NEW YORK — Katie Couric is leaving CBS.

The 54-year-old newswoman’s contract ends in June. She told People magazine, “In making the decision to move on, I know the Evening News will be in great hands, but I am excited about the future.”

“The bottom line is that I love doing all kinds of different stories. I have a lot of areas of interest and I want to be able to fulfill all of that.”

She said details are still being finalized.

CBS officially issued a statement Tuesday afternoon saying, “There’s a lot to be proud of during Katie Couric’s time at Evening News. CBS News, like Katie herself, is looking forward to the next chapter.”

CBS is expected to name Scott Pelley the new anchor of the “Evening News” next week.

The National Stonewall Democrats are angry at Gov. Sarah Palin over a remark she made branding sexual orientation as a personal choice.

In her recent interview with Katie Couric of CBS News, Palin was asked to clarify her stance on sexual orientation since it had been discovered that Palin’s church still promoted controversial “conversion therapy” for gays and lesbians.

Palin answered, “I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions they make in their adult personal relationships.”

The NSD responded with a statement, obviously outraged that Palin perceived sexual orientation to be a personal choice.

“For Governor Palin to suggest that individuals randomly choose their sexual orientation based on nothing but a whim is wrong,” said executive director Jon Hoadley.

There has been much evidence to the contrary of Palin’s opinion in the scientific community, and the NSD also beleives that being gay or lesbian is not a personal choice.

The NSD supports Sen. Barack Obama for president because of his pro-equality views regarding gays and lesbians.

This outrage from the NSD won’t really affect the campaign, but Palin’s view on gays and lesbians may.‚  Obama and Biden are more pro-equality than Palin is, as witnessed in last night’s debate where she tried to dodge the issue when asked on her stance.

She and Biden both share the same view, that the traditional values of marriage should remain between a man and a woman, but while Biden supports equality on every other stage, Palin was a little hesitant; a sign of her disapproval.

Personally, I believe the tradition of marriage lies in what it symbolizes not the technicalities of its definition, so for me, gays marrying is OK.‚  But I do believe that the decision should lie with the state not the federal government.

Check out my live blog of the VP debate for more info on the candidates’ personal views.