Two prostitution operations were shut down this week. First, a mobile brothel was busted on Thursday in Florida by a police sting. Second, in a massive sweep, 345 people were arrested over five days in cities across the country for running prostitution rings that involved children, 21 of whom were rescued. In a somewhat related case, a New York woman was sentenced to 11 years in prison for “keeping two Indonesian women as slaves, forcing them to work up to 20 hours a day for years after confiscating their passports.”

The Supreme Court handed down a few major rulings this week. They struck down the “millionaire's amendment” in the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law because it violates free speech protections; they repealed the ban on handguns in the District of Columbia; and they also banned the death penalty for child rape cases.

Senator Barack Obama had varying opinions on the opinions that seem to place him smack dab in the middle of the road.

Above and beyond all of that, the $2.5B punitive settlement levied against Exxon for the 1989 Valdez spill was slashed to $500M by the Court this week. A jury originally set the damages at $5B, the sum being cut in half by a federal appeals court in 1994. The ruling hits residents hard especially considering that Exxon posted record profits last year of some $40.6B. According to the AP, “Nearly 33,000 Alaskans are in line to share in the award, about $15,000 a person. They would have collected $75,000 each under the $2.5 billion judgment.”


Gay marriage continues to be a divisive issue across the nation, especially among religious communities. In Northern California, a group of 82 retired Methodist ministers stepped up and offered to officiate ceremonies so that active clergy members could avoid any negative repercussions from the church which forbids the act. Meanwhile, Mormons officially jumped on the anti-marriage bandwagon by sending a letter to bishops urging them to contribute “means and time” to passing the November ballot initiative. Another group effort which includes 40 days of fasting prior to the election is being spearheaded by Pastor Jim Garlow and involves over 1000 evangelical leaders.

Pride month is causing havoc all over the globe. In Minneapolis, St. Joan of Arc's annual Pride prayer service was barred by Archbishop John Nienstedt. Worshippers found a way around the ruling by taking the service to the streets. Cuba's first gay parade was planned and then abruptly canceled because it was not approved by Cuba's National Centre for Sex Education, which is headed by Mariela Castro, and several activists were arrested. Jerusalem's parade went off without a hitch drawing thousands to the celebration, and the Czech government refused to allow anti-gay rallies during their first Pride parade.


In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe continues his violent tear following opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's seeking of asylum at the Dutch Embassy. With Tsvangirai's departure, Mugabe goes into the presidential run-off election unopposed.