To commemorate the organization's 25th anniversary, members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) chained themselves together across Broadway at Wall Street this morning. Activists demanded a Financial Speculation Tax (FST) on Wall Street affecting all transactions and speculative trades in order to raise the money to end the global AIDS epidemic and provide universal healthcare in the Unites States. Police arrived with chain cutters and nine protesters were promptly arrested for obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct—to the sounds of jeering New York Stock Exchange workers. Later, approximately 1,500 demonstrators from organizations like Occupy Wall Street, Housing Works, Vocal NY, and National Nurses United marched from City Hall to the Department of Social Services at 180 Water Street before finally gathering again in front of Trinity Church on Broadway, chanting "Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!" more ›

In five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes (all figures approximate), Rent—the musical about a group of '90s-era "new bohemians" living, loving, and dying of AIDS in the East Village—will be revived Off-Broadway. There's no escaping the past! more ›

Over 40,000 people gathered in Central Park on a gray day for the 26th annual AIDS Walk. The six mile walk through the UWS raised more than $6 million altogether for various organizations that provide services for people with HIV and AIDS. We just hope everyone made sure to wear the ribbon. more ›

When Pope Benedict made those somewhat confusing remarks saying that condoms could be used by male prostitutes to stop the spread of HIV, people thought, "Hey, what about the female sex workers?" Now it turns out that Pope Benedict thinks that the use of condoms by both men and women to prevent AIDS is a-okay! The Vatican spokesman said, "I personally asked the Pope if there was a serious, important problem in the choice of the masculine over the feminine. He told me no... It's the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship. ... This is if you're a woman, a man, or a transsexual." more ›

In early 2009, former Mets second basemen Roberto Alomar was sued by an ex-girlfriend for having unprotected sex with her and not telling her that he had "full-blown AIDS." At the time, his then-girlfriend defended him staunchly, and denied that Alomar had AIDS. Now, that same girlfriend is Alomar's soon-to-be ex-wife, and she is suing him for the same charges as the other lawsuit: "intentionally, with corrupt intent, [concealing] from [her] his physical condition" in order to get her to have unprotected sex with him. more ›

An 11-year-old boy at Staten Island University Hospital to get stitches had to get emergency HIV testing after a madman ripped an IV out of his arm and sprayed the boy with blood. "The guy was completely unrestrained running with his IV needle swinging and spraying blood," the boy's father told the Daily News. The next day, the boy started an anti-AIDS regimen, and his mom said, "As low as the risk is, it's a possibility and basically that's what the specialist has told us." The blood-spraying man is being tested for HIV, and results are expected tomorrow. And who's terrified of the hospital now? more ›

At a Democratic fundraiser at the Roosevelt Hotel last night, demonstrators disrupted President Obama's speech to demand more AIDS funding. Holding signs and shouting "Broken Promises Kill," the activists blasted Obama for, in their words, "failure to make a concrete commitment of US funding to the Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria... and called on him to contribute $6 billion over 3 years to the Global Fund." The Daily News notes that the elitist "Cabernet-sipping crowd"—which included Barbara Streisand—tried to drown out the protesters by chanting their dear leader's name: more ›

With Bed Bug Plague 2010 raging on, entomologists are facing mounting pressure to figure out where the bugs come from and how the hell to kill them. And at this point, they're looking even more resilient than Twinkies. In an attempt to see if the bugs may be able to transmit disease, South African researchers fed the insects blood containing the AIDS virus. The virus died. Time to panic? more ›

GLAAD, the Black AIDS Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition are really not happy with the ladies of "The View," taking out a full page ad in Variety blasting them for their ignorance. On the June 22 episode, Sherri Sheperd and co-host D.L. Hughley said that closeted black men are to blame for increased HIV rates among straight black women. Hughley said, "When you look at the prevalence of HIV in the African American community, it's primarily young women who are getting it from men who are on the down low." But GLAAD and, you know, science disagree. more ›

As every well-bred socialite knows, AIDS is everywhere—floating in the air they breathe, hiding in the bathrooms they use, and coursing through the veins of their domestic servants. That's why Dana Hammond, an heiress to the Annenberg family fortune, wanted her "executive Polish housekeeper" to get tested for H.I.V. Hammond herself got an H.I.V. test after she sat on a seemingly "unclean" toilet seat, so why shouldn't she require her servant to get tested, too? But for simply trying to keep those little AIDS bugs from jumping off the help and onto her bedding, she's being sued. more ›

