OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Following nearly a month-and-a-half of searing temperatures across Oklahoma, about half of the state is now in a mild drought. The Oklahoma Climatological Survey in Norman said Thursday that the U.S. Drought Monitor shows the southeastern half of Oklahoma in a "flash drought." The OCS says a flash drought occurs when abnormally dry weather combines with very hot temperatures in a short period of time. The OCS says rainfall is 60 to 80 percent below normal in the region since July 12. It says recent cooler weather is helping ease the progression of the drought - but rain is needed to offset the dryness. The Drought Monitor works with several agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

WELEETKA, Okla. (AP) - Authorities say at least six people were killed in a house fire in the town of Weleetka. Medical Examiner's office spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard said Monday two adults and four children were killed in the early morning blaze. Ballard says the children's ages range from one to 11.A dispatcher at the Weleetka Police Department confirmed the deadly fire but didn't release any other details. She said officials remained on the scene late Monday morning. Weleetka is about 70 miles south of Tulsa in east-central Oklahoma.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - With less oppressive heat forecast in Oklahoma officials have lifted Heat Alerts in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Temperatures remain in the upper 90s in the areas - but a cool front that moved through parts of the state early Thursday has helped bring the humidity down. Heat advisories and warnings remain in effect in the southeastern corner of the state where temperatures are expected above 100 degrees. National Weather Service forecaster Daryl Williams in Norman calls the slightly cooler temperatures a "brief respite." Williams says highs are expected in the upper 90s again Friday and are to again reach 100 degrees or more by Sunday.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A preservation group says it won't appeal a decision by a city board allowing SandRidge Energy Inc. to tear down five buildings as part of a planned development of its downtown campus. The decision by Preservation Oklahoma announced Thursday removes a roadblock to SandRidge's plans to demolish the buildings, including one of Oklahoma City's oldest structures, the India Temple Building. The $100 million "SandRidge Commons" plan also includes the remodeling of a 29-story tower once occupied by Kerr-McGee Corp. before its 2007 sale and the former Braniff Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Oklahoma City Board of Adjustment decided to affirm a decision of the Downtown Design Review Committee, which approved SandRidge's plan in April.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A wastewater improvement project in Oklahoma is one of 34 nationwide chosen to receive federal funding for water system improvements. The Konawa Public Works Authority in Konawa will receive a $1 million loan and a $2.99 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced the funding Thursday in Halifax, Va., for the 34 projects in 24 states nationwide.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Fairbanks police say a convicted con artist with a history of impersonating Army officers has been arrested in Deadhorse. William Clark was cited for trespassing earlier this week and let go. Police learned later that the 37-year-old has outstanding warrants in other states. The authorities found Clark at a Deadhorse hotel Friday after getting a tip from a hunter. He is expected to be returned to Fairbanks in a few days. Back in 2002, Clark identified himself as an Army captain at the scene of a fatal bridge accident in Oklahoma. He spent more than two days giving orders to FBI agents before his con was discovered. Shortly after leaving prison for that ruse, he called a Russian embassy claiming to be part of a U.S. Special Forces squad planning to assassinate Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

DENVER (AP) - Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols ischallenging dismissal of his lawsuit over his prison diet and wants the judge disqualified.Nichols filed motions Thursday in federal court in Denver, claiming that U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello should be disqualified because of bias toward him. He says she may have known someone who was injured or died in the 1995 bombing of the federal building that killed 168 people. Nichols also objects to Arguello's ruling that a lack of unrefined grains, fresh food and insoluble fiber doesn't violate his right of freedom of religion and the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Nichols is serving life in the federal Supermax prison in southern Colorado for conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter.Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and executed.

KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) - Two men who escaped from a northwestern Arizona prison and the woman accused of helping them have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault and armed robbery. John McCluskey, Tracy Province and Casslyn Welch were arraigned Monday in Kingman, where they are being held on a $1 million bond. The charges against the trio stem from the hijacking of atractor-trailer shortly after McCluskey and Province fled from the state prison in Kingman on July 30 allegedly with Welch's help. The trio also faces charges in the deaths of an Oklahoma couple in New Mexico. McCluskey and Welch were captured Thursday in eastern Arizona after a three-week manhunt. Province was caught in Wyoming on Aug. 9. A third escaped convict, Daniel Renwick, was arrested Aug. 1 in Colorado.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court has overturned a state law intended to raise revenue for the state's Medicaid program. The ruling posted on the court's website Tuesday said the measure violates the state Constitution. It comes a day after justices heard oral arguments in the case. State Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland asked the court to overturn the law. It set a 1 percent fee on claims paid by private health insurers and companies with self-insured health care plans. Insurance Department attorney Michael Ridgeway argued that the bill failed to get a required three-fourths vote when it passed the House and Senate late in the legislative session. Phone calls to the Insurance Department and the Attorney General's office - which argued in support of the law - were not immediately returned.  

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An attorney for Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland's office has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to strike down a new law designed to raise revenue for the state's Medicaid program. Attorney Michael Ridgeway told the state's high court today that lawmakers didn't follow constitutional guidelines when they passed the bill, including not getting a required three-fourths vote of the House and Senate. The law sets a 1 percent fee on claims paid by private health insurers and companies with self-insured health care plans to support Medicaid. Oklahoma Health Care Authority lawyers say the new law was meant to increase residents' access to health care services provided by Medicaid. Justices indicated their decision may depend on whether the Medicaid fee fits the legal definition of a tax under state law.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - An Oklahoma chiropractor who received a rare double hand transplant is recovering at a Kentucky hospital a day after the surgery.Dr. Warren Breidenbach, who led the surgical team during the 17-hour operation, said in a statement that 55-year-old Richard Edwards of Edmond, Okla., was recovering Thursday at Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center in Louisville. Doctors started the operation at 7 p.m. Tuesday and finished Wednesday afternoon. The transplant was only the third in the nation. Jewish Hospital also performed the world's first successful single hand transplant in 1999. Edwards' truck caught fire Feb. 11, 2006, burning his face, arms, back and hands and leaving very little tissue on either hand. Doctors said he is expected to spend about three months in Louisville recovering and undergoing extensive rehabilitation.

WELEETKA, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued a mandatory boil advisory for Weleetka, telling officials to inform residents that the Okfuskee County town's drinking water is unsafe for human consumption. The agency on Friday said the water is unsafe because of inadequate levels of chlorine, which is used for disinfection, and the public water supply system's difficulty in complying with standards for turbidity, or water clarity. Environmental Quality officials say to ensure the water is safe, it should be vigorously boiled for one minute before drinking, use in food preparation, washing dishes or brushing teeth. Officials say the advisory will remain in effect until chlorination can be adequately maintained and any possible corrections to structural systems or operational practices have been made.

The Psychiatry Inpatient Unit at OU Medical Center will be closing next month. Officials cited budget cuts, reduced staffing, and declining demand for inpatient care as reasons for the closing. Officials say the closing won't affect any of its current patients, since most of those patients typically stay less than two weeks. New patients who need mental health services will be transferred to other facilities.

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has made a discovery that could lead to faster colon cancer diagnosis. A recently concluded study has identified a cluster of three genes associated with early-onset colon cancer in families. Research scientists say they are able to predict with about 60% certainty that people with the gene cluster will get colon cancer.

