1. Tony Nominations: Hollywood A-List Snubbed
Porgy and Bess received nods, but no love for Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, Ricky Martin and others. [MORE]

2. Fire at Tyler Perry Studios
Shortly after 9 p.m. last night, a four-alarm fire broke out at Tyler Perry‘s Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Fortunately, the blaze was contained to one building on the 60-acre complex.

According to the Associated Press, more than 100 firefighters came to the scene and it took a little under an hour to contain the fire. Tyler Perry was reportedly at the studio last night, but as of now, there are no reports of injuries. [MORE]

3. Most Fashionable Cities in America Announced
Do you think you live in the most fashion-savvy city in America? Well, Bundle.com recently selected 50 of the largest cities in the country based on population data and then ranked them according to the percentage of “fashion-conscious households” they contained. This was defined as homes that had at least four purchases at high-end designer brands in the past 30 months. [MORE]

4. May Is National Lupus Awareness Month
Earlier this year, Nick Cannon announced that among many of his recent health issues, he had also been diagnosed with lupus nephritis, a potentially life-threatening auto-immune disease affecting his kidneys. He isn’t alone. Grammy winner and reality star Toni Braxton, America’s Next Top Model Mercedes Yvette, singer Seal, and rapper Trick Daddy have also suffering from a form of this serious chronic inflammatory disease.

The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that there are 1.5 million women in the U.S living with lupus. While it’s unknown what exactly causes the disease, experts are clear about the following: [MORE]

5. You’re Never Too Young to Lead
While most teenage girls are focused on clothes, boys and creating their own versions of their favorite star’s sartorial style, Mary-Pat Hector has loftier ambitions. The 14-year-old Atlanta native is part of a group of young leaders being groomed by the National Action Network (NAN). She’s also the national youth director of NAN’s Youth Move initiative, which encourages young people to be more engaged in civic and social justice issues. [MORE]

(Atlanta, GA) The 15^th Annual Taliah Waajid World Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Show, got an added dose of sexy, when Tank dropped by the event for a special performance.

The noted singer/songwriter serenaded hundreds of fans, performing “Sex Music,” “I Deserve” and “Compliments,” the latest single off his  upcoming album This is How I Feel.

The annual event, which also attracted Chrisette Michele and Kimberly Elise, featured the most current natural hair care, holistic health and beauty innovation, over a three-day weekend to over 40,000 participants.

This is How I Feel will be available May 8.

For the past three years, Atlanta has been the home of Centric’s Soul Train Awards. But this year, that midnight train is picking up and leaving Georgia for Sin City.

Formally announced at the BET Networks upfront in Los Angeles, this year’s award show will take place in Las Vegas, at the popular Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, and will be apart of the network’s Soul Weekend.

The jam-packed weekend, will be three days of exclusive events, a comedy showcase, and special concert, all of which lead up to the awards show, hosted by Cedric The Entertainer.

Like past years, the 2012 Soul Train Awards will simulcast on Centric and BET, and will feature never-before-seen musical collaborations, tributes, and appearances from the most acclaimed voices of today’s urban music.

1. Report: Bobbi Kristina to Star in Reality Show
Bobbi Kristina Brown is following in her famous parents’ footsteps, and not always in a good way. After reports of alcohol and drug use had insiders worried she inherited her mother Whitney Houston’s substance abuse problems, she is now reportedly close to signing a reality TV deal that would put her tumultuous life on camera, just as her father Bobby Brown did in 2005 with his show, Being Bobby Brown. [MORE]

2. Vitamin D May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk in Black Women
It’s time to bask in the sunlight, ladies. A new study published in the Breast Cancer Research Journal revealed that vitamin D could benefit Black women most when it comes to keeping breast cancer cells from growing. [MORE]

3. Rick Santorum Suspends Presidential Campaign
UPDATED: Rick Santorum, who had been giving Mitt Romney a pretty serious run for his money during the past few months of the Republican presidential nomination race, announced today he would suspend his campaign.

