Sources say Jamie McCourt is looking for investors to help her buy her husband out. Her lawyer said she's, "disappointed and saddened by her termination. As co-owner of the Dodgers, she will address this and all other issues in the courtroom." • Russian lesbians Irina Shipitko, 32, and Irina Fedotova-Fet, 30, got married today in Toronto after their two requests for a marriage license in Moscow were denied in May. Russia doesn't allow gay marriage, but does honor international unions, so they will try to use other Russian laws to validate their marriage. If they are denied, they plan on filing a complaint with the European Human Rights Commission. • Women and teenagers living on the India-Bangladesh border have been given kits that test for arsenic and information about natural signs of contamination by Kansas State University researchers who are trying to understand why arsenic is seeping into the region's groundwater. "We are targeting the women and children 13 to 15 years old because they are the most available people, more so than the men of the family," says geologist Saugata Datta. "These women are not formally educated, but when it comes to this type of suffering, they have a huge voice and they can really articulate the message very clearly to their neighbors and their own families." • A group of British MPs says men's magazines or "lad mags" with explicit cover images may need to be placed in plastic bags rather than just put on the top shelf to keep children from seeing them. They also suggested that in the future, the magazines could carry a 15+ or 18+ rating system similar to movies. • 97-year-old Roberta Wright McCain, John McCain's mother, has been admitted to a Portuguese hospital after falling in the street last night in Lisbon. She had traveled to Lisbon alone and was found in the street a few hours after checking into her hotel. The hospital released a statement saying she's "in observation, undergoing various medical tests, and in a stable clinical condition." • Though many female marines want to fight on the front lines in Afghanistan, the closest they can get is serving in "female engagement teams." Wearing hijabs under their helmets, they follow infantrymen into villages to talk with Afghan women. • Scientists are debating whether a something unrelated to genetics can be causing obese mothers to program their children to be overweight in the womb. Some research suggests that an obese woman losing weight before pregnancy can make her children less likely to be heavy, even if fat-promoting genes run in the family. However, researchers do not know what biological mechanism could have caused the results, and the medical community is still divided on the issue. • Odds Costume Rentals, which has supplied clothes for TV shows and movies like Law & Order and Road to Perdition for 22 years, filed for bankruptcy this week. Owner Jeanette Oleska says costumes shops can't stay in business because many productions are getting their costumes free from designers and clothing companies looking for promotion. "The people at the top say, ‘We can just get these jeans from the Gap and these sneakers from Nike, and we've got a whole free outfit here. Why do we need to rent anything?'" Oleksa said. • Alice Ramsey, who became the first woman to drive across the country in 1909, will be among the first women inducted into the National Transportation Women's Hall of Fame, which will be housed in the Buffalo Transportation/Pierce-Arrow Museum in New York. • Amelia Earhart's scarf will be flown into space on the shuttle Atlantis by Randy Bresnik, the grandson of her personal photographer. "We are flying Amelia Earhart's favorite scarf that she unfortunately did not take with her on her final mission," said Bresnik "Fortunately, she also decided not to take her photographer with her otherwise I might not be here today." After the space mission in November, the scarf will be placed in the Museum of Women Pilots.

