Weightlifting body changes dress code, benefits Muslim woman

Kulsoom Abdullah wants to keep her body covered during official competitionsThe International Weightlifting Federation modifies its rulesRules now specify outfits can be full-body, tight-fitted unitard

Atlanta (CNN) -- The International Weightlifting Federation has modified its rules and will allow athletes to wear a full-body, tight-fitted unitard during competition, the group said.

Wednesday's rule change was prompted by an Atlanta woman, who wanted to take part in competitions governed by IWF rules but still adhere to the modest dress of her Muslim faith.

"Weightlifting is an Olympic Sport open for all athletes to participate without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter and values," Tamas Ajan, IWF president, said Wednesday. "This rule modification has been considered in the spirit of fairness, equality and inclusion."

Before the change, the IWF's technical and competition rules said weightlifting outfits -- officially called "costumes" -- had to be collarless and not cover the elbows or knees.

Abdullah, a 35-year-old with a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, is not an Olympic athlete, but enjoys lifting weights.

She generally wears loose, long pants past the ankles, a long-sleeve, fitted shirt with a loose T-shirt over it, and a hijab, or head scarf, covering her hair.

"It's what I believe in. It's what I've chosen to do," Abdullah told CNN this month about her decision to wear modest garb. "I've always dressed this way publicly."

She can deadlift 245 pounds (111 kg) and get up 105 pounds (47.5 kg) in the snatch, in which the competitor lifts the barbell from the floor to over her head in a single motion. She likes to compete with other women in her weight class -- she generally weighs in the 106-pound (48 kg) or 117-pound (53 kg) classifications.

"It guess it's empowering," she says. "There's a lot of technique involved, so someone who's this big muscular person -- it's possible I could lift more than they do. There's speed and timing to it -- you have to be explosive. I think it's great just for confidence building ... I guess I got hooked."

The review was prompted by the Atlanta resident wanting to take part in tournaments in the United States, including one coming up in July. But USA Weightlifting informed her that those events are governed by IWF rules, which at that time precluded her dressing in keeping with her beliefs.

Abdullah says she understands the need to make sure she isn't wearing anything under her clothes to give her a competitive advantage. She says judges could check to make sure she is not wearing something on her elbows, for example, that might help her.

Numerous athletic agencies have faced similar questions in the past and, in some cases, have determined that allowing special clothing violates fairness or equality among all contestants.

FIFA, the international federation governing soccer, recently refused to allow Iran's women's soccer team to wear headscarves while playing in an Olympic qualifying round in Amman, Jordan.

Abdullah told CNN her effort is not just about herself. "I should at least try," she said, "if not for me then maybe for other women who -- if they have my faith or another faith -- dress a certain way."

CNN's Josh Levs contributed to this report

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TSA stands by officers after pat-down of elderly woman in Florida

A 95-year-old woman was held up by TSA officers at a Florida airport, her daughter saysThe agents forced the cancer-stricken woman to take off her adult diaper, she addsThe TSA insists its officers "acted professionally and according to proper procedure"The woman's daughter says those procedures should be changed

(CNN) -- The Transportation Security Administration stood by its security officers Sunday after a Florida woman complained that her cancer-stricken, 95-year-old mother was patted down and forced to remove her adult diaper while going through security.

Reports of the incident took hold in social media, with scores of comments on the topic and reposts appearing hourly on Twitter Sunday afternoon.

The TSA released a statement Sunday defending its agents' actions at the Northwest Florida Regional Airport.

"While every person and item must be screened before entering the secure boarding area, TSA works with passengers to resolve security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner," the federal agency said. "We have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally and according to proper procedure."

TSA pat downs 6-year-old child

Jean Weber told CNN's Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday that the security officers may have been procedurally correct, but she still does not believe they were justified, especially given her mother's frail condition.

"If this is your procedure -- which I do understand -- I also feel that your procedure needs to be changed," she said.

Weber said the two were traveling June 18 from northwest Florida to Michigan, so her mother could move in with relatives before eventually going to an assisted living facility.

"My mother is very ill, she has a form of leukemia," Weber said. "She had a blood transfusion the week before, just to bolster up her strength for this travel."

While going through security, the 95-year-old was taken by a TSA officer into a glassed-in area, where a pat-down was performed, Weber said. An agent told Weber "they felt something suspicious on (her mother's) leg and they couldn't determine what it was" -- leading them to take her into a private, closed room.

Soon after, Weber said, a TSA agent came out and told her that her mother's Depend undergarment was "wet and it was firm, and they couldn't check it thoroughly." The mother and daughter left to find a bathroom, at the TSA officer's request, to take off the adult diaper.

Weber said she burst into tears during the ordeal, forcing her own pat-down and other measures in accordance with TSA protocol. But she said her mother, a nurse for 65 years, "was very calm" despite being bothered by the fact that she had to go through the airport without underwear.

Eventually, Weber said she asked for her mother to be whisked away to the boarding gate without her, because their plane was scheduled to leave in two minutes and Weber was still going through security.

By this weekend, the 95-year-old woman -- who was not identified by name -- was doing "fine" in Michigan, where her niece and her family "was treating her like royalty because they love her so much."

"My mother is a trouper," Weber said.

This is not the first time that the TSA's pat-downs of passengers have come under fire, nor the first time that the agency has rallied behind its officers and policy.

Last year, the administration announced it was ramping up the use of full-body scanning and pat-downs to stop nonmetallic threats, including explosives, from getting on planes. The goal is to head off attacks such as the one allegedly attempted in Christmas 2009 by Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, who allegedly had a bomb sewn into his underwear on a flight from the Netherlands to Michigan.

The TSA estimates that only 3% of passengers are subjected to pat-downs -- and then only after they have set off a metal detector or declined to step into a full-body scanner. Yet the new policy has triggered an uproar online and in airports, from a relatively small but vocal number of travelers who feel their rights and privacy were being violated.

But the federal safety agency hasn't backed down, making some adjustments but no major changes to its policy.