Robert Musmacker, a high-level sex offender with AIDS, pleaded guilty to 25 counts, incuding "first-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child" in Suffolk County yesterday. Newsday reports, "Musmacker admitted in court to having sex with his victims, the oldest of whom was 20, from 2007 to 2008" and that he "he did not tell his victims that he had known since October 2005 that he was HIV positive, and he said he did not use condoms or ask his victims to use condoms." (Prosecutors said none of the victims has contracted AIDS.) His lawyer said Musmacker pleaded guilty because "The people's case was overwhelming." Earlier this year, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sought to stop the release of Nushawn Williams, who knowingly spread HIV. more ›

Today makes the 25th AIDS Walk in NYC. The walk, which raises money for the Gay Men's Health Crisis and other AIDS service organizations, is expected to include tens of thousands of people (45,000 participated last year) as it heads through Central Park onto West 110th Street, then south along Riverside Drive, and finally at West 85th Street back east to the park. The walk has raised $110 million since 1986; an 86-year-old Brooklyn woman who has walked each year (she and her husband wanted to support their gay son) has raised $629,000 since the first one. If you have photos of the walk, you can email them to tips@gothamist.com or tag them "gothamist" on Flickr. more ›

Yesterday, protesters from activist groups including ACT UP, Africa Action, Global Access Project and Housing Works gathered outside the St. Regis Hotel to protest what they said was President Obama's "broken promises on global AIDS funding." Twenty people were taken into custody and eight were arrested. more ›

The non-profit African Services Committee, based in Harlem, provides a variety of assistance to immigrants and refugees who arrive in NYC from countries throughout Africa. It was founded by Ethiopian refugees in 1981, and the organization also works in three clinics in Ethiopia providing HIV prevention, testing and care to some of the poorest people on Earth. The country has an estimated 2 million people living with HIV and the third highest number of infections in Africa. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg wants Gov. Paterson to veto a bill that would let low-income people getting housing assistance from the H.I.V./AIDS Services Administration pay no more than 30% of their incom e on rent. Bloomberg says the bill would cost the city an extra $15 million it doesn't have. (Besides, he's already committed $41.5 million in taxpayer money to make Governors Island pretty!) "As sympathetic as we are to the people who this would help, this nevertheless is yet another unfunded mandate from Albany, and one that will have significant immediate and long-term costs," Bloomberg spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti told the Times. State Senator Tom Duane said the bill could actually save the city money by reducing the number of evictions and placements in emergency housing. more ›

In sight of dangerously low levels at the city’s blood banks, some NY politicians want to lift a federal ban on blood donation by gay males. Ever-resourceful U.S. Rep. Anthony Wiener said today that the regulation, which was put into place in 1983 for gay men, regardless of whether they were HIV positive, is outdated, ignorant and due for repeal. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and 18 other U.S. senators are also not afraid of catching something, reports the AP. The FDA fired back: "while FDA appreciates concerns about perceived discrimination, our decision to maintain the deferral policy is based on current science and data." It added that the "hemophilia community" opposes changing the policy. more ›

So St. Vincent's isn't closing yet, but it is losing many of its major functions. Last week it closed its outpatient HIV and mental health clinics and with a $6 million injection from the state and other lenders—meant to hold the hospital over until the end of the month while it tries again to restructure its debt—the facility will lose two-thirds of its beds. To save St. Vincent's "shared sacrifices" will be necessary from all parties, said Governor Paterson. He and other officials are frustrated that unions aren't giving an inch—even faced with the hospital's $700 million debt and $5 million to $10 million monthly losses. Hospital officials told the Daily News the no-interest loan will give them "the time we need to put together a potential plan for the future of St. Vincent's." more ›

A nationwide ban that has kept HIV-positive travelers from visiting the United States since 1987 will come to an end today when Hugo Bausch and Clemens Ruland are expected to arrive in the city from the Netherlands. Last fall, President Obama reversed the policy and stated it was "rooted in fear, rather than fact," according to the Huffington Post. The regulation, which many derided as discriminatory, separated families and turned members of the scientific community against the United States, according to the Daily News. Ruland, who will be landing at Kennedy Airport today, wrote in an essay: "Free to travel, to hug, share, love and once more be united . . . Alive and proud . . . I turn to you, America. America, here I come; Come as I am." Foreigners with HIV are still barred from visiting about a dozen other countries. more ›

Today is World AIDS Day, and while there are many events planned around the city, there is currently a 24-hour vigil at City Hall, with volunteers reading of the names of people who had been lost to HIV or AIDS at City Hall. And just now, during Mayor Bloomberg annual breakfast at Gracie Mansion in honor World AIDS Day, 10 Housing Works activists were arrested for protesting outside. more ›

Doctors at St. Vincent's Hospital exposed a Washington Heights woman to the HIV virus when they used dirty medical equipment, a lawsuit alleges. more ›

The first New York revival of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning two-part epic work, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, will be staged by Signature Theatre Company as part of their 20th anniversary season in 2010-2011. Signature, which devotes an entire season to a single playwright's work, announced that part one, Millennium Approaches and part two, Perestroika, will run in repertory; the theater also plans to have performance days where the plays (each three and a half hours) are presented back to back. As usual with Signature, all tickets for the initial run will be sold for $20, thanks to a grant from Time Warner. more ›

Former Mets second baseman and perennial All-Star throughout the '90s has called the lawsuit filed against him by his ex-girlfriend "full of lies." The suit filed by longtime girlfriend Ilya Dahl claims that he insisted on having unprotected sex with her while having "full-blown AIDS." His lawyer called it "a frivolous lawsuit," but that Alomar wishes to keep his health status private. In Alomar's own statement, he called it a "private, personal matter" and added, "I am in very good health and I ask that you respect my privacy during this time." more ›

Former Met Roberto Alomar, the great second baseman with 10 Golden Gloves and 12 All-Star appearances, is being sued by a former girlfriend for $15 million. The charges? The Daily News reports that Queens resident Ilya Dall claims "Alomar has full-blown AIDS but insisted on having unprotected sex." more ›

Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota is concerned that convicted sex offender Robert Musmacker has exposed a 16-year-old boy—and potentially other victims—with the virus that causes AIDS. Musmacker was pulled over for speeding two weeks ago and, Newsday reports, the "trooper took note of the driver's 16-year-old passenger, along with Musmacker's undone belt buckle on his pants." The tropper then found that Musmacker was a high-level sex offender and the boy "revealed not only that he'd had sexual contact with Musmacker on several occasions, but also that Musmacker has AIDS." Spota told the AP, "This is a very, very tragic case. We believe he definitely had sexual contact with other young males. This could possibly develop into a significant number." He urged other possible victims to contact the New York State Police Major Case Bureau at 631-756-3390. And Musmacker was charged committing a criminal sex act, endangering the welfare of a child and several traffic violations. more ›

After twelve years, 5,124 performances and a haul of $280 million, Rent's Broadway run has come to an end. The musical closed yesterday after a final sold-out performance packed with diehard fans (the "Rentheads") and a smattering of celebrities (a couple Gossip Girl cast members). Just before the curtain came down for the final time, members of the show's original company joined the current cast on stage to "Seasons of Love," one of the show's most famous songs, the Associated Press reports. more ›

more ›

Kids who weren't even born when AIDS was an epidemic that ravaged the American gay and IV drug-using communities are apparently oblivious to the potential toll it can take on its generation. New York City's Dept. of Health reported that the number of HIV infections among city high schoolers (between the ages of 13 and 19) rose 29% between 2004 and 2006. Current figures are not yet available, but Rep. Anthony Weiner is proposing a program to curb the spread of the virus. more ›

Banksy, the cheeky street artist/prankster turned multimillionaire art star, was in town last week, presumably for the Damien Hirst-coordinated auction at Sotheby’s to benefit the (Project) RED campaign, which works with corporations like the Gap to raise money for the treatment of A.I.D.S. patients in Africa. The $48 million raised at the event – through the sale of works by Hirst, Banksy, Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning and others – will be distributed by the Global Fund. more ›