8 Cervarix is only $5 cheaper than Gardasil, but unlike Merck's vaccine, it doesn't prevent two other types of HPV that cause genital warts. The committee decided not to endorse one vaccine over the other, and the CDC still has to adopt the committee's recommendation for it to be approved for widespread use. • The Oklahoma law that would require the collection and anonymous public sharing of abortion patients' personal data will not go into effect as scheduled on November 1, due to some legal wrangling and highly unusual judicial decisions. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a suit requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent the law from going into effect on behalf of two local women. The judge recused herself from the case and the new judge, Twyla Mason Gray, has ignored the request but granted the state's request for an extension, moving the hearing to December 4. Gray set the bond for the temporary restraining order request at $25,000, which is an uncommonly large sum for such cases. Oklahoma Representative Wanda Jo Stapleton says so much personal information would be made public by the law that, "Women in small towns can be identified by nosy neighbors or, equally important, they can be misidentified when the guessing games start." • Megan Williams of West Virginia is now says she was lying when she reported that she was assaulted by a group of white men. She accused the men of keeping her in a trailer for several days, beating and stabbing her, and forcing her to eat animal feces. Seven men plead guilty and were convicted, but now her lawyer says she made up the story to get revenge on one of the men she was having a relationship with. Prosecutor Brian Abraham says the men were convicted on physical evidence and their own statements. • In only the second known case of a sperm donor passing on a genetic disease, a donor has given the heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to nine of his 24 children. One died at age 2 and two of the children, who are now teenagers, are at risk for sudden cardiac death. • Dr. Marci Bowers, who herself underwent a sex-change operation, now performs "female circumcision reversals" that can restore sexual pleasure in 80% of genital mutilation victims. One patient says she's looking forward to "a romance with my husband." • Israeli researchers say people who are violent with their partners are usually in control with their friends and bosses. They say the abuser usually goes through a calculated decision-making process and their behavior often escalates from verbal aggression, to threats of physical aggression, then moderate physical aggression, and severe physical aggression. • Six women are accused of posing as victims of domestic violence to jump to the top of the New York City Housing Authority's waiting list for subsidized apartments. A manager noticed there were similarities in some of the women's police reports and other documents. If convicted of forging court documents, the women could each face seven years in prison. • 53-year-old John Marshall of California has been charged with drugging and raping an acquaintance then shaving off all of his victim's hair. There are at least two other complaints from men and boys who say he drugged and raped them but he hasn't been charged with those crimes and is currently out on bail. • Kuwait's highest court has granted women the right to obtain a passport without their husband's approval. Thousands of women have been petitioning the courts to overturn the 1962 law requiring their husbands' signatures for a passport. Women in Kuwait can vote, serve in parliament, and drive, unlike women in some neighboring countries. • Researchers from Yale University and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System asked 18,481 female and 134,731 male veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom if they are in pain since coming home. Only 38 percent of female veterans compared to 44 percent of the men said they experienced any pain, and women were more likely to report moderate-severe pain but less likely to report persistent pain. "We were surprised by the lower pain prevalence in women Veterans which is contrary to studies conducted in civilian populations," said Dr. Sally Haskell. The discrepancy could be due to the fact that women do not serve in direct combat roles, or women being reluctant to seek treatment and admit they're in pain. • A 50 year-old Russian coal miner is trying to sell a signed photograph of Brigitte Bardot to pay for a $2,090 operation to treat his lung disease. • The one day suspension of a Springfield, Illinois bus driver who wore a pink tie to support breast cancer awareness has been rescinded. Springfield Mass Transit District managing director Linda Tisdale wrote in a newspaper editorial, "Unfortunately, my decision has left the mistaken impression that the SMTD and I do not support the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and, even more regrettably, has hurt and insulted the many families who have had to deal with this horrible disease." • A Florida judge says he will not dismiss a civil lawsuit against Casey Anthony, charged with killing her daughter Caylee. The girl's former nanny Zenaida Gonzales is suing Anthony because she says she damaged her reputation by naming her as a suspect in Caylee's death. • A recent study found that adults who are childhood cancer survivors are 20 to 25 percent less likely to marry compared with their siblings and the American population. Sometimes cancer treatment can lead to fertility or developmental problems and survivors may suffer from ongoing medical issues. • Hahnium Goren, the mother of a 15-year-old girl believed to be murdered by her father in an "honor killing," testified against her husband Mamet Goren in a London court today. While on the stand she screamed at him, "Look at my face. What did you do to Tu lay?" He's accused of killing their daughter in 1999 because she was dating a boy he didn't approve of. • The British news program More4 News will feature actors playing Jane Austen, Samuel Johnson, and John Ruskin "reporting" on the societal changes since their time. The Jane Austen character will discuss modern courtship and the waning popularity of marriage and observe a speed-dating session where "you can encounter dozens of potential partners in one evening, with no obligations." • Some extremely serious runners have their toenails surgically removed to make 50 or 100-mile races less painful. Nails are removed by pouring acid on the nail bed. A podiatrist who treats runners says, "Even within the ultra community, less than 10 percent or maybe even 5 percent are permanently removing their toenails." •

Although Australia currently allows women to serve in 92% of military roles, many would like to see the other eight opened up to women as well. In the next several years, women will hopefully be able to serve in any of position in the military, which will allow recruiters to hire based on physical ability alone, without having to account for gender or age requirements. The U.S. has also seen a recent movement toward opening certain positions to women. While there most likely will not be American women "on the frontlines" anytime soon, there has been a growing movement to allow women to serve on submarines. And, even more importantly, women are already serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women have played a key role in this war without frontlines.