"Every traveler is a critical partner in TSA's efforts to keep our skies safe," Administrator John Pistole, who ordered the new approach, said last fall. "And I know and appreciate that the vast majority of Americans recognize and respect the important work we do."

More recently, outrage erupted over a video-recorded pat-down of a 6-year-old passenger last April at New Orleans' airport. The video, which was posted on YouTube, shows the girl protesting the search by a female security officer at first, though she complies quietly while it is underway.

Pistole addressed this controversy at a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee meeting last week, explaining the pat-down was ordered because the child had moved while passing through a body imaging machine. He told committee members that "we have changed the policy (so) that there'll be repeated efforts made to resolve that without a pat-down."

The next day, TSA spokesman Greg Soule said that the new policy -- which will apply to children age 12 and younger -- is in the process of being rolled out. It will give security officers "more options," but does not eliminate pat-downs as one of them.

"This decision will ultimately reduce -- though not eliminate -- pat-downs," Soule said.

CNN

Woman arrested over phone-hacking

Protestors demonstrate against Rupert Murdoch's News International, after allegations of phonehacking.British police are investigating claims that journalists were behind widespread hacking News of the World apologized to a number of people and paid compensation to Sienna MillerA British lawmaker said in parliament that police have information suggesting more hackingMedia reports say Tony Blair and Kate Middleton were among the victims

London (CNN) -- British police said Thursday they have arrested a 39-year-old woman suspected of involvement in the hacking of voice mails of celebrities and politicians by British newspapers.

She's the fourth person arrested this year over a scandal that has forced the News of the World newspaper into a public apology and offers to pay compensation to victims, including actress Sienna Miller.

Three men were arrested in April and are currently on bail, police said.

The paper's royal reporter and a private investigator were sent to prison in 2007 for hacking into voice mails of staff working for Britain's royal family.

Police launched a new investigation this year into hacking by journalists in response to widespread complaints from politicians, celebrities and other high-profile figures who fear they have been targets.

British lawmaker Tom Watson earlier this month said in parliament that police have information that "strongly suggests" a second private investigator targeted royals, lawmakers and high-level terrorist informers on behalf of the News International media group.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's News International owns the News of the World, plus the Sun and the Times in Britain.

British media said the targets included former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Kate Middleton when she was dating Prince William, the second in line to the throne. They married in April.

Buckingham Palace and Prince William's office at Clarence House both declined to comment.

The Metropolitan Police told CNN June 9 it "has received a number of allegations regarding breach of privacy.... These allegations are currently being considered."

News International rejected the accusation.

"With regards to Tom Watson's specific allegations, we believe these are wholly inaccurate," the company told CNN, adding that it was cooperating with ongoing police investigations into phone hacking and had not been asked about the work of the private investigator Watson named in Parliament.

But it said it was "well documented" that the investigator "worked for a whole variety of newspaper groups."

News of the World officially apologized in April for hacking into voice mails.

The Sunday tabloid newspaper offered compensation and "apologized unreservedly" for the "unacceptable" hacking. It did not name the victims.

Murdoch's media empire encompasses the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Fox News and Harper Collins publishers, as well as the Times and the Sun newspapers.

CNN

Woman to run Marines' Parris Island

Brig. Gen. Lori Reynolds takes over the Marine recruit training camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.Brig. Gen. Lori Reynolds takes command at Parris IslandShe recently returned from Afghanistan deploymentShe declined to speak about her history-making promotion

(CNN) -- Parris Island, the South Carolina military installation that has trained thousands of young Marines, has its first female commander.

Brig. Gen. Lori Reynolds took over at a change-of-command ceremony Friday at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

"It's not about male or female, it's about highly qualified officers," Capt. Bernadette Newman told CNN Savannah affiliate WSAV. "The Marine Corps gets it right. It's a performance-based society, and if you look at General Reynolds' bio, she has more than enough experience to add value to this, so it is exciting."

Reynolds recently returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan, where she was the first woman in the Marine Corps to command units in a war zone.

The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group took a base that initially fed, housed and equipped more than 10,000 Marines, and built it up to handle the troop surge of an additional 10,000 Marines and sailors into Afghanistan, the Corps said.

According to news reports, Reynolds did not mention her gender at the ceremony, and declined to make comments afterward.

"As her career progressed, she had different leadership opportunities to mold and mentor officers and enlisted of all ranks, and now she's here where she has the whole gamut of officers and enlisted, and for us it's a great opportunity," Newman told WSAV. "She truly knows from start to finish the Marines, and she knows every level."

Reynolds was commissioned in the Marine Corps in May 1986 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. She replaces Brig. Gen. Frederick M. Padilla, who received an Okinawa assignment.

Parris Island, near Beaufort, has trained enlisted late Marines since 1915. Enlisted female training began there in February 1949. Reynolds' recruiting area includes the eastern half of the United States.

CNN

UN: give space to Libyan woman who claimed rape (AP)

BUCHAREST, Romania – The U.N. refugee agency has appealed for privacy for a Libyan woman who claims she was raped by Moammar Gadhafi's troops.

Iman al-Obeidi, 29, made headlines around the world in March when she rushed into Libya's Rixos Hotel and told foreign reporters covering the country's pro-democracy insurgency that she had been gang-raped by Libyan troops who detained her at a checkpoint in Tripoli.

Machiel Salomons, representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Romania, said Wednesday that al-Obeidi arrived at a U.N. refugee transit center in the country on Monday afternoon. He declined to say how long she would stay, or where she would be resettled, urging respect for her "space and privacy."

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British woman beheaded in supermarket attack named

Jennifer Mills-Westley, a British national, was killed in an apparently random attack in Spain's Canary Islands on May 14, 2011.Jennifer Mills-Westley was "generous of heart," her daughter saysShe was killed in an apparently random attack in SpainA man stole a knife, then cut off her head with it

(CNN) -- A British woman beheaded in an apparently random supermarket attack in Spain's Canary Islands has been identified as grandmother Jennifer Mills-Westley.