“We made the decision over the weekend that while this presidential race is over for us, for me … and we will suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting,” Santorum said during a press conference in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. [MORE]

4. This Day in Black History: April 11, 1881
Classes at what would eventually become Spelman College were first held in the basement of a church in Atlanta on April 11, 1881. [MORE]

1. Tyler Perry Claims He Was Racially Profiled by Police
Was Tyler Perry a potential victim of racial profiling by Atlanta police?

On his Facebook page, the movie mogul recalled the night he drove from his studio and made an illegal turn, a maneuver to ensure he was not being followed. Spotted by an officer, Perry was pulled over, questioned about the turn and why he thought he was being followed. [MORE]

2. Obama Experiences Anguish and Joy While Watching Daughters Play Sports
He might be the president of the United States, but Sasha’s and Malia’s dad still makes time to attend their extracurricular activities. In a taped interview aired during Monday night’s NCAA championship game (April 2), President Barack Obama recently sat down with CBS’s Clark Kellogg to talk about what it’s like to watch your children play on the basketball court.

“I bleed when those girls play…. Watching them play I just want them to do so well,” he said. [MORE]

3. In Gender Gap War, GOP Losing Among Women
The GOP has some serious girl trouble.

Women voters in key swing states are falling hard for President Obama, and it’s not because of his cheeky grin and surprising ability to croon soulful tunes. A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, trails Obama among women by an eye-turning 18 points, 54 percent to 36 percent. [MORE]

4. Student Loan Debt Could Hit Blacks the Worst
For the first time ever, U.S. student loan debt has exceeded $1 trillion, surpassing credit card and auto loan debt.

While some may consider student loan debt “good” debt because you don’t have to immediately pay it off, the reality is you still have to pay it off. [MORE]

1. Spike Lee Wrongly Links Elderly Couple to Trayvon Martin Killer
Let this be a lesson: Tweet with caution! Spike Lee is surely feeling guilty tonight after mistakenly retweeting an address he thought belonged to Trayvon Martin’s killer George Zimmerman, but in fact is the residence of an elderly couple who have nothing to do with the controversial murder. [MORE]

2. Tami Roman Suffers Mild Heart Attack
Basketball Wives star Tami Roman suffered a mild heart attack Monday, she revealed via Twitter. The reality star first hinted at trouble after last night’s episode of her popular show. [MORE]

3. Is Bacon Killing Us?
Meat lovers beware.

A new report suggests that eating too much red meat and processed meat can have a negative impact on our health. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed data from two large studies — the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Nurses’ Health Study — and found the following: [MORE]

4. Atlanta Teen Shot and Killed by Fake Police
Trayvon Martin, 17, was recently the victim of gunfire by a community watch volunteer, and now authorities are investigating a shooting in which two African-American security guards are said to have shot and killed 18-year-old Ervin Jefferson just minutes away from his home in metro Atlanta. [MORE]

5. It’s Rare to Find a Black American With 100 Percent African Ancestry
According to noted educator Henry Louis Gates, there are no Black Americans with 100 percent African ancestry.

“We have never tested an African-American who is 100 percent African,” Gates said, speaking at Grambling State University. “The average African-American is 77 percent Black or African, 17 percent European and less than 5 percent Native American.” [MORE]

1. Beyoncé Joins Cameron, Gwyneth and Reese for Musical Film
Beyoncé is ready to become a working mom. The singer and actress is bringing her talent back to the big screen for One Hit Wonders, an upcoming project by Glee creator Ryan Murphy. The film, which also stars Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon and Bey’s BFF Gwyneth Paltrow, is about four singers who are one-hit wonders joining forces for a comeback. [MORE]

2. Tracee Ellis Ross Covers Uptown, Talks Fashion and Kanye
The fashion-forward Tracee Ellis Ross is Uptown magazine’s March/April 2012 cover girl, taking on the “Hollywood issue” in an assortment of refreshingly unique looks. The newsstand image finds her in a white kimono-style robe with a halo of curls and a striking red lip and promises to give a glimpse of the star “like you’ve never seen her before.” [MORE]

