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UPDATE: Flash flood warning, severe thunderstorm warning Thursday morning in central Oklahoma

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:27:05 -0500

FROM STAFF REPORTS

8:55 a.m. Lightning may have caused a house fire in far northwest Oklahoma City, fire Battalion Chief Brian Stanaland reports.

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Britain: Soldier slaying suspects had been probed

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:01:53 -0500

LONDON (AP) — Two men accused of butchering a British soldier had featured in previous investigations by security services, a British official said Thursday, as investigators searched several locations and tried to determine whether the men were part of a wider plot to instill terror on the streets of London.

The men, suspected of hacking the off-duty soldier to death while horrified bystanders watched, boasted of their exploits and warned of more violence in images recorded on witnesses' mobile phones.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: BP donates $500K to Moore tornado relief effort

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:59:09 -0500

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOORE — Oil company BP is donating $500,000 to the tornado relief effort in Moore.

The company said Thursday that $300,000 will come from BP America Inc.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Motorists urged to avoid I-35 in Moore

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:58:07 -0500

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOORE — Oklahoma transportation officials say heavy traffic on Interstate 35 through Moore is hindering the tornado recovery effort.

The Transportation Department on Thursday asked motorists to avoid the area.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Rams quarterback Sam Bradford leading aid effort

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:57:04 -0500

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, an Oklahoma native, is raising money for disaster relief in his home state.

Bradford on Wednesday announced a fundraising effort that seeks money but also goods such as cleaning supplies, baby items, pet items and blankets for victims of this week's tornadoes in Oklahoma.

A donation site was set up outside Busch Stadium for Thursday's exhibition soccer match between Manchester City and Chelsea.

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Applications for US unemployment aid fall to 340K

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:37:19 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a level consistent with solid job growth.

The less volatile four-week average ticked down just 500 to 339,500, the Labor Department said Thursday.

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Man shot by FBI had ties to Boston bombing suspect

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:57:53 -0500

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said.

Ibragim Todashev's Chechen roots and mixed martial arts background mirror that of Tsarnaev, the 26-year-old Boston bombing suspect killed in a shootout with police days after the April 15 terrorist attack.

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Father of man shot in Boston probe shares regrets

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:55:30 -0500

GROZNY, Russia (AP) — The father of a Chechen immigrant shot dead by U.S. law enforcement agents while being questioned about his ties to a Boston Marathon bombings suspect said Thursday that he regrets allowing his son to go to the United States.

Ibragim Todashev, 27, was a mixed martial arts fighter who had trained with Tamerlan Tsarnaev in Boston, and his father said they had bonded because of their shared interests and heritage as Chechens from southern Russia.

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Roof collapse reported in Mustang, Oklahoma storm Thursday morning

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:37:04 -0500

FROM STAFF REPORTS

MUSTANG – The roof of a building has collapsed under heavy rain Thursday morning, a police dispatcher reports.

Firefighters have responded to 1811 E State Highway 152, the dispatcher reports.

Check NewsOK.com for more information.

UPDATE: Woman rescued from vehicle in high water in Mustang, Oklahoma Thursday morning

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:35:13 -0500

FROM STAFF REPORTS

7:30 a.m. MUSTANG -- Firefighters have rescued a woman who was trapped in a vehicle in high water Thursday morning at SW 59 and Mustang Road.

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The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid falls by 23,000 to 340,000 last week

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:30:42 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid falls by 23,000 to 340,000 last week.

UPDATE: Multiple vehicles in injury wrecks reported in northwest, west Oklahoma City Thursday morning

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:04:06 -0500

FROM STAFF REPORTS

7 a.m. A second multiple vehicle crash has been reported on Interstate 40 in the Yukon area near Garth Brooks Boulevard Thursday morning.

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Brave woman tried to reason with London attackers

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:57:01 -0500

LONDON (AP) — A brave scout leader who may have prevented further violence has emerged as an unlikely hero in the apparent terror attack that left one man dead on the streets of London.

Ingrid Loyau-Kennett got off a bus and tried to reason with the two attackers after she tried to help the man lying on the street but found he had no pulse and was already dead.

The 48-year-old mother kept talking to the two bloody attackers before police came, trying to keep them calm.

Loyau-Kennett, who lives in Cornwall in southwest England, told several British media outlets Wednesday night and Thursday morning that she was returning from a trip to France and was visiting her children in London when the bus she was on stopped because of the melee.

She said she saw a crashed car and the victim lying on the street and tried to help him since she had been trained in first aid.

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Solar plane completes 2nd leg of trip in Texas

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:39:35 -0500

DALLAS (AP) — A solar-powered plane has landed in Texas, completing the second leg of a trip across the United States.

The Solar Impulse is making the first attempt by a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel to fly across the U.S.

The plane landed early Thursday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after taking off Wednesday from Phoenix.

The plane flew its first leg from California in early May.

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More than 50 hurt when Indiana school buses crash

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:25:14 -0500

NORTH WEBSTER, Ind. (AP) — A school bus slammed into the back of another one, setting off a chain-reaction crash involving four buses in northern Indiana, leaving about 50 middle and high students with non-serious injuries and one driver seriously injured.

The crash injured 55 people Wednesday, including three of the four bus drivers, Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department Sgt.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: ‘All I could do was sit there and hold her'

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:44:09 -0500

BY NOLAN CLAY AND ANDREW KNITTLE

Huddled together in a bathtub, Laurinda Vargyas held her baby girl and 4-year-old girl tight as the tornado began shaking apart their south Oklahoma City home Monday.

