•  Egyptian tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa has been sentenced to death for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim. • Breitbart has posted a preview for the documentary "The Iraqi Workout," which is a 45-minute study of the a women's gym in the north of Iraq. • A new (no shit) study has found that fathers respond to the risky sexual behavior of their teen offspring by increasing parental supervision. This contradicts an earlier study which indicated that parents tend to pull away when teens engage in sexually uninhibited behavior. • Two children of Martin Luther King Jr. have threatened to sue over a film that is currently in the works about their father's life. Dreamworks currently has the rights to King's story, but Bernice and Martin King claim they did not give their approval for the project. • In response to an uptight grandmother's complaints about a picture of a little girl breastfeeding her doll, Babble states what should be obvious: breastfeeding is not a sexual act, and it is not obscene. • Click here to read an interesting article from Time Mag about sex, consumer culture and how the two became so intricately linked. • As if us hypochondriacs didn't have enough to be worried about: in 2006 Swedish doctors discovered invisible chlamydia, which can escape detection on routine tests. The good news? They have developed a way to screen for the dangerous strain. • According to new data, women in Japan have the longest life expectancy out of any group, with the average lady surviving to see 86, while men in Sierra Leone have the shortest life expectancy (only 39). • A new drug usually used to chemically castrate sex offenders has been deemed by some a "miracle" cure for autism. However, many say that the use of the drug is "medically indefensible." •  Today Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, announced that Ursula Burns will be named CEO of the company on July 1st. Burns will become the only black female CEO among Fortune 500's top 150 companies. • Scientists have discovered the genetic mutations responsible for the unusual appearance of Julia Pastrana, the famous "bearded lady" from the 1800s. •

The extended list is woefully devoid of women, too. While George W. Bush shockingly rang in at number 5, beating out Abraham Lincoln – ranked 6 - and God (11), Hilary Clinton appeared down at number 12, and Condoleeza Rice at 19. On a list of 23, only five were women (the other two: 20. Oprah Winfrey and 21. Sarah Palin). In previous years, Princess Diana made the cut, as did Eleanor Roosevelt and Venus Williams. When asked: "who do you admire enough to call a hero?" a cross-section of Americans unfortunately thought of mostly men. And although many of these men are worthy of our admiration, we have to wonder, where are all the heroines?

We've addressed the shortage of women on quite a few lists before, from writers everyone should read, to Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers. We've even celebrated our recently deceased heroines. Unfortunately, in this case there is not one author we can blame. It seems that Americans in general are too hard on women, and would rather idolize the worst president in history than activist Del Martin (yes, I know she is not as well known as Bush, but she is certainly more deserving) or Michelle Obama.

However, some of our most memorable role models come from books, where there is no dearth of heroines. Perhaps it is because they so rarely disappoint us – barring the time that Jo turned down Laurie – and after the first read, they lose all ability to shock us. It is also easier to idolize a fictional character, and for some of us, more natural. Mental Floss has compiled a short list of 8 literary heroines, and although they include some really amazing characters, we know there are a lot more out there. Their list includes: Hester Prynne, Scout Finch, Jo March, Elizabeth Bennet, Karana (from Island of the Blue Dolphins), Jane Eyre, Helen Graham, and Anne Shirley (from Anne of Green Gables). We would like to add: Julie (from Jean Craighead George's novel Julie of the Wolves), Clara and Alba Trueba, Hermione Granger, Denver, Margarita, Emma Woodhouse, Constance Chatterley, and Caddy Compson.

So, who did we miss, real or fictional?

Obama Tops List of Americans' Heroes [AOL News]
Obama tops Jesus in new poll [Christian Science Monitor]
8 Literary Heroines: Sisters Doin' It For Themselves [MentalFloss]

• Owen Wilson has given his first interview since his suicide attempt — and it's going to be on MySpace. Director Wes Anderson spoke with Owen about their latest film, Darjeeling Limited, and is posting the discussion tonight at midnight. We have a feeling it's going to be totally work-related, but you never know. [People]
  
• Ellen DeGeneres' ratings were up at least 10% — maybe more — in the two days following her meltdown over Iggy the mutt, which is kind of crazy if you think about it. [Page Six]
  
• OMG! Dina Lohan's reality show starts filming next week! "It's about empowering women to be successful single mothers," Dina says. Daughter Ali will star in the show as well. Um, how do we feel about this? Anyone? [People]
  

• Naomi Campbell "blew her top" after missing a transatlantic flight yesterday at Heathrow airport. Hey, at least she didn't throw anything. [Mirror]
• Britney's mom, Lynne Spears, is writing a book — she has a deal with a Christian publisher. [Rush & Molloy, 2nd from last item]
• Meanwhile, Britney and Kevin Federline are due in court today, as the custody battle continues. [Yahoo News]
• Kate Hudson's divorce is finally final. She's free to date other people! Oh, wait. [E!]
• Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen named their baby girl Olive, btw. [ONTD]
• Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin on Lost (and is hot), was busted for DUI Thursday in Hawaii. He's the fourth member of the cast of Lost to be arrested. The production team should probably invest in some hired drivers. [TMZ]
• Paris Hilton's trip to Rwanda has been "postponed." LOL. [TMZ]
• Lindsay Lohan is staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where paparazzi can't see her coming or going. Damn. [Page Six]
• Rocker Cisco Adler (Mischa Barton's ex) was seen runing around Hyde in L.A. in his underwear. Do not want! [Page Six]
• Leonardo DiCaprio was still a virgin at age 17? That's kinda cool. [Page Six]
• Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei's new movie opens with their nude sex scene. We like them both, but together and naked? Not sure. [Page Six]
• At Hilary Clinton's 60th birthday party last night, Elvis Costello sang "Happy birthday, Mrs. President." [Gatecrasher]
• Dave Navarro is happy writing and directing porn instead of making music right now. "Rock used to have that rebellious 'up against the world' creed," he says. "That doesn't exist anymore in the music world — but it's alive and well in the adult industry." [Page Six]