Some major health insurance companies have stopped issuing certain types of policies for children--a move that could impact thousands in Oklahoma. Starting later this year, health care reform legislation will require insurers to accept children regardless of medical problems. At least two companies in Oklahoma have stopped issuing policies that cover children individually, fearing parents will wait until their children get sick before buying coverage.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Schools in Oklahoma City, Edmond and Norman have the state's top average composite ACT exam scores for 2010. State Department of Education officials released the school-by-school ACT numbers on Thursday. The college admission and placement test is graded on a scale from 0 to 36. The Oklahoma School for Science and Mathematics in Oklahoma City had the top average composite score, with a 31.4. Edmond North High School was next at 24.3, while Classen School for Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City was at 24.2, Norman North High School was at 24.0 and Jenks High School was at 23.7. The average composite score for Oklahoma students taking the test remained steady this year at 20.7, while the national average is 21.0.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Ninety Oklahoma schools are on the state's school improvement list during this school year under standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind law. The Oklahoma State Department of Education released the list Thursday during a meeting of the state Board of Education. Under the law, schools are placed on the list after failing to meet testing benchmarks for all categories of students for two straight years. Those schools face increasingly stiff consequences each year after being on the list for two years. Of the 90 schools, 62 of them are on the list for the first year. Eleven schools, all in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, have been on the list for three years or more. Two Tulsa high schools, Nathan Hale and Will Rogers, are entering their sixth year on the list.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma State Department of Education will appeal a judge's ruling that it must provide a planned online charter school with a district code that will allow it to receive public funding. The state Board of Education voted unanimously on Thursday to authorize the appeal, immediately after a vote that authorized Education Department officials to begin the accreditation process for Epic One on One Charter School. The school sued the Education Department and the Oklahoma City Public Schools district after Epic was unable to obtain the district code from the state agency. On Aug. 16, Oklahoma County District Judge Patricia Parrish ruled that the Education Department had to provide the code but also ruled that the school can accept transfer students only during open transfer dates and that deadline has passed for this academic year.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state Board of Education has voted 4-3 to accredit a Craig County school district and its online learning program but it also placed the district on probation with strict requirements. The vote came after a two-hour debate Thursday that also included two earlier votes about the White Oak district'saccreditation. The first vote denied accreditation to the district and the online program and the second granted accreditation to the district for its onsite students. White Oak has 51 onsite students but more than 1,000 students from across Oklahoma are enrolled in its online learning program through vendor, K12. State Superintendent Sandy Garrett voted in favor of accrediting the district's online learning program, which more than doubled in size from last school year.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Among the 500 students, parents and teachers attending an anti-bullying vigil at the state Capitol tonight were family members of an 11-year-old Perkins boy who killed himself after being bullied. After Ty Field's name was read, his stepfather, Kirk Smalley, addressed the crowd, making an emotional promise to always fight bullying and urging others to do the same. The Stand for the Silent campaign was inspired by Ty's suicide in May. It was launched last month by 60 students in the Upward Bound program at the Oklahoma City campus of Oklahoma State University. Students chanted "Stop bullying now" and recited a pledge each participant was asked to sign that reads in part, quote, "I am somebody, and I can make a difference."

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Poultry companies in Oklahoma and Arkansas say they'll be announcing plans for a chicken processing plant in Ponca City with 350 new jobs. Oklahoma City-based Dorada Foods and Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods released a statement Friday saying a formal announcement is planned for Monday in Ponca City. The release says Dorada will occupy a former Tyson plant in Ponca City and provide chicken products to McDonald's restaurants. The plant is to begin operating in mid-2011.

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - Boeing Co. says it now expects to deliver its first new 787 jetliner in the middle of first quarter 2011. Last month, the aerospace company said the cumulative impact of a series of issues could push the first delivery "a few weeks into 2011." Those problems included supplier workmanship issues related to the horizontal stabilizer, as well as instrumentation delays. Some parts for the 787 are being manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems Inc. in Tulsa. The latest change in the delivery date follows an assessment of the availability of an engine needed for the final phases of flight tests this fall. In a statement Friday, Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said Boeing is working closely with Rolls-Royce to expedite engine availability. She says flight testing continues as planned.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Arkansas-based company that lost an Oklahoma City mall to the federal government in foreclosure says it is hiring a management firm to try and prevent the same fate for two other malls. Midwest Mall Properties LLC says it will have Chicago-based Urban Retail Properties LLC provide management and leasing services for the Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville, Ark., and The Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs, Colo. Midwest Mall Properties bought the two malls, along with Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City, in December 2006 for about $400 million. By April 2009, the company had lost the Oklahoma mall to foreclosure. Maiden Lane LLC, an entity of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, ended up with Crossroads Mall after the failure of Bear Stearns Cos., which held the mortgage on the mall.

