Memphis-stamped envelope bound for Miss. Sen. Wicker tests positive for ricin

An envelope that tested positive for the deadly poison ricin was intercepted Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Capitol's off-site mail facility in Washington, congressional and law enforcement sources tell CNN.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was told the letter was addressed to the office of Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. A laboratory in Maryland confirmed the presence of ricin after an initial field tests indicated the poison was present, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer said.

The letter had a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark and no return address, Gainer wrote in an e-mail to senators and aides.

Cain: ‘Don’t call me a Republican’

As the Republican Party struggles with ways to attract more African-Americans to its party, one of their own former, African-American presidential candidates could throw a wrench in their plan.

Herman Cain insisted Monday he does not want to be called Republican for fear of being saddled with the "dumb things" Republicans have said in the past. Cain also said the black conservative movement is "different from the Republican brand."

To be sure, Cain is not straying from his conservative stances. Instead, he hopes to entice even more African-Americans to join the black conservative movement.

National Urban League report details slip on road to parity

Blacks have fallen behind in their efforts to reach parity with whites in several key areas since 2010, according to the National Urban League's new "State of Black America" report.

Each year, the report computes an Equality Index for economics, health, education, social justice and civic engagement. Each category was assigned its own weight: economics receives 30 points, health and education each receive 25 points and social justice and civic engagement each receive 10 points.

When compared to whites, blacks scored 71.7 percent on the equality index in 2013 down from the 72.1 percent mark in 2010. Compared to 2010 figures, blacks lost ground in economics (56.3 percent in 2013 vs. 57.9 percent in 2010) social justice (57.1 percent compared to 57.8 percent in 2010) and civic engagement (99.9 vs. 102.2 percent in 2010).

Drunken driving arrest a ‘wake up’ call, comedian Kevin Hart says

Comedian and actor Kevin Hart says he'll straighten up his act. And he's not being funny.

Los Angeles traffic police arrested the stand-up comedian for "suspicion" of drunken driving early Sunday.

They observed him speeding down a freeway at 90 mph in his black Mercedes, weaving across traffic lanes and almost running into a gas tanker truck, the California Highway Patrol said in a statement.

Tax day: Where did the money go in 2012?

Today (April 15) is tax day, and in case you're wondering where your money went last year, President Barack Obama is eager to let you know. He's giving you a detailed receipt.

For the third year, taxpayers can visit the White House website for the nitty-gritty on how the government spends tax dollars from American households.

To see your 2012 contributions to the nation's military, Social Security, health care, community development, agriculture and NASA, among others, visit the site for the year's "taxpayer receipt."

Jay C. rips Jay-Z

It seemed like White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was waiting for the question when he was asked Thursday about Jay-Z's newest rap, which focuses on his U.S. government-approved trip to Cuba with wife Beyoncé last week.

In the rap, Jay-Z suggested their clearance came from the White House, when it actually came from the Treasury Department.

"I turned Havana into Atlanta... Boy from the 'hood, I got White House clearance. ..Obama said 'chill you gonna get me impeached.' (But) you don't need this – expletive – anyway. Chill with me on the beach," the lyrics stated.

Madonna in bitter war of words with Malawi

Pop star Madonna is causing a commotion in Malawi, days after her return from a goodwill trip to the nation.

The singer is in a bitter feud with the government over accusations that she demanded VIP treatment, including at the airport, while visiting last week.

Madonna asked to meet the president and she believed Malawi "should have abandoned everything and ... rolled out a red carpet and blasted the 21-gun salute in her honor," the government said in a statement.

Son’s arrested ‘to placate the masses,’ says mother of Trayvon’s killer

In a scathing letter released on the anniversary of George Zimmerman's arrest in Trayvon Martin's shooting death, Zimmerman's mother writes that her son was charged "solely to placate the masses," and that the news media helped pass on a false narrative against an innocent man.

"April 11, 2012, will be forever remembered by the Zimmerman family as the day the justice system failed us as Americans, and as a consequence an innocent man was arrested for a crime he did not commit, solely to placate the masses," Gladys Zimmerman wrote.

Zimmerman's brother, Robert, posted a link to her letter on his Twitter account.

Elvis’ ghost haunts Michael Jackson death trial

LOS ANGELES – Tour manager Paul Gongaware warned Michael Jackson's 1993 tour doctor, "Don't be a Dr. Nick" – a reference to Elvis Presley's last physician – according to a deposition for the upcoming wrongful death trial.

"Dr. Nick was the doctor whose overprescription of drugs to Elvis had led to Elvis' death," according to a court filing by lawyers for the Jackson family.

Presley collapsed in the bathroom of his Memphis mansion – Graceland – on Aug. 16, 1977, at the age of 42. While his death was ruled the result of an irregular heartbeat, the autopsy report was sealed amid accusations that abuse of prescription drugs caused the problem.

New loan policies fail African-American students in college

WASHINGTON – Like thousands of African-American college students, Bethanie Fisher, a psychology major at Howard University, depended heavily on the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students program that allows parents to borrow the full amount of college tuition and fees.

During, the 2007-08 school year, an estimated 33 percent of undergraduate students that earned degrees at Historically Black Colleges and Universities received Parent PLUS loans, double the rate of all undergraduate students nationwide.

"My mom, my dad, my aunt and my uncle would all apply every single year," said Fisher.

In Zimbabwe, learning Chinese is a lucrative investment

Ni hao, Chinese for "hello," or ting bu dong, meaning "I hear you, but I don't understand," are two expressions one often overhears today in Zimbabwe's capital. It is one of the results of tenacious efforts by governments, private companies and individuals across Africa, but in Zimbabwe particularly, to learn the Chinese language and understand China's culture.

Learning Chinese as a second or third language has been a global trend in the last few years. In Africa, the rapid increase of Chinese investments and trade (China is currently the continent's biggest trading partner) has spurred the trend.

Zimbabwe's government has been very deliberate in enhancing its bilateral relationship with China. It launched the Look East Policy in 2003 to give priority to investors from China, Japan, Singapore and other countries from that region. As a result, trade between China and Zimbabwe has been growing exponentially – China is now the biggest buyer of Zimbabwe's tobacco.

Why Angela Davis matters

Angela Davis (Getty Images); Shola Lynch (Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

by Hillary Crosley

The Root

In 1972, Angela Davis’ struggle as a political prisoner became an example of the black

power movement, the Black Panthers and the political unrest of the time. Even her Afro

became a symbol of black people’s work against oppression in America. Moreover,

her trial and acquittal of suspected involvement in the Soledad brothers’ August 1970