• The marriage application of a gay couple was rejected by Russian courts on the grounds that marriage is between a man and a woman, despite the fact that there is no ban on same-sex marriage in Russian law. They bought tickets to Canada, where they plan to get hitched. • In the 1960s, William R. ("Randy") Lovelace, II and General Donald Flickinger set out to test whether women were suited to space travel. Over the course of their investigation, they found that women had the lung capacity to survive in space. Although most of their data has been lost, a recent paper published in Advances in Physiology rediscovers the story of the Women in Space program. •  Serena Williams has reclaimed her spot at No. 1 after she beat Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the China Open on Tuesday. "It feels pretty good, I'm really excited," she said. •  If you're in the market for an XBOX 360 autographed by Sarah Palin, there's one selling on eBay for $1.1 million. According to the description, "The infamous Sarah Palin XBOX 360 was autographed at the governors picnic on July 24, 2009, in Wasilla, Alaska, just two days before her resignation as governor of that state. You can own this 60GB, perfect-condition, one-of-a-kind item before her expected run for president of the United States of America in 2012." • According to a UN Children's Fund report five percent of boys and up to 10 percent of girls in rich nations experience penetrative sexual abuse during childhood. Up to three times as many experience some form of sexual abuse. • U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report that the international community needs to invest in women and girls even though the economy is bad. He wrote, "Maintaining national commitments to children and women and enhancing social protection will not only help to ensure a more rapid recovery from the (financial) crisis but will also build a foundation for equitable growth and sustained progress. • Police have admitted that they got a tip about Jaycee Dugard only a year after she was kidnapped, 17 years before she was found. A man reported that he'd seen a girl who looked like Dugard looking at a poster about her abduction at a gas station near Antioch, California and had left in a yellow van. Officers just checked the gas station and didn't find Dugard or the van. • A bill has been introduced in the District of Columbia that would allow gay couples to marry in the capitol. The bill is almost certain to pass, but it may not become a law because Congress gets to review D.C. legislation before it takes effect. • More than 2 million babies and mothers die worldwide each year from childbirth complications, according to a study by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Doctors say such deaths could be avoided with improvements in basic health care and training for local health care workers to perform emergency Cesarean sections and other lifesaving techniques. • Egypt's most senior cleric, Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi, is preparing to issue a Fatwa against women wearing the niqab, the full length garment that covers the body from head to toe, in schools. On a recent trip to a girl's high school he asked a girl wearing a niqab to take it off, saying it's a "tradition, it has no connection with Islam." • £700 micro pigs are all the rage among Britain's top celebrities, such as Rupert Grint. "They are highly intelligent and are the fourth most intelligent species after man, monkey and dolphin," says pig breeder Jane Croft. "They really are the perfect pets, I don't know why people haven't thought of them before." • Pilot "Sully" Sullenberger, St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan, and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Clay Zavada among the 18 finalists for the "Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year," the American Mustache Institute's highest honor. •

Sharma's attacks occurred over an 11 day period last April. Sharma reportedly exposed himself to three of his patients, and used their hands to rub his penis during the procedure. A nurse at the clinic reported seeing Sharma remove the patient's hand from her abdomen and move it under the table during an abortion performed on April 18, 2008. She informed the operating practitioner, but did not pursue it further. Sharma went on to molest at least two other women before he was removed from duty. His victims were unaware that they had been molested. [Daily Mail]

Our first thought (not just because the link came via Vice) was, "is this for real?" Having gone to the site itself and read through the author's responses to comments, we're sort of afraid it is.

The post, titled "My Son's Penis Problem," and posted in the "Health" forum, explains that one day the mother happened upon her son sleeping naked and was alarmed to see the "J-shaped" curvature of his penis. Upon discussing the issue with him, she found that this caused him tremendous self-consciousness and had inhibited his dating life. Doctors they visited told them the curvature was normal and not a big deal. So, obviously, they had to take matters into their own, ahem, hands.

I had taken a little massage therapy classes in the past, and I even work on it for an hour or so 3 days of every week in the evening. It was embarrassing for us both in the beginning and I know it still it is, and even more so that he ejaculates every time during the massage, but it turned out to make massaging it in the post-ejaculation, semi-soft state really effective because then I can massage it and straighten it. It curls back in my hands and I massage it straight over and over again, until he becomes erect again and semi hard again after ejaculation, three times in a row, usually over a span of an hour to an hour and a half....It has given good results, as I would say he is 50 percent improved. I continue to treat him 3 days a week.

The mom's ostensible reason for writing to the forum is to ask for help...or people who have experience with this sort of thing. Oddly enough, no one does! And a lot of people are appalled! Although the tone of the responses is generally pretty respectful — "I think this is going too far" is a common refrain, and a number of people liken it to caring for a disabled person, despite rather obvious differences — there are, not shockingly, quite a few recoils. The mother responds to these with hurt bewilderment! Can't we see this is a medical necessity, for his own good? To the commenters who ask, does this arouse you? She responds,

I am human, if it arouses me, it still is of little concern and has no baring on the actual goal and reasoning in performing the treatment. I certainly am not dwelling on the arousal when or if it happens and/or encouraging it. It isall incidental, and a side effect if you will that need not be an issue in the primary goal of the treatment. It is in my mind anavoidable, and therefore not necessary to make excuses for, but it can be ignored while it's happening. It is not that important

If this is for real — and I want to hear people's takes on that — my response is as much sadness as the visceral "Incest Eww." Because it's a glimpse into two lives that seem pretty non-functional in the outer world. In a way, this would be less hard to get if it were just straight incest; we've seen — and recoiled at — that before. There's a lot of obvious jokes to make and, um, logical arguments against "medically-necessary" incest — against their wills — to cure a genetic condition that's not a medical problem, as well as the mentality that feels un self-conscious posting this in a public forum, so we'll leave that to better minds. What I hope is that this kind of public airing a) gets her to stop b)convinces the legions of people considering this that it's a poor scheme and c) encourages her son to move out. But I'm not sanguine. And I've really never wanted something to be a hoax quite so much.

My son's penis problem [Female First]
Repeatedly wanking off your son in the name of medicine [Viceland]
A MOTHERS LOVE... [World of Wonder]

According to the New York Times, though "flap" procedures have been developed that reconstruct the breasts using tissue and fat removed from a patient's abdomen or buttocks, most women still get implants, which often come with complications and require further surgeries. Compared to implant surgery, the flap procedure requires more advanced medical training, takes much longer, and can cost more than twice as much, leading many surgeons to not even mention it as an option. “It’s really embarrassing to say so, but, from a purely selfish point of view, if you are looking at insurance reimbursement for [the flap procedure], it’s a loss leader,” said Dr. Scott L. Spear, chief of plastic surgery at Georgetown University Hospital. “They really require so much time and effort that a surgeon thinks, ‘Man, I can’t afford to do this.’ ” [NY Times]