European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 14, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                              July stars and stripes Mideast edition Page 11 study finds fewer teens having sex birth rate Falls to Al time Low More Safe sex among teenagers has Persem 3hce 1 while condom usage increased sexual Tritter Touse among a Loti school students by Jennifer Kerr the associated press Washington fewer High school students Are having sex these and More Are using the teen birth rate has hit a record More Young people Are finishing High and More Little kids Are being read according to the latest government snapshot on the Well being of the nations Chil it is Good news on a Many key wellness experts said of the report released the implications for the popu lation Are quite positive in terms of their health and their said Edward director of the National Center for health the lower figure on teens having sex Means the risk of sexually transmitted diseases is in 47 percent of High school students million reported Ever having had sexual Down from 54 per cent in the rate of those who reported having had sex has remained the same since thirty four percent of the Stu dents reported having had sex Dur ing a three month period in of 63 3 Mil lion used that is up from 46 percent in the teen birth the report was 21 per Young women Ages 1517 in 2005 an Al time it was Down from 39 births per teens in this is very Good said Young teen mothers and their babies Are at a greater risk of both immediate and Lon term the birth rate in the 1519 age group was 40 per in also Down sharply from the Previ Ous education campaigns that started years ago Are having a significant said James president of advocates for a Washington based nonprofit group that focuses on prevention of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted i think the epidemic and the efforts in the 80s and 90s had a lot to do with Wagoner said of the improved numbers on teen condoms and adolescent the report was compiled from statistics and studies at 22 Federal and covered 38 key Indi 91 93 95 teens who used a condom the last time they had sex 64 percent 60 91 93 95 97 99 01 03 05 birth rates Ages 1519 Uve births per females source Feti eral inter Agency forum a on child and rim Fly statistics including infant academic achievement rates and the number of children living in the 2005 figures were the most comprehensive num Bers lbs Texas ranch will open to Public Nyji Vertuno the associated press Texas shaded by a massive 400yearold Oak tree and perched above the rip pling Waters of the Pedernales it was known As the Texas White president Lyndon Johnson served Barbecue to world dignitaries at the ranch in the rolling Hill country 70 Miles West of and first lady lady Bird Johnson lived there for three decades after her husband with her death wednesday at the age of the National Park service will soon take Over the Stone and Wood Home on the historic lbs near the town of while much of the ranch is already open to the Public with Tours that drive buses through the property and allow visitors to walk up to the Ceme Tery the main Home was of limits during lady Bird Johnsons purchased by Lyndon Johnson from his aunt in Home became known As the Texas White House during his presidency when he used it As a Refuge from Eric the National Park service will soon take Over the ranch of former president Lyndon Johnson hosted several foreign Heads of he held staff meetings in the Yard under the Shade of the giant it was always Lyndon favorite particularly around from the earliest Spring until cold weather drove us lady Bird Johnson once in december the Johnsons gave the lbs ranch House and hundreds of acres of land to the Public As a National historic advertise stars and stripes sales of plan b Pill but so does controversy by Rob Stein the Washington Post popular Ity of the morning after Pill plan b has surged in the year since the Federal government approved the Sale of the controversial emergency contraceptive without a pre plan b sales have doubled since the food and drug administration authorized the switch for women 18 and older last rising from about million a year to what will probably be close to million for according to Barr which makes plan the Sharp Rise was hailed by women health and family plan Ning who say it Illus trates the value of easing Access to birth control to help prevent unwanted this is exactly what we hoped would said Susan Wood of the George Washington univer sity school of Public As assistant commissioner for Wom ens health and director of the of fice of women health at the Wood pushed for the what were seeing is women who needed this product now finally having Access to for a woman in that it can make a real difference in her but conservative groups that fought the change say they Are Dis Turbed by the surging this is very said Charmaine Yoest of the family research which is among several groups suing the Fra to reverse the we think this is putting women health at plan b consists of higher doses of the hormones found in Stan Dard birth control taken within 72 hours of unprotected plan b has been shown to be highly effective at preventing with Strong support from Wom ens health groups and Fame Lyp Lanning Barr asked the Fra to allow plan is Sale without a prescription so women would not have to Over come the obstacle of getting a Doc tors permission before they could get the conservative members of con Gress and advocacy groups strongly opposed the questioning the drugs safety and arguing that easier availability could encourage sexual activity and make it easier for men to have sex with underage mistrial declared in rape Case after publicity about word ban by Nate Jenkins the associated press before a jury was even a judge declared a mistrial in the Texas Sault Case where he had barred the words rape and victim among judge Jeffre Cheuvront said thursday that publicity surround ing the rape Case against Pamir would have made it too difficult for jurors to ignore every thing they heard before the which was expected to begin next Safi is accused of raping tory Bowen in he said they had consensual but she said she was too drunk to agree to sex and that Safi knew Cheuvront barred attorneys and witnesses from using words including assailant and sexual assault and ordered witnesses to sign papers saying they would not use the defense attorneys asked for the saying it was necessary for a fair words such As sex and inter course were state Law allows judges to bar words or phrases that could prejudice or mislead a was fighting the arguing that it Hurt her the associated press usually does not identify accusers in sex assault but Bowen has allowed her name to be in a written explanation of his Cheuvront said Bowen and her friends drummed up pre trial publicity that tainted Poten tial they signed a petition decrying the word ban and posted it on a web Cheuvront Cheuvront also wrote the trial would be with a Date to be set and that he May move the trial to a different your Hometown newspaper Contact Fred Schneider email schn9iderf@estripes.osd.mil 6155 601 295 on 314 3490295 i 9738089