Damon Wayans hosts “BET Awards ’06” (7 p.m., BET), honoring individual achievement in music, movies and sports. Musical guests include Beyonce and Prince as well as Jamie Foxx, Busta Rhymes, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Keyshia Cole, Lil Wayne, Mary Mary, Mary J. Blige and T.I.

Presenters include Chaka Khan, Harry Belafonte, Vivica A. Fox, Outkast, Vince Young, Rihanna and 1970s sitcom veterans Bernadette Stanis and Jimmy Walker.

¢ “New York’s Secret War” (9 p.m., Court TV) looks at the Big Apple’s own supersecret antiterrorism squad. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the taskforce has grown tenfold and now employs more than 1,000 officers, with an annual budget of $200 million. “Secret War” includes an interview with police commissioner Ray Kelly and new details about the squad’s efforts to foil a terror attack in 2004.

¢ The independent-film showcase “P.O.V.” (9 p.m., PBS) enters its 19th season with “No More Tears Sister,” a profile of Sri Lankan activist Rajani Thiranagama, who was murdered outside her home in 1989.

The film brings attention to an entire generation caught up in a struggle between Sri Lankan revolutionaries and a violent government crackdown. The film uses archival footage, re-enactments and interviews with friends and loved ones to show how an idealistic young doctor from an admired middle-class Christian family was caught up in a revolutionary and murderous struggle.

¢ July 1 marks the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. “The Bloodiest Battle” (9 p.m., National Geographic) recalls the conflict considered the bloodiest day in the history of human warfare. The battle claimed up to 20,000 lives in the first hour of fighting.

¢ TV-themed DVDs available today include: the miniseries “Civilisation,” narrated by Kenneth Clark; “Alice”; “Commander in Chief”; and the second season of “Project Runway.” And let’s not forget the Comedy Central series “Strangers with Candy.” The series, starring Amy Sedaris, has been adapted for the big screen.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ A frozen lake yields the body of a fallen soldier on “NCIS” (7 p.m., CBS).

¢ On back-to-back episodes of “House” (Fox), a patient stalks House (7 p.m.), a question of error (8 p.m.).

¢ A botched bachelorette party on “Gilmore Girls” (7 p.m., WB).

¢ “My Life on the D-List” (8 p.m., Bravo) continues comic Kathy Griffin’s tour of Iraq.

¢ A foreign diplomat needs protection on “The Unit” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ Auditions continue on “Last Comic Standing” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ “Seconds from Disaster” (8 p.m., National Geographic) recalls the al-Qaida attack on the American embassy in Kenya.

¢ Scheduled on “48 Hours” (9 p.m., CBS): A woman is found slain after an office party. The atrocious “Tuesday Night Book Club” has been dropped from the schedule.