Utah Launches Criminal Probe of Church. [United States] Utah has launched an organized-crime investigation into a polygamist sect and its fugitive leader Warren Jeffs, now on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list. Jeffs is already wanted on Utah and Arizona charges alleging he arranged plural marriages of underage girls. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Monday that his office is also looking at Jeffs and his church for "double books, cooking books, offshore accounts and fraud." The FLDS church is one of a number of polygamist sects in and near Utah. Followers believe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon church, went the wrong direction when it abandoned polygamy more than a century ago as Utah was seeking statehood. Estimates of the number of polygamists range from 30,000 to 100,000.

Prostitution Alleged In Cunningham Case. [United States] Federal authorities are investigating allegations that a California defense contractor arranged for a Washington area limousine company to provide prostitutes to convicted former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) and possibly other lawmakers, sources familiar with the probe said yesterday. In recent weeks, investigators have focused on possible dealings between Christopher D. Baker, president of Shirlington Limousine and Transportation Inc., and Brent R. Wilkes, a San Diego businessman who is under investigation for bribing Cunningham in return for millions of dollars in federal contracts, said one source, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The Cunningham investigation's latest twist came after Mitchell J. Wade, a defense contractor who has admitted bribing the former congressman, told prosecutors that Wilkes had an arrangement with Shirlington Limousine, which in turn had an arrangement with at least one escort service, one source said. Wade said limos would pick up Cunningham and a prostitute and bring them to suites Wilkes maintained at the Watergate Hotel and the Westin Grand in Washington, the source said. The San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday cited a letter from Baker's lawyer, Bobby Stafford, saying that Baker "provided limousine services for Mr. Wilkes for whatever entertainment he had in the Watergate" from the company's founding in 1990 through the early 2000s. The letter also stated that Baker was "never in attendance in any party where any women were being used for prostitution purposes." Reached by telephone yesterday, Stafford would not comment on the letter.

Mayor Tapped Water Customers for Sex. [United States] The 72-year-old mayor of this Arkansas town was arrested this week on charges he sought sex from two women in exchange for preventing their water from being turned off. One of the women told investigators she had been having sex with Troy Anderson for money for eight to 10 years, according to an affidavit. She said Anderson paid her $25 per encounter and $60 for a late water deposit. He also allowed her to change the name on her overdue water bill to keep the service running, the affidavit said. In February, the woman wore a recording device when Anderson picked her up for a sexual encounter, authorities said.

Group Supports Women Who Lost Moms at an Early Age. [United States] Heather Hallam remained angry at her dead mother for years because it was easier than facing her grief. Lisa Royer was convinced she would die at 24 - her mom's age when she succumbed to cancer. The two Logan residents have healthy careers and children of their own, but both still feel a profound sense of loss many years after the early deaths of their mothers. As Mother's Day approaches, they are among many Utah women whose moms' absence has shaped their identities, wounded their self-esteem and influenced their own maternal behavior. I feel like I don't have any map for my life," says Hallam, whose mom died of bone cancer when she was 16. "I don't know who I'm supposed to be or what I'm supposed to do." Sunday's holiday is always a melancholy one for the two friends, but this year, they're doing something about it: They are holding a free, catered luncheon Saturday in Logan for motherless women of all ages. More than 50 women already have signed up to attend, and more are welcome.

Women Urged to Get 'Morning After' Pill. [United States] Get an advance prescription for emergency contraception so it will be on hand if you need it, the nation's largest gynecologist group advised women Monday. The new campaign aims to increase access to the morning-after pill following the Bush administration's refusal to allow the emergency birth control to be sold over the counter nationwide. "We want women to be prepared, well before a contraceptive failure or unprotected sex occurs. Afterward may be too late," said Dr. Michael Mennuti, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The morning-after pill is a high dose of regular birth control pills. It cuts the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent if used within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting routine contraception. The earlier it's taken, the more effective it is. But it can be hard to find a doctor to write a prescription in time, especially on weekends and holidays.

8 Female Cleaning Workers File Suit, Allege Harassment. [United States] Eight women who clean commercial buildings in the Twin Cities have filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by their supervisors and are seeking class-action status that could expand the plaintiff group to hundreds of employees. The federal lawsuit filed Monday in Minneapolis names California-based American Building Maintenance Industries, one of the largest maintenance-service contractors in the United States with some 75,000 employees. The women worked in cleaning jobs at dozens of Twin Cities locations, including Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. All allege they were harassed by their immediate supervisors, who demanded sex, fondled them and, in one case, coerced a worker into having sex. All say they complained to their supervisor's boss but were either ignored or retaliated against. The women, all Latina and Spanish speakers, also say that their supervisors took advantage of communication problems. Minneapolis attorney Justin D. Cummins said his eight plaintiffs are all native Spanish speakers with limited abilities in English. He said their immigration status has no bearing on their lawsuit.

