WOMAN MAY HOLD KEY TO AIDS CURE

Finally, a bit of good news in the fight against HIV/AIDS...

U.S. researchers said Tuesday the possible cure for beating the AIDS virus is potentially locked away inside a woman who has never shown symptoms of infection.

The woman was infected a decade ago by her husband, but is able somehow to naturally control the deadly and incurable virus. In comparison, her husband must take cocktails of strong HIV drugs to control his.

A research team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said she is a so-called "elite suppressor," and studies of her immune cells have begun to offer clues to how her body does it.

"This is the best evidence to date that elite suppressors can have fully pathogenic virus," said Dr. Joel Blankson, who led the study.

"The feeling was initially that they had defective virus," Blankson added.

Blankson said the couple has been monogamous for at least 17 years. Tests show they are infected with the same strain of virus. The variable in the equation is the immune system of the wife, who cannot be named for privacy reasons.

"That's a good sign in terms of developing a therapeutic vaccine," Blankson said. Such a vaccine would not prevent infection but might be used to treat patients.

FIRST PHOTOS: ELLEN AND PORTIA MAKE IT OFFICIAL

I told you they were getting married!

Here are the first photos of Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi as Wife and Wife from their wedding last Saturday in Los Angeles.

Awwwww...

RUPAUL STRUTS OVER TO PROJECT RUNWAY!

Hey Gang-

Here is something to tide you over until RuPaul's new show Drag Race debuts this spring on Logo.

RuPaul, will be guest-judging on this week's (8/20) drag-themed Project Runway.

Woohoo!

So hunker-in with your favorite snacks this Wednesday night (check you local listings) with Bravo, or be sure to set your Tivo's. This one is not to be missed!

BIGFOOT PRESS CONFERENCE CNN COVERAGE

Here is the previously mentioned (and highly anticipated) Bigfoot press conference. Courtesy of CNN.

Enjoy!!!

AUTHORITIES FINE MAN AND DESTROY HIS CHER CD'S

I'm sure my neighbors have been tempted to do this to me on many an occasion: a U.K man watched in horror (ok, it doesn't say that, but I would be in horror) as his Cher CD's were confiscated and destroyed by local authorities...including their version of the E.P.A (also, coincidentally called the E.P.A)...

At last, one of society's most heinous scourges has been smashed by the mighty fist of justice. That is, in Wales, an over-exuberant music listener has been forced to turn it down.

Karl Wiosna, a 44-year-old of The Graig, Pontypridd, was fined more than £250 for blasting bad music at his neighbours.

His stereo, CDs and tapes were also seized and destroyed.

While Wiosna was upset about the seizure and fine, he seemed most angry at being characterised as a Cher fan. "I didn't play the music that loud," he told Wales On Sunday, "and it wasn't just Cher, I used to play heavy metal as well."

For weeks, Wiosna had been enjoying Cher – and, er, heavy metal – in his Phillip Street home. And he had been driving his neighbours batty.

"A legal notice under the Environmental Protection Act was served on Wiosna demanding he reduce the volume or stop playing music," explained a Council statement. "Just a week after the legal notice was received, officers were called to the address during an out-of-hours emergency by a neighbour."

"Environmental health staff in the front room of the property next to Wiosna's could hear the music so clearly they could pick out the lyrics."

Magistrates fined Wiosna £200, with £50 for costs and a £15 victim surcharge. The music equipment taken from his flat included a tape and record player, a separate tape deck and record stack, a portable radio, speakers, CD wallet and more than 30 cassettes.

"They took £500 to £600 worth of stuff," complained Wiosna. "I don't think they should be able to do it, it isn't right."

ELLEN DEGENERES AND PORTIA DE ROSSI TO WED THIS WEEKEND

Two of our favorite lesbians are set to tie the knot this weekend, according to US Magazine...

The pair are planning a small, intimate ceremony with only a few close friends and family.

Following the California Supreme Court's monumental ruling that same sex couple's have the "right to marry," DeGeneres announced she planned to wed her longtime girlfriend on a taping of her show in May.

"It's something that we've wanted to do and we want it to be legal and we are very, very excited," DeGeneres, 50, gushed.

DeGeneres reflected on their upcoming nuptials at the Daytime Emmy Awards in Hollywood in June.

"I think someday people will look back on this like women not having the right to vote and segregation and anything else that seems ridiculous that we don't all have the same rights," DeGeneres said.

Of the preparations, DeGeneres joked, "Planning a wedding is very stressful. It's crazy. My gardener is now invited."

DeGeneres and de Rossi began dating in December 2004.

"I feel like I found my perfect fit," DeGeneres said of de Rossi in an interview with the Advocate.

"She’s taught me lessons about myself, and I feel like I’ve taught her," DeGeneres added.