Blood pressure control could save 8,000 Blacks a year. The lives of nearly 8,000 Black Americans could be saved each year if doctors could figure out a way to bring their average blood pressure down to the average level of Whites, a new study finds. The gap between the races in controlling blood pressure is well-known, but scientists say the resulting loss of life comes as a surprise. The study’s lead author says he believes action can be taken to close the gap, but there is evidence that it will take more than leveling the quality of care between Blacks and Whites. A second article in the same journal found that racial differences persist in blood pressure control in England, despite a national health system that provides equal access to care. The reasons for the racial difference have more to do with poverty and cultural habits than access to medical care, researchers say. Both can prevent people from exercising, eating healthy foods and getting in to see a good doctor. For more on controlling blood pressure, go to BET.com/Body & Soul.

Catholic leaders vow to fight Obama on abortion. The nation’s Catholic bishops are expected to issue a statement Wednesday pledging cooperation with President-elect Barack Obama on numerous social issues but vowing all-out opposition to any law or executive order he may sign advocating abortion rights. The initial draft of the bishops’ statement expressed a “desire to work with the administration” on social issues, such as immigration, economic justice and health care for the poor, highlighting that, “The Church is intent on doing good.” However, “the Church is also intent on opposing evil,” says the next line.

Smoking causes more cancers than once thought  It is known that tobacco-smoking leads to serious health complications. Smoking is a major risk factor for cancer. But a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) links smoking to more cancers than most people realize. Get the details at BET.com/Body & Soul.

Infamous Klansman will rally troops in civil rights capital

Renowned ex-Klansman David Duke is uniting his troops in Memphis, the home of the National Civil Rights Museum. Duke, the Louisiana White supremacist politician who came a stone’s throw from landing in the U.S. Senate, has announced his Euro-International Conference to be held in the historic city on Nov. 8. But it is unclear exactly where the event will be held, according to Kevin Kane, an official with the convention and visitors bureau. At the convention, Duke will address the presidential election. “We will assemble to say clearly that neither Black radical, Barrack Obama, nor Mr. Amnesty, John McCain, truly represent the will of the American people,” says Duke, who left the Democratic Party several years ago to join the Republican ranks. Before his run for the Senate in 1990, Duke left the KKK – officially – and he formed the National Association for the Advancement of White People, NAAWP. He says he didn’t pick Memphis because it is the infamous site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or the home of the National Civil Rights Museum, but because it is the most centrally located cities in the United States.

Police seek noose planter at Texas University. Police want to know who put a noose on the chair of the student body president at Abilene Christian University last week. When Daniel Paul Watkins, and African-American senior political science major, returned to his office on Wednesday, somebody had put the racially insensitive symbol there. University President Royce Money said the action is nothing short of a hate crime and campus cops are working to solve the case. Only about 13 percent of the student body at Abilene Christian, a campus of 4,700 students, is Black.