Boy Scouts leadership affirms policy of excluding 'open or avowed' gays
By the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) - The Boy Scouts of America announced Tuesday it has affirmed its policy of "not granting membership to open or avowed homosexuals."
The organization's leaders reached that decision after a nearly two-year evaluation and will take no further action on a resolution that has sought a change in policy, it said in a news release. It had said last month that it would consider a resolution asking that local units be allowed to determine their own standards.
BSA's chief scout executive and national president had convoked a committee of volunteers and professional leaders to evaluate the policy.
Boy Scouts to study ban on gay leaders
"The committee's work and conclusion is that this policy reflects the beliefs and perspectives of the BSA's members, thereby allowing Scouting to remain focused on its mission and the work it is doing to serve more youth," the statement said.
Kitty Wells blazed country path for women
By Alan Duke, CNN
Los Angeles (CNN) - Kitty Wells shocked the country music scene when she first sang about honky tonks and cheating husbands 60 years ago, but it propelled her to stardom and blazed a path for the strong female voices that followed.
Longtime Atlanta radio host Rhubarb Jones connects today's young female stars directly back to Wells.
"Before Miranda Lambert, there was Reba McEntire," Jones said. "Before Reba there was Loretta Lynn. Before Loretta, there was Patsy Cline. Before Patsy, there was Kitty Wells."
Country mourns loss of 'Queen' Kitty Wells
"If I had never heard of Kitty Wells, I don't think I would have been a singer myself," Lynn said after learning of Wells death Monday at the age of 92. "I wanted to sound just like her, but as far as I am concerned, no one will ever be as great as Kitty Wells."
"She was a trailblazer for all the women in country music," McEntire said Tuesday.
The man behind ‘Dear White people’
"Dear White People" is a satire film that looks at being black in America. CNN's Carol Costello speaks to Justin Simien, the man behind the viral video. "I'm trying to say something new about the black experience that I don't think is really out there," he said.
Marissa Mayer: From Google 'geek' to Yahoo CEO
(CNN) - Google's first female engineer, Marissa Mayer, has made a career out of bucking expectations - and she did so once again on Monday by announcing she will leave Google to be the new CEO of Yahoo, the struggling company that once was Google's main competitor.
10 most powerful women in tech
The tech world reacted with shock to the news. But it's perhaps time everyone got used to the idea that Mayer, who was Google's 20th employee and who is credited with the success of many of its most famous products, isn't the kind of person who does only what people expect her to do.
"There is such a stereotype of the hacker - the pasty-skinned guy with the thick glasses, the pocket protector, the blue glow coming off of the monitor ... people think if they're going to be good at this, that's what they need to be," Mayer told CNN in an interview earlier this year.
"You can be good at technology and like fashion and art. You can be good at technology and be a jock. You can be good at technology and be a mom. You can do it your way, on your terms."
New Yahoo CEO Mayer is pregnant
Mayer, sometimes referred to as the "Googirl," certainly has charted her own course, often weaving seemingly disparate worlds and interests together.
Raised in Wausau, Wisconsin, the 37-year-old joined Google in 1999 when it was a fledgling start-up, not an Internet titan. She danced in "The Nutcracker" ballet at Stanford and earned a degree in computer science. She espouses a love for cupcakes - but, according to interviews with other news organizations, once created a spreadsheet to determine the perfect recipe.
At Google, Mayer was responsible for overseeing the launch of some of the company's most iconic products, including Gmail, Google Maps and iGoogle.
About In America
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
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