In today’s top news, Feb. 7th marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Beyoncé makes her first public appearance since the birth of Blue Ivy and Super Bowl Champions the New York Giants return home to a parade in their honor.

Feb. 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. [BET]

Beyoncé makes her first public appearance since the birth of Blue Ivy. [BET]

New York Giants return home to a parade in their honor. [AP]

Al Sharpton is very concerned about the NYPD and muslims. [CapitalNewYork]

Santorum calls Obama “hostile” toward people of faith. [Politico]

Valerie Jarrett says much more needs to be done about Black unemployment. [BET]

Wal-Mart Foundation donates $9.5 million in grants to promote healthy eating among minorities. [BET]

LGBT advocacy group GLAAD wants Roland Martin fired over his Super Bowl tweets. [LATimes]

SAG Award winner Viola Davis gets glam for LA Times. [BET]

DNA testing manufacturer says one in ten Americans have questions about paternity. [MSNBC]

If Rush Limbaugh becomes an NFL owner, he will have a hard time finding black players to work for him.

From the New York Daily News:

Mathias Kiwanuka (New York Giants) and the Jets’ Bart Scott made it clear Thursday that they would never play for the Rams or any team owned by the controversial conservative radio host.

“All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in (President) Obama’s America, white kids are getting beat up on the bus while black kids are chanting ‘right on,’” Kiwanuka told The Daily News. “I mean, I don’t want anything to do with a team that he has any part of. He can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play.”

Read more about it here.

Speaking of Limbaugh, listen to his comments about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Burress Says He Wants Back Into the NFL
In comments that sound quite familiar, former New York Giants wideout Plaxico Burress said he is looking forward to getting back into the NFL after he finishes his two-year stint in prison. Burress pleaded guilty last week to weapons charges, avoiding a trial, which could have resulted in a minimum 3.5-year prison term, after shooting himself in the leg with a gun in a New York nightclub.  “I almost killed my own self. And I got to go to prison for almost killing my own self,” the 32-year-old receiver told ESPN in an interview televised Tuesday night. He will be sentenced on Sept. 22. Another star NFL player, Michael Vick, has just returned to the league after a two-year prison term. The Philadelphia Eagles signed Vick to a two-year contract to play this season.

Gambling NBA Ref is Back in Jail
The gambling-addict NBA referee who was convicted of taking bribes for inside tips on games is in jail again, this time for violating the terms of his probation. The U.S. Marshals Service said Tuesday that Tim Donaghy was being held without bond one day after he was arrested for not showing up at a Tampa, Fla., halfway house, where he is wrapping up a 15-month sentence on gambling-related charges. “He was supposed to be at work and he was somewhere else,” said Deputy U.S. Marshal Ron Lindbak. Donaghy works in sales at ShotPak, a Sarasota-based beverage company. Donaghy admitted taking thousands of dollars from a professional gambler in exchange for inside tips on NBA games – including games he worked. Donaghy has acknowledged that he had gambling problem. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce in the tips-for-payoffs scheme, The Associated Press reports. He was released from a federal prison in Pensacola to the halfway house in June. He was scheduled for release in October.

Plaxico Burress

Former New York Giants wideout Plaxico Burress, who will spend two years in prison following his plea agreement last week, told ESPN Monday that his finger accidentally hit the trigger of his concealed gun when he tried to catch it as it slipped down his pants leg. The .40-caliber Glock fired after he missed a step walking up stairs, he told the TV sports network. He said he was trying to keep the gun from hitting the ground. The incident happened about five minutes after Burress entered the Latin Club in Manhattan. “My finger hit, like, right on the trigger,” he said. “What are the odds on that happening?” Burress said that when he looked down, he saw blood covering his right Converse Chuck Taylor sneaker. That’s when he knew he had shot himself, he said. “I take two or three steps and like my pants are wet,” Burress said in the interview. He then turned to his fellow teammate, middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, and asked him to take him to the hospital. “And he was like ‘Why?” Burress said. “I said I just think I shot myself, and he was like ‘Noooo!” Burress, who pleaded guilty last week to a weapons charge stemming from the November incident, accepted a two-year prison term. He will be sentenced Sept. 22.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is now the NFL’s richest baller. On Wednesday, he signed a new six-year, $97 million, contract extension. His salary is roughly $15.3 million. Manning is guaranteed $35 million under the deal, which will keep him with the Giants through 2015. Manning led the Giants to a Super Bowl upset of the New England Patriots in February 2008 and was named the MVP of the game. He was in the final year of the contract he signed as the No. 1 overall pick in 2004. He will make $9.4 million under that deal this season. His big brother, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, is about $14.17 million annually.

