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Local Events Focus On HIV Testing, Awareness
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is conducting a three-week tour featuring a mobile testing unit named for former National Basketball Association player Earvin "Magic" Johnson that provides free HIV testing to local residents, WDSU.com reports. During the tour, which recently stopped in New Orleans, AHF will present $5,000 grants to local HIV/AIDS organizations (WDSU.com, 6/14). In related news, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) sponsored a health awareness festival in Pensacola, Fla. that sought to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among the black community as part of its annual state convention. According to Art Rocker, head of the local SCLC chapter, since 2007, there has been an increase in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Escambia County, Fla., which prompted the organization to focus its event on HIV/AIDS (Dugas, Pensacola News Journal, 6/14).
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Mac Researchers Find "surprising Link" Leads Towards A New Antibiotic
As the best drugs become increasingly resistant to superbugs, McMaster University researchers have discovered a completely different way of looking for a new antibiotic.
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Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor Pledges 'Fidelity To The Law' As Confirmation Hearing Begins
In the first day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor said on Monday that "fidelity to the law" is central to her judicial philosophy and that the role of a judge is "not to make law" but "to apply the law," the Washington Post reports. Sotomayor said her record as a district and federal appeals judge "reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms, interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress" intent, and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and by my circuit court." She also said her "personal and professional experiences help me listen and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case" (Barnes et al., Washington Post, 7/14). The first day of the hearings was dedicated to opening statements from Sotomayor and senators, with the questioning portion scheduled to begin on Tuesday. According to the Wall Street Journal, Sotomayor is expected to be confirmed, as Democrats outnumber Republicans on the committee 12-7 and hold a 60-member majority in the Senate (Bravin/Bendavid, Wall Street Journal, 7/14). The New York Times reports that senators from both parties are likely to use Sotomayor"s confirmation as a way to frame the debate for the next Supreme Court nominee, with Democrats hoping to "build a lopsided victory" to give President Obama more leeway to choose a more liberal nominee. Conservatives, on the other hand, "hoped to draw a line making the president think twice about picking someone" like Sotomayor in the future, the Times reports (Baker/Lewis, New York Times, 7/14).In Monday"s hearing, both parties gave indications of how they plan to proceed for the rest of the confirmation process, the Post reports. Democrats in their statements portrayed Sotomayor as a role model for the country and a judge with a modest approach who would bring balance to the conservative-leaning court (Washington Post, 7/14). Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sotomayor "puts rule of law above everything else." He added, "Given her extensive and evenhanded record, I am not sure how any member of this panel can sit here today and seriously suggest that she comes to the bench with a personal agenda" (Stern/Perine, CQ Today, 7/13). Republicans used their statements to cast Sotomayor as a partial judge, saying previous statements and rulings show she is an activist judge (Washington Post, 7/14). In particular, GOP senators on the committee referenced a comment from a 2001 speech in which Sotomayor said that a "wise Latina" would reach better decisions than a white man in some cases (Baker/Lewis, New York Times, 7/14). Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the committee, said, "No senator should vote for an individual ... who believes it is acceptable for a judge to allow their own personal background, gender, prejudices or sympathies to sway their decision." He continued, "Call it empathy, call it prejudice or call it sympathy, but whatever it is, it"s not law" (Wall Street Journal, 7/14). However, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) noted that Republicans lost in last year"s presidential election and told Sotomayor, "Unless you have a complete meltdown, you"re going to get confirmed" (Lewis, New York Times, 7/14).Antiabortion-Rights Protesters Arrested During HearingsFour antiabortion-rights protesters were arrested for shouting comments during the senators" remarks (CQ Today, 7/13). One of the arrested protesters was Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade. According to the AP/Google.com, McCorvey began screaming that Sotomayor was "wrong" about abortion during the opening statement of Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). McCorvey and the other three arrested protesters were charged with unlawful conduct-disruption of Congress. The protesters also prompted a warning from Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who said, "We"ll show respect to everybody who is here, we will show respect to everyb
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East African Officials Meet To Coordinate HIV/AIDS, Transport Efforts

East African health officials on Tuesday met in Kisumu, Kenya, to examine integrating HIV/AIDS issues into transport policies in the region, Xinhua/CRI.com reports. The East African Community in a statement released ahead of the conference on Monday said that the meeting, which runs through Friday, brings together more than 100 stakeholders at the national and regional levels, including experts from national AIDS commissions, as well as representatives from transport, health, trade, immigration, gender and youth ministries. Representatives from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are attending the conference. Other representatives include those from the Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization, USAID, the International Organization for Migration, the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa, East Africa Trade and Transport, and the East, Central and Southern African Health Community. Delegates from the EAC Regional Inter-Parliamentary Forum on Health, Population and Development also are attending.The meeting aims to promote improved regional coordination and quality of HIV services for at-risk populations by bringing together national and regional efforts along major land, sea, ocean and inland transport systems. It also will provide an update on studies conducted to determine HIV transmission modes in the region, as well as identity appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment and support initiatives for communities located on transit hubs and corridors. According to the EAC statement, the meeting will identify ways for the transport sector to work in partnership with various implementing partners and local communities to address HIV/AIDS (Xinhua/CRI.com, 5/19). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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