Sex Ed for Seniors

Staff / Truthdig Jul 26, 2007 Although many assume the elderly lead largely abstinent lives, AIDS is on the rise among seniors as HIV-positive Americans are living longer than ever. With one study suggesting the majority of HIV patients in New York will be over 50 within a decade, AIDS workers are beginning to pay more attention to the senior set. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bad News About Global AIDS Rate

Staff / Truthdig Jul 23, 2007 Even though the sense of urgency about HIV/AIDS appears to have dropped off in mainstream media and culture in recent years, the latest news about infection rates is far from favorable President Bush's adviser on HIV/AIDS, Dr Anthony Fauci, for one, reports that we're "losing the numbers game" with respect to new infections around the globe . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

House Overturns Abortion Aid Ban

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2007 The House has voted to lift a ban on aid, including contraception, to family planning clinics and organizations that perform abortions. The measure would still block the direct funding of abortions, but Republicans opposed to the bill say sending condoms to the clinics would give them more resources to perform abortions. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Stop Ignoring AIDS and Africa

Staff / Truthdig Jun 5, 2007 Stephanie Nolen, the last Western journalist covering the AIDS beat in Africa, tells Truthdig it is unfortunate but true that the more people die, the less people care, which is why she has decided to get personal with a new book that approaches the crisis from a different perspective. Dig deeper ( 18 Min. Read )

Jenna Bush Has a New Career

Staff / Truthdig Jun 4, 2007 First daughter Jenna Bush (left) may be known for late-night reveling and getting kicked out of Argentina, but HarperCollins is betting at least $300,000 that she has enough gravitas to carry off a nonfiction book about AIDS and poverty in the Third World. According to Radar Online, "Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope" is bad, but at least Jenna (unlike her dad) endorses the condom. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

New Jersey Considers Mandatory HIV Test

Staff / Truthdig May 12, 2007 A new proposal would make New Jersey the first state to require HIV testing for pregnant women and their babies, unless the women decline the test in writing. Currently four states test just mothers, and two others only newborns. The bill is opposed by the D.C.-based Center for Women Policy Studies on the grounds that it limits health rights. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

AIDS Czar Caught With His Pants Down

Ellen Goodman / Truthdig May 3, 2007 Abstinence advocate and Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias had to resign after admitting to $300 "massages" furnished by the "D.C. madam," but the real scandal is the administration's support -- to the tune of billions of dollars -- for a faith-based AIDS prevention philosophy that simply doesn't work. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Borders, Bullies and Global Health

Scott Tucker / Truthdig Apr 21, 2007 Australian Prime Minister John Howard is hurting politically, and so he has despicably turned against the vulnerable, arguing recently that Australia should have a blanket ban against HIV-positive immigrants. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

Circumcision Reduces AIDS Risk

Staff / Truthdig Dec 14, 2006 According to officials from the National Institutes of Health, circumcision reduces the risk in men of contracting HIV through heterosexual sex by roughly 50%. The announcement was based on several recent studies conducted in Africa. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Kirk Douglas’ Birthday Plea

Staff / Truthdig Dec 12, 2006 Acting legend Kirk Douglas turned 90 over the weekend and issued this birthday essay to commemorate the occasion, calling on the next generation to at least try to solve the world's problems. (h/t: Largest Minority) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Colbert on Christian Conservative Hypocrisy

Staff / Truthdig Dec 6, 2006 Stephen Colbert mocks the Christian Coalition's rejection of Joel Hunter (last week's Truthdigger of the Week) as its president. Hunter wanted to expand the group's agenda to address the AIDS epidemic and poverty -- issues the Christian conservatives thought would cause people to confuse them with liberals, or perhaps Jesus. Watch it Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

E.J. Dionne: Obama Wows the Religious Right

E.J. Dionne Jr. / Truthdig Dec 6, 2006 Sen. Barack Obama's standing ovation at Pastor Rick Warren's church demonstrates why the Illinois senator is one of the hottest commodities in 2008 presidential politics. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )