In Dallas, which has the highest HIV rate in Texas, commissioners are considering whether to overturn a law that makes it illegal for county health officials to distribute free condoms. Fourteen years ago, health workers routinely went into high-risk neighborhoods to hand out condoms and sterilized needles. But in 1995, a thin majority of commissioners ruled that the program actually promoted illegal and immoral behavior. Over the past decade and a half, however, the HIV/AIDS rate has skyrocketed, particularly among poor and African-American communities in the county. County Judge Jim Foster, who supports reversing the condom policy, says he has enough votes to overturn the ban. “We should have never had it to start with,” he said. Kenneth Mayfield, one of the commissioners who voted for the ban, would now like to see limited distribution of condoms. Under his plan, condoms would be given out only after the recipients received counseling about their risky behaviors and were told that condoms are not 100 percent effective. In addition, under Mayfield’s proposal, county health workers could give free condoms only to high-risk individuals with HIV/AIDS or a sexually transmitted disease, those who have had sex with someone infected with the virus or an STD, and those who have had sex with prostitutes. Mayfield’s order would ban condom distribution in schools or “any venues where children are present.”

Female circumcision is banned in Ugandan community. Female circumcision (also referred to as female genital mutilation, FGM) has been banned in a Ugandan community, reports the BBC. The practice, which entails cutting of a girl’s clitoris, is “outmoded” and “not useful” for women in the community, said Kapchorwa district chairman Nelson Chelimo. “The community decided that it was not useful, that women were not getting anything out of it, so the district council decided to establish an ordinance banning it,” he continued. He also said that the council had also sent legislation to Uganda’s parliament to make the ban nationwide. Some believe that women who get married without being circumcised would fall ill, Chelimo said.  Where FGM is practiced, many see it as a way to make sure a woman stays a virgin until she is married. According to the U.N. three million African girls are at risk of FGM. But the agency has called for the practice to be drastically reduced by 2015, arguing it causes bleeding, infections and increases the likelihood of infant mortality. The only group that practices FGM in Uganda are the Sabiny people.
 

World Lens: More peace troops head into Somalia, Rapper Jay-Z catches a game in London and Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee gets political. See pictures.

Saggy pants are not police business, judge rules.

Government doesn’t have the right to penalize folks for wearing saggy pants, a Florida judge ruled Tuesday. “Somebody help me,” Palm Beach Circuit Judge Paul Moyle, said mockingly before delivering his decision. “We’re not talking about exposure of buttocks. No! We’re talking about someone who has on pants, whose underwear are apparently visible to a police officer who then makes an arrest and the basis is he’s then held overnight, no bond.” Get more on that case at BET.com/News.  Should government be able to dictate what people wear?

Ugandan official wants miniskirts banned. Don’t pack your “freakum” dress if you’re planning a trip to Uganda. One Ugandan official wants miniskirts banned because women wearing them distract drivers, causing traffic accidents. In addition, BBC reports, the skirts should be looked at as “indecent,” and those wearing them should be dealt with under the nation’s law, Nsaba Buturo, Uganda’s ethics and integrity minister told reporters. “What’s wrong with a miniskirt? You can cause an accident because some of our people are weak mentally,” he said. Get more of what Buturo had to say at BET.com/News.  Well, do you think short skirts are the root of all evil?

As it batters Jamaica, Haiti’s death toll from the storm passes 50.
Tropical Storm Gustav batters the Caribbean. Tropical Storm Gustav slammed the island nation of Jamaica Thursday and ripped through its Caribbean cousin, Haiti, claiming more than 50 lives in its wake, reports CNN. The storm, whose intensity in Jamaica came just short of hurricane strength, was 15 miles away from Kingston (although residents report suffering little physical damage from the storm). Before it hit, Jamaican authorities evacuated residents in low-lying areas, said a spokesman for the military. But Gustav was a full-fledged hurricane when it hit Haiti Tuesday. Haitian officials announced Thursday that the country’s death toll rose from 14 people to 51.  Six children are among the dead, according to the government, and 6,500 residents are living in shelters. The storm lost its strength over Jamaica, but it could pick up strength and become a hurricane by today, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters say the storm could dump 2 to 4 inches over Cuba and 6 to 12 inches over Jamaica. The Hurricane Center’s projection models illustrate the storm could hit Louisiana by Sunday afternoon, almost three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. The National Guard is sending 3,000 members there to get ready for the storm.