Higher oil and natural gas prices helped Devon Energy more than double its income in the second quarter. The Oklahoma City-based oil and gas company reported earnings of $706 million for the quarter that ended June 30th. Devon said oil prices increased by 23% year to year, while natural gas prices jumped by 24%.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma-born billionaires T. Boone Pickens and George B. Kaiser are joining a project in which they promise to donate large sums of their wealth. They're among 40 wealthy families who have signed The Giving Pledge started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. Those signing promise to donate a majority of their wealth to philanthropic and charitable causes. Pickens is a Holdenville native and now a Texas oilman. He graduated from Oklahoma State and is a longtime donor to OSU and to edcuational, medical, youth, entrepreneurial and wildlife projects. Kaiser is chairman of Tulsa-based BOK Financial Corp. and primary owner of Kaiser-Francis Oil. Co. His past donations have included childhood education, community health and social services.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - More than 60 Oklahoma National Guard soldiers will be honored as they depart for an agricultural mission in Afghanistan. The farewell ceremony for the 2-45th Agri-Business Development Team will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Mustang. It will replace another agribusiness unit that already deployed. The soldiers specialize in fields like soil sampling, veterinary medicine, horticulture and beekeeping, and are charged with teaching agricultural skills to Afghan citizens. Guard officials say the team will attend training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., before deploying to Afghanistan later this year. Oklahoma's two candidates for governor - Lt. Gov. Jari Askins and U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin - are scheduled to attend. (For more on this story, watch ONR on Friday, August 27)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma National Guard says it has received orders for 3,500 soldiers with the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to deploy to Afghanistan in 2011. It will be the largest Oklahoma National Guard deployment since the Korean War. About 2,600 brigade troops deployed to Iraq for one year in October 2007. The commander of the 45th, Col. Joel Ward, said Friday the troops were initially notified in December about a likely deployment. Most of the brigade's troops are trained in general combat operations. Ward says the troops will liked be involved in a variety of tasks that include security and combat missions and civil support operations. The Guard says the soldiers will receive extensive training before deployment.  

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - The mother of an American slain at a resort in Thailand after a bar dispute with a pugnacious customer says the victim was a graduate of Norman High School. The body of Dashawn Longfellow, 23, was found before dawn Saturday at the Yanui Paradise Resort on Phuket Island with severalstab wounds in his chest, said police Lt. Col. Anukul Nuket. Longfellow's passport said he came from Littleton, Colo., police said. Longfellow's mother, Tammy Longfellow of Norman, told Oklahoma City television station KOCO that her son had traveled to Thailand in an effort to gain more knowledge of a form of martial arts. She said her son joined the Marine Corps after graduating from Norman High School in 2005, with hopes of traveling the world."He accomplished a lot," she said. "He mastered every test they gave him. He worked his hardest and he did the best he could. He was very competitive. He always wants to win, and that's what he did."

TURPIN, Okla. (AP) - The body of an Army soldier who grew up in the Oklahoma Panhandle town of Turpin has arrived back in the U.S. Spc. Jared C. Plunk's body was flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday evening. Plunk's grandmother, Nelmalee Plunk of Warr Acres, described her 26-year-old grandson as a hardworking kid who farmed and loved to shoot. His grandmother says Plunk played football at Turpin High School and later attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, which the Department of Defense listed as his residence. Plunk was married and had two sons.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma Indian tribes paid $118.2 million in gaming fees to the state, helping to ease budget cuts at some state agencies. Office of State Finance records show the state received $33.3 million from the Chickasaw Nation; $22.7 million from the Choctaw Nation and $12.2 million from the Cherokee Nation. Twenty-seven other tribes paid the state about $50 million. State Treasurer Scott Meacham says with traditional tax revenues declining, officials used Indian gaming money to stave off some cuts. He says 88 percent of Indian gaming revenue is earmarked for common education, and the remaining 12 percent goes to the state's general fund. A report says Oklahoma tribes generated about $2.9 billion in gaming revenues in 2008.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A federal judge has ruled Missouri's ban restricting protests at funerals to be unconstitutional. Monday's ruling affects restrictions targeting a Kansas church whose members have picketed outside the funerals of people killed during the Iraq war. A church leader filed a lawsuit challengingthe law. Missouri's law bars protests near any funeral, procession or memorial service from an hour before until an hour after the service. A complementary law specifically states that protesters must stay back at least 300 feet. But Judge Fernando Gaitan ruled that the Missouri law infringes on free speech rights.