Maine Guard Selects First Female General. [United States] The vice commander of the 101st Air Refueling Wing has been selected as the first female general officer of the Maine National Guard. Col. Frances Auclair will be promoted next month to brigadier general and will assume new duties in Augusta as chief of staff for the Maine Air National Guard. Auclair, who grew up in Lewiston and graduated from St. Dominic High School, began her military career in 1972 when she enlisted in the Navy as a hospital corpsman. After four years of active duty, she returned to complete her bachelor's degree at the University of Southern Maine. Auclair gained her commission as a second lieutenant after her 1981 graduation from the Air National Guard Officer Training Program in Knoxville, Tenn. She has since commanded and supervised units at all levels. Maj. Gen. John Libby, Maine's adjutant general, will conduct Auclair's promotion ceremony June 3 in Bangor.

Female Arrests In Mountain States See Dramatic Increase. [United States] Washington DC (AHN) - A new study revealed that the number of female incarcerations grew by 757 percent nationally but 1,600 percent in the Mountain states. The Woman's Prison Association studied the number of woman inmates serving a sentence of more than one year on a state-by-state basis over the past 30 years. Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Hawaii had more than 10 percent of their prison population comprised of woman in 2004. Oklahoma reportedly had the highest per capita female imprisonment rating with 129 woman for every 100,000 in the state. MSNBC reported that 96,125 federal and state inmates in 2004 were woman. The Bureau of Justice Statistics show that about one in three female inmates were serving time for drug charges in 1999, compared to one in eight in 1986.

ABC Yanks 'Commander in Chief'. [United States] ABC has pulled its White House drama "Commander in Chief" off the schedule for the rest of the season, following a low-rated run plagued by behind-the-scenes turmoil and scheduling interruptions. The three unaired episodes of "Commander," starring Geena Davis as the nation's first female president, are tentatively slated to air next month. Beginning this week, newsmagazine "Primetime" will return to its Thursday 10 p.m. slot. "Commander" launched with a lot of promise, ranking as the most-watched new series of the season and earning an early full-season pickup. But ratings steadily declined.

Are Women Better People Managers? [United States] If Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, then who's in the workplace? In my experience, men often don't seem to really understand or value the concept of recognition - what it looks like, why they need to do it, how to do it well, when to do it and knowing when they've done it enough. When men are in charge of managing others, they typically view their jobs as needing to focus primarily on the business side of things, that is, "getting the job done": business objectives, sales and growth, competition and advantage, utilization and investment, and the like. Relationships are often secondary to the business task at hand. Men seem to say, "Do a good job, be competent, and I'll like you." For women, it's often the reverse: "If I like you and trust you, I'll do a good job for you. They often seem to need to first feel good about those they are working with, getting to know them on a personal basis before they are then comfortable enough to have a productive working relationship. Is this a trust issue? I'm not sure.

Slain Female Soldier Will Be Buried at National Military Cemetery. [Canada] Capt. Nichola Goddard, Canada's first female combat soldier to be killed in battle, will be buried at the National Memorial Cemetery in Ottawa, an honour which will draw attention to the little-known site. The cemetery, within sight of the Parliament buildings, was established in 2001 at the urging of Gen. Romeo Dallaire, now a senator, who believed that Canada needed something equivalent to the American military burial grounds at Arlington, Va. To date few soldiers killed in combat have been buried there, military historian Jack Granatstein said Tuesday. "I think this is where people who are killed in action, killed overseas, should be buried," said Granatstein, former director of the Canadian War Museum. Goddard, 26, died May 17 near Kandahar in a Taliban ambush. She was the 16th Canadian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan. Her funeral will be held Friday at St. Barnabas Anglican Church in Calgary, where she married Jason Beam in 2002.

Female Prisoners Get Pre-Mother's Day Gift. [Jamaica] Female prisoners at the Women's Prison in Golden Grove, Arouca, were on Friday allowed visits from their under-18-year-old children as a Mother's Day gift from prison authorities. For the first time ever in the history of the prison service, mothers were able to have their children under 18, some mere babies, visit them to commemorate Mother's Day, which is celebrated on May 14 worldwide. Emotions ran high and some mothers, imprisoned for serious crimes, broke down in tears at the sight of their children walking through the prison gates. Prison guards stood some distance away, allowing the prisoners quality time with their children. Some of the inmates who delivered their babies in prison and who were separated from their newborns soon after birth appeared at a loss for words as they held their children for the first time since the delivery process.