Associated Press

Recent Articles

  • Internal investigation clears Tulsa priest of sexual abuse allegations

    TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A Tulsa Roman Catholic priest is being allowed to return to work after officials with the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma say an internal investigation failed to substantiate allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. The diocese on Tuesday announced that the Rev. Joe Townsend is no longer on administrative leave and could be considered for a pastoral assignment next year. Townsend was suspended in July after a sexual misconduct allegation involving a minor. The […]

  • Oklahoma governor opposes criminal justice initiative

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt says he opposes a proposed state question that would restrict prosecutors from using previous felony convictions to enhance sentences in certain criminal cases. In a speech Tuesday to the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City, The Oklahoman reports Stitt said that while he supports criminal justice reforms, he’s concerned about enshrining the changes in the Oklahoma Constitution. “Trying to put this into our state’s constitution, it peels back enhancements for DUIs, human […]

  • Oklahoma County judge admonished for not paying taxes, tickets

    OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR/AP) –Oklahoma’s highest court admonished an embattled Oklahoma County district judge who failed to pay her taxes and more than 60 parking tickets. However, the court narrowly decided against filing a petition for her removal. In September, it came to light that Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater was demanding that Oklahoma County District Judge Kendra Coleman step back from ruling on criminal cases. According to a motion filed by Prater, he claimed that Coleman “intentionally violated” ethics […]

  • Police: Airman shot himself after being shot by officer

    ABILENE, Texas (AP) – Police say an airman from a Texas Air Force base shot himself in the head and died after an officer shot him during an armed confrontation. Abilene Police Chief Stan Standridge says officers found the airman at a home on the city’s south side early Saturday after officials at nearby Dyess Air Force Base reported that the man was harming himself. The airman came out of the home with a rifle and repeatedly pointed it at […]

  • Suit claims Boy Scouts overlooked leader’s alleged abuse

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The Boy Scouts of America is facing another lawsuit in a wave of litigation over decades-old allegations of sexual abuse. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports that two men filed a federal suit in Little Rock, Wednesday, accusing the organization of concealing “negligence and fraud.” The men claim they were sexually abused on scouting trips in Arkansas in 1979 and 1980, when they were between 9 and 11, by a leader who the Boy Scouts had […]

  • Flu season takes off quickly in Deep South states

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The flu season is off and running in the Deep South. The most recent weekly flu report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds high levels of flu-like illness in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas. The highest level in that report for the week that ended Nov. 16 was in Mississippi. Doctors in the Magnolia State say they’re already seeing lots of patients. Dr. Darren Scoggin of Children’s Medical Group in […]

  • Former Oklahoma probation officer sentenced for sex assaults

    TULSA, Okla. (KFOR/ AP) – A former probation and parole officer has been sentenced after officials say he used his power over two women while they were on probation. In July, authorities announced that 35-year-old Steven Michael Powers is charged with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law based on two incidents that occurred in 2015 and 2017. In one case, Powers allegedly forced his penis upon a victim’s mouth against her will. In another case, investigators […]

  • Vance Air Force Base resumes flights following fatal crash

    ENID, Okla. (AP) – Vance Air Force Base in northwestern Oklahoma has resumed some flight operations following a training jet crash that killed two airmen. The Enid News & Eagle reports aircraft from other bases were allowed to return Monday to the base in Enid, and training operations were to resume Tuesday. Base officials did not immediately return a phone call for comment Tuesday morning. Wing commander Col. Corey Simmons suspended flight operations through the weekend following the Thursday morning […]

  • Oklahoma trooper cleared in fatal shooting of fugitive

    TULSA, Okla. (AP) –  Oklahoma prosecutors have cleared a state trooper of wrongdoing after he fatally shot a wanted man who fled from him and another officer. The shooting occurred on June 27 in Tulsa. William Aubrey Martin III was shot after trying to flee a pickup truck that was stuck on a metal privacy fence in a backyard. The medical examiner’s autopsy report shows that the 50-year-old was shot twice in the head. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler […]

  • Oklahoma court says cities may regulate medical marijuana

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that cities may approve some regulations of the medical marijuana industry. The court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by the city of Broken Arrow in a case filed by marijuana grower Austin Miller. Miller said the city exceeded its authority in 2018 by adopting regulations including a $2,500 annual permit fee on dispensaries and allowing marijuana to only be grown indoors in industrial areas. The state Supreme Court first overturned […]

  • Arkansas reporter jailed for recording court hearing

    BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) – An Arkansas county judge has sentenced a television reporter to three days in jail for recording a hearing in a homicide case. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren sentenced KNWA reporter Nkirurka Omeronge on Tuesday. Karren found her in contempt of court during Mauricio Torres’ capital murder proceedings last month. Omeronge says she recorded the proceedings simply to take notes to ensure accuracy. Omeronge also testified that she’s worked at stations […]

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