She was retired and living between Tenerife in the Canary Islands and France, where a daughter and grandchildren live, her family said in a statement Saturday.

"She was full of life, generous of heart, would do anything for anyone," said her daughter, who was only identified as Sarah.

The family is "devastated by the news of her death," her daughter said.

"We now have to find a way of living without her love and light," she added.

Mills-Westley was a retired county council worker in Norfolk, eastern England, council leader Derrick Murphy told CNN.

Murphy said he did not know her personally, having joined the council after she retired, but that he planned to have current and former council employees put together a tribute to her.

A knife-wielding man attacked a Mills-Westley in a supermarket, eventually cutting off her head and running away with it, government officials in Tenerife said Friday.

The man entered a shopping center in the town of Arona, in the Cristianos area of Tenerife, and stole a knife from the supermarket before attacking the apparent stranger, a central government spokeswoman said.

Shopping center security guards were alerted and chased the man, subduing him until police arrived.

The man, whom national police in Tenerife identified as a Bulgarian, was apparently known in the shopping area, the government spokeswoman said.

The British Foreign Office confirmed Friday that a British national had died in Tenerife. British officials there are in contact with Spanish authorities about the incident, the Foreign Office said.

CNN's Al Goodman, Per Nyberg and Bharati Naik contributed to this report.

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Source: Woman dies after fleeing Syria

Syrian forces have been shelling border villages and locals are fleeing to Lebanon, locals saySyria is cracking down on anti-government protestsBetween 700 and 850 people have died in the last two months, observers sayDamascus blames the unrest on armed groups

(CNN) -- A wounded Syrian woman died of her injuries after being brought into Lebanon as she fled Syrian security forces, a Lebanese security source told CNN Sunday.

She was one of at least 10 wounded Syrians -- including a young girl and a five-year-old boy -- being treated in Lebanese hospitals, the source said.

It's at least the second death of a Syrian in Lebanon this weekend, according to local sources, as Damascus continues a military crackdown on anti-government protests.

Reports from non-governmental organizations suggest that somewhere between 700 and 850 people have been killed since the start of the protests and thousands of other people have reportedly been arrested, the United Nations said Friday.

About 1,000 Syrians have fled into Lebanon, according to Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

The border village of Heleyfeh in Syria is surrounded by tanks, and 60 families from the village fled to the Lebanese border villages of Debabiyeh, Kwayshra and Annoura, the Lebanese source said Sunday.

A Lebanese army soldier was slightly wounded by a stray bullet from Syria at the Lebanese-Syrian border in Bekayaa, north Lebanon, Lebanon's army said Sunday.

Mostapha Khodor Nouaimi was injured in the foot, treated in a hospital, and released, the Lebanese army information directorate said.

The soldier is part of a joint security unit at the border, according to the Lebanese army.

Syrian soldiers on Saturday shelled Tal Kalakh, a town near the Lebanese border, witnesses told CNN. Intermittent gunfire could be heard into the evening from the Lebanese northern border village of Wadi Khalid.

One man died and his body was returned to Syria in a funeral procession, residents said.

Ambulances for the Red Cross stood by to transfer the injured to Lebanese hospitals.

About 700 people from Syria fled to the northern Lebanese village of Mkaybleh, the mayor of the village said Saturday. Those fleeing were mostly women and children, said Mahamoud Khazaal, the mayor.

Fleming, the spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said Saturday that the Syrian refugees are being hosted by people they know in Lebanon, such as friends and relatives.

As such, she said, "there's been no request for humanitarian assistance," but there are contingency plans if needed.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has ordered government officials to assess the needs of the Syrians taking refuge in Lebanese villages.

Demonstrations have rippled across the country since mid-March, and protesters demanding political freedoms have been met by a powerful security crackdown.

Violent clashes after demonstrations on Friday left at least four people dead, a human rights advocate said.

According to Ammar Qurabi, chairman of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, three were killed by gunfire from security forces during those clashes.

The regime has blamed armed groups for the violence. Minister of Information Adnan Mahmoud said on Friday that 98 soldiers and security forces and 22 police have been killed, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.

But the demonstrators, emboldened by the tough crackdown and the mass anti-government rallies in other Arab nations this year, have blamed killings on the government.

President Bashar al-Assad has responded to grievances by lifting the country's 48-year-old state of emergency and abolishing the state security court, both of which were key demands of the demonstrators.

The emergency law permitted the government to make preventive arrests and override constitutional and penal code statutes.

CNN's Rima Maktabi and Joe Sterling contributed to this report

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Woman found in Nevada wilderness moved to Canadian hospital

Rita Chretien was rescued last week after being stranded for 49 days. Authorities are still searching for husband Albert.Rita and her husband Albert Chretien got lost in the Nevada wilderness March 19
She was found on Friday, 49 days later
Her husband is still missing

(CNN) -- The Canadian woman who was rescued last week after being stranded and alone for 49 days in a Nevada wilderness has transferred from an Idaho hospital to one in her home country, a hospital statement said early Wednesday.

Rita Chretien, 56, was transported Tuesday afternoon from St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls to a British Columbia hospital, according to the medical center. She was upgraded to good from fair condition earlier in the day.

"She is enjoying solid foods and had a dinner of salmon, rice and green beans last night," a hospital statement said Tuesday. "This morning she had a breakfast burrito with homemade salsa. A 'bowl of soul' coffee was brought to her from a local coffee house. It included a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg and a dollop of whipped cream, which Rita said was delicious."

Doctors said the indicators of her recovery are "very good," the statement said.

Meanwhile, authorities are still searching for her husband, Raymond, who left his wife in their van on March 22 so that he could find help.

Scores of men and women had searched for the Chretiens since the Penticton, British Columbia, residents were last seen March 19 leaving a Shell gas station convenience store in Baker City, Oregon.

On Friday, more than a month later, hunters wandered into the area where the van was sitting.

Rita Chretien shot up from her spot in the 2000 Chevrolet Astro's back seat when she heard them outside, mustered strength to open the door and stepped out shoeless. She waved.

