the battle of the sexes has reached a milestone in the work place thanks in part to the recession. want to sound smart today, the wage gap between men and women has shrunk to a record low in the united states now. women who make up nearly half of the u.s. workforce earned 82.8% of the median weekly wage of men during the second quarter of this year. that's the highest level ever reported, although, still not enough. what's the reason? industries like construction and manufacturing which employ more men have been hit hardest by the recession. all right, enough of the real news. let's huddle up around the water cooler to watch oprah incite a riot in her own studio. as you know, of course, this is oprah's 25th and final season of her show. and, boy, did she open this thing in style.