3. Teenage Girls Use Condoms Less if Financially Dependent on Boyfriends
A recent report conducted at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore found African-American teen girls whose financial support mostly comes from their boyfriends are less likely to use condoms. According to ABCNews.com, HIV prevention researchers analyzed data from 715 African-American girls ages 15-22 from the Atlanta area and found the following: [MORE]

4. March for Your Rights
As BET.com has previously reported, civil rights leaders will take to the streets of Alabama to commemorate the historic Selma to Montgomery voting rights march. Over the course of five days, Rev. Al Sharpton, president of National Action Network (NAN), Congressman John Lewis, who helped lead the march in 1965 with Martin Luther King, the NAACP and the National Urban League and many others, will travel the same route activists did in 1965. [MORE]

5. Arizona Sheriff Unveils Obama Birth Probe
PHOENIX (AP) — America’s self-proclaimed toughest sheriff finds himself entangled these days in his own thorny legal troubles: a federal grand jury probe over alleged abuse of power, Justice Department accusations of racial profiling and revelations that his department didn’t adequately investigate hundreds of Arizona sex-crime cases.

Arpaio on Thursday unveiled preliminary results of an investigation, conducted by members of his volunteer cold-case posse, into the authenticity of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, a controversy that has been widely debunked but which remains alive in the eyes of some conservatives. [MORE]

For more news and information, visit BET.com/news

Watch out LL Cool J, Q Parker of R&B group 112 has hopped on the fitness bandwagon. The Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter teamed up with photographer Allen Cooley for a 2012 fitness calendar, chalk full of all the shirtless shots a muscle loving heart can desire.

Shot at various locations in and around Atlanta, the calendar is on sale for $10, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to support breast and prostate cancer research.

Parker is also gearing up for the release of his solo debut, The MANual, slated to be released in Spring 2012.

For more information log on to QParkerFitnessCalendar.com

(Atlanta, GA) Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss celebrated the launch of KANDI KOATED SPADES(KKS), her new iPhone/iPad gaming application, and the latest addition to her growing list of entrepreneurial endeavors.  

Developed in partnership with the Konsole Kingz—Cj Peters and Marcus Matthews—the app has “all of the real action that we use in Spades, like reneging and cutting,” said Kandi. “I love this app and I know my hardcore Spades players will too.”

A slew of guests, including fellow Real Housewives castmate Phaedra Parks, and Toya Wright (of BET’s Toya), packed the lounge at the popular hotspot Frank Ski’s Restaurant, and were given a thorough demonstration of the app’s features. A few even had the opportunity to play the app with Kandi, with two lucky attendees walking away with new iPads.

Click here to purchase KANDI KOATED SPADES on itunes

1. BET Goes Pink: Join the Circle
Every day we make promises, but how many of them can save your life and the lives of the people you love? More than 6,000 African American women died from breast cancer in 2009. You may be able to lower that number by making a few simple promises. [Read more]

2. T.I. Calls Diddy Exchange a ‘Brother Moment’
A newly freed T.I. made the press ad party rounds during last weekend’s BET Hip-Hop Awards festivities and made a stop at Atlanta’s Wild 105.7 radio station. The MC talked a bit more about the exchange between himself and Diddy at a club called Compound recently, which some fans took to be full of ire. [Read more]

3. Michael Jackson Immortal Album Due November 21
Michael Jackson fans are rejoicing at the news that November 21 will mark the release of a posthumous release by King of Pop. A new MJ album is set to be released next month, making it the second offering from the pop superstar since he passed in June 2009. [Read more]

4. Drake Inducted Into Canada’s Walk of Fame, Debuts New Video
Drake started off his big October on a good foot this weekend, getting inducted into the Walk of Fame in his native Canada and releasing a new video for his single “Headlines.” [Read more]

5. Redistricting Pits Black and White Democrats Against Each Other
For the past several months as new redistricting maps have been unveiled, Democratic lawmakers at all levels of government have publically complained that the new lines drawn by their states’ Republican-controlled legislatures threaten to diminish their numbers and disenfranchise voters. At the congressional level, some House Democrats now find themselves not only having to compete in new districts but also against members who, for now at least, are political allies. [Read more]

For the latest in news and updates, visit BET.com/News