- Obama spoke today with Shirley Sherrod, the former Argiculture Department employee who was forced to resign over a heavily-edited and misleading report about a speech she gave to in march. A statement released about the call explained:
“The president told Ms. Sherrod that this misfortune can present an opportunity for her to continue her hard work on behalf of those in need, and he hopes that she will do so.” Obama “expressed his regret” and offered Sherrod a new job. She isn’t sure yet whether she will accept.
- New guidelines issued Wednesday reverse the policy on vaginal birth after a C-section. Previously, doctors recommended that women who had undergone a C-section have caesareans for all following births, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have widened the pool of women for whom natural delivery should be considered “safe and appropriate.” Successful vaginal birth carries lower risk for the mother and requires less recovery time.
- An appeals court has ruled that it is okay for a convicted sex offender to own materials depicting nudity upon release from prison. The Nebraska court threw out the nude-picture clause on Wednesday when examining the case of Jerry Lynn Simons, arguing that it would deny Simons the right to purchase biology textbooks (or issues of National Geographic).
- According to a survey released on Wednesday, the majority of Californians favor same-sex marriage. The survey of more than 3,300 California residents found that one in four had more progressive views on rights for gay and lesbian couples than they did five years ago, and that 51% would vote to allow same-sex marriage if something similar to Proposition 8 were on the ballot tomorrow.
- How happy are Americans? And when are they happiest? These are questions best answered by Twitter! For a very cool analysis of our nation’s satisfaction, based on Tweets alone, check out the great time-lapse visual from Mashable.
- Robert Burck, aka the Naked Cowboy, is suing his female counterpart, the Naked Cowgirl, for violating his trademark Naked Cowboy-ness. Burck’s lawyer filed a lawsuit on Thursday that says she’s “devaluing a real American brand and icon.”
- We’ve all heard of “fast fashion,” but what about a “fashion fast?” Stella Brennan – and others at “Six Items Or Less” – decided to try out the latter by wearing only a few articles of clothing (including black blazer and pants, several button-down shirts, and Old Navy jeans) for an entire month. The results: No one cared.
- Teen sex: Not really a problem, argues Kierra Johnson from Choice USA. Johnson argues that by treating teen sex as an “epidemic” is obscuring the real problem, which is the lack of information and support available for sexual active teens. Sex at every age can have consequences – teens are just often ill-equipped to deal with it.
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