was nearly immediately shot down as false on Tuesday.

The Associated Press message read, "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured."

While some took the post seriously, other Twitter users seemed to recognize the message as false almost immediately. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped sharply on the news however, though quickly regained its losses when the report was deemed false.

Folk singer Richie Havens dead at 72

Folk singer Richie Havens, the opening act at the 1969 Woodstock music festival, died Monday of a sudden heart attack, his publicist said. He was 72.

Havens, who retired three years ago, toured for more than 30 years and recorded 30 albums.

"While his family greatly appreciates that Richie's many fans are also mourning this loss, they do ask for privacy during this difficult time," a statement from his publicist, Carrie Lombardi, said.

Poll: Americans not revved up over increased gas taxes

Two-thirds of Americans would oppose a law in their state that would increase the gas tax to help pay for road and bridge repairs, according to a new national poll.

A Gallup survey released Monday indicates that 66 percent of the public would vote against a state law that would increase the gas tax by up to 20 cents per gallon, with the revenue going towards improving roads, bridges, and building more mass transit. Just under one in three said they would vote for such a measure.

According to the poll, Democrats and westerners are slightly more willing to vote to increase the gas tax, with four in ten Democrats, three in ten independents but just 15 percent of Republicans supportive. Thirty-seven percent of people living the western U.S. would support the move. That drops to 32 percent for easterners and to one in four for those in the Midwest and South.

9 questions about the Boston Bombers

WASHINGTON – We don't yet know how or why the Tsarnaev brothers, the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, decided to carry out their attacks, but a look at how their stories correlate with those of some other terrorists living in the West could provide some answers to the questions that many are now asking about them.

1. How could someone who grew up in the United States, as the younger brother did, become a terrorist?

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas in 2009, was born and raised in Virginia.

Poison-letter scare leads to Miss. arrest

A Corinth, Miss., man was arrested Wednesday night in connection with possibly contaminated letters sent to President Barack Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

The FBI arrested Paul Kevin Curtis at his home, the U. S. Department of Justice said in a statement that also detailed that a third letter was sent to a Mississippi justice official.

The letters to Wicker and Obama – discovered Tuesday – were stopped at a government mail-screening facility after initial tests indicated the presence of the deadly poison ricin.