In a wide-ranging two-hour speech, Minister Louis Farrakhan stepped up his anti-Obama Administration rhetoric for the second time in as many weeks, condemning officials for waging war in Libya on Moammar Gadhafi.

Farrakhan warned that Obama's action could result in Biblical-like destruction of the United States for its arrogance of power and repression.

The flamboyant Nation of Islam leader spoke before a packed house of mostly followers in the sprawling Mosque Maryam on Chicago's South Side. Dressed in a gray suit, white shirt and white bow tie, Farrakhan spoke in his stylized Southern preacher drawl:

"I don't care what Gadhafi has done,'' he said before a roaring crowd. "He is not the mad dog you see on TV. Donald Trump sounds more like a gangster to me.''

Farrakhan referred to the Libyan leader as "Brother Gadhafi" on several occasions and expressed sorrow for his predicament and invoked the Book of Revelation, which foretells of unprecedented natural disasters and war on unforeseen scales, to illustrate how God's wrath will destroy America because of attacks on his chosen people, such as Gadhafi.

Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama's former White House chief-of-staff, handily won Chicago's heated mayoral election, according to the Associated Press.

In a hard-fought battle against five other candidates, Emanuel won with about 56 percent of the vote with 86 percent of the precincts reporting in the election with a low turnout. The win allows him to avoid a run-off in April and step into office in May to replace longtime Mayor Richard M. Daley after a 22-year-run.

A jubilant Emanuel thanked his supporters, opponents and their supporters in a 9 p.m. (CST) victory speech.

"Thank you for this humbling victory,'' Emanuel said to a cheering crowd of supporters. "All I can say, you sure know how to make a guy feel at home. What makes this victory more gratifying is that it was built on votes from every corner of this city.''

Carol Moseley Braun's crusade to become the second black mayor of Chicago took another hit after the beleaguered candidate likened front runner Rahm Emanuel's ad persona to Adolf Hitler.

The former state senator, who served as ambassador to New Zealand, compared Emanuel's televised ad campaigns to a character in 'The Producers' who described Hitler as a kind man.

The comment came on Sunday during a campaign event on the South Side attended by Cornel West, the esteemed Princeton University professor and author who endorsed Braun's candidacy.

"The joke in it was, he was a kind man, a gentleman,'' Braun said, referring to Mel Brooks' movie, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "We are getting the kind man, the gentle man on television.''

On Monday, Braun tried to minimize the media backlash, saying, "I was celebrating Mel Brooks' comedy," according to ABC-7 Chicago News. "I was celebrating the fact that Mel... and... why am I defending this? This is ridiculous."

The killing of a beloved college student at a party at an all-black black fraternity house in Ohio and the wounding of 11 others threatens to shine a negative spotlight on Greek life at a time when it was experiencing a renaissance of sorts on campuses across the nation.

The 25-year-old victim, Jamail E. Johnson, was a senior at Youngstown State University and shot to death on Sunday as he tried to pull apart two groups during a dispute at an Omega Psi Phi fraternity house party, the police told the Associated Press.

Two men left the party and then returned and began firing in to the crowd, wounding 11, including a 17-year-old who was critically wounded in the incident that created a stampede as students tried to escape a hail of bullets.

Braylon L. Rogers, 19, and Columbus E. Jones Jr., 22, were arrested on charges of aggravated murder, shooting into a house and 11 counts of felonious assault, Mahoning County Jail officials confirmed. They were not students at the school or members of the fraternity.

Under the glare of intense media scrutiny and criticism from her own supporters, a beleaguered Carol Moseley Braun issued an apology late Tuesday after calling opponent Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins a crack head during a Chicago mayoral forum on Sunday.

"Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins said she does not expect an apology from me,'' Braun said in a prepared statement. "She is wrong. I want to apologize to her, to the congregations and members of Trinity United Church and of New Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church and to all the families and friends of those who are, or who have been caught up in the tragedy of drug use. I meant no disrespect of the sanctuaries in which the campaign tensions spilled over, nor to the pastors of those churches, nor to the people for whom those safe havens of hope are so important.''

Watkins drew a hard line in accepting the apology, and while she has admitted to drug use as a teen, she has been clean for decades and denied ever using crack.

"Though I accept Carol's media-issued apology, I believe she should seek sensitivity counseling and make restitution by volunteering at a recovery house as soon as possible.'' Watkins said in a prepared statement. "Carol's reckless comments reveal her detachment from the experiences of the majority of Chicago families who just need a second chance."

In a sign that the Chicago Mayoral election is coming to a close, Carol Moseley Braun (pictured), former state senator and second runner-up in the race, tried to maintain her lead by defaming the character of a lesser named opponent, Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins. Early voting began Monday for the election scheduled to take place on Feb. 22.

Watkins, a 53-year-old community organizer, castigated Braun during a blistering debate at Trinity United Church on Chicago's South Side for returning to politics, after "being missing in action'' while the city struggled economically and socially, according to a video provided by the church.

