Jim Downey Wins a 5-Day, 4-Night Carnival Cruise

"Yippee!" is the simple exclamation that winner Jim Downey gives when asked to respond to winning a Carnival cruise for two. "I've never won anything!" the 58-year-old Los Angeles resident beams. Yet when we come together to fight AIDS, we all win. The Carnival cruise is just one way The Black AIDS Institute provides opportunities for everyone to get involved.

Big Ups to Greg Millett!

Please join us in congratulating our friend Greg Millett, who is leaving his position as senior policy adviser at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to become a vice president at AmFAR and director of that organization's Washington, D.C., public policy office.

A Re-examination of HIV-Specific Criminal Laws

A recently published review of HIV-specific state criminal laws by colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) examines the prevalence and characteristics of laws that criminalize potential HIV exposure in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and discusses the implications of these laws for public health practice.

May Is Hepatitis Awareness Month

Throughout May, during this year's observance of Hepatitis Awareness Month, federal colleagues from across the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, and Veterans Affairs will be engaged in a variety of activities to increase awareness—among the public and healthcare providers—about viral hepatitis. Federal partners will be working to raise awareness of the importance of vaccination for hepatitis B, testing for hepatitis B and C, the availability of effective care and curative treatment, and the serious health consequences resulting from undiagnosed and untreated viral hepatitis.

African American HIV University Science and Treatment College Training 3

The African American HIV University Science and Treatment College (AAHU STC) seeks to increase the HIV/AIDS science, treatment and prevention literacy of Black Americans by training AAHU Fellows who are also members of the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN). The 16 Fellows, who represent community-based and AIDS service organizations nationwide, develop strategic action plans to respond to the AIDS epidemic in their communities.