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Gates: No change soon on `don't ask, don't tell'

-Don't expect any change soon to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy about gays in the military.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says both he and President Barack Obama have "a lot on our plates right now." As Gates puts it, "let's push that one down the road a little bit."
The White House has said Obama has begun consulting with Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on how to lift the ban. Gates says that dialogue has not really progressed very far at this point in the administration.
The Pentagon policy was put in place after President Bill Clinton tried to lift the ban on gay service members in 1993.
The policy refers to the military practice of not asking recruits their sexual orientation. In turn, service members are banned from saying they are gay or bisexual, engaging in homosexual activity or trying to marry a member of the same sex.
Gates appeared on "Fox News Sunday."


Diners can 'have a ball' at testicle festival
Will pay $50 apiece for the privilege of eating private parts of bulls

OAKDALE, Calif. - The fundraising idea may seem a little nuts, but Oakdale's annual Testicle Festival is always a big hit.

On Monday, volunteers with the town's Rotary Club plan to fry up 400 pounds of the private parts of bulls and serve them to diners who pay $50 apiece for the sit-down meal.

The event, whose proceeds also benefit the Oakland Cowboy Museum, has drawn an average of 450 people and last year raised $28,000.

It's common practice on cattle ranches for young male bovines to be castrated into steers, which after the initial loss, eventually makes them more docile and easier to handle. Fans of the delicacy, also referred to as "mountain oysters," come from around the state.

According to Rotarians, everyone who buys a ticket is guaranteed to "have a ball."


Mass. college closes after virus sickens 100
Symptoms suggest norovirus; classes canceled until Wednesday

NBC News and news services
updated 7:46 p.m. ET, Sat., March. 28, 2009
WELLESLEY, Mass. - A Massachusetts college is shutting down for several days after 100 students and staff were sickened by a virus that causes a type of stomach flu.

Students and faculty have been afflicted with severe nausea and vomiting at Babson College in Wellesley, just southwest of Boston.

State Department of Health spokesman Tom Lyons says the norovirus is "miserable" but isn't life threatening. He says most people get better after a few days.

The college has about 3,400 undergraduate and graduate students. It's expected to be closed until at least Wednesday while campus buildings are cleaned.

Students are allowed to remain in their dorms, but classes and athletic events are canceled.

The college also advised students to remain on campus and avoid engaging in group activities to limit the spread of the virus.

School officials say they don't know the source of the virus, which often is spread by handling food. But Lyons says town health inspectors don't believe this outbreak is food related.