“We ducked for cover.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: The 'Big Dog,' the little boy and the hug that triumphs over tragedy

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:42:06 -0500

BY BERRY TRAMEL

Hezekiah Darbon often will bolt through the front door without knocking and make a beeline for the fridge.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Moore students can say goodbye

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:17:12 -0500

BY CARRIE COPPERNOLL ccoppernoll@opubco.com

Moore Public Schools Superintendent Susan Pierce read the names in the soft, sweet voice of a teacher.

Sydney Angle, Antonia Candelaria, Emily Conatzer, Kyle Davis, Ja'Nae Hornsby, Christopher Legg and Nicolas McCabe.

About 2,000 Moore Public Schools employees packed the pews of Southern Hills Baptist Church on Wednesday.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Oklahoma tornado vignettes

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:34:15 -0500

Sarah Patteson was minutes away from losing.

She was in a race with an EF5 tornado that was rapidly destroying her hometown.

She beat it to Plaza Towers Elementary School, picking up her two sons before it could make it there.

“Had I been a minute or two later, our outcome may have been completely different,” Patteson said.

She sped home and threw a mattress over her sons, Lucas, 9, and Noah, 7, and their dogs.

“This is it, guys,” she said.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Oklahoma singer packs tour bus with donations for storm victims

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:26:22 -0500

BY GEORGE LANG glang@opubco.com

Musicians can put a lot of miles on their tour buses, but as two Oklahoma singer-songwriters discovered, they can also go a long way toward helping people in need.

After volunteering with cleanup efforts in Shawnee, singer-songwriter Carter Sampson decided to put her touring vehicle, a small motor home, to good use.

“I've been wanting to help from the minute I saw it happen on TV,” she said.

Beginning at 5 p.m.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Storm shelter installations spike after storms, records show

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:26:15 -0500

BY PAUL MONIES Business Writer pmonies@opubco.com

BETHEL ACRES — For former Shawnee police officer Jeff Rodgers and his wife, Dawna, the days of huddling in a hallway, covering themselves with mattresses and strapping on motorcycle helmets as a storm barrels down are over.

The Bethel Acres residents installed an aboveground safe room last week, just days before Sunday's tornado devastated the nearby Steelman Estates mobile home park, about half a mile from the Rodgers' house.

Rodgers, 45, who was shot in the line of duty in 1999 and uses a motorized wheelchair, said at least two tornadoes came close to their home in the last few years.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Children endured tornado in hall of Plaza Towers Elementary

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:24:10 -0500

BY WILLIAM CRUM WCrum@opubco.com

MOORE — The children were in the gymnasium, for gym and music, when the weather changed from ominous to dangerous.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Love's to give $3 million to storm relief

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:12:06 -0500

In brief

Love's to give $3 million

Love's Travel Stops will donate $3 million to support the immediate and long-term relief efforts in Oklahoma after tornadoes slammed Moore, Shawnee and surrounding areas.

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Polish man gets quick face transplant after injury

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:10:15 -0500

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A 33-year-old Polish man received a face transplant just three weeks after being disfigured in a workplace accident, in what his doctors said Wednesday is the fastest time frame to date for such an operation.

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Minn. teen whose farewell song became web hit dies

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:50:04 -0500

LAKELAND, Minn. (AP) — When high school student Zach Sobiech learned he didn't have much longer to live, his mother suggested he write letters to tell his loved ones goodbye.

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Weiner launches comeback bid to become NYC mayor

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:10:23 -0500

NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Weiner knows there may be a lot of New Yorkers who would never consider voting for him again, but he says he's running for mayor because he wants to bring his ideas to the fore — and win.

"I don't kid myself.

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Boy Scout leaders to vote on lifting gay ban

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:19:24 -0500

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — As protesters made one last stand, the Boy Scouts of America's leadership began a conference Wednesday that was expected to culminate in a long-anticipated vote on whether to allow openly gay Scouts — a decision that, either way, could deeply affect the organization's membership and funding.

Scouting leaders from around the country gathered at a resort in Grapevine, Texas, near the youth organization's suburban Dallas headquarters, for their annual national meeting.

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Man shot to death while questioned in Boston probe

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:49:35 -0500

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant was shot to death by authorities in central Florida early Wednesday after he turned violent while being questioned about his ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, officials said.

Ibragim Todashev, a 27-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, was fatally shot at his Orlando townhouse during a meeting with an FBI agent and two Massachusetts state troopers, authorities said.

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Broke no laws, IRS official says _ then takes 5th

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:24:51 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the center of a political storm, an Internal Revenue Service supervisor whose agents targeted conservative groups swore Wednesday she did nothing wrong, broke no laws and never lied to Congress.

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Mexico cartel dominates, torches western state

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:05:04 -0500

LA RUANA, Mexico (AP) — The farm state of Michoacan is burning. A drug cartel that takes its name from an ancient monastic order has set fire to lumber yards, packing plants and passenger buses in a medieval-like reign of terror.

The Knights Templar cartel is extorting protection payments from cattlemen, lime growers and businesses such as butchers, prompting some communities to fight back, taking up arms in vigilante patrols.

Lime picker Alejandro Ayala chose to seek help from the law instead

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