And according to the Daily Fail, “many” women are bored with their appearance, as well. You know what this means, right? Makeovers! • Thanks to the recession, soda is making a comeback. For the last few years, Americans had been all about “health drinks” like Vitamin Water and the like, but now that we’re broke, old fashioned Coke is starting to taste pretty damn good. • As mentioned earlier today, the State Department’s most recent report on human trafficking is the first to ever include a section on the U.S. However, it had one notable flaw: it did not identify the new law that mandates identification of foreign diplomats who harbor slaves. • A former Foreign Office minister for the UK government is pissing up French people and Francophiles alike with his dismissal of the romance language. Chris Bryant called it a “useless modern language.” He also suggests that, instead of learning French, we focus our efforts on Mandarin, Portuguese, and Chinese. • And now for the creepiest thing you will see all day: meet Noby, the robot baby. Noby is designed to resemble a nine-month old baby and is being used by researchers to test theories of human development. • The Spanish government is investigating a clinic has been accused of offering treatment to “cure” homosexuality. The clinic reportedly prescribed pills and psychiatric treatment to patients. • Good news: The FDA has granted preliminary approval to a new morning after pill that works for up to five days after sexual intercourse. In documents released today, the FDA said that they have found “no unexpected side effects” from the drug. A panel will meet on Thursday to discuss whether to recommend the approval of the pill, which is already sold in Europe under the name ellaOne. • Dolphin activist Ric O’Barry is speaking out against Japanese traditionalists, who have asked theaters not to screen the documentary The Cove on the grounds that it attacks Japanese culture. “This is not North Korea. It’s not China and it’s not Cuba. It’s a democratic society. There’s a very small minority of radicals who are going to theater owners and threatening them. They don’t want people to see this film,” O’Barry said. • Blanche Lincoln may not win reelection, but she is still “one hot democrat,” according to the Daily Beast. “For sheer courage in standing up to union mau-mauing, she has earned political credit of reckless, even subprime proportions.”, writes Tunku Varadarajan. • Did you know that there are only 14 female billionaires in the world who earned their money, rather than inherited it? The esteemed few include republican nominee for California governor Meg Whitman, Oprah Winfrey, and J.K. Rowling. • Doctors have begun tests on the first ever vaginal ring intended to kill HIV. The flexible silicone ring, which is similar in shape and appearance to the NuvaRing, will release HIV-fighting microbes into the wearer’s vagina for a month. Though definitive results aren’t expected until 2015, researchers are hopeful and consider it the option “most likely to work.” • If fewer women quit their jobs to take care of children, then there would be more women in the workforce, according to a new (somewhat obvious) report. Researchers also point out that, if it were easier to be both a mom and an employee, more women would keep their jobs after giving birth. • Over the weekend, Rebecca Lobo was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Today, ESPN takes a look back on her career, including the “craziness of ’95,” and examines the legacy of one of basketball’s great female players. • A new book, The Mathematics of Sex, argues that women are not kept out of math and science by discrimination, but instead explains the underrepresentation of the fairer sex in math by different parenting styles. They also argue that women stay out of science simply because they prefer working with people, while men prefer working with things. All of this leads the New York Times to ask: Will legislation help fix the gap? • Female activists have it tough in Iran. Which is something of an understatement, considering their treatment of Green Party activists. The problem is only further illustrated by a relatively new practice of banning “improperly dressed” women women from planes. So far, 71 women have been banned from flying, and a representative says their cases have been forwarded to the judiciary. • A former employee of the company that makes Thomas’ English Muffins is being sued for possibly leaking trade secrets – the secret of those “nooks and crannies” – to rival pastry company Hostess. Chris Botticella was apparently only one of seven employees who knew the secret to creating the butter-friendly caverns. And according to the New York Daily News muffin fans “understand” why Thomas’ is fighting so hard to keep it to themselves. •
