(AP) — A central Ohio woman who loathed being named Sheila and wanted a moniker that reflects her personality has legally changed her first name to Sexy.

A Licking County judge on Tuesday approved the request from the 41-year-old Pataskala (puh-TAS’-kuh-luh) woman formerly named Sheila Ranea Crabtree.

In her application, Crabtree called her given name “the ugliest one out there.” She said if the court didn’t allow the switch to Sexy, she’d try to become known legally by her middle name, which she has used for years.

Crabtree told a judge her husband and teenage daughters approve of the change. When the judge asked why she chose Sexy, Crabtree said she’s fun and free-spirited and thought the change would make her complete.

(AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is laying out new requirements to ensure the safety of infant formula.

The rules announced Thursday are designed to make sure that formula manufacturers test their products for salmonella and other pathogens before they are distributed. They would also require formula companies to include specific nutrients, including proteins, fats and vitamins.

Most formula manufacturers follow these practices already, but the rules will ensure that new formulas on the market also comply with the requirements.

The FDA’s Michael Taylor says the rules are intended to ensure that formula is safe and supports normal growth in babies. The agency said breastfeeding is strongly recommended for newborns but that 25 percent of infants start out using formula. By three months, two-thirds of infants rely on formula.

(AP) — An animal rights advocate wants to place a roadside memorial in Georgia to remember several chickens killed in a highway wreck.

A member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed an application for the memorial Wednesday with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

If approved, a memorial would be placed at the Hall County site where a truck hauling live chickens overturned Jan. 27.

Sarah Segal of Atlanta writes in her application that she wants to place a 10-foot tombstone memorial for one month on the right of way of U.S. 129 to mark the deaths of the chickens.

The driver of the chicken truck and the other vehicle involved were not seriously injured.

(AP) — An East Tennessee couple is charged with murder in the death of the man’s 5-year-old daughter after an autopsy revealed the girl died from being forced to drink more than 2 liters of grape soda and water.

According to the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office and the autopsy report, Alexa Linboom was brought in to the emergency room on Jan. 1, 2012, by her father, Randall Vaughn, and his wife, Mary Vaughn.

The girl was blue and not responding. She had severe brain damage. An investigation revealed the girl had been forced to drink the water and soda over one to two hours as punishment. The massive intake of fluid caused her brain to swell and herniate.

The couple is being held at the Hawkins County Jail on a $500,000 bond each.

 

(AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is ordering military leaders to put a renewed emphasis on moral behavior across the force following a series of ethical lapses that have included cheating scandals among the Navy and Air Force’s nuclear missions.

Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said Hagel told the military and civilian leaders of the services in a meeting on Wednesday that he wants the issue dealt with more urgently and wants updates on a regular basis.

He said Hagel believes this is a growing problem and wants service chiefs to dig in and find out how deep it goes and whether this is a systemic character breakdown.

Investigations are under way for alleged cheating among Air Force nuclear weapons troops and at a Navy nuclear ship propulsion school.

(AP) — Anti-abortion groups angry over what they see as the Girl Scouts’ support for abortion-rights advocates are organizing a cookie boycott.

Groups such as Pro-Life Waco and Pro-Life Wisconsin have taken issue with tweets and Facebook posts linking to articles recognizing Democratic Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Davis shot to political stardom last year with a filibuster of abortion limits. Sebelius is another Democrat who supports abortion rights.

Girl Scouts spokeswoman Kelly Parisi says the posts were meant to encourage people to get involved in discussions about the top newsmakers of 2013.

She says the organization does not endorse politicians or take stands on political issues. She said the links should not be seen as endorsements.

(AP) — A big national study says too much sugar could be deadly, at least when it comes to fatal heart problems.

It doesn’t take that much extra sugar to substantially raise the risk and most Americans get too much.

The risk is from sugar added to soda and processed foods, not found naturally in fruits and some other foods.

Having a cinnamon roll with breakfast, a super-sized sugary soda at lunch and a scoop of ice cream after dinner would put you in the highest risk category. That means a chance of dying prematurely from heart problems that’s nearly three times greater than for people who eat only foods with little added sugar.

The study appears in Monday’s JAMA Internal Medicine.

(AP) — Meat and livestock groups upset that Congress opted in the new farm bill not to back off from mandatory country of origin labeling requirements are worried that the issue could start a trade war with Canada and Mexico.

Previous labeling rules required only the country of origin to be noted, such as “Product of U.S.” or “Product of U.S. and Canada.” New rules require labels for steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat include clear information about where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered.

South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association President Cory Eich says that’s a lot of information that doesn’t really guarantee anything.

Congress’ decision not to address the issue has drawn criticism from Canadian officials. They say the country may retaliate by imposing tariffs on American products.

(AP) — A new report released Tuesday shows that a nationwide push by prosecutors to re-examine possible wrongful convictions contributed to a record number of exonerations in 2013.

The National Registry of Exonerations says 87 people falsely convicted of crimes were exonerated last year. The joint effort by the Northwestern University and University of Michigan law schools shows that nearly 40 percent of those exonerations were initiated either by law enforcement or included police and prosecutors’ cooperation.

Texas topped the state-by-state breakdown with 13 exonerations in 2013, followed by Illinois, New York, Washington and California.

District attorneys in the counties containing Dallas, Chicago, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Santa Clara, California, are among those with new “conviction integrity” units. The International Association of Chiefs of Police also is pushing to reduce wrongful convictions.

(AP) — Automakers recalled 21.9 million cars and trucks in the U.S. last year, a nine-year high.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says automakers initiated 632 separate vehicle recalls in 2013, up 9 percent from the prior year.

Companies are saving money by using more common parts. But that can force them to recall many more vehicles when something goes wrong.

Chrysler Group initiated the most recalls, with 36. Among those was a recall of 282,000 minivans whose air bags could deploy on the wrong side. In all, Chrysler recalled 4.7 million vehicles last year.

After Chrysler, General Motors had the most recalls, with 23. Mazda had the fewest, with two.

Toyota recalled the most vehicles, with 5.3 million in 15 separate recalls.

Mercedes-Benz recalled the fewest vehicles, with 747.