While the odds are dwindling that Albert Chretien will be found alive, authorities haven't ruled it out.

Rita Chretien lived off the little food she had -- beef jerky, some trail mix, fish oil pills and one piece of hard candy per day. She went outside for a walk once a day, using the sunlight to melt snow for drinking water and going to a nearby stream.

She read a few books (some several times) and the Bible and recorded her thoughts in a journal.

The Chretiens were en route to a trade show convention in Las Vegas when they turned off the highway onto a forest service road that led into Nevada, intending to enjoy the "scenic route," her son said, who'd heard the full story from his weakened mother.

The couple took some wrong turns and had thought, based on their map, that their road was better than it was. Pictures released by the sheriff's department show the van in an extremely remote area with no visible roads.

The van was stuck in caked mud, with a shovel pictured near the back of the van, indicating that someone had been trying to free the vehicle from the mud.

CNN's Michael Martinez contributed to this story.

CNN

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Canadian woman found in stranded van after 49 days

(CNN) -- For 49 days, Rita Chretien waited for a miracle.

Her husband had ventured off to get help three days after their minivan got stranded off-road in the cold, untamed Nevada wilderness.

That left Rita alone without much beyond some hard candy, a long-ago emptied bag of trail mix, some books and the clothes she'd packed for her trip to Las Vegas. Plus, according to her son Raymond Chretien, she always had faith.

Scores of men and women had searched for Rita and her husband Albert Chretien, since the Penticton, British Columbia, residents were last seen March 19 leaving a Shell gas station convenience store in Baker City, Oregon.

On Friday, hunters wandered into the remote territory near where Oregon, Idaho and Nevada meet.

Rita Chretien shot up from her spot in the 2000 Chevrolet Astro's backseat when she heard them outside, mustered her lingering strength to open the door and step out shoeless. She waved.

Three days later, she was resting comfortably in an Idaho hospital, spending Mother's Day with her children.

"Right now, we're just celebrating," said her son, Raymond, on Sunday.

Even the doctor who oversaw Chretien's care at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, Idaho, acknowledged it was not easy to explain how a 56-year-old woman could have such a positive prognosis and demeanor given what she'd gone through.

"In this case, for a person with suboptimal nutrition to survive so long -- let's just say that it is understandable to call it a miracle," Dr. James Westberry told reporters Sunday.

The search, meanwhile, continues for Albert Chretien.

While rainy and overcast weather forced authorities to call off the first day's air search, Corp. Dan Moskaluk of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Saturday that a search dog and about 20 people, riding 6 to 8 ATVs and four-wheel drive vehicles are on the case.

While the odds are dwindling that Albert Chretien will be found alive, authorities certainly are not ruling it out, said the police spokesman.

"Neither family nor investigators would have thought that we'd be reporting after seven weeks of actually finding somebody alive," said Moskaluk. "Until we know exactly what happened to Al, it remains a mystery."

Rita and Albert Chretian were together when, after their stop in Baker City (recorded on the store's surveillance tape), they turned off the highway onto a forest service road that led into Nevada.

They were en route to a trade show convention in Las Vegas, but veered off to enjoy the "scenic route," said her son, who'd heard the full story from his ailing mother.

The couple took some wrong turns and had thought, based on their map, that their road was better than it was.

Then, about 20 miles from the highway, "apparently the road conditions ... degraded quite drastically," said Moskaluk, the police spokesman.

By the time darkness fell, the minivan succumbed to the combination of snow and mud, unable to move.

On March 22, Albert Chretien left the van, setting off to get help. His wife, who Raymond Chretien said is "not an outdoorsy type of person," remained behind.

Rita Chretian rationed the little food available -- a beef jerky, some trail mix, fish oil pills, and one piece of hard candy per day. She'd go outside for a walk once a day, using the sunlight to melt snow for drinking water and going to a nearby stream.

In the meantime, she had plenty of time to read a few books (some multiple times), the Bible and record her thoughts and adventures in a journal.

"She did it because she didn't know the outcome of this," her son said, adding that he had not yet read the journal. "It was intended to sort of tell the story what happened over (those) days."

All the while, Rita Chretien got weaker, losing 20 to 30 pounds, according to Moskaluk.

Her son said that, in her last few days in the wild, she'd come to peace with the sense that her time was dwindling. She penciled May 6 as a critical day in her mind: -- either she'd be rescued or she'd die.

"She definitely had hope. But of course, just like us, every day goes by, you start preparing yourself for both options," her son said. "So she was prepared for either."

After her discovery, Rita Chretien was airlifted to the Idaho hospital.

There, doctors worked first to address her starvation and dehydration, then to build up her ability to eat meals again and gain strength.

By Sunday, Dr. Westberry said he still hadn't seen her walk, but said there were no indications of long-term problems and that her prognosis was good. Her spirits and evident desire to live, he said, were even better.

"It is unusual for us to see someone in this type of situation to actually not only survive, but to be doing so well at this time," said Westberry. "She obviously had the mindset of survival, and that must have been something that helped her go as long as she did."

For her son, the best thing was how little his mother had changed after her ordeal. She laughed just the same, and was just as warm, genuine and caring as she'd always been, he said.

"I would have hardly known anything had happened to her," he said. "It was just beyond belief. It's just her. It's amazing."

CNN's Greg Botelho and Rick Martin contributed to this report.

CNN

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Woman goes to Va. court with tiny monkey in bra

AMHERST, Va. (AP) — A woman turned a few heads when she walked into a rural Virginia courthouse with a tiny monkey clad in a pink-and-white dress tucked in her bra.

The woman brought the palm-sized marmoset to Amherst County Courthouse on Thursday for a hearing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Officials apparently didn't notice the monkey until the woman went to an office to complete some paperwork.

In an interview with The News & Advance newspaper of Lynchburg, the woman says the marmoset is 7 weeks old and requires constant attention.

The woman tells the newspaper she bought the animal on an online auction site and had its clothes specially made.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

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Woman fights to keep disabled kangaroo

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma woman suffering from depression has found solace in the company of an unusual companion, but local city officials worry that the therapy pet — a partially paralyzed kangaroo — could become a public safety risk.

