In today’s top news, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed now supports gay marriage; census data shows whites to lose majority status in the U.S. by 2043; and Jesse Jackson Jr.’s wife will not seek his old House seat.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed now supports gay marriage. [BET]

Census data shows whites to lose majority status in the U.S. by 2043. [L.A.Times]

Jesse Jackson Jr.’s wife will not seek his old House seat. [BET]

The influence of Michigan’s union-weakening right to work laws may spread across the U.S. [NBCNews]

A$AP Rocky pleads guilty to attempted grand larceny. [BET]

Evelyn Lozada poses naked for PETA. [Grio]

A new study shows that pedestrians who text are four times as likely to be hit by a car. [ABC]

Sean Penn said Port-au-Prince Haiti is no more or less dangerous than Detroit. [AP]

A woman in Spain was arrested for transporting cocaine in her breast implants. [CNN]

The FDA has issued a warning for body parts and human tissue implants that may be tainted. [NBCNews]

(Photo: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

In today’s top news, the Obamas show major PDA on the Kiss Cam, FDA approves the first drug to prevent HIV and George Zimmerman is accused of molestation and discrimination.

FDA approves the first drug to prevent HIV. [AP]

George Zimmerman is accused of molestation and discrimination: “I know that he does not like Black people,” says Witness 9. [BET]

The Obamas show major PDA on the Kiss Cam. [BET]

Alicia Keys is the latest celebrity to endorse President Barack Obama on social media. [The Hill]

South Africa recalls 500,000 faulty HIV kits bought in South Korea. [Yahoo]

The Knicks must either match the Rocket’s lucrative deal for Jeremy Lin or let him walk. [ESPN]

A Nigerian 10-year-old boy is killed by an errant bomb while taking exams at school. [BBC]

Former Google golden child becomes CEO of Yahoo. [Business Week]

Drought in the U.S. could lead to dramatic spike in food prices. [Washington Post]

In today’s top news, BET to air live coverage of Whitney Houston’s funeral, Chris Brown denies jokes about hitting women and Eddie Long’s wife has changed her mind about divorce … again.

BET to air live coverage of Whitney Houston’s funeral. [BET]

Chris Brown denies jokes about hitting women. [BET]

Eddie Long’s wife has changed her mind about divorce … again. [ChristianPost]

Bobby Brown gets invite to Whitney Houston’s funeral. [BET]

Plane carrying 18kg of marijuana is seized after mistakenly flying into President Obama’s airspace. [Guardian]

Hip hop producer Scott Storch arrested for cocaine possession. [BET]

Libya marks one-year anniversary of uprising. [BBC]

Lauryn Hill asks fans to be patient with her transition. [BET]

FDA warns some electric toothbrushes are hazardous to health. [MSNBC]

U.S. to invest 1.5 billion in Nigerian power sector. [ThisDay]

In today’s top news, Chaka Khan calls Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party “insanity,” Whitney Houston’s family chooses to have a private funeral for the singer and Beyoncé gets back to business following the birth of Blue Ivy.

Chaka Khan says Clive Davis should have canceled his pre-Grammy party in the wake of Whitney Houston’s death. [BET]

Whitney Houston’s family chooses to have a private funeral for the singer. [CNN]

Beyoncé gets back to business following the birth of Blue Ivy. [BET]

One woman spends a year only shopping at Black businesses. [MotherJones]

Nicki Minaj explains her striking Grammy performance. [BET]

Nearly 600 Ugandan girls have been forced into the Malaysian sex trade. [TheMonitor]

Ray J dishes about his friendship with Whitney Houston. [BET]

Apple vows to improve worker’s conditions. [CNN]

Hispanic workforce expected to outpace that of Blacks and whites by 2020. [BET]

FDA finds lead in 400 popular lipsticks. [CNN]

(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, Tyler Perry reaches out to the whistleblower Penn State abuse victim, Wyclef Jean is back in the spotlight over his charity’s spending and Occupy L.A. tries to flex its muscle against an evacuation deadline.