Naturally, some are opposed to the army's growing acceptance of women in the ranks. Time magazine quotes former military officer and opposition lawmaker Stuart Robert, who argues that women are physically no match for men. "It's like putting a woman in the ring with Mike Tyson, or putting them in the Wallabies [a male rugby team]," says Robert. "Why do they separate men and women in the Olympics? Maybe they should all compete in the same events?" Despite the fact that women would be given the exact same physical fitness tests as men, Robert claims even the women who qualify are still going to be weaker than the men. He points out that the reality of war is different from the controlled environment of the tests. "On a route fitness assessment you may be forced to carry 25 kg," he says. "But can you carry that weight when you haven't slept for days? Can you carry that weight after parachuting in the rain and landing in the mud?" It's pretty obvious that Robert is not really worried about their physical strength, because surely male soldiers often become weakened and tired by the stress of war, but their mental strength. What he is really saying is women just can't hack it. We'd like to see him tell that to Command Sergeant Maj. Theresa L. King, who was featured in a profile in the New York Times last week as part of a series on Women at Arms. King recently became the female first drill sergeant in command of a school, which puts her in a unique position to influence the basic training of U.S. soldiers. Furthermore, the Times notes, King aces every single physical fitness test. According to all accounts, King is one of the best - not just out of the women, but out of the entire army. "When I look in the mirror, I don't see a female," she said. "I see a soldier."

But King is one of relatively few women who have ascended to the top positions. One of the reasons fewer women make it to the top ranks has to do with the difficulties of being a mother at arms. And many women are forced to deal with daily sexual harassment from their fellow soldiers, and all too often, rape. One of the other argument against opening up the front lines to female soldiers has to do with their perceived vulnerability to sexual assault:

Many also argue that women in combat pose a security risk to their nation's mission because as hostages, they are potentially more vulnerable to rape and torture than their male counterparts. "You have to admit that, yes, conceptually, it's more likely that women would be in more danger," says McKinley. "I am not convinced that it would have to be the case, but it is possible." Men, after all, are also subject to sexual assault and abuse as prisoners.

Surprisingly, no one in the Time article even so much as mentions the sexual assualt already happening in the military. Robert is more concerned that women could be used as a tool to manipulate men. He worries that women could be tortured in front of their male peers, which would force them to reveal state secrets. "The attitude with men [in capture] is just 'Suck it in and welcome to captivity,' but if they watching a woman suffer like that, it's a whole different ball game," he says.

As it is, Australia won't see women serving on the front lines for at least several years. However, if the standards are revised to allow women into the 8% of jobs currently barred to them, Australia will join a select group of countries, including Israel, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, and Denmark, which allow female soldiers in direct combat. Maybe once they do, men like Roberts will see that there are some women strong enough, both physically and mentally, to fight alongside men.

How Soon Will Australia's Female Soldiers Be On The Frontlines? [Time]
Army Medic Jacqui De Gelder Shows Women Are Already Serving On The Front Line [News.com.au]
A Call To Allow Women To Serve On Submarines [New York Times]
Drill Sergeant At Heart Ascents To Army's Top Spot [New York Times]
Living And Fighting Alongside The Men [New York Times]
Women At Arms Series [New York Times]

Image via About.com: Women's History

• Researchers have found that, among men convicted of consuming child pornography, viewing the images alone did not increase their risk of committing a "hands-on" sex offense in the next six years. Only 1% of the men studied went on to abuse another person. • Soldiers Gilbert Parker and Matthew Delia have been accused of filming and photographing female members of their unit while they were in the shower. If convicted, they could face up to 18 years behind bars. •  According to a report released by the charity Oxfam, there has been a surge in sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the past six months. They found that there had been a dramatic increase in sexual assault since the government launched an offensive against the rebels in January. • Women prone to migraines are 74% as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than those who have never suffered from migraines, a new study says. However, researchers still do not know why the two diseases are linked. • A Canadian court has found Dr. Juan Tejeda guilty of two counts of sexual assault. The psychiatrist was found guilty of assaulting one of his male patients during their sessions, which he claims was all part of the treatment. •  Scientists from Northwestern University have reportedly grown human eggs to near maturity in a laboratory. Cue conservative freakout. • A recent panel on women's role in Iran found that women are often the "front lines" in the Green movement and election battles. Despite what many assume, this is not a sudden change; for decades women have been part of quiet educational and organizational work, including networking through forums like blogs. •