Nette Hudson holds Irwin as Marguerite Blakemore looks on at Broken Arrow Nursing Home in Broken Arrow, Okla.

By Sue Ogrocki, AP

Nette Hudson holds Irwin as Marguerite Blakemore looks on at Broken Arrow Nursing Home in Broken Arrow, Okla.

Christie Carr is seeking an exemption from the Broken Arrow City Council to keep Irwin, a 25-pound great red kangaroo that she cares for much like a child. Irwin rides in a car seat, is dressed in a shirt and pants each day and is rarely away from his doting caretaker.

At the advice of her therapist, Carr began volunteering at a local animal sanctuary, where she met Irwin, then just a baby. Less than a week later, the kangaroo named for famed Australian animal expert Steve Irwin ran into a fence, fracturing his neck and causing severe brain damage.

Carr volunteered to take the animal home and, while nursing him back to health, developed a bond. Irwin cannot stand or walk on his own, although he is slowly gaining back mobility and can hop three or four times in a row with assistance, she said.

"Irwin will not live if I have to give him up," Carr said, adding that she would rather leave town. "I can't imagine a day living without him."

Native to Australia, healthy male great red kangaroos can grow up to 7 feet tall, weigh more than 200 pounds and bound 25 feet in a single leap. But because of his accident, Irwin isn't expected to get larger than 50 pounds, his veterinarian, Dr. Lesleigh Cash Warren, wrote in a letter to the council supporting Carr's request to keep him.

Neutering has also lessened any chance he will become aggressive.

"Irwin cannot be judged as any normal kangaroo," Warren wrote. "He is a unique animal due to his disabilities and will require a lifetime of care and concern for his welfare."

Carr, who is unable to work because of her health, changes Irwin's diaper several times a day. She feeds him salad, raw veggies, kangaroo chow, popcorn and the occasional Cheez-Its or a handful of Cheetos.

The marsupial never leaves the house without first getting dressed. The clothes — a little boy's shirt cut and sewed to accommodate his neck, sometimes a tie, and jeans or slacks with a hole cut for the tail— are necessary for therapeutic reasons and to protect him against germs, Carr said.

The 1-year-old animal never leaves Carr's side for more than an hour, often accompanying her on errands and going out to eat. He rides in a car seat before being placed in a pouch when going out in public. Carr's therapist certified the animal as a therapy pet under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Broken Arrow Mayor Mike Lester said he worries what could happen if Irwin is able to regain full mobility. The council last week delayed considering the issue until an April 19 meeting, to give City Attorney Beth Anne Wilkening and other staff time to research the issue.

"There's just a myriad of things we need to consider," Lester said.

Every exception made sets a precedent, and the council must take that into consideration, Wilkening said. The council may decide to create an exotic animal review committee that would look at each animal on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Broken Arrow Nursing Home owner Joanna Cooper said she doesn't understand why keeping Irwin has become an issue. Carr has brought Irwin to the nursing home in the past for residents to hold and pet. Several residents of the nursing home plan to attend the upcoming council meeting with signs to show their support for Carr and Irwin.

"Why are people giving her problems when people have tigers and pit bulls?" Copper said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

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Woman goes to Va. court with tiny monkey in bra

AMHERST, Va. (AP) — A woman turned a few heads when she walked into a rural Virginia courthouse with a tiny monkey clad in a pink-and-white dress tucked in her bra.

The woman brought the palm-sized marmoset to Amherst County Courthouse on Thursday for a hearing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Officials apparently didn't notice the monkey until the woman went to an office to complete some paperwork.

In an interview with The News & Advance newspaper of Lynchburg, the woman says the marmoset is 7 weeks old and requires constant attention.

The woman tells the newspaper she bought the animal on an online auction site and had its clothes specially made.

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Woman fights to keep disabled kangaroo

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma woman suffering from depression has found solace in the company of an unusual companion, but local city officials worry that the therapy pet — a partially paralyzed kangaroo — could become a public safety risk.

Nette Hudson holds Irwin as Marguerite Blakemore looks on at Broken Arrow Nursing Home in Broken Arrow, Okla.

Christie Carr is seeking an exemption from the Broken Arrow City Council to keep Irwin, a 25-pound great red kangaroo that she cares for much like a child. Irwin rides in a car seat, is dressed in a shirt and pants each day and is rarely away from his doting caretaker.

At the advice of her therapist, Carr began volunteering at a local animal sanctuary, where she met Irwin, then just a baby. Less than a week later, the kangaroo named for famed Australian animal expert Steve Irwin ran into a fence, fracturing his neck and causing severe brain damage.

Carr volunteered to take the animal home and, while nursing him back to health, developed a bond. Irwin cannot stand or walk on his own, although he is slowly gaining back mobility and can hop three or four times in a row with assistance, she said.

"Irwin will not live if I have to give him up," Carr said, adding that she would rather leave town. "I can't imagine a day living without him."

Native to Australia, healthy male great red kangaroos can grow up to 7 feet tall, weigh more than 200 pounds and bound 25 feet in a single leap. But because of his accident, Irwin isn't expected to get larger than 50 pounds, his veterinarian, Dr. Lesleigh Cash Warren, wrote in a letter to the council supporting Carr's request to keep him.

Neutering has also lessened any chance he will become aggressive.

"Irwin cannot be judged as any normal kangaroo," Warren wrote. "He is a unique animal due to his disabilities and will require a lifetime of care and concern for his welfare."

Carr, who is unable to work because of her health, changes Irwin's diaper several times a day. She feeds him salad, raw veggies, kangaroo chow, popcorn and the occasional Cheez-Its or a handful of Cheetos.

The marsupial never leaves the house without first getting dressed. The clothes — a little boy's shirt cut and sewed to accommodate his neck, sometimes a tie, and jeans or slacks with a hole cut for the tail— are necessary for therapeutic reasons and to protect him against germs, Carr said.