Recent data shows lobbyists have given nearly $360 thousand in campaign contributions to political candidates this year. In the race for governor, Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins and U.S. Representative Mary Fallin received nearly $60 thousand collectively. Overall, Republicans have received about $190 thousand, while Democrats got almost $155 thousand.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Records show Lt. Gov. Jari Askins loaned her gubernatorial campaign $100,000 in the final days before the July 27 primary. Askins narrowly defeated Attorney General Drew Edmondson for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. She now faces Republican Congresswoman Mary Fallin in the November election. The loan brings to $775,000 Askins loaned her campaign. That's about one-third of the $2.28 million she reported raising in filings with state Ethics Commission.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An attorney for Oklahoma's Insurance Department says a law to raise money for the Medicaid program is unconstitutional and a lawsuit against it should be considered by the state Supreme Court. Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland has sued to overturn the law that imposes a 1 percent fee on paid insurance claims. Attorney Michael Ridgeway told court referee Barbara Swimley on Wednesday that the purpose of the law is to raise money for the government. He says its passage during the last five days of the legislative session and without a three-fourths majority in the House and Senate make it unconstitutional. Assistant Attorney General Tina Izadi countered that the lawsuit should be filed in district court and that Holland is required to presume it is constitutional. Swimley will submit a summary to the court, which will decide whether to accept the case.

WASHINGTON (AP) - James J. Kilpatrick, who rose from cub reporter to become one of the South's most prominent newspaper editors and the nation's most widely syndicated political columnist, has died. He was 89. Kilpatrick's wife, Marianne Means, says he died Sunday night at George Washington University Hospital. Means says he was being treated for congestive heart failure. TV watchers in the 1970s knew Kilpatrick as the conservative half of the "Point-Counterpoint" segment of the CBS program "60 Minutes." His sparring with liberal commentator Shana Alexander was famously parodied on "Saturday Night Live." Kilpatrick learned to read by age 4 and decided early on he wanted to be a newsman. When he wasn't attending class at the University of Missouri, Kilpatrick worked summers as a copyboy for the Oklahoma City Times.

SULPHUR, Okla. (AP) - For generations, members of the Chickasaw Nation told the tribe's stories of hardship and renewal through its families, community organizations and churches. Now others can get a glimpse of the tribe's history - from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States to the Trail of Tears and what would become Oklahoma. The tribe opened the $40 million Chickasaw Cultural Center in July. Among its features are a 350-seat theater and an historical exhibit that includes a long hallway known as the "Removal" exhibit. That exhibit tells the story of the Trail of Tears - the forced movement of the Chickasaws and other tribes to what is now Oklahoma in the 1830s. Tribe historian Phil Morgan says the center makes the statement that the tribe has survived and will continue to do so.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Sam Harris, Jamie Oldaker, Jean Shepard and Les Gilliam will be the four inductees this year into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. The four were named as the 2010 inductees during a news conference Monday in Tulsa. The 14th annual induction ceremony and concert is set for Nov. 4 at the Muskogee Civic Center. Harris, from Cushing, won the premier season of the television show "Star Search." Oldaker, a drummer for country group The Tractors, is a Tulsa native. Shepard, who was born in Pauls Valley, is known as a honky-tonk singer and songwriter, while Gilliam, known as the "Oklahoma Balladeer," is from Gene Autry in southern Oklahoma. Among those already in the hall are Vince Gill, Toby Keith, Merle Haggard, Wanda Jackson, Leona Mitchell, Roy Clark, Leon Russell, Woody Guthrie, The All American Rejects and Carrie Underwood.