Co-ed schools banned in part of Nigeria. A Nigerian state has decided to get rid of co-ed schools, citing teen pregnancy and low-academic achievement as reasons, reports the BBC. The ban, which would affect all junior and senior schools, was passed last week by lawmakers in the country’s Bauchi State. Private schools are not affected. Teens have a hard time controlling sexual urges, said Aminu Tukur a Bauchi lawmaker in favor of the ban. Bauchi is governed by the Islamic Sharia law (under the frame of this system, courts recently ruled a Nigerian man with 86 wives had to choose only four and repent, or face death). Christians, a minority in the state, are against the ban, saying teens are able to meet up at other places too, not just schools. No word yet on when the co-ed schools will have to turn single sex. Students will head back to school next week

Stalking’s not sexy, but can be inspiring, Terrence Howard says

He once rapped in the movie Hustle & Flow that it was hard out here for a pimp. But Terrence Howard knows from personal experience that it can also be hard for an ex, like it was when he separated from his wife. Howard, whose acclaimed acting will soon be compared with his music, wrote about the experience of stalking the mom of his three children after the couple split up. The song “No. 1 Fan” from his debut CD Shine It Through discusses the experience. “It was raining, and I was sitting there in front of the house, watching her come home from a date after we were divorced,” Howard tells the New York Times. “I was imagining what she did on this date, and watching her giving him a kiss. I went home and wrote this song.” Howard hopes his next big hit will be on the song charts, not in an appearance on “Cops.”

Rapper will tour with Ice Cube

Snoop Dogg will appear in concert in Australia with Ice Cube this fall after a ban against him was lifted. Snoop’s criminal record resulted in his being blocked from entering the continent by Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews last spring. But now he’s set to perform in the country for a 17-day tour beginning Oct. 21. The lift of Snoop’s ban has been met with anger by local activists who wanted the punishment to remain.

First Black judge on Louisiana high court dies

Justice Revius O. Ortique, a seminal civil rights figure and the first African American elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court, died Sunday following a stroke a week earlier. He was 84 years old. The New Orleans native and World War II veteran earned his bachelor’s degree from Dillard University, a master’s from the University of Indiana and his law degree from Southern University in 1956, according to HistoryMakers.com. Ortique began his own private law practice in 1956, working on any type of case but focusing primarily on estate cases. His practice became one of the largest estate practices in the State of Louisiana. As the President of the Community Relations Council, Ortique served as “chief negotiator” for the peaceful desegregation of lunch counters, hotels and other public facilities in New Orleans. Between 1965 and 1967, Ortique served as the president of the National Bar Association. In 1970, after the National Guard shot to death four students and wounded four others who were protesting the war in Southeast Asia, then-President Richard Nixon appointed Ortique to the President’s Commission on Campus Unrest. Four years later, Nixon named Ortique to the newly created Legal Services Corporation, designed to guarantee equal access to the criminal justice system by providing legal assistance to poor defendants. In 1992, Ortique was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court; he retired two years later. He was named an alternate to the United Nations General Assembly by President Clinton in 1999, HistoryMakers.com says.

Program aims to give minorities money help
The Federal Reserve System is hoping that a new project will give minority-owned banks a much-needed leg up in providing access to credit and financial services, particularly in poor communities. The Partnership for Progress program will give innovative outreach and technical assistance at minority institutions. “The program’s overarching mission is to preserve and promote minority-owned institutions and to enhance their vital role in providing access to credit and financial services in communities that have been historically underserved,” said Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. “The Federal Reserve is committed to helping minority-owned and de novo banks achieve long-term success.” The Partnership for Progress provides insight on key issues in three distinct stages of a bank’s life cycle: “Start a Bank,” “Manage Transition,” and “Grow Shareholder Value.” Topics covered include credit and interest-rate risk, capital and liquidity, and banking regulations. To ensure broad access to the program, all aspects of the training will be available through workshops, online courses, and the program’s interactive Web site. “This cutting-edge program, which draws on insights from economics, accounting, finance, and regulatory compliance, will become a valuable resource for institutions at different stages of their development,” said Federal Reserve Board Governor Randall S. Kroszner.