Matthew Shepard

Mitt Romney apologized Thursday after a newspaper story described bullying behavior on his part when he was an 18-year-old senior at an elite, all-boys prep school in Michigan. The Washington Post detailed a 1965 incident at Cranbrook School in which a buttoned-down Romney apparently was incensed by the dyed blond locks of a junior known for his "nonconformity and presumed homosexuality. " He led a "posse" of students in a charge against the boy, the Post reported. "He can't look like that," Romney reportedly told a close friend at the time.

There is some irony to the way the filmmakers feel about "If These Walls Could Talk 2." They're glad to have made it. They're pleased with their work. And they sort of hope that in the future proud-to-be-edgy HBO wouldn't greenlight such a project. "We all hope that 10 years from now that having a lesbian 'If These Walls Could Talk' show would be moot," said Jane Anderson, who wrote and directed one of three segments in the 90-minute film. "Having two women kiss will be too mundane."

The American Library Assn. announced its 2013 book award winners Monday at its annual national conference, held this year in Seattle. While the best-known awards are the John Newbery Medal and the Caledecott Medal, there are dozens of awards, each of which helps librarians bring excellent books to the attention of young readers and their parents. The Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children was awarded to "This Is Not My Hat," written and illustrated by Jon Klassen.

A brutal killing last year brought back ugly memories for the people of Jackson, Miss. Hundreds of people marched in August -- an event reminiscent of the civil rights movement -- after a security camera recording showed that James C. Anderson was beaten and run over by white young adults in June. "There is a lot of general appall over what took place here," Ronnie C. Crudup Sr. told The Times during the march. "We wanted to get well-minded people, both black and white, together to do something to support this family and this country.

The word "honorable" doesn't hold much adjectival currency these days. Even when it isn't used dismissively ("honorable failure," "honorable bore"), it connotes noble aims and good manners, a good-for-you experience without much vitality. But in a smart, bracing way, "The Laramie Project" restores honor to that word "honorable."

Amid the signature songs of tortured love on Melissa Etheridge's new album, "Breakdown," is "Scarecrow," her scathing response to last year's beating death in Wyoming of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student. The dusky-voiced rocker makes Shepard's death a modern-day equivalent to the crucifixion of Jesus, a parallel that's bound to outrage religious conservatives.

Viewers benefited when HBO moved up "The Laramie Project" one Saturday so that it wouldn't face a movie on essentially the same topic that NBC had belatedly slotted for March 16 in an apparent attempt to undermine the cable channel's much superior drama. Now, happily, no one has to choose between them.

Matthew Shepard was a frequent patron at the Fireside Bar and Lounge. Lots of folks here were. The college freshman was remembered as being a good listener and a good tipper. But for all the times he went to the beery hangout, he never noticed two other men his age, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney. The roof repairmen were remembered, too, for coming in after work with grimy hands and paying for their beer with small change.

Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student whose brutal murder has made him a national symbol for the campaign against hate crimes and anti-gay violence, was eulogized here Friday as a "light to the world" in "a world that is not always kind to gentle spirits." On a somber day accentuated by leaden skies and an early autumn snowstorm, hundreds of mourners--family members, friends, fellow students and ordinary citizens touched by Shepard's death--filled St.

The attorney for accused murderer Aaron McKinney told a jury here Monday that a homosexual advance by Matthew Shepard brought back traumatic childhood memories and triggered "five minutes of emotional rage and chaos" that led to the 21-year-old college student's death. In his chilling opening argument on Monday, Jason Tangeman not only conceded that McKinney savagely beat Shepard and left him for dead a year ago, he also provided the motive.