BOSTON (AP) - Country music star Toby Keith will celebrate Independence Day with the Boston Pops. Liberty Mutual, the event's sponsor, announced Wednesday that Keith will join conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops for the annual Fourth of July concert and fireworks show on the banks of the Charles River. The 40-year-old singer-songwriter's hits include "Should've Been a Cowboy," "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This, and "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue." The "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular," hosted by Craig Ferguson of "The Late Late Show," will be televised nationally on CBS. Keith's latest album, "American Ride," was released last year by Show Dog Nashville.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - University of Central Oklahoma's so-called "School of Rock" will expand its space and course offerings as it begins its second year. The school more formally known as the Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO had about 150 students when it opened last August in Oklahoma City's Bricktown entertainment district. UCO vice president Steve Kreidler says the school has proven so popular that it will have about 400 students in its second year. It also will expand from its current home on the fourth floor of a Bricktown building to occupy the second floor as well, an addition of about 4,400 square feet. In addition, the school also is obtaining a second lease for a 6,500-square-foot rehearsal and performance venue in another Bricktown building.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Road crews have started resurfacing the main roadway in and out of the Will Rogers Airport terminal. Airport officials say work began Monday with the outbound lanes of Terminal Drive, the primary access road to the airport terminal, parking and rental car garages. Officials say the resurfacing project will take between 30 and 45 days, and will include several other roads in the area. During that time, airport visitors may be directed to different entrances and should expect lane closures and some traffic delays.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Tulsa Airport Improvements Trust has awarded a $15.9 million contract to a local construction company to renovate a concourse at Tulsa International Airport. The project to be done by Manhattan Construction Group of Tulsa is part of the airport's $164 million capital improvement program.The project will start in September and include the complete renovation of the airport's Concourse B, which now houses the gates and operations for Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. It will be paid for through passenger facility charges. Airport officials say the project should take about 550 days to complete and have a lifespan of about 20 to 30 years. The renovation will replace electrical systems, lighting, heating and air conditioning systems, roofing, communications and plumbing infrastructure, fixtures and fire protection equipment and include interior upgrades.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma transportation officials have ordered modifications to bridges in the state that are similar to one that was involved in a deadly collapse in Minnesota in 2007. Gary Evans, the chief engineer for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, said Tuesday that officials have ordered a design review of 95 truss bridges in the state. Evans says reports on 30 of the bridges have been received so far and that nine of them needed modification. Eight of those bridges have been modified. Work is planned for the ninth bridge, which is located in Cherokee County and crosses Dry Creek. Officials say a study of the Minnesota bridge collapse indicated inadequate gusset plates may have played a role in that structure's failure. Gusset plates connect structural members that are part of a truss bridge's design.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Department of Transportation temporarily closed two bridges and decreased the weight limit on 25 others after reviewing their design to ensure they conform with new safety standards. ODOT chief engineer Gary Evans says the bridges under review have a truss system to help support them as they span long distances. The new standards were enacted after the deadly 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse. Evans says the agency isn't saying the bridges are unsafe. He says the weight limit on the bridges was decreased to prevent additional damage from large vehicles to the bridges. Officials closed bridges on Oklahoma 74 over the Washita River in Garvin County and on Oklahoma 109 over the Kiamichi River in Choctaw County, but but both reopened after modifications were made.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Five contruction projects totaling $27.6 million are about to start on the Turner Turnpike, but Oklahoma Turnpike Authority officials say steps are being taken to ease disruption for motorists. OTA assistant director Tim Stewart said Wednesday most of the projects will begin after the Independence Day holiday weekend. Stewart says to minimize delays work will be done at night. Stewart says more than half the projects were to begin lastyear, but the Turnpike Authority didn't have the funding. Tolls, the agency's sole funding source, were increased on the system's 10 turnpikes to offset declining traffic, and OTA spokesman Jack Damrill says the hike allowed the agency to pay for the projects. The largest project is $8.9 million in work on Interstate 44near Tulsa.

