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Houston Public Library is apologizing after a man charged for sexually assaulting a child was allowed to entertain children at Drag Queen storytime. The library said Friday that a review revealed the volunteer never completed a background check before he was allowed to participate in the program. Albert Alfonso Garza, 32, was last seen reading to children at the Montrose Library in September 2018. ABC13 Eyewitness News has learned Garza was charged with child sex assault in 2008. According to records, his victim was a child under the age of 14 years old. The library said appropriate action is being...

Boston, Mass. – The rate of infectious disease (ID) markers, such as those for HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV), in donated blood is higher for men who have sex with men (MSM) relative to blood donors overall, according to an analysis of data from more than 8.4 million blood donations collected from January 2017 through September 2018 by the American Red Cross. However, the ID marker rates for reinstated (1.44%) and newly eligible (2.0%) MSM donors were similar to those of first-time male donors (1.52%). The findings were presented at the 2018 AABB Annual Meeting,...

In a disturbing national trend, the number of three common sexually transmitted diseases hit a record high last year, with nearly 2.3 million cases reported in the U.S. – eclipsing the record set in 2016 by more than 200,000 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Comparing data from 2013 with 2017's preliminary data showed "steep, sustained increases" in reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, the CDC said, also warning that gonorrhea is showing signs of becoming resistant to the antibiotics used to treat it. "We are sliding backward," Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC's...

Sexually-transmitted diseases continue to hit all-time highs in the U.S. with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting a 10 percent spike for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2017. The federal health agency said in a report released Tuesday that the numbers, which include nearly 2.3 million new cases of the aforementioned diseases, reflect a “steep, sustained increase” in STDs since 2013. “We’re sliding backward,” Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, said. “It is evident the systems that identify, treat and ultimately prevent STDs are strained to near-breaking point.”...

A rare sexually transmitted disease that causes flesh-eating ulcers on patients’ genitalia has popped up in England, the Lancashire Post reported. [Snip] Donovanosis, which is spread through sexual intercourse with an infected patient, or by coming into contact with a patient's infected ulcer, is typically seen in India, New Guinea, parts of the Caribbean, central Australia and southern Africa. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the painless disease causes progressive ulcerative lesions on the genitals or perineum, which are prone to heavy bleeding. Patients are at risk of extragenital infections that can occur in the pelvic...

The rollout of a drug that prevents H.I.V. infection was followed by a reduction in condom use among gay and bisexual men in Australia, according to a study published in the journal Lancet H.I.V. But so effective was the drug that H.I.V. infection rates in the study region declined anyway, the researchers concluded. During the rapid distribution of a drug that prevents infection — a strategy called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — among gay and bisexual men in Australia, researchers found that unprotected sex increased even among those not on PrEP, suggesting that perceptions of risk had declined in communities...

Cherie DeVille began her professional life as a licensed physical therapist. She was living in Tennessee when, at 32 years old, she decided that it was time for an "exciting and outside the box" opportunity. She flew to California and became a porn star. DeVille, now 39, shoots approximately 200 scenes a year, likening the excitement of her performances to sky-diving. But she says she’s interested in another unlikely career change, this time entering politics to become president of the United States. “I really do believe that I can do this and that I can do this well,” DeVille told...

A drug-fueled sex fad called "chemsex" was linked to increased risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among men who have sex with men (MSM), researchers found. Gay, bisexual or other MSM who disclosed use of chemsex were more likely to be newly diagnosed with HIV infection, acute bacterial and rectal STIs, and hepatitis C, reported Mark Pakianathan, MBChB, of Wandsworth Integrated Sexual Health at The Courtyard Clinic in London, and colleagues.

22-year-old was living in West Hollywood, hoping to launch his acting career. Los Angeles had a thriving a gay scene where King, for the first time, could embrace his sexuality freely. He frequented bathhouses and also met men in dance clubs and along the bustling sidewalks. There was lots of sex to be had. Like a few years earlier, the doctor gave him a handful of antibiotics to take for a few days that would clear up the infection. It wasn't a big deal. In fact, as King describes it, it was "simply an errand to run." ... When King...

