• In an interesting series of events, a West Point senior writes a thesis paper on how the military's anti-gay policies actually hurt the the armed forces they're meant to proect — and the U.S. Military gives him an award. [AP]

• In Connecticut, incumbent Joe Lieberman loses the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to newcomer Ned Lamont — though Lieberman promises to run for his seat anyhow, as an indepdendent. [NYT]

• In Philadelphia, a HIV awareness campaign ended abruptly when its message got mixed with one of stereotyping black violence. The ads urging young men to get tested for HIV – and feature "young African American men ... in the crosshairs of a gun with the tagline 'Have YOU been hit?'" – were pulled when the Black Gay Men's Leadership Council voiced concerns over the ads violent message. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

• In Iran, an underground gay magazine says "thank you" for the worldwide support of other GLBT organizations bringing attention to their push for equality. [Pink News]

• The rainbow flag waving outside a Kansas B&B comes back into the spotlight, with a local chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition planning to gather at the hotel to give the local gay community a voice. [Hutchinson News]

• In Israel, Jerusalem police have banned a demonstration in the city's centre, claiming World Pride organizers failed to limit the number of participants, supposedly for safety concerns. Demonstrators, however, are reportedly still set on holding the event. [Jerusalem Post]

• In Washington, state Medicaid officials are pushing to stop publicly funded sex-change operations. There are still two operations in the queue, and those will go ahead, and the state will remain paying for "hormone treatment and psychotherapy for low-income people diagnosed with gender-identity disorders." [Advocate]