The 1-year-old animal never leaves Carr's side for more than an hour, often accompanying her on errands and going out to eat. He rides in a car seat before being placed in a pouch when going out in public. Carr's therapist certified the animal as a therapy pet under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Broken Arrow Mayor Mike Lester said he worries what could happen if Irwin is able to regain full mobility. The council last week delayed considering the issue until an April 19 meeting, to give City Attorney Beth Anne Wilkening and other staff time to research the issue.

"There's just a myriad of things we need to consider," Lester said.

Every exception made sets a precedent, and the council must take that into consideration, Wilkening said. The council may decide to create an exotic animal review committee that would look at each animal on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Broken Arrow Nursing Home owner Joanna Cooper said she doesn't understand why keeping Irwin has become an issue. Carr has brought Irwin to the nursing home in the past for residents to hold and pet. Several residents of the nursing home plan to attend the upcoming council meeting with signs to show their support for Carr and Irwin.

"Why are people giving her problems when people have tigers and pit bulls?" Copper said.

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Tennessee woman saved after heart stops at Lady Gaga concert

A Lady Gaga concert turned into a medical emergency for one Tennessee woman. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The woman's friend says she had another seizure Thursday, and was saved againNEW: Her cardiologist says the 33-year-old appears to have an enlarged heart EMTs restarted her heart after it had stopped for more than five minutesShe was flown to hospital, where her body temperature was cooled to curb damageRELATED TOPICSCardiovascular MedicineNashvilleLady Gaga (CNN) -- A long awaited night out at a Lady Gaga concert turned into a nightmare for a 33-year-old Tennessee woman, whose heart was restarted after stopping for five minutes when she went into cardiac arrest.

Crystal Thornton, from Lyles, Tennessee, was enjoying the concert's opening act at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with her best friend Christina Tugman on Tuesday night when she had a seizure, according to information provided by Vanderbilt Medical Center.

"She stopped breathing, her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body started twitching," Tugman said. "I was asking if she was OK, and she wasn't responding."

Tugman ran to the lobby to get help. It took Jerry Jones, an EMT supervisor with Vanderbilt University's LifeFlight Event Medicine program, one minute more to reach her.

"The patient was unconscious with no heartbeat," Jones said.

Using a portable automated external defibrillator, Jones and other paramedics spent more than five minutes until they were finally able to get Thornton's heart beating again.

She was then airlifted to Vanderbilt Medical Center's emergency department, where doctors immediately used therapeutic hypothermia to cool Thornton's body temperature to between 93 and 86 degrees -- below the normal body temperature of 98.6 degrees.

Even though her heart was working again, doctors wanted to slow circulation in order to prevent the death of brain cells -- and, therefore, brain damage -- caused by prolonged lack of oxygen. Chilled water blankets were placed over Thornton's body and head, and medical personnel then used a machine to lower her body temperature for 48 hours.

"The patient received incredible care from the moment she experienced problems at the Bridgestone Arena," said Dr. Jared McKinney, medical director of LifeFlight Event Medicine. "It is only through a coordinated team effort that her successful outcome was possible."

After undergoing the two days of cooling therapy, Thornton's body temperature was slowly restored to normal. She regained consciousness and neurologically continues to improve, according to her doctors in Nashville.

On Friday afternoon, she was in stable condition, the Tennessee hospital said.

Her cardiologist, Dr. John McPherson, said that Thornton is undergoing a battery of tests to determine why she suffered the heart attack. He told CNN it appears she has an enlarged heart -- "a genetic condition that, unfortunately, has no warning symptoms and often results in an emergency situation like Thornton experienced."

Next week, she will have surgery to put an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in her chest. The device sends electrical shocks that will automatically kick in if her heart starts beating irregularly and restore it to normal, in hopes of preventing another heart attack.

Leigh Sims, an emergency medical technician and Vanderbilt's manager of event medicine, said the defibrillator saved the woman's life.

"Without an AED, this patient would not have survived," Sims said. "It restored her pulse."

While she's thankful, it's all a blur for Thornton. And she hasn't gotten over not being able to see Lady Gaga strut and sing on stage.

"I am so mad I missed the concert," she said, according to a statement released by the hospital.

Tugman said Friday that she's grateful to have her friend back -- including after another scare Thursday night, when "all of a sudden she stopped breathing, her eyes rolled back and all those machines started going off."

"They came in and shocked her, and she came right back," said Tugman.

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Georgia Woman Reportedly Admits to Sending Pig's Foot to Rep. Peter King

AP

Rep. Peter King speaks at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill March 10.

A Georgia woman reportedly has claimed responsibility for the severed pig's foot that was sent to Rep. Peter King, apparently in protest over the hearing he held on radical Islam. 

Jacquelyn Barnette, who described herself as Muslim, told the New York Post she sent King the package, which also contained an anti-Semitic note, this month. 

The U.S. Postal Service intercepted the package before it ever reached King's office. 

"I thought the letters explain themselves," Barnette told the Post. 

Asked about her comments, King told Fox News she "seems to be a disturbed person." 

"I'll let the police decide how to deal with her. I don't want to do anything to encourage her or others like her," he said. 

In March, King, R-N.Y., held high-profile congressional hearings on Islamic radicalization in the U.S., saying he aimed to confront the threat of homegrown extremism. 

Though the note contained anti-Semitic messages, King is not Jewish. The note also reportedly told King to "kiss my black, Muslim-American a--."

Click here to read more at The New York Post.

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Woman in Las Vegas seeking cosmetic surgery dies, pair charged

Ruben Dario Mattallana-Galvas, 55, has been charged with one count of murder. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The victim's daughter says her mother was injected by one suspectNEW: A suspect says the woman left off after getting a buttocks injectionTwo Colombian nationals have been charged with murder in Las VegasThey were caught as they were about to board a plane for South AmericaRELATED TOPICSMurder and HomicideLas VegasColombiaCosmetic Medicine (CNN) -- Las Vegas police caught two people as they were about to board a plane for Colombia, then charged them with the murder of a woman who went missing hours after being dropped off for a cosmetic surgery procedure.