The teenagers tucked their hands into their sweatshirt pockets as they shuffled to form a circle. Some gazed at the asphalt, trying to avoid the game they had been drafted to play. “It’s like hot potato/musical chairs, but with a penis,” said the girl leading the group. The kids gathered on a spring morning in South Los Angeles were about to get a hands-on lesson in sex education. Many health experts say that public health problems are best tackled outside the doctor’s office — that fixing the culture that perpetuates them is more effective than changing a single patient’s behavior....

he teenagers tucked their hands into their sweatshirt pockets as they shuffled to form a circle. Some gazed at the asphalt, trying to avoid the game they had been drafted to play. “It’s like hot potato/musical chairs, but with a penis,” said the girl leading the group. The kids gathered on a spring morning in South Los Angeles were about to get a hands-on lesson in sex education. Many health experts say that public health problems are best tackled outside the doctor’s office — that fixing the culture that perpetuates them is more effective than changing a single patient’s behavior....

Two people in Australia have been diagnosed with 'super gonorrhoea,' an STI resistant to treatment and fulled by sex tourism. The cases are the first for Australia and were reported last month, one in Queensland and one in Western Australia. Both of the cases were discovered after pathology tests and it is believed one was contracted in south-east Asia.

What kind of sex educators would tell kids with AIDS they don't have to disclose their health status to a sexual partner? Planned Parenthood, that's who! International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has an information campaign they've put out for kids with HIV called "Healthy, Happy and Hot" that begins: Young people living with HIV may feel that sex is just not an option, but don’t worry — many young people living with HIV live healthy, fun, happy and sexually fulfilling lives. You can too, if you want to! Things get easier (and sex can get even better) as you become...

Dr. DiCenco says the numbers in a state health department alert about STD’s and HIV among 15-24 year olds in Beaver County are “quite concerning and we, in our practice, have seen an uptick in the number of Gonorrhea and Chlamydia cases.” The state alert says the cases of Gonorrhea among 15-24 year old men and women were up 34 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. HIV was up almost threefold. “The HIV rate increasing 300 percent is very concerning,” says Dr. DiCenco. So why are the numbers among young people rising? Students on the Carnegie Mellon Campus had these...

Yeah, not to get your blood pressures to spike over the weekend, but some on the feminist Left just need to accept that 2016 happened and they lost. It doesn’t matter that Hillary Clinton got more popular votes either; that’s not how you win the presidency. We all know this. Now, as we enter the 2018 midterm season, we still have some who just can’t stand that Trump won, that he’s president, and that Hillary Clinton will never be president—ever. Enter Gloria Steinem who says she doesn’t think Trump is president because he lost by 10 million votes. No,...

Sexually transmitted diseases are getting worse in the United States, increasing for the third year, with 2016 reaching an all-time high. According to the Centers for Disease Control and data analysis by Backgroundchecks.org, here are the ten most sexually diseased states in America:

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - According to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) the number of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis reported in the United States reached all-time highs in 2016. In the U.S., there were 1.6 million cases of chlamydia and 470,000 cases of gonorrhea last year. “Increases in STDs are a clear warning of a growing threat,” said Jonathan Mermin, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. “STDs are a persistent enemy, growing in number, and outpacing our ability to respond.” The increase...

The Pentagon says the country should stick with mandatory registration for a military draft, and it advocates a requirement for women to sign up for the first time in the nation’s history. The recommendations are contained in a Defense Department report to Congress that serves as a starting point for a commission examining military, national and public service. Congress ordered the Pentagon report, and the office of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness completed it in the early months of the Trump administration. Currently, only male citizens and residents age 18-25 are required to register, for a pace...

Eleven million American men are infected with oral human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cancers of the head, neck and throat, a new study reports. That equates to 1 in 9 U.S. males aged 18 to 69. And infection is most likely for those who have had multiple oral sexual partners, are gay or bisexual, or who also have genital HPV infection, a team of U.S. researchers found.

A timely and stunning statistic befitting the recent death of America’s patriarch of pornography: a shocking 110 million Americans—over one-third of our population—are saddled with a sexually transmitted disease. According to The New York Times, "The incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis is increasing, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 110 million Americans now are infected with a sexually transmitted disease. ..." Additionally, more than one out of every six people aged 14 to 49 has genital herpes. (Thus the rise of all of the Valtrex commercials on TV.) Among many...