Stuff you Should Know:

Slavery is alive and well. According to a report from the United Nations, 2.4 million people across the globe are victims of human trafficking and 80 percent are being exploited as sexual slaves. One out of every three victims is male. Criminals make an estimated $32 billion each year off trafficking humans for sex and labor. Breakfast cereals, yes even the sweet ones, are loaded with salt. A diet high in salt increases a person’s risk of dying from heart-related causes. The average American consumes close to 3,300 mg of sodium daily --about 1,000 mg more salt than recommended. The psychology of making a great first impression. Be yourself, but be the best you. Being someone you’re not is unsustainable. So, don’t waste your time. Focus on projecting the best aspects of who you truly are – in the way you carry yourself, how you’re dressed, your tone of voice and so on.

3 Things You Should Know

1. You can be strip searched for any arrest, no matter how minor. Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a by 5-to-4 vote that officials have the right to require citizens to “undergo a close visual inspection while undressed” before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband. 

2. It’s a good time to plan a vacation on the seas. According the folks over at Wisebread.com, April is typically a good month (price-wise) to book a cruise. The website reports that not only are cruise prices down in general, but this year’s cruise deals are as much as 11 percent less than similar offers last year.

3. You are at greater risk for coronary heart disease, if you have a relative with cancer. The increased risk may be due to the negative stress. Research suggests that mental stress and depression affect the nervous system, blood pressure and inflammation, which in turn can increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke.

BEAUTY PARLOR GOSSIP

What's the big deal about Mary J. Blige singing about crispy chicken and fresh lettuce? A Burger King commercial featuring the R&B queen, which appeared online Monday, received some heavy backlash. Detractors questioned whether the “My Life” singer had sold out by agreeing to perpetuate the stereotype about black folks and fried chicken for a rumored $2 million. The commercial was part of a rebranding campaign for BK that also featured other celebrities including Jay Leno, Salma Hayek, and David Beckham. While the other three commercials remain on BK’s official YouTube channel, Blige’s has mysteriously been deleted with no explanation. View the “controversial” commercial here and tell us if you think BK made the right decision to pull the ad? 

Meagan Good is engaged to a preacher. Good reportedly met her fiance’ DeVon Franklin, who is both a 7th Day Adventist preacher and an executive at Sony Pictures Entertainment, while filming the movie “Jumping the Broom.” Good’s rep told TMZ that Franklin proposed last month in L.A. In the November 2011 issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine, Good told publisher Jamie Foster Brown that although she had met someone special she was in no rush to get married. At the time, the “The Like a Man” star also said that she was practicing celibacy and focusing on her career and relationship with God. She told Brown that she’d had a conversation with God and the next man she dated would be her husband.

Cake, cake, cake, cake, cake

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE: 

This is what I'm making for my birthday.  (Recipe Source: Southern Lady March/April 2012)