The female victim was dropped off Saturday morning to undergo a cosmetic procedure, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Police Department.

The victim's daughter contacted police after she was unable to find her mother at the same location where she had dropped her off about eight hours earlier. A police report, obtained and posted online by CNN affiliate KLAS, quoted the daughter as saying the office did not even have the same furniture in the office as was there earlier in the day.

The report claims that, before she left originally, the daughter saw the victim, identified as 42-year-old Elena Caro, disrobe and be injected in the buttocks by a man later identified by the daughter as one of the suspects, Ruben Dario Mattallana-Galvas. The daughter told police she got a call about an hour later from her mother, and was told to return several hours later.

In that span, authorities learned that the woman had been picked up in an ambulance about three miles north from the original location and taken to a local hospital. There, she was pronounced dead, according to the police statement.

Las Vegas police detectives soon identified two suspects as Mattallana-Galvas, 55, and Carmen Olfidia Torres-Sanchez, 47. Both are from Medellin, Colombia.

The pair were arrested Saturday night at McCarran International Airport, while preparing to board a flight for Colombia. The pair actually had tickets for April 22, but were hoping to leave the United States earlier, according to the police report.

Instead, they were taken to the Clark County Detention Center and each charged with one count of murder, police said.

Mattallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez are due to be formally arraigned in court Tuesday on the charges, according to Las Vegas police.

After being informed he was being arrested for murder and being read his Miranda rights, Mattallana-Galvas told detectives that Caro had come into his office that day for a buttocks enhancement procedure, the police report stated. He claimed that, afterward, Caro had walked away from his office.

Mattallana-Galvas admitted to authorities that he was not licensed to pr active medicine in Nevada, but claimed he was a homeopathic doctor in Colombia.

Also Saturday, Las Vegas detectives interviewed an assistant to Mattallana-Galvas, who claimed that Mattallana-Galvas told her to cancel his appointments for that afternoon because "something had gone wrong," the police report said. The assistant said that her husband eventually took Mattallana-Galvas to the airport.

The toxicology report examining the exact cause and timing of Caro's death is still pending, John Fudenberg, the assistant coroner for Clark County, said Monday evening.

CNN's Marlena Baldacci contributed to this report.

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Woman ticketed in France for wearing face veil

By Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

Kenza Drider addresses the media Monday as she demonstrates against the ban of the full-face veil in public places.

EnlargeCloseBy Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

Kenza Drider addresses the media Monday as she demonstrates against the ban of the full-face veil in public places.

Another woman in another Paris suburb was stopped for wearing a veil, but was let go with a warning.

The inconsistent response illustrates the challenge for towns with a large Muslim community in enforcing a law that some view as Islamophobic.

Though such veils are very rare in France, many of the country's at least 5 million Muslims see the ban as a stigma. Islam is France's second-largest religion after Catholicism.

The ban also has been criticized by Iran's government and activists in Jordan.

President Nicolas Sarkozy says such veils imprison women and wanted a ban to uphold French values of equality and secularism.

A 27-year-old was stopped by police in the mall parking lot in the town of Mureaux, regional police said. She was handed a ticket that requires her to pay a euro150 ($216) fine or register for citizenship classes within a month.

Police said the exchange was brief and calm. The incident occurred Monday, the day France's ban on veils such as the niqab and burqa came into effect.

Another woman was stopped Tuesday for wearing a veil in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. The 35-year-old was brought to the police station and reminded of the law, police said.

While these were the first publicly reported incidents, it was unclear how many women have been stopped so far nationwide. The French government has estimated only about 2,000 women in France wear such veils, and a few vocal wearers have said they will defy the ban.

Moderate Muslim leaders in France and elsewhere agree that Islam does not require women to cover their faces, but many are uncomfortable with banning the veil.

The ban has also drawn criticism from other countries.

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday the ban is a "wrong method and it will not bear a good result."

"Any kind of bar on observance of the veil means a lack of freedom and rights of Muslim women," he said in his weekly news briefing.

Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood chief Hammam Saeed said the ban "is totally contradictory to the human rights principles claimed in France." He said in a statement that he considers the move "a new crusader behavior targeting Muslims everywhere."

The Brotherhood's political arm, the Islamic Action Front, is Jordan's largest opposition group. The Brotherhood is a fiery critic of the government's moderate policies, including close ties with the United States and diplomatic relations with Israel under a peace treaty signed in 1994. The brotherhood advocates the introduction of strict Islamic Sharia laws in Jordan.

Some other countries have restrictions on face veils or headscarves in schools or other public buildings, but France is the first country with a law designed to forbid the veil anywhere in public.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Search for missing woman expands as police look for serial killer

STORY HIGHLIGHTSPolice say the search for a missing woman will expand MondayInvestigators are embroiled in a manhunt for a potential serial killerThree bodies found last week were uncovered within a few miles of each otherA woman's body was also found March 29 west of Cedar Beach New York (CNN) -- Police say the search for a missing woman, which led investigators to the closely grouped remains of eight bodies in Long Island, New York, will expand Monday.

Investigators -- now embroiled in a manhunt for a potential serial killer -- are expected to spread out along the Nassau County line, working westward from Jones Beach in their search for Shannan Gilbert, who has been missing since May.

"We will be looking for human remains and any possible evidence," said Nassau Police spokesman Kevin Smith.

On Thursday, investigators said they were nearly finished with at least one part of the search effort in the Oak Beach area, where four female bodies were found stuffed in bushes along a quarter mile strip of beachfront property in December.

"Our search for (Gilbert) will continue, even though this component of the search is nearly over," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer told reporters.

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Justice could be near for California woman held 18 years

AP

Phillip Garrido, who faces multiple charges for the 1991 kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, smiles at his wife, Nancy, as she leaves the courtroom in Placerville, Calif., on March 17.

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Phillip Garrido, who faces multiple charges for the 1991 kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, smiles at his wife, Nancy, as she leaves the courtroom in Placerville, Calif., on March 17.

