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Douglas, Damon dramatize a steamy showbiz affair

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:02:02 -0500

NEW YORK (AP) — The idea of Michael Douglas playing Liberace might seem nearly as outrageous as Liberace himself.

Liberace, forever hailed as Mr.

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Man shot to death while questioned in Boston probe

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:53:37 -0500

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant was shot to death by authorities 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 gunned down at his Orlando townhouse during a meeting with an FBI agent and two Massachusetts state troopers, authorities said.

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Mexico cartel dominates, torches western state

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:46:40 -0500

LA RUANA, Mexico (AP) — 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 a backlash in the western agricultural state, where some communities are fighting back, taking up arms in vigilante patrols.

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

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

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:44:46 -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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Oklahoma tornado: Names of dead released; 6 adults still missing

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:42:19 -0500

BY RANDY ELLIS rellis@opubco.com

The magnitude of devastation from the tornado that struck Moore and south Oklahoma came into sharper focus Wednesday as the state medical examiner began releasing names of the dead and Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett announced preliminary damage estimates in the range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

Officials said six people are listed as missing.

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Minn. teen whose farewell song became web hit dies

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:31:21 -0500

LAKELAND, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota teenager whose farewell song became a YouTube sensation has died after a fight with bone cancer.

Zach Sobiech died Monday at his Lakeland home.

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One block: How neighbors saw twister's deadly path

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:53 -0500

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Dan Garland could feel the latch on the shelter door begin to turn in his hand.

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Christie backs Okla. aid, blunting talk of payback

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:56:15 -0500

BELMAR, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose own state was beset by a major storm last year and then by squabbling in Congress over disaster aid, said Wednesday that Oklahoma's tornado victims deserve "swift and immediate" help, and federal lawmakers have said they are likely to get it.

Last October, Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Eastern Seaboard and zeroed in on New Jersey and New York, causing an estimated $50 billion in damage.

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Chicago Board of Ed votes to close 50 schools

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:51:09 -0500

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Board of Education voted Wednesday to close 50 schools and programs, an ambitious plan that has sparked protests and lawsuits and could help define — for better or worse — Mayor Rahm Emanuel's term in office.

City officials say the closings are necessary because of falling school enrollment and as part of their efforts to improve the city's struggling education system.

"The only consideration for us today is to do exactly what is right for the children," schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said before the board's vote.

Critics have blasted Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff, and Byrd-Bennett, saying the closings disproportionately affect minority neighborhoods and will endanger children who may have to cross gang boundaries to get to a new school.

They protested during the board's meeting Wednesday and sent busloads of parents, teachers and students to Springfield to lobby lawmakers to approve a moratorium on the closings.

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President Obama to visit Oklahoma Sunday, tour storm damage

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:47:43 -0500

By Chris Casteel, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will travel to Oklahoma City on Sunday to talk to victims of this week’s deadly storms and thank the people who worked on rescue and recovery efforts.

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Restaurant learns online reviews can make or break

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:46:25 -0500

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet.

An Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, allegedly posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly went viral last week, to the delight of people who love a good Internet meltdown.

"I AM NOT STUPID ALL OF YOU ARE," read the posting on the Facebook wall of Amy's Baking Co.

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Boy Scout leaders to vote on lifting gay ban

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:40:59 -0500

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America has started its meeting in which members of its national council are to decide whether to change the group's long-standing ban on openly gay boys.

BSA is holding its annual meeting in Grapevine, Texas, near its suburban Dallas headquarters.

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Oklahoma Senate votes to tap fund for tornado relief

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:38:06 -0500

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Senate has unanimously approved a bill to tap $45 million from the state's Rainy Day Fund to help pay for tornado disaster relief.

The Senate voted 45-0 on Wednesday for the bill that directs the funds to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management to aid in recovery efforts.

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Timeline of events in Jodi Arias murder case

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:27:25 -0500

PHOENIX (AP) — The Jodi Arias murder trial has drawn international attention for its graphic tales of sex and lies.

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Moore theater to shift back to entertainment

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:27:11 -0500

MOORE (AP) — A movie theater damaged by the Moore tornado plans to reopen in a week.

Bill Warren, owner of the Warren Theatre multiplex, said Wednesday that the building sustained between $500,000 and $1 million in damage.

Warren says most of the damage was to the exterior, though there was some water damage inside.

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Faith healers charged with murder after 2nd death

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:21:51 -0500

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia couple who believe in faith healing over medicine and who were on probation in their son's pneumonia death were charged with murder Wednesday after a second young child died under what a prosecutor called "eerily similar" circumstances.

Herbert and Catherine Schaible ignored a court order to seek medical care if their children needed it, prosecutors said Wednesday.

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No explosives found at Edmond Walmart

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:12:09 -0500

FROM STAFF REPORTS

3:05 p.m. Police have given the all clear at the Walmart. No explosives were found.

2 p.m.

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Weiner launches comeback bid to become NYC mayor

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:19:55 -0500

NEW YORK (AP) — In running for mayor, Anthony Weiner is seeking to get past the tawdry-tweeter punch line that has dogged him since his congressional career imploded two years ago.

