Former President Bill Clinton's U.S.-based nonprofit group, the Clinton Foundation, announced last week that the group has made agreements to cut prices of anti-HIV drugs to developing nations, reports AFP. Sixteen African and Caribbean nations already receive the cut-rate drugs, but the new deal will extend benefits to any countries receiving funds from the World Bank, Global Fund or UNICEF.
A self-proclaimed Christian ex-employee of AT&T Broadband won a case against the Internet provider after the man was fired for refusing to sign a 'certificate of understanding' stating that employees accept individual differences, reports the Washington Times. Albert Buonanno worked for AT&T for nearly two years before being fired. Buonanno was awarded nearly $150,000 for lost wages and emotional distress. The judge ruled AT&T could have accommodated the man's anti-gay beliefs without undue hardship.
A gay attorney in Des Moines, Iowa, is facing an uphill battle in his appointment to the Iowa Board of Education, reports the Des Moines Register. Jonathan Wilson met with state senators last week in an attempt to ease some concerns that he may have a gay agenda. Wilson said he supports nondiscrimination and anti-bullying policies, but distanced himself from a 1990's proposal, while he served on the Des Moines School Board, that would have mandated discussion of homosexuality in the classroom.
California State Sen. Pete Knight may be willing to support recognition of some sort of unions in California as long as it's not marriage, according to reports from Equality California. Knight, the author of Proposition 22 that made gay marriage illegal in the state, allegedly told the group he may be willing to support something short of marriage if the sanctity of marriage was left intact. A judge rejected a request from Knight's organization, The Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund, from inserting itself into a suit from proponents of gay marriage. David Knight, the senator's gay son, married his 10-year partner days before the state supreme court stopped weddings in San Francisco.
An alderman in Rapid City, So. Dakota is about to become an alderwoman, reports KELO-TV. Tom Murphy, 48, will spend the next year living as a woman in preparation for his gender-reassignment surgery. The 22-year Air Force veteran says he was scared of coming out while in the military. He was appointed to his first term as alderman in 2000 and won two elections after that. He says he will not run for re-election in 2005.
Two men were convicted Friday of killing a transgender teen and her female friend, reports the Indianapolis Star. The teen, Nireah Johnson, and her friend Brandie Coleman were shot to death last year and left in a burned Jeep. Paul Moore was convicted on two counts of murder, two counts of criminal confinement and arson. His half brother, Clarence McGee was convicted of arson and other lesser crimes. Prosecutors argued that Moore killed the two teens when he found out Johnson was biologically male.
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A conservative Republican running for the Texas state house says his past cross-dressing activities are unimportant today, reports WorldNet Daily. Sam Walls ran yesterday in a runoff for the Republican nomination. Many friends and politicians continue to support Walls. But at least one vocal friend, Sheriff Bob Alford, urged Walls, a one-time mentor of Alford's, to resign.
The Maine supreme judicial court ruled in favor of a lesbian who sought parental rights over her ex-lover's biological child, reports the Press Herald. All seven justices agreed the non-biological parent was a de facto parent. In 1992 the women took each other's names and agreed one would give birth through artificial insemination. In 1994 hey signed a co-parenting agreement. In 2000, the couple separated and decided to share parenting costs and let a court decide visitation. Shortly after, the biological mother filed a complaint with the court stating that her ex-partner should not have parental rights.