Defendant Phillip Garrido, a convicted rapist on parole when 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard disappeared while walking to a school bus stop, was expected to plead guilty Thursday as part of a plea deal that would keep him in prison for the rest of his life, attorney Stephen Tapson said.

The agreement was outlined last week during a closed-door meeting that Tapson said he attended with prosecutors, the public defender representing Garrido and the judge presiding over the highly publicized case.

"He is going to plead unless somebody gets ill or the power goes off in the courthouse," said Tapson, who represents Garrido's wife and co-defendant Nancy Garrido.

Deputy Public Defender Susan Gellman, who represents Phillip Garrido, and El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson declined to confirm a guilty plea would be entered.

The case attracted international attention after Dugard surfaced in August 2009 and authorities said she and her children had lived in a hidden compound of tents and sheds in the Garridos' backyard in Antioch, never attending school or receiving medical attention.

Phillip and Nancy Garrido were both charged with 18 counts of kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment, child pornography and committing lewd acts on a child.

If convicted on all counts, the maximum sentence for Nancy Garrido would be 181 years, while Phillip Garrido could get 431 years, according to El Dorado County Deputy District Attorney James Clinchard.

Nancy Garrido has pleaded not guilty in the case. Phillip Garrido has yet to enter a plea after his criminal proceedings were halted for more than four months while his mental competency to stand trial was under evaluation.

Both defendants gave full confessions to authorities and expressed interest in plea bargains that would spare Dugard and her two daughters — now 13 and 16 — from having to testify, Tapson said.

He said he has advised Nancy Garrido against pleading guilty unless prosecutors offer a deal that holds the possibility — however remote — that she would one day be freed from prison.

"She doesn't want to go to trial," he said. "This is her lawyer saying let's set it for trial and see what happens."

Tapson planned to ask El Dorado Superior Court Judge Douglas Phimister to dismiss the rape and lewd conduct charges against his client, since Nancy Garrido maintains she did not directly participate in any sex acts with Dugard.

Dugard gave birth to her daughters when she was 14 and 17, and Nancy Garrido delivered the children, according to court documents. The girls knew Phillip Garrido was their father but grew up thinking Dugard was their older sister.

The mother and daughters rarely interacted with the outside world. Phillip Garrido ran a printing business, and Dugard assisted him in producing business cards, brochures and flyers, occasionally interacting with clients through email.

A few neighbors and customers would later report having seen the girls but not thinking much of it, even though they knew Garrido was a sex offender.

Authorities said Dugard was grabbed by Nancy Garrido off her family's South Lake Tahoe street and forced into a car driven by Phillip Garrido on June 10, 1991, as her stepfather watched her walk to the school bus stop.

The FBI, police and volunteers searched in vain for the pretty blonde girl who was last seen wearing a pink wind breaker and pink stretch pants. But they never came close to finding her, even though Dugard's stepfather gave an accurate description of the couple's car and of Nancy Garrido, and despite the fact that Phillip Garrido was being monitored by federal and state parole agents because of his rape conviction.

Dugard's reappearance 18 years, four months and 16 days later came about almost as a fluke.

In the days before his arrest, Phillip Garrido had become more determined to tell people about the religious group he founded called God's Desire and a box he had built that he believed allowed him to speak with God. During that time, he delivered a handwritten screed called "Origin of Schizophrenia Revealed" to the FBI's San Francisco office.

But it was a visit to the University of California, Berkeley, that same day that caused his ragged family to unravel. He showed up at campus with his daughters with Dugard in tow, seeking a permit for a religious event.

Campus police officers became suspicious, and after running a background check realized he had been convicted of kidnapping and raping a woman in Reno in 1977.

The Berkeley officers contacted Garrido's parole officer, who was surprised to hear that he had young daughters and ordered him to come in for a meeting. Garrido complied and for a still unknown reason brought his wife, the girls and Dugard.

Dugard tried to conceal her identity, initially telling authorities she was hiding from an abusive husband in Minnesota and giving her name as Alyssa.

Wary investigators separated her from Phillip Garrido, who had described Dugard and the two girls as his nieces, and under further questioning he admitted kidnapping "Alyssa" and Dugard disclosed her identity, authorities said.

She was reunited with her mother the next day and has remained in Northern California with her and her daughters. She requested privacy and has not attended any of the court hearings. She is writing her memoirs, which are scheduled to be published in September.

The Associated Press as a matter of policy avoids identifying victims of sexual abuse by name in its news reports

However, Dugard's disappearance had been known and reported for nearly two decades, making impossible any effort to shield her identity when she resurfaced.

Dugard's case revealed problems with California's system for monitoring convicted sex offenders after it was determined parole agents had missed numerous clues and chances to find her.

She received a $20 million settlement under which the state acknowledged repeated mistakes were made by parole agents responsible for monitoring Phillip Garrido. California has since increased monitoring of sex offenders.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Woman faces charges for alleged threats to kill Wisconsin lawmakers

Budget battles in the 'Bust Belt'STORY HIGHLIGHTSShe is accused of sending threatening e-mails to 16 Wisconsin state senatorsSome of the e-mails have threats to kill the senators and their families, authorities sayThe suspect was upset over the law to limit collective bargaining, authorities saySenator: "It's hard to know how serious some of this stuff is"Read more about this story from CNN affiliate WKOW.

(CNN) -- A Wisconsin woman, apparently enraged over the new state law that limits collective bargaining for government workers, is being accused of sending e-mails to 16 Republican state senators threatening to kill them.

Katherine Windels, 26, faces four counts of using a computer to threaten, injure, or harm and creating a bomb scare, authorities said.

A criminal complaint released by the Dane County District Attorney's Office alleges that the woman from Cross Plains, Wisconsin, admitted to the threats. She said she sent the e-mails because she was angry at lawmakers who voted to limit collective bargaining for about 300,000 state workers.

Windels, according to the complaint, used two separate e-mail accounts to send e-mails to the Republican state senators including one to Sen. Robert Cowles on March 9.

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