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The New York Supreme Court ruled against NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani in November. The Supes found that his retaliation against Housing Works’ highly publicized protests of his administration—he blocked the AIDS group’s federal funding—was illegal.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged more than £23 million ($37 million) in November to fight AIDS in Africa. The announcement came just after Blair presented what he called a “deeply shocking” U.K. report about the epidemic during a South Africa conference.

Maine voters approved “Question No. 2” by a 20 percent margin to allow the use of medical marijuana. Maine is the sixth state to legalize doc-prescribed pot, and the first (not including DC) that’s outside the wild, wild West.

NEG
Agouron Pharmaceuticals raised the price of nelfinavir (Viracept) by 4.5 percent in September, less than a year after jacking up the cost by the same percentage. Bristol-Myers Squibb announced price hikes for ddI and d4T in October, also at 4.5 percent each.

Thanks to a new law, Connecticut hospitals now test all newborns for HIV. A statewide association is fighting the law in federal court, saying it compromises the rights of the mothers and violates informed consent. New York is the only other U.S. state that mandates infant testing.

Starting in July, New Zealand—generally a progressive nation in public health matters—will ban all HIV positive immigrants and refugees from entering Kiwi land. Of the country’s 105 newly diagnosed HIVers last year, 43 were refugees.