(CNN) -- A school district in Mississippi has agreed to pay a recent high school graduate $35,000 in damages and adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, according to a statement released Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The settlement comes after the ACLU sued the school district in Fulton, Mississippi, on behalf of Constance McMillen, a lesbian teen who was told by Itawamba Agricultural High School officials she and her girlfriend would be ejected if they attended the school-sponsored prom....

In March, a federal judge ruled that McMillen's First Amendment rights were violated when her school district refused to let her attend her prom in a tux with a girl.
That was good news, said her attorney, Christine Sun, senior counsel with the ACLU's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender project. It set a precedent and helped broadcast an important statement, which was made stronger by virtue of where it came from, she said.

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are, in fact, shopping around the idea of a reality show about their relationship -- but the sticking point appears to be the level of commitment on the network side.

"They want a commitment for an entire series, but right now, there's only been interest in testing this out as a pilot," a source close to the couple tells PEOPLE, adding that negotiations are ongoing. "There aren't a lot of options for them out there, and this is their best chance at making a decent amount of money."

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Wonder if they threaten to break off the engagement the teevee networks will give them a whole season...

The question here is whether students should still be bussed or if they should switch back to community based schools (save money on transportation costs).  The issue at stake is of course resegregation when you go back to community based schools - since neighborhoods are still largely segregated.

This is also a question in Boston - where there has been a lot of talk about ending busing.  Here the stakes might be different though.  Basically once busing was introduced most of the white students just left the public school system altogether and went to Catholic or other private schools.  So the public schools are no longer segregated - they are just all predominantly minority students (with the exception of a few magnet schools).  Busing is no longer needed for desegregation because it's not accomplishing anything.  In fact, this article, opposing busing in Boston today, was written by one of people who was a target during the race riots in the 70s.

A Palestinian man has been convicted of rape after having consensual sex with a woman who had believed him to be a fellow Jew.

Sabbar Kashur, 30, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday after the court ruled that he was guilty of rape by deception. According to the complaint filed by the woman with the Jerusalem district court, the two met in downtown Jerusalem in September 2008 where Kashur, an Arab from East Jerusalem, introduced himself as a Jewish bachelor seeking a serious relationship. The two then had consensual sex in a nearby building before Kashur left.

When she later found out that he was not Jewish but an Arab, she filed a criminal complaint for rape and indecent assault.....

Gideon Levy, a liberal Israeli commentator, was quoted as saying: "I would like to raise only one question with the judge. What if this guy had been a Jew who pretended to be a Muslim and had sex with a Muslim woman?

"Would he have been convicted of rape? The answer is: of course not."