With this week's release of the Senate's health care reform bill, the timing couldn't have been better for BlogHer's chat with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Women bloggers discussed the new bill, as well as Stupak, breastfeeding, and even childhood obesity and food safety. You can listen to the audio:

It's being called a "landmark decision." A federal judge ruled November 18 in favor of New Orleans residents and one business, the plaintiffs, and against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a Hurricane Katrina flooding lawsuit. U.S. District Court Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr, decided that the Corps failed to maintain the levees that breached during Katrina, flooding St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. The case involved six plaintiffs, two of which are in the same household, and the court awarded $720,000 in compensation to the remaining four.

So we are at the end of 2009, and it amazes me how many lingering social/racial/socio-political issues have suddenly raised their ugly head late in the year. We have body issues - are we too fat or thin? Hair problems - straight or curly, natural or relaxed, weaves or wigs? And the latest problem...skin color.

Upon hearing the news Senate Majority leader Harry Reid released the Senate version of a health care reform bill last night, I quickly brewed some tea, snuggled into bed, and settled myself in for a long read. I've made it about 400 pages in and I can tell you already, there are some notable differences between the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the House bill. The New York Times reports,

Not long after I graduated from college, I worked at a government agency. One of my co-workers was in the middle of a bitter divorce. Prior to the divorce, he stayed home caring for his two young sons. Once his wife left him, however, she filed for custody of the children. At the time, he did not contest the filing, as he did not want to upset his kids any more than they already were. However, he was clearly heartbroken and missed nurturing his children.

Take one part Olympic fever, one part the realities of a Canadian winter, one part philanthropy and one part Canadian patriotism all rolled up in red wool and what do you get? Canada's obsession with the Canadian 2010 Olympic mittens.

Over the past few days, a Biblical verse has reportedly topped the google trends charts. It is also turning up in bumper stickers and tee shirts across the country. It reads: “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8” But what do you see when you look up that Psalm? “May his days be few; may another take his office.”

At the same time that leading journalists and scholars are calling on college journalism programs to help fill the void left by the decline of newspapers, a court case in Illinois is raising questions about the legal status of student journalists that could have a chilling effect on the risks that journalism professors will ask their students to take.

Count me underwhelmed by Sarah Palin, or, to be specific, the person Sarah Palin has become. Or, to be even more specific, the person Sarah Palin became to be interviewed on Oprah about her book yesterday morning.

The L Word ended on Showtime in March. For people like me who don't have Showtime, the final season is just now coming out on DVD. We are finally getting to see season 6 and watch how the series ended.

CNN and bloggers report that the body of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis of Fayetteville, NC, has been found. Earlier today 200 people searched for the child's body after police received a tip that she was dead, say news sources.

This weekend 20 year old golfer, Michelle Wie won her first championship. This is pretty exciting, especially since she has been playing in LPGA events since she was 12, but we aren't going to talk much about that this week because something much more glamorous happened in women's sports this weekend. Serena Williams set the record for earning the most prize money in a single season in the WTA. EVER.