• Fox News released a statement today in response to LL Cool J’s tweet about Sarah Palin and the upcoming “Real American Stories” series. They’re removing the rapper’s interview from the segment, but not without some snarky commentary:
“It appears that Mr. Smith does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career.” • Even at the highest levels of academic accomplishment, women in medicine are paid less than men, according to a new study. They also found that women who reached the rank of full professor worked significantly more hours a week than men. • Although Sarah Pain will probably get a big fat check for speaking at a California State University gala, the money wont be coming from public funds. The university has issued a statement that no tax dollars or tuition or fees paid by students will be funneled into Palin’s pocket. • Former First Lady Barbara Bush has been released from the hospital after going in on Saturday; they believe she was suffering a relapse of her Graves’ Disease, a thyroid condition. • A fifteen-year-old New Jersey girl is being charged with promoting prostitution after serving as a madam to her 7-year-old sister at a party. The younger sister was gang-raped; the teenager was also prostituting herself. • British couple Gayle Watson and Ed Robinson tied the knot yesterday in full-on Flintstones gear. They also requested their guests wear similar costumes, and they even had a classic, man-powered car. View pictures of the event – which looks like a blast – here. • Teen sailor Jessica Watson veered off course briefly on Sunday and Monday, but she reports that the storm has safely past. “Mostly Ella’s Pink Lady [her boat] takes it all in her stride as always but the occasional breaking wave is a little hard on my nerves and makes for some bouncy sailing,” she wrote in her blog. Watson is currently about 1000 kilometers off Australia’s most southern point. • More details emerge in the horrible Belgian “sexsomnia” case. The man, who has been cleared of raping his 4-year-old daughter, says he has been having sex in his sleep for years. “When he was living with the girl’s mother he often had sex with her in his sleep,” said his lawyer. “He could not remember what happened with his daughter the next day. He is deeply sorry. But he could do nothing about it.” • For the first time in British history, the majority of young women are going to college. University entrance figures for 2008-2009 show that 51% of women entered higher education. Interestingly, only 40% of young men enrolled in universities in the same school year. • A group of robotics engineers at Spellman College (a historically black, women’s school) are “rockstars” on campus for their participation in SpellBots. The SpellBots have competed, with their robots, in robotics tournaments in Europe and Asia against teams from more than 30 countries. Girls from the team say participating in RoboCups have helped to boost their confidence – and to show other teams that not only white dudes like to play with robots. • The two teachers from a Brooklyn high school who were caught having a “lesbian tryst” in an empty classroom are facing disciplinary action from the Department of Education. Since the incident, the James Madison High School has been unofficially renamed “Horndog High,” the New York Daily News reports. Officials would not say whether the teachers will be allowed to keep their jobs. • BBC editor Ceri Thomas has come under fire for his recent comments on women in radio. Thomas, editor of the Today program, says that although the world of radio broadcasting is changing to include more women, “you can’t expect is that the Today programme is the first place you’ll see those changes because it’s just too tough an environment for novices, frankly.” He goes on to explain that women can work on other channels because they are “easier jobs” and currently most female journalists lack the “thick skin” necessary to work on Today. • Happy birthday, Florrie Baldwin! At 114, Baldwin is Europe’s oldest woman and the fourth oldest person in the world. To celebrate the big day, they had a special birthday cake in the shape of a basket holding 114 roses. • A new study out of Canada found that fathers tend to give their toddlers slightly more room to explore, which causes them to activate “exploratory behavior.” Researches observed parents watching their kids climb stairs. They found that mothers are more likely to hover, which does not encourage beneficial risk-taking. Fathers, on the other hand, were less protective. • Police in Trenton, New Jersey have arrested a 15-year-old girl for pimping out her younger sister at a party on Sunday night. The girl reportedly brought her 7-year-old sister to an apartment complex, where she was raped by multiple men in exchange for cash. • Bishop Walter Mixa, one of the Pope’s closest conservative allies in Germany, has been accused of beating former pupils at a Catholic-run orphanage. One student, now 41, says Mixa hit him with a wooden cooking spoon until it broke while shouting “I’ll soon drive the Satan out of you!” • Health officials in France have recalled breast implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prothese, or PIP. Numerous reports of implants rupturing lead authorities to investigate the company, which had been mislabeling the type of silicone gel used in their products. • Bettie Page’s estate is suing a website for using the legendary pinup’s name without permission. The suit was filed in Indianapolis; surprisingly, Indiana has some of the most restrictive laws in the country regarding the use of celebrity images.