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, arrested last year on weapons charges after shooting himself in the leg in a New York restaurant bathroom, testified before a grand jury Wednesday. “He then begged forgiveness. I was truthful. I was honest, and I’m truly remorseful for what I’ve done,” Burress told reporters outside a Manhattan courthouse. Burress, 31, is likely facing a tough road ahead, considering Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s response – that the city would prosecute the NFL star to the fullest extent of the law – after Burress shot himself in the thigh. The New York Post reported earlier this week that Robert Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, is insisting on jail time. Morgenthau’s office has declined to comment. Burress, who faces up to 3 ½ years in prison, pleaded not guilty and is free on $100,000 bail.

New York Giants wideout Plaxico Burress, facing gun charges after accidentally shooting himself in the leg last year, is scheduled to appear in court in June – unless he decides to cop a plea before that. A judge adjourned a hearing scheduled for Tuesday at the Manhattan Criminal Court. Burress’ attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said that he had not reached a plea agreement, but that he was continuing discussions with prosecutors. Read more.

Burress Could Stay in New York

New York Giants brass said Tuesday that troubled wideout Plaxico Burress isn’t necessarily dead to the team because of constants missteps with the law and the likelihood that he’s facing jail time when the season kicks off. “Right now he is still a Giant, and if things work out and he’s on board with what we want coming back, we’d love to have him back,” General Manager Jerry Reese told The Associated Press. Burress is facing illegal weapons charges after shooting himself at a New York City nightclub in late November. If convicted, he could spend at least three and a half years in prison. Gov. Michael Bloomberg has made it clear that he would like for Burress to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Burress, 31, who signed a five-year, $35 million contract in September, could also be suspended by the NFL for violating its personal conduct policy.

Conference Champion Matchups
The Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are a notch closer to the Super Bowl. Over the weekend, the Eagles, who were written off more than once this season (and slipped into the playoffs with a less than stellar record of 9-6-1-) shocked the New York Giants and will square off against the Cardinals in the NFC championship next week. The Eagles blew out the Cards in the 13th week of the season, but Arizona is riding high after whipping up on the Carolina Panthers Saturday. The Steelers shut down the San Diego Chargers and will now represent the AFC in the conference championship against the Ravens next week.

Serena Wins
Serena Williams, who was visibly vexed by the chair umpire’s mistake during the Australian Open Sunday, pulled it together and defeated her opponent, Australian Samantha Stosur, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5. “I felt like I was going to win that second set,” Williams said.  “And then I hit a massive net cord and the guy didn’t call it. Even Sam knew it was a net cord. It was frustrating at that point. These types of things seem to happen to me a lot.” Williams was serving for the match at 6-5 and 30-30 in the second set when umpire Asitha Attigala of Sri Lanka missed the let call. Stosur broke Williams and then won the tiebreaker. “It was definitely tough conditions with the wind,” Williams said. “With that being said, I just made so many errors, and that was a little frustrating because I feel like I’ve been working hard and to come out and perform at the level I did, I wasn’t extremely happy.”

 The New York Giants suspended Plaxico Burress for four games on Tuesday, effectively ending his season, after he accidentally shot himself in the thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub, according to The Associated Press. The team also placed him on non-football injury reserve, which means he can’t return for the playoffs, either. If the news that he was being punished for conduct detrimental to the team wasn’t bad enough for Burress, the Giants receiver was also charged with illegal weapons possession, which could land him in prison from three to 15 years. Read the rest here.