Laurie Goodstein writes in the New York Times: "While the recent scandals involving the Roman Catholic Church have focused on the sexual abuse of children, experts say that incidences of priests who have violated sexual and emotional boundaries with adult women are far more common."

USA Today reporter Joan Biskupic reports on why diversity is crucial to the highest court: "Retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor says she regrets that some of her decisions "are being dismantled" by the current Supreme Court."

USA Today's Marisol Bello reports on a new social networking site for Latinas to help them "find their voice": "It has become an online plaza where Latinas nationwide, and a few from Canada and Mexico, gather to network, share experiences, trade job information, plug community events and professional efforts, and seek advice on everything from getting a divorce to obtaining a mortgage."

Donna St. George writes in The Washington Post: "A first census snapshot of married women who stay home to raise their children shows that the popular obsession with high-achieving professional mothers sidelining careers for family life is largely beside the point."

"Lack of health insurance kills 45,000 American adults a year, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health. . . . Even with health insurance, many Americans are a medical crisis away from bankruptcy," writes Holly Sklar (distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service).

National Journal reports: "In a bid to wrangle concessions from the Blue Dog Coalition on healthcare reform, House leaders Thursday released CBO estimates for liberals' preferred version of the public option that show $85 billion more in savings than for the version the Blue Dogs prefer."

In a Washington Post op-ed, Harold Meyerson answers the question "So what does ACORN actually do, anyway?" and expands readers' perspective on the group that has become a favorite right-wing target.

In a New York Times op-ed Barbara Ehrenreich and Dedrick Muhammad write: "What do you get when you combine the worst economic downturn since the Depression with the first black president? A surge of white racial resentment, loosely disguised as a populist revolt."

In a posting on Buzzflash.com, Meg White analyzes how job loss in the U.S. impacts men and women and the media's coverage of this issue.

The New York Times Sunday Magazine devoted its Aug. 23 issue to "changing the lives of women and girls in the developing world," -- including a centerpiece article by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

Carole Joffe, in the Longview Institute, writes, "...as we enter a new era, with the end of the Bush presidency coinciding with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, I see different types of reproductive horror stories emerging. These stories transcend the abortion divide. They speak squarely to the economic devastation facing Americans across the political spectrum, and how this crisis impacts people's reproductive lives. Three recent items in the news serve as examples."

Al Neuharth, founder of USA TODAY, writes in an opinion piece that President Obama must make sure the stimulus plan is implemented in a manner that doesn't "sabotage" American women. NOW President Kim Gandy is also quoted in support of this position. Neuharth's viewpoint, he says, is influenced by the wage discrimination his mother faced during the Great Depression, and the difficulties he encountered in carrying out his own equal-opportunity business policies.

The New York Times' editorial board writes that, with regard to the country's rising rate of unemployment, "state welfare programs do not seem to be rising to the challenge." Implicating the federal government as well, the editorial offers legislators concrete suggestions to improve welfare policy, asserting that "civilized societies make sure that when people are in desperate need of help, the money is there to take care of them."

Jason DeParle reports in The New York Times that "18 states cut their welfare rolls last year, and nationally the number of people receiving cash assistance remained at or near the lowest in more than 40 years...[raising] questions about how well a revamped welfare system with great state discretion is responding to growing hardships." DeParle focuses on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, "the main cash welfare program for families with children...which mostly serves single mothers."

Gail Collins, in an opinion piece for The New York Times, details the accomplishments of Lilly Ledbetter and her predecessors, just as Ledbetter's eponymous Fair Pay Act is signed into law. Collins characterizes Ledbetter as "part of a long line of working women who went to court and changed a little bit of the world in fights that often brought them minimal personal benefit."