• Yay, heart-warming story! The International Breast Milk Project ships breast milk, or liquid gold, to Africa, where nine-thousand bottles is enough to feed six babies for a year. Being that lil' Suri Cruise was weaned on a Hubbard-approved cocktail of barley water and corn syrup, we sure hope Katie didn't let her milk dry up and go to waste. [ABC News]
  
• Capitol Hill finally takes notice that postpartum depression is more than just a few tears; Congress has authorized $3 million in federal funds for research. Brooke Shields, Britney Spears, and Andrea Yates all respond, "No shit!" and "That's it?!" [ABC News]
  
• A woman dug up and stole her dead boyfriend's ashes after his family banned her from the funeral. Aww, that's kind of sweet! [CNN]

• Kim Cunningham admits to killing her brother-in-law when she found out he had repeatedly raped her 9-year old daughter. She was acquitted of murder by two juries and though some say the ruling is condoning vigilante justice, we say, "You know what? Fuck that, good for her. Where's the parade?" [ABC News]
• A burqa-wearing bandit robbed a bank in North Carolina, leaving the police scratching their heads as to whether the perp was a man or a woman. Umm, we see some pretty groomed brows in the photo so our vote is a woman... or gay drag queen. [ABC News]
• Breast cancer patients find that friends, family, and even strangers offer loads of unsolicited advice and wisdom in an effort to be supportive, most of which is totally crappy. "Pshaw, chemo is no big deal!" is not the best way to tell someone you're there for them, okay? [MSNBC]
• Shocker. State by state, the US sucks at caring for women's health, with Vermont being the best and Mississippi being the worst. As for who else failed miserably? Washington D.C., home of our nation's capital. Betcha the First Lady gets the best Pap smear in district! [MSNBC]
• Heavy sigh. A top political strategist estimates that Republican women will, in the end, vote for Hilary Clinton because they want a female president. We're not sure if that's true, we'd take Clinton over any Republican any day of the week, but why is that people don't understand voting for any woman is not a feminist statement? [AP]

• Everything in Norway is smoked! Amy Winehouse's arrest stemmed from someone tipping off the police that the singer had marijuana in her hotel room. Officers held Amy, husband Blake Fielder-Civil and a male member of her tour crew for about 12 hours in separate cells, then fined and released them. We're curious whether they bought the weed en route or brought it with them... [People]
  
• Isla Fisher popped! The actress and baby daddy Sacha Baron Cohen had a baby girl in L.A. on Wednesday night. [The Sun]
  
• A New York psychotherapist says that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be damaging their children by traveling so much, pulling them from schools and not creating a stable environment outside the family unit. Not that it's any of his business. [Page Six]
  
• Did the ideas from Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious, come from another book? The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals has similar, icky, "just add purée" recipes. [Rush & Molloy]

• People are all abuzz because Chelsea Clinton's best friend, Nicole Davidson, is getting married in D.C. October 27. Chelsea is an expected guest, as are her parents, Hilary and Bill. Attendees are being warned not to "bother" the senator and former prez. Wonder if they'll do the chicken dance? [Page Six]
• Did Britney Spears visit a doctor's office for collagen injections in her lips? She was seen leaving a doctor's office covering her mouth. [TMZ]
• Wait! Britney may have been covering her mouth because she ran over a photographer's foot! [People]
• As for her August hit and run case, Britney cut a deal with the owner of the car she damaged. That means her charges might be dropped. [TMZ]
• Magician David Copperfield is being investigated by the FBI. Did something disappear? [TMZ]
• Ooh! Cops seized $2 million in cash from Copperfield, as well as a computer hard drive. [MSNBC]
• Shar Jackson won MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar, yawn. She says ex Kevin Federline wished her luck and told her to "kill 'em." [People]
• Ellen DeGeneres canceled the taping of her show today. She's going to take a long weekend and come back on Tuesday with a new show. [People]
• Here's how Joely Richardson looked at an benefit in London that had the Daily Mail saying "signs of strain," aka anorexia. You be the judge. [ONTD]
• If you read somewhere that Lindsay Lohan was engaged, it is not true, thank the mighty lord Zeus. [ET]
• Holy crap: Catherine Deneuve's father was a Nazi collaborator, according to an unauthorized biography of the actress. [Telegraph]
• Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham is fighting a "chest infection" which is pretty damn funny if you think about it the right way. Uh, the wrong way. [The Sun]