US government rejects complaint that woman was improperly denied an emergency abortion in Oklahoma
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says an Oklahoma hospital did not violate federal law after doctors told a woman with a nonviable pregnancy to wait in the parking lot until her condition worsened enough to qualify for an abortion.
Thunder roll past Trail Blazers 139-77, tie fifth-biggest victory margin in NBA history
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, Josh Giddey had a triple-double and Oklahoma City rolled past the Portland Trail Blazers 139-77 on Thursday night, a 62-point victory that matched the fifth-largest rout in NBA history.
Chesapeake Energy, Southwestern Energy combining in $7.4 billion deal
Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy are combining in a $7.4 billion all-stock deal to form one of the biggest natural gas producers in the U.S. The announcement is just the latest tieup in the energy sector, following a nearly $60 billion deal between Exxon Mobil and Pioneer Natural Resources and a $53 billion deal between Chevron and Hess.
Spurs' Wembanyama and Thunder's Holmgren have off nights in rookie showdown
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder seemed to be trying to avoid creating a rivalry after the much-anticipated first regular season meeting between two of the NBA’s top rookies.
Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder past Pelicans in play-in
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander highlighted his 32-point night with a go-ahead baseline jumper and four clutch free throws in the final 29 seconds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118 to remain alive in the Western Conference play-in tourament.
Oklahoma-based tribes say followed rules on Freedmen rights
Leaders and representatives of five Oklahoma-based tribes have told a U.S. Senate committee they have followed treaties and court rulings regarding the citizenship of Freedmen and that the federal government should respect their sovereignty.
Oklahoma officer charged in Black man's fatal shooting
FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2016, file photo, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater talks to the media in Oklahoma City. Prater has filed a first-degree manslaughter charge against a white Oklahoma City police officer accused of fatally shooting a fleeing Black man three times in the back. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)OKLAHOMA CITY – A white Oklahoma City police officer accused of fatally shooting a fleeing Black man armed with a knife three times in the back was charged Thursday with first-degree manslaughter. Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater filed the charge against Sgt. Prater, Oklahoma County's top prosecutor, has previously filed criminal charges against police officers accused in fatal shootings.
Tornado kills 3 in North Carolina; bitter cold sweeps Plains
AdNorth Carolina's Brunswick County had little notice of the dangerous weather, and a tornado warning was not issued until the storm was already on the ground. Texas officials said more than 400,000 doses due now will not arrive until at least Wednesday because of the storm. The tornado that hit North Carolina's Brunswick County was an EF3 with winds estimated at 160 mph (257 kph), the weather service said on Twitter. Several cities had record lows: In Minnesota, the Hibbing/Chisholm weather station registered minus 38 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 39 degrees Celsius). Sioux Falls, South Dakota, dropped to minus 26 Fahrenheit (minus 26 degrees Celsius).
Wolves' Beasley gets 120-day sentence for gun threat
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley (5) dunks in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley was sentenced Tuesday to 120 days in jail after pleading guilty to a felony charge of threats of violence for pointing a rifle at a family outside his home last fall. COVID-19 precautions could require the county to release him on electronic home monitoring for the duration of the sentence. Beasley approached their vehicle and pointed a rifle as he told them to leave. I humbly apologize for my actions.”As part of the conditions of the sentencing, Beasley was given three years of probation with no use of alcohol or drugs and completion of an anger management program.
Attention Volusia parents: Deadline to apply for free, reduced meals approaching
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County Schools is issuing a reminder to parents about the upcoming deadline to submit applications for free and reduced lunches in an effort to secure critical funding for underprivileged schools. There are currently 44 Title 1 schools in Volusia County, according to the release. To make sure Title 1 schools don’t miss out on that federal funding, district officials said it’s imperative for families to fill out the Free and Reduced Meal Application no later than Friday, Feb. 12. Schools will have computers available to anyone who doesn’t have internet access and wants to fill out an application, district officials said. Those rankings will then determine which schools qualify for Title 1 funding for next school year.
Oklahoma seeking to return $2M worth of hydroxychloroquine
FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2017, file photo, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter sits at a meeting in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office is attempting to return $2 million worth of an anti-malaria drug once touted by former President Donald Trump as an effective treatment for COVID-19, a spokesman said Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Alex Gerszewski, a spokesman for Attorney General Mike Hunter, said Hunter is attempting to negotiate a return of the 1.2 million hydroxychloroquine pills Oklahoma acquired in April from a California-based supplier, FFF Enterprises. He said the office was acting on a request from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, which authorized the purchase. The attempt by Oklahoma to return the hydroxychloroquine was first reported by the online news publication The Frontier.
