(WOMENSENEWS)–
Cheers
Christine Lagarde, French finance minister, was named the new head of the International Monetary Fund on June 28, reported The Guardian. Lagarde will take over the role from Dominique Strauss-Kahn to become the first woman to hold the post. She will begin her five-year term on July 5. [Note: The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse, as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May, according to combined press reports. The New York City district attorney has now agreed to release Strauss-Kahn without bail but will retain his passport. Developments are ongoing]
More News to Cheer This Week:
- Sandy Pope, president of the Teamsters Local 805 in Queens since 2005, will run for president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters against three-term incumbent and current president James P. Hoffa, reported The New York Times June 27.
- The U.S. Women’s National Team beat Korea 2-0 in its first soccer match of the 2011 World Cup, reported Yahoo! Sports June 29. The two goals were scored in the latter half by Lauren Cheney and Alex Krieger.
- Planned Parenthood of Indiana won the temporary suspension of a recent state law that would defund family planning programs on June 28, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
- In Kansas, one abortion provider has received a license to perform the procedure while two other clinics are appealing to a the federal judge to block the state’s new licensing law and health department regulations, reported The Associated Press July 1.
- A virtual petition started by the Women’s Media Center on Change.org to remove Dan Rottenberg from his position as Editor-in-Chief of the Broad Street Review, after he published an editor’s note last month blaming CBS’s Lara Logan for the sexual violence committed against her while covering the protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, reached over 13,000 signatures, reported Change.org.
Jeers
Federal Supplemental Grants provided every year since 1996 to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in 17 states expired Friday, July 1, reported the Off the Charts blog June 27. These states include some of the poorest in the nation, with child poverty rates averaging 22 percent. Nine of these states have unemployment rates above the 9.1 percent national average.
Congress is not providing additional TANF funding to help states respond to the need from the economic downturn or to address funding inequities under the TANF block grant, according to combined press reports.
More News to Jeer This Week:
- The State Department issued its annual "Trafficking in Persons" report, identifying 23 nations as failing to meet minimum international standards to curb what some call "modern-day slavery" and another 41 countries were placed on a "watch list" that could lead to sanctions unless their records improve, reported MSNBC June 27.
- Authorities in Afghanistan say that an 8-year-old girl was tricked into carrying a concealed bomb, reported CBS News June 26. She was the only casualty when it went off near a police vehicle in the remote village of Uwshi.
- The Ohio House of Representatives voted on June 28 to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which can be as early as six weeks, Reuters reported. If enacted, the law would be a challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which upheld a woman’s right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, usually between 22-24 weeks.
- The Texas Legislator passed a bill on June 27 that would prohibit Planned Parenthood clinics in Texas from receiving state funds, reported The New York Daily News June 29.
Noted:
- The International Criminal Court is trying to link Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, his son and brother-in-law to rapes, with little evidence, reported CNN June 28. The court issued arrest warrants June 27 for Gadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Sanussi on other charges.
- Rep. Michele Bachmann deflected allegations Sunday that she and her immediate family had benefited from government assistance despite her demands to cut the federal budget, saying hundreds of thousands of dollars for her family farm and counseling clinic went to employees and her in-laws, the Los Angeles Times reported June 27.
- A unidentified 21 -year-old woman from Brooklyn, N.Y., said she was repeatedly raped by four men throughout her teenage years, reported The New York Times June 30.
