Wyoming News Briefs

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers in Wyoming seem to have gained some support among Republican colleagues for legislation preventing discrimination against gays and lesbians. Nine of the legislature's 78 Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors of various bills involving civil unions and even gay marriage. Committee hearings on two of the bills are scheduled for today.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Legislature will take on just about every possible hot-button social issue this week, hearing bills on guns, abortion and same-sex marriage. House Speaker Tom Lubnau, a Republican from Gillette, says he's scheduled all the contentious social issue bills for hearings this week to save money on security. Lubnau says the Legislature always increases its security when lawmakers consider gun and abortion issues because of the large crowds that typically turn out.

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — Gillette police say a 19-year-old woman who was found tied to playground equipment in a park has admitted to faking her own kidnapping. The Associated Press reports the woman told officers she had been kidnapped by two men outside her apartment Jan. 18. But she later acknowledged making the story up to get her mother's attention. She has been ticketed for making a false report.

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming health officials say Campbell County leads the state in reported flu cases this year. The Associated Press reports that, according to a report by the Wyoming Health Department, the county had 402 confirmed cases of flu through the week of Jan. 6-12. The state's flu surveillance epidemiologist says Wyoming is likely to surpass 2,700 flu cases within the next week.