LOS ANGELES (AP) – A high-profile case in which a woman accuses her ex-husband of infecting her with the AIDS virus will go to trial in October, a judge has ordered.

The one-year statute of limitations does not apply in the case, a Superior Court judge ruled Monday, because the woman trusted her spouse, who did not tell her of his possible exposure to the virus before their wedding.

The former couple, referred to in court papers as Bridget B. and John B., married in July 2000 and divorced in October 2003. Both were diagnosed with HIV in October 2000 and doctors said in January 2002 that the husband had AIDS.

Both blame the other for their conditions.

The ex-wife filed her lawsuit in 2002, claiming negligence, fraud and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The state Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that the woman could sue her former partner for allegedly infecting her with HIV, even if he did not know he was HIV-positive at the time.

Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu on Monday called the case “tragic” and said Bridget B. trusted her husband until she had a reason not to.

“She really believed in her marriage vows,” Treu said.

OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) – Couples can no longer tie the knot at the clerk’s office in Butte County.

Butte County Clerk Candace Grubbs says the county can’t afford to continue performing wedding ceremonies. About 200 couples a year marry at the clerk’s office.

Grubbs said her decision has nothing to do with the California Supreme Court’s ruling last month legalizing gay marriage. The state has directed county clerks to start using new gender-neutral marriage licenses once the ruling becomes final at 5 p.m. on June 16.

That prompted clerks in Kern and Merced counties to announce they will no longer preside over any wedding ceremonies.

Grubbs says Butte County will continue to issue marriage licenses, but will not perform ceremonies.

BOSTON (AP) – A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by 12 gay and lesbian veterans who had challenged the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

The plaintiffs had all been discharged under the policy, instituted by Congress.

First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey Howard said in the decision issued Monday that while some people may question the wisdom of the policy, the court had to defer to congressional decision making.

The policy prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members, but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or engaging in homosexual activity.

The plaintiffs argued in their lawsuit that the policy violates their Constitutional rights to privacy, free speech and equal protection.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A Superior Court judge has refused to hear the divorce case of a lesbian couple, but questioned whether the law that barred the women from ending their marriage unconstitutionally denied them a right enjoyed by heterosexual Rhode Islanders.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court last year ruled that the state’s family court could not grant a divorce to Margaret Chambers and Cassandra Ormiston, who wed in 2004 in Massachusetts soon after same-sex marriage became legal in that state.

The justices said the state statute that created the family court recognized marriage as between only a man and a woman and the court, therefore, could not divorce a same-sex couple.

Chambers then sought a divorce in Superior Court. Judge Patricia Hurst denied that claim on Wednesday, saying her court does not have jurisdiction to handle divorce.

But she also questioned the constitutionality of the statute relied on last year by the Supreme Court.

“It seems to me that this is a matter needing immediate attention and one that very plainly belongs in the hands of the legislature and the executive branch,” Hurst said.

She said the law could be challenged in family court and ultimately ruled on by the Supreme Court.

The couple, both from Rhode Island, filed for divorce in Rhode Island in 2006, citing irreconcilable differences. Ormiston has been renting a room in Massachusetts, where she must live for a year for the couple to get divorced there.

Louis Pulner, a lawyer for Chambers, said he was disappointed with Hurst’s decision and his client would pursue other options to end her marriage.

But, he added, “Interestingly enough, the judge finds it disdainful that these parties cannot get the relief they seek and suggested the parties here were likely denied equal protection.”

IRMO, S.C. (AP) – A South Carolina school district has delayed until later in the month a vote on whether to ban all student clubs that don’t relate to academics or sports as a way to close a gay student organization.

Vice Chairman Robert Gantt said Monday the Lexington-Richland School District 5 board was delaying its vote on whether to ban the clubs to get more public input.

Irmo High School principal Eddie Walker said last month he would step down at the end of the next school year because the Gay-Straight Alliance conflicts with his beliefs and religious convictions.

Officials had said the district couldn’t stop the alliance from forming because federal law prohibits discriminating against a club based on its purpose.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network says there are about 4,000 gay-straight alliances at schools nationwide, including 16 in South Carolina.

NEW YORK (AP) – A city Health Department study finds that more than a fourth of adult New Yorkers are infected with the virus that causes genital herpes.

The study, released Monday, says about 26 percent of New York City adults have genital herpes, compared to about 19 percent nationwide.

The department says genital herpes can double a person’s risk for contracting HIV.

Herpes can cause painful sores, but most people have no recognizable symptoms.

Among New Yorkers, the herpes rate is higher among women, black people and gay men.

The health department urges consistent use of condoms, and says its STD clinics offer free, confidential herpes testing.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Presbyterian minister from Pittsburgh still faces two charges that she conducted a prohibited gay wedding ceremony. But the Rev. Janet Edwards will not face charges for performing the ceremony improperly when her church trial resumes in October.

Church officials have dropped charges alleging Edwards committed errors when she omitted Bible readings and references to Christian traditions in the ceremony. Edwards made the changes because one of the lesbians she married in 2005 is Buddhist.

But church officials agreed with Edwards’ attorneys that she could not be charged simultaneously with performing a prohibited service and performing it improperly.

The Presbyterian church allows clergy to bless gay couples, if the ceremony doesn’t resemble a wedding. Edwards believes the rules about not resembling a marriage ceremony are advisory but not binding.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A woman whose twin sons were aspiring models and gay porn actors has been ordered to stand trial with them in the burglary of a Philadelphia business.

Keyontyli and Taleon Goffney of Pennsauken, N.J., were arrested Feb. 19 after authorities said they watched the 25-year-old twins break into a South Philadelphia beauty shop through the roof.

Authorities say the brothers are suspects in dozens of similar burglaries in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The intruders gained entry by hacking through the rooftops of the businesses.

Prosecutor Caroline Keating says the twins’ mother, Towana Goffney, was the lookout. On Tuesday, she was also ordered to stand trial. Her attorney, Jeremy Ibrahim, says Towana Goffney will plead not guilty.

Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said the initiative would be a trust-building venture modeled after a detachment he created in Washington in 2000, when he was commissioner there.

He said he hoped the idea, which would include stationing two or three officers in a prominent gay neighborhood downtown, would improve the underreporting of hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

“They don’t have faith that the police will do something,” Ramsey told The Philadelphia Inquirer for a story Monday. “We want to make sure they feel comfortable telling us about any issue that needs to be addressed.”

He said he also wants the department’s gay and lesbian officers to feel more comfortable.

“My goal is to create an environment where officers don’t feel intimidated in any way,” Ramsey said. “If they want to acknowledge (their sexuality), they should feel comfortable doing it.”

The commissioner said there is zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination in his department of about 6,700 officers. But he added that, unless the culture changes, gays and lesbians will continue to be reluctant to become police officers.

Over the next two to three years, Ramsey also said he hopes to have all police employees take gay-sensitivity training. Currently, only new recruits do.