Walmart to build more robot-filled warehouses at stores
FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, file photo, signage is pictured at a Walmart store in Oklahoma City. Walmart announced Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2021, that it plans to build warehouses at its stores where self-driving robots will fetch groceries and have them ready for shoppers to pick up in an hour or less. Walmart declined to say how many of the warehouses it will build, but construction has started at stores in Lewisville, Texas; Plano, Texas; American Fork, Utah; and Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart’s corporate offices are based. Walmart hopes the warehouses will speed up curbside pickups, where orders are brought outside to shoppers' cars. The wheeled robots carry crates of apple juice, cereal and other small goods to Walmart workers, who then bag them for shoppers.
No-go for Joe Exotic: Trump pardon list omits ‘Tiger King’
OKLAHOMA CITY – One name missing in President Donald Trump's flurry of pardons was “Tiger King” Joe Exotic. His team was so confident in a pardon that they had readied a celebratory limousine and a hair and wardrobe team to whisk away the zookeeper-turned-reality-TV-star, who is serving a 22-year federal prison sentence in Texas. Maldonado-Passage, who has maintained his innocence, was also sentenced for killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying wildlife records. In his pardon application filed in September, Maldonado-Passage’s attorneys argued that he was “railroaded and betrayed” by others. The blond mullet-wearing zookeeper, known for his expletive-laden rants on YouTube and a failed 2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial campaign, was prominently featured in the popular Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.”
Magic vs. Celtics game postponed due to COVID-19 testing, contact tracing issues
Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) and guard Michael Carter-Williams (7) react to a call during the second half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, in Oklahoma City. Utah's game in Washington on Wednesday was postponed because contact-tracing issues among the Wizards meant they wouldn't have eight available players for that matchup. Orlando’s game in Boston on Wednesday is also off, the third postponement since Sunday involving the Celtics. When teams started testing in late November prior to the start of training camps, 48 players had positive COVID-19 tests. Counting the two new postponements and another on Dec. 23 between Oklahoma City and Houston, the league has seen six games moved because of virus issues.
Oklahoma asks court: Make J&J pay $9.3B to end opioid crisis
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma has asked the state Supreme Court to order Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $9.3 billion to cover the entire anticipated cost of combatting the state's opioid crisis, arguing in its appeal that a lower court’s award wasn’t enough. The company appealed Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman's order in December 2019 and the state appealed in January. “Nothing less than the fate of Oklahoma hangs in the balance,” attorneys for the state told justices in an appeal brief. As Oklahomans have continued to suffer and die, all eyes are now on this case,” attorneys for the state said. “The State of Oklahoma cannot — and will never — abate this crisis unless the Judgment is affirmed.”
In deep-red Oklahoma, GOP fights to regain lost seat
FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, file photo, U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Okla., speaks during a news conference in front of a post office in Oklahoma City. But Horn won't have the element of surprise in this year's contest against Republican state Sen. Stephanie Bice. “This is not some right-wing paradise in Oklahoma City," said Mayor David Holt, who has avoided endorsing either candidate. “Oklahoma City does not have the same profile as the state of Oklahoma, and Congresswoman Horn's election was probably the strongest statement yet that the city was changing and behaving, really, more like a big city." Holt, who was a Republican state senator before being elected Oklahoma City's mayor in 2018, said either the Democratic or Republican candidate would fit the city well.
Report: Order to shorten count wasn't made by Census Bureau
The accelerated schedule “increases the risks to the accuracy of the 2020 Census," the Inspector General report said. At least two Census Bureau officials interviewed by the Office of Inspector General believe the president's order changed the administration's support for extending the deadlines, the report said. Federal judges on opposite coasts this week are hearing arguments in two lawsuits seeking to extend the 2020 census into October. The judge in the San Jose case earlier this month issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Census Bureau from winding down 2020 census operations for the time being. The Census Bureau has a goal of reaching 99% of households.
Tropical Storm Beta churns slowly toward Texas and Louisiana
Forecasters said Beta was not expected to bring the same amount of rainfall that Texas experienced during either Hurricane Harvey in 2017 or Tropical Storm Imelda last year. The first rain bands from Beta reached the Texas coast on Sunday, but the heaviest rain wasn't expected to arrive until Monday into Tuesday. If the system makes landfall in Texas, it would be the ninth named storm to make landfall in the continental U.S. in 2020. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda. Wilfred, which had been a tropical storm, weakened to a tropical depression earlier Sunday.
Oklahoma's epidemiologist warned of Trump rally deaths
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma's former state epidemiologist warned that President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa in June could lead to as many as nine deaths and 228 new cases of COVID-19, according to documents released Wednesday. Wendelboe’s contract expired this summer and he no longer works for the state health department. The Tulsa Health Department does not publicly identify where potential virus transmissions occurred, so it's not clear how many people contracted COVID-19 at Trump’s rally. A spokesman for the Republican governor, who also attended Trump's rally without wearing a mask, acknowledged that members of Stitt's cabinet were briefed on Wendelboe's projections ahead of the rally. Stitt was the first U.S. governor to publicly acknowledge testing positive for COVID-19, although he has said he did not contract it at the Trump rally.