"Patricia, the reason you didn't know who I was for the last 20 years is because you were strung out on crack," Braun shot back. "I was not strung out on crack. I don't have a record.''

The comment, designed to shine a negative glow on Watkins' character during the final days of the election, backfired on Braun and ignited a firestorm of controversy. Watkins immediately called for an apology, adding that she didn't' really expect one from Braun. Watkins has admitted to drug abuse as a teen, but never crack, and has been clean for decades.

Neither Braun, nor her spokeswoman, returned calls to Aol. Black Voices yesterday evening. Black supporters, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush, remained closed mouth, too.

Ending days of suspense and speculation, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Rahm Emanuel can continue his bid for mayor of the nation's third largest city.

The ruling came in a 7-0 decision that was handed down late Thursday, paving the way for Emanuel to replace longtime Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in a Feb. 22 election. The ruling came just in time for his name to be printed on the ballot for early voting, which begins Monday.

Emanuel is the leading contender, with double-digit poll numbers and a war chest of more than $10 million. He's running against city clerk Miguel del Valle, former Illinois state Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, Gery Chico, Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins and William Walls.

Thursday's 25-page Illinois Supreme Court decision overturned Monday's Appellate Court decision, which ruled that Emanuel did not meet residency requirements. The decision was based on his lawyers' argument that he was qualified to run under an area of the state's election code that grants residency status to servicemen and women who leave their home state to serve the country. They contended that he moved to Washington, D.C., to work as chief of staff for President Barack Obama, a federal position. The appellate court disagreed but was overturned by the Supreme Court.

Rahm Emanuel is a contender in Chicago's contentious mayoral race. At least that is according to the Illinois State Supreme Court, which ruled today that his name should remain on the ballot for his Feb. 22 election bid to replace longtime, outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley.

The ruling comes a day after a surprise decision by an appellate court panel on Monday that determined Emanuel does not meet mandatory state residency requirements. His attorneys appealed the decision today and by late afternoon the State Supreme Court agreed to expedite the case. Justices, however, decided to only review legal briefs without conducting a hearing.

In the old-fashioned, Chicago election style brawl, the justices will consider overturning the appellate court's decision to remove Emanuel's name from the ballot because plaintiffs argued that he did not live in the city for a year before his mayoral campaign. While the case was expedited, there was no indication when the high court will hand down a ruling.

Emanuel's lawyers argued that he never lost residency. They called the decision by the appellate court "one of the most far-reaching election law rulings'' ever handed down in Illinois, not just because of its impact on the mayoral race but for "the unprecedented restriction'' it places on candidates, news reports say. The lawyers have argued that he was qualified to run under an area of the state's election code law, which grants residency status to servicemen and women who leave their home state to serve the country. Emanuel's lawyers reasoned that he moved to work as chief of staff for President Barack Obama, a federal position. The appellate court disagreed.

In a major blow to Rahm Emanuel's pursuit to become mayor of Chicago, an Illinois appellate court panel ruled Monday that he does not meet residency requirements, ending months of speculation and heated debates.

The smoldering issue exploded after a panel determined 2 to 1 that Rahm Emanuel does not meet residency requirements for eligible candidates, according to the Chicago News Cooperative. The decision could lead to the election of the city's first black mayor in nearly two decades. Former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun is in third place and is the consensus candidate for the city's black power brokers.

"We conclude that the candidate neither meets the municipal code's requirement that he has 'resided' in Chicago for the year preceding the election in which he seeks to participate nor falls within any exception to the requirement," the whole court wrote in its decision, according to the News Cooperative.

While Emanuel's attorneys vowed to fight the decision and appeal it to the Illinois Supreme Court, the Chicago Board of Elections will print ballots without his name for the February 22 vote. His lawyers filed papers late Monday with the Supreme court to grant a stay to permit Emanuel's name to be printed on the ballot. The Board of Elections is expected to respond by the end of the week, officials said.

The world appeared a little more just for the Albert family, after a Chicago jury found 20-year-old Silvonus Shannon (pictured above left) guilty of first-degree murder in the 2009 beating death of Fenger High School honor student Derrion Albert (pictured right).

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The 16-year-old's death was captured on a graphic viral video that sent shock waves throughout the web. Defense attorneys and prosecutors played the cell phone video repeatedly during the fast-moving two-day trial that began last Monday.

Both sides argued about whether the video actually portrayed Shannon kicking Albert in the head, but the jury was more decisive about his role, delivering a guilty verdict after three and a half hours of deliberation late last Tuesday.

Shannon, who faces up to 60 years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 14th, is one of four charged in Albert's horrendous death, which occurred in September 2009.

"We empathize with the families of the gentlemen who have been charged, but we are grieving for our loss still," Norman Golliday said after the verdict, according to the Associated Press. "We're praying to move forward, but realistically, that probably won't happen until justice is served and all responsible are held accountable."