(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In today’s top news, President Obama will sign an updated version of the Violence Against Women Act; the Seattle public school system is under investigation for racial bias in disciplining students; and an African-American man’s DNA has been traced back 338,000 years.

President Obama will sign an updated version of the Violence Against Women Act that includes new requirements for how colleges handle allegations of sexual assault. [NPR]

The Seattle public school system is under federal investigation for alleged racial bias in disciplining students. [AP]

DNA from an African-American man living in South Carolina has been traced back 338,000 years. [Discovery News]

Tia Norfleet, the ‘first and only African-American female licensed by NASCAR,’  has been overstating claims about her success. [Yahoo! Sports]

A petition is going around demanding the National Anthem be changed to R. Kelly’s “Ignition” Remix. [TheGrio]

A 24-year-old interning at a California Cat Haven was mauled to death by her favorite lion. [CNN]

North Korea threatened the United States on Thursday with a  nuclear strike before the United Nations approved new sanctions against the country. [Reuters]

An Italian court sentenced ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to one year in jail over a leaked wiretap transcript published in his family’s newspaper. [BBCNews]

The party of Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, wants to halt the election vote-counting process on claims votes were “doctored.” [NYTimes]

In today’s top news, a judge requests an audit of Chris Brown’s community service progress, Ray Allen announced his plans to join the Miami Heat and Mitt Romney is set to deliver a pro-jobs speech at the annual NAACP meeting today.

Today, Mitt Romney will deliver a pro-jobs  speech at the annual NAACP meeting in a possible effort to court Black voters. [NYT]

Chris Brown’s required community service work has been called into question and may be audited by probation officials. [AP]

Florida GOP aims to ban Michelle Obama from speaking at a Miami high school. [HuffPo]

House Republicans plan a vote to repeal Obama’s health care law for the 31st time. [BET]

54 African migrants fleeing Libya ‘die of thirst’ during a risky boat trip to Italy. [BBC]

Ray Allen announced his plans to leave the Boston Celtics for a less lucrative contract with the Miami Heat. [BET]

Mali Islamists destroyed ancient tombs at Timbuktu’s Djingareyber mosque, a world heritage site. [REUTERS]

Television industry veteran Pearlena Igbokwe joins NBC as executive vice president of drama development. [EUR]

Bacteria may be the leading causes behind soda’s unhealthful impact, doctors say. [BET]

In today’s top news, President Obama honors Black history at National African-American Museum ceremony,  Michael Jordan is suing a Chinese company for unauthorized use of his name and U.S. troops are now in four African countries to help fight the Lord’s Resistance Army.

President Obama honors Black history at National African-American Museum ceremony. [BET]

Michael Jordan is suing a Chinese company for unauthorized use of his name. [AP]

U.S. troops now in four African countries to help fight the Lord’s Resistance Army. [AP]

Obama apologizes to Afghanistan over Quran burnings at a NATO military base. [MSNBC]

Actor Terrence Howard has 30 days to shell out $50k to his estranged ex-wife. [BET]

Jury recommends 26 years of prison time for UVA student’s alleged role in the death of his girlfriend. [CNN]

Tabloid magazine publishes photo of Whitney Houston’s open casket. [Reuters]

Nigeria renews ExxonMobil’s oil drilling licenses. [AFP]

Poll shows President Obama is reaping the benefits from the improving economy. [AP]

European Court of Human Rights tells Italy it was wrong to send African migrants back to Libya. [BBC]

Time Magazine published a piece this week on the growing tensions betweeen African immigrants and native Italians. Last week, a riot occured in southern Italy after a group of teenagers fired rifles at African immigrants. While the shooting sparked the riot, many Africans are also tired of being paid considerably less than their white counterparts and are comparing their work conditions to slavery.

Roberto Savino, an Italian journalist and author said tension between Africans and  Italians exists because Africans are not willing to bow to the power of the mafia.

From Time.com

The riots in Rosarno, which reportedly began after three Italian teenagers fired air rifles at two African immigrants, unsettled a nation that prides itself on its bella figura – the beautiful image. About 2,500 migrants live in the Rosarno valley in the southern Calabria region, moving with the seasonal agricultural jobs. Many have political asylum or are otherwise legally in Italy, but legal or not, the migrants are managed by a Mafia-run employment system, the caporalato, that operates like a 21st century chain gang. Saviano says that those who object to low wages or poor working conditions are simply eliminated – and not just by a pink slip. “It’s a military system,” Saviano tells TIME in Rome as one of the plainclothes cops guarding him stands nearby.

“The farm and factory owners employ the Mafia caporali to bring the workers. The immigrants wait on the roads, the caporali pick them up and take them to the work. If they complain, they get killed.”

The immigrants arrive in Italy from impoverished African or Eastern European countries and find themselves trapped in a system in which they work 10- to 14-hour days for about $3 an hour. They live in tents or shacks pitched inside abandoned buildings, without appliances, plumbing or health care. Italian society supports the system by keeping the immigrants on its margins. Services are few and far between, mainly provided by religious organizations. Non-Italian police are rarely seen, and only one nonwhite serves in Parliament. Many immigrants simply do not report crimes against them. Disappearances are frequent – the Polish government is still looking for more than 100 Polish migrants who vanished from the tomato farms of Puglia in 2006, some of whom are believed to have been killed.

Ironically, though, southern Italy’s crime clans seem like a welcome wagon for the immigrants at the beginning, providing a deceptively accepting community for newcomers. “For the Mafia to keep them as low-priced labor, they create this atmosphere of tolerance,” Saviano says. “They actually live better down there than in Milan. They are treated and paid like slaves, but the human relationships are warmer than those you would find in Milan. Africans say the Italian girls look them in the eyes in Calabria, while in the north they wouldn’t.”

Court: Prince Stole His Hit
An Italian court has ruled that Prince stole his 1994 hit, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” from two Italian writers. The Roman Court of Appeals agreed that Prince borrowed heavily from “Takin’ Me to Paradise,” which was written by Bruno Bergonzi and Michele Vicino, Billboard reports.  The court ruled that Prince can no longer distribute the song in Italy. In addition, he may have to pay royalties to Bergonzi and Vicino and their publishers that he has collected to date. That will be determined later, if another hearing confirms the song was plagiarized. “Our song was first released in 1983, at the height of the Italian dance boom and it appeared on assorted compilations that were distributed internationally,” Bergonzi told Billboard.com. “When we first heard Prince’s song we immediately took action, but this case has been dragging on for 15 years and it isn’t over yet, such is the slowness of the Italian legal system. We only decided to go public with our story now.”   

  
Inauguration List is Indeed A-List
The performance list for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration has blown up to include an eclectic mix of mega-stars – from the biggest names in hip hop to legends of bebop. Among those participating in the official kickoff at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 18 are R&B stars Beyoncé, John Legend, Mary J. Blige and Usher; jazz legend Herbie Hancock; soul-stirrer Stevie Wonder; and hip-hopper will.i.am; rocker Bruce Springsteen; and country-western crooner Garth Brooks. Read more here.