"She might be the first woman of color that females in male-dominated countries have seen as confident, bright, educated, articulate and persuasive," says Barbara Perry, author of Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier. • A mother in Brazil partially severed her boyfriend's penis after her teenage daughter accused him of raping her from age seven. The man had reconstructive surgery and the mother is still on the run. • A federal judge upheld a $100 million jury verdict for Mattel Inc. over the rights to the Bratz dolls. Mattel sued the makers of Bratz dolls in 2004, accusing designer Carter Bryant of developed the concept for Bratz while working for Mattel. • Spanish police arrested a doctor who is suspected of using a pen camera to film female employeesin a locker room while they were undressing. He would leave his lab coat in a strategically placed area with the camera in the pocket. • Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have seized a rare 2-year-old female gorilla from traffickers at an airport. She was hidden under clothes in the bottom of a bag for more than six hours and was suffering from over-heating, dehydration, and a wounded leg when she was discovered. • But 20-year-old Amy Thomas is the support Roxana Saberi, an American journalist jailed in Iran. Saberi has been on a hunger strike in prison for about a week. • In one of the most insane justifications for sexual assault that we've ever heard, a dentist convicted of a dozen counts of sexual battery for molesting his patients said he wasn't fondling the women's breasts, but massaging their chests as treatment for the jaw condition TMJ. • A 24-year-old New York police criminologist was found strangled with the cord from a cell phone charger, with a knife stuck in her neck, and her stomach burned with an iron. Her roommate slept all night in the room next door before finding her body, but is not a suspect. • In an editorial, psychologist Michael Oberschneider says he's seen increased symptoms mental distress among his clients due to the bad economy, including anxiety, stress and depression, marital and parenting conflicts focused on spending, trouble sleeping, and stress-induced stomach pain and headaches. He says, "What I hear from my clients and colleagues suggests that the financial downturn and continued uncertainty have overtaxed us emotionally." • In Lebanon, the health minister has advised people to discontinue the traditional greeting of kissing the cheek three times to first confirmed case of swine flu, but the minister in charge of the health department says is should be referred to as "Mexico flu," because pork is non-kosher. The minister is a member of one of the ultra-Orthodox political parties. Haaretz columnist Benjamin Hartman, criticized Israel's "demented Legoland" political system, saying that only in Israel could "a man who can't say the word 'vagina'" be put in charge of a ministry that supervises teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases." • Stylists and models from around the country competed last week in the International Fantasy Hair Competition in New Hampshire. The winner was model Amaris Brown and stylist Kevin Carter of Detroit for "Proud Peacock," a big spray of feathers with hair shaped into what looked like the bird's tail feathers. •

The documentary, part of PBS's “Independent Lens” film series, follows five women in an engineering battalion — part of the first "Team Lioness" group which volunteered to accompany male combat units to central Iraq. The women have diverse backgrounds — from supply clerk to West Point grad — but all are thrown into an unprecedented military situation. A Pentagon spokeswoman told the Times, “A recent RAND report confirms that the Army and all other services remain in compliance with the DOD policy regarding the assignment of women in the military" which prohibits female troops from direct combat. But, she continues, “Women will continue to be assigned to units and positions that may necessitate combat actions within the scope of their restricted positioning — situations for which they are fully trained and equipped to respond,”

As the documentary makes clear, in this new military world, with its guerrilla warfare, there is no distinction between "combat" and the discharge of normal duties — which included searching and communicating with Muslim women. As a result, more female soldiers than ever before have ended up in combat, often without adequate training, and are suffering the same consequences as their male counterparts — PTSD and depression. Indeed, statistics from the British Ministry of Defense suggest that female soldiers are affected at a far higher level than their male counterparts. And, by the same token, therapists are not necessarily trained to help women in combat situations where they are not "officially" supposed to be. The film, which airs on November 13th, is apparently not polemical — one of the soldiers profiled says she is very much for women in combat, provided they're trained — but makes the need for scrutiny of women's roles in modern warfare very clear.

Women Soldiers Suffering From More Mental Problems [Telegraph]
Battleground: Female Soldiers In The Line of Fire [New York Times]

So is this another case of a former significant other allegedly murdering a fellow soldier? It certainly looks like it. Let's not forget Holley Wimunc, another Fort Bragg solider who was allegedly murdered by her estranged husband and fellow soldier who was stationed at Camp Lejeune. Another pregnant female solider stationed at Fort Bragg was also murdered in January, allegedly by a colleague she had accused of rape. So not only have female Fort Bragg soldiers experienced sexual violence from co-workers but they have also experienced physical violence with male soldiers that they have had relationships with. Is this a disturbing trend, or few unrelated tragedies gaining public attention?

Man Charged In Slaying Of Pregnant Soldier [CNN]
Questions Remain In Slaying Of Pregnant Soldier [Sentinel And Enterprise]