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Oklahoma City mayor says 12,000 to 13,000 homes damaged or destroyed by May 20 tornado

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:19:01 -0500
MOORE (AP) — Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett says 12,000 to 13,000 homes were affected by the tornado that tore through a city suburb.

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Trial for captain in deadly shipwreck in Italy

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:05:08 -0500

ROME (AP) — An Italian judge has ordered the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship to stand trial for manslaughter in the vessel's shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany, which killed 32 people.

Judge Pietro Molino, at a closed-door hearing Wednesday in the town of Grosseto, agreed to prosecutors' request that Capt.

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Oklahoman Reporter Recounts Coverage Of May 3, 1999 Tornado

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:35:54 -0500
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Reporter Diana Baldwin was working that day in 1999 when news spread of the deadly twister.

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Oklahoma City pair facing murder charges in death of 7-year-old left home alone

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:25:06 -0500

BY TIM WILLERT twillert@opubco.com
Prosecutors have filed first-degree murder, arson and burglary charges against a couple in the April 28 death of a 7-year-old boy left home alone.

Lorese Paulina Cruz, 26, and Julio Cesar Nevarez, 19, both of Oklahoma City, were charged late Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court, records show.

Adrian Roberto Avalos, 7, was found in the house at 2533 SW 51 when firefighters were called about 11:50 p.m.

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Oklahoma man dies in early morning crash

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:04:03 -0500

FROM STAFF REPORTS
EAGLETOWN — An Eagletown man died in a crash about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday on a McCurtain County road south of town, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reports.

Dalton Janes, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene from massive injuries.

Janes was driving his pickup westbound when he struck a tree that was partially in the roadway.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Backers of Oklahoma museum projects withdraw funding requests

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:44:54 -0500

BY MICHAEL MCNUTT mmcnutt@opubco.com
Backers of two Oklahoma museum projects hustling to get state funding in the last days of the session withdrew their requests Tuesday because of deadly tornadoes that struck the state this week.

“Due to the unfolding tragedy facing our friends and neighbors in the Moore and Shawnee communities, we agree this is the best course of action,” Mike Neal, president and chief executive officer of the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce, a supporter of the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, commonly called OK Pop.

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Oklahoma tornado damage could exceed $2 billion

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:40:54 -0500

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Damage from the deadly tornado that struck Moore on Monday could surpass $2 billion in insured losses, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak estimated Wednesday.

Doak said it is possible the Moore tornado could be worse than the one that struck Joplin, Mo., about two years ago, causing more than $2 billion in insured losses.

That twister left a smaller trail of destruction than the one that ripped through Moore, leaving an extensive damage zone stretching more than 17 miles.

The Moore tornado was on the ground for 40 minutes.

Authorities have yet to present concrete numbers for how many homes were damaged or destroyed, but the view from the air shows whole neighborhoods obliterated, with gouged earth littered with splintered wood and pulverized cars.

Dan Ramsey, president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma, said a damage estimate in the low billions is “not surprising.”

“Certainly it's in the hundreds of millions,” Ramsey said.

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Oklahoma Senate approves $45M disaster relief measure

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:34:16 -0500

BY MICHAEL MCNUTT mmcnutt@opubco.com
The Oklahoma Senate voted Wednesday to withdraw $45 million from the state's savings account to help reimburse state agencies and local communities and counties for expenses caused by disasters, particularly this week's tornadoes that struck the state.

The Senate voted 45-0 to pass Senate Bill 249.

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Altus Air Force Base wins training mission

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:14:05 -0500

BY CHRIS CASTEEL Washington Bureau ccasteel@opubco.com
WASHINGTON — Altus Air Force Base was named Wednesday as the site for the first training unit on the new refueling tanker, which will give the southwest Oklahoma base a boost in construction and employment, according to lawmakers.

The Air Force named McConnell Air Force Base near Wichita, Kan., as the winner in the race to be the active duty base to house the KC-46A. Altus, a pilot training base, had been a finalist in the competition.

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Judge: Hollister clothing unfriendly to disabled

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:57:12 -0500

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge in Denver is contemplating an injunction against Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

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Traffic tie-ups reported on interstates in Oklahoma City near storm damaged areas

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:57:10 -0500

FROM STAFF REPORTS
MOORE — With Interstate 35 backing up in both directions Wednesday morning, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper asked the public to avoid areas around tornado damage.

Trooper Betsy Randolph said traffic has been in tie-ups all morning along I-35 around Moore.

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Oklahoma tornadoes: Mother, newborn died seeking refuge from the storm

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:06:41 -0500

BY ZEKE CAMPFIELD zcampfield@opubco.com
MOORE — Megan Billingsley Futrell sought refuge in a corner store where she thought she and her newborn son would be safe from Monday's tornado.

They weren't.

A relative on Tuesday remembered the 29-year-old Moore woman as a doting mother with a warm smile.

“She was my sister I never had,” said Amy Pulliam, a cousin who fought back tears while paying respects from outside a destroyed 7-Eleven near SW 4 and Telephone Road.

Futrell and her 3-month-old son, Case, died Monday after the roof collapsed on the store where they were riding out the storm in a walk-in cooler.

Just minutes before, she'd retrieved her son from a baby sitter a few blocks away.

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