Black atheists face stigma at home. [NYT]

Tyler Perry writes open letter to Penn State victim. [Daily Beast]

N.J. Tea Party blames Obama for Black unemployment. [Star-Ledger]

Black Kentucky twins seek opera fame. [Kernel]

Legendary Black photographer Teenie Harris honored in new exhibit. [BET]

Wyclef Jean is back in hot water over charity spending. [BET]

Eqypt pulls off first election since uprising. [MSNBC]

Occupy L.A. refuses to heed deadline. [LATimes]

FDA allows manufacturers to reuse wayward food. [MSNBC]

Illegal immigrant laws affect citizens too. [Hattiesburg American]

President Obama signed into law Monday legislation that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration unprecedented power to help reduce the appeal of tobacco products to children and first-time smokers. Read more.

If a longtime smoker, who happens to be president of the United States, is also pushing for a bill to regulate the marketing and manufacturing of tobacco products, it only seems likely that it would become the law of the land before long. While President Bush sought to squash the bill, under pressure from the $89 billion tobacco industry, Obama, who admittedly has struggled to quit smoking, wants the measure passed. Under a bill proposed in the Senate by Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the tobacco industry would have to disclose the ingredients in its products, and the Federal Drug Administration would then have a clear path toward banning a sizable chunk of the most harmful of the estimated 6,000 chemicals used in cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products. And would also be able to reduce the amount of nicotine, likely making it easier for smokers to quit. Supporters of the bill say they have more than the 60 votes to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. Many of the bill’s proponents say the law is long overdue. They site statistics from health and medical experts who say that some 400,000 people die from tobacco-related causes each year. “If this happens, and if the FDA uses its powers, it will be an enormous public health achievement,” said Matthew L. Meyers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, who has been pushing the legislation for 15 years.

‘Women no longer have to be 18 and older or have a prescription to purchase the controversial morning-after contraceptive pill, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. Last month, a federal court ordered that the emergency contraception pill be made available over the counter to those 17 and up, the agency said in a statement on its Web site. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman had also asked the FDA to consider whether the pill should be available to women of all ages without a prescription. He said that this decision was best left to the agency rather than a federal district judge. He also blasted the FDA for abandoning its own procedures with respect to making decisions on the pill’s over-the-counter status, noting the “unusual involvement of the White House in the Plan B decision-making process.” He said that the plaintiffs in the case presented “unrebutted evidence of the FDA’s lack of good faith” toward the application to switch Plan B from prescription to non-prescription use. “This lack of good faith is evidenced by, among other things, (1) repeated and unreasonable delays, pressure emanating from the White House, and the obvious connection between the confirmation process of two FDA commissioners and the timing of the FDA’s decisions; and (2) significant departures from the FDA’s normal procedures and policies … as compared to the review of other switch applications in the past 10 years,” Korman wrote. In his order, Korman wrote that, “No useful purpose would be served by continuing to deprive 17-year-olds access to Plan B without a prescription. Indeed, the record shows that FDA officials and staff both agreed that 17-year-olds can use Plan B safely without a prescription. The FDA’s justification for this age restriction, that pharmacists would be unable to enforce the prescription requirement if the cutoff were age 17, rather than 18, lacks all credibility.” That decision, according to Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards,  is “a strong statement to American women that their health comes before politics. And that’s the way it should be. This decision is common-sense policy that will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and protect the health and safety of all women.”

Don’t even think about eating a pistachio right now. And that goes for pistachio ice cream, pistachio candy and anything else that contains the tasty little nuts. The U.S. Food and Drug Association says to wait until a report comes back as to whether the treat is responsible for the recent spread of salmonella. Read more.

Two asthma drugs are under scrutiny. Two widely used asthma drugs may pose more risks than benefits for both children and adults, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said Thursday. Under scrutiny are GlaxoSmithKline’s Serevent and Foradil, made jointly by Novartis AG and Schering-Plough, HealthDay reported Thursday. The health experts did not say that the use of Serevent and Foradil should be abandoned altogether. Instead, they said the medications’ labeling should be reworded to urge doctors to use the drugs along with an inhaled corticosteroid – as guidelines already recommend. For more on controlling asthma, go to BET.com/Body & Soul.