A News Round Up -- What I missed When I was on Vacation

Amazing how much can happen when one is away from newspapers.

As I caught up on my emails and list serv announcements today, I learned:

*The teenage birth rate went up for the second year in a row in 2007.

*A federal court has order the FDA to reconsider its decision denying teenagers access to emergency contraception over the counter.

And this story today:
The White House announced Monday that President Obama has appointed a prominent lesbian attorney and ordained Episcopal priest as Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Emily C. Hewitt, 64, has been serving as one of 16 judges on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims since President Clinton appointed her to the post in 1998.

A biography of Hewitt on the court’s web site says she is married to Eleanor Dean Acheson, a nationally recognized gay rights attorney who served as an assistant attorney general in the Clinton administration. Acheson, who was out as a lesbian in the Clinton administration, later worked as director of public policy and government affairs for the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.

A graduate of Union Theological Seminary (my alma mater),
"she became one of the first 11 women to be ordained to the Episcopal priesthood in 1974 after being recognized as a leader in efforts to open the Episcopal ordination process to women. She served from 1973-1975 as assistant professor of religion and education at Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts."

Oh, and I just read Senator Charles Schumer has just come out for marriage equality.

On balance, except for the teen birth rate, some good news to celebrate.

Now, we're both caught up.