Environmental officials say additional testing confirms that the smoke coming off a landfill fire near Tulsa is not toxic. Throughout the weekend, the EPA had ground monitors in place to test the smoke that has been coming off the fire since last week. The testing looked for a number of substances but came back as just the normal components of smoke. It is still a problem for anyone with respiratory problems.

An Oklahoma Company is keeping a close eye on today's test of a new containment cap designed to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Piper Valve Systems of Oklahoma City built the series of valves that are a key component of the new custom-fitted cap. BP says oil has stopped leaking into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since April. BP is drilling two relief wells so it can pump mud and cement into the leaking well in hopes of plugging it for good.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Officials at Oklahoma State University say the school has saved $11.5 million since 2007 and dramaticallyreduced its energy and water consumption through a conservation program. The program has put signs all over the campus reminding people to turn off the lights or practice other energy-saving behaviors. Much of the savings has come from simple behavioral changes, like monitoring heating and cooling systems more closely and turning off lights or computers. Daniel Ferris, director of utilities and energy management for the school, said the program is an effort to create a culture of energy savers, rather than users.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality says results of three years of testing show some species of fish in 16 Oklahoma lakes contain levels of mercury above what is considered safe for unlimited consumption. The agency on Wednesday issued a fish consumption advisory for Atoka, Boomer, Coalgate, Draper, Elmer Thomas, Hugo, Heyburn, McAlester, Quanah Parker, Rush, Sardis and Wister lakes. Broken Bow, Kaw, McGee Creek, Pine Creek reservoirs also are part of the advisory. DEQ officials say women of child bearing age and children 15 and under should eat no more than one meal per week of predator fish, which includes largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, white, striped or hybrid bass; walleye, saugeye, and flathead catfish. Officials say mercury levels don't affect the lake's safety as a drinking water source or for swimming and boating.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spokesman says the cleanup of oil that leaked into a river near Lake Arcadia is nearing completion. Joe Hubbard with the EPA says the cleanup of the Deep Fork River in northeast Oklahoma City could be finished Friday. Hubbard says between 30 and 45 barrels of crude oil are being recovered from the site.The leak was discovered Monday by a bridge inspector. Oklahoma Corporation Commission inspector Gary Heavin says the oil was leaking from a pinhole-sized hole in an abandoned pipeline and was contained Tuesday. Heavin says there is no evidence the spill expanded beyond the bridge area.  

 Survey by walletpop.com ranks Oklahoma City as the fifth worst place to live, in part due to another ranking that declared the city as the unhealthiest in the country.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - University of Oklahoma officials and local law enforcement agencies plan to crack down on the sale of unlicensed merchandise with university logos. OU held a seminar Wednesday with officers from Norman and university police departments. OU athletic department director of licensing Renata Hays says upcoming sweeps will target stores and those who come to Norman on football game days to sell counterfeit products. She says first-time violators would receive warnings, along with demands to remove the items in question. She says the university also will consider seizing items and pursuing civil and criminal actions against repeat offenders. According to the Collegiate Licensing Company, OU ranks 10th in the country among universities in licensing revenue.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The U.S. Olympic Committee plans to name the Oklahoma River as a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Site for future international rowing events. Three committee officials, including the acting chief executive officer and chief operating officer, will announce the designation on Tuesday. The University of Central Oklahoma also is receiving a similar designation for the sites of its archery and volleyball programs,now deemed official Olympic training grounds. Demonstrators will conduct trials Tuesday to showcase the Oklahoma River. Archery and volleyball demonstrations will take place, as well. The Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation plans to install permanent sports-venue lighting, more seating for a largergrandstand, a new sound system, a scoreboard, a future whitewater rapids course and a floating stage in upcoming years.

More than $45 million in federal grants will help provide new or expanded broadband service in rural parts of Oklahoma. Six broadband projects in the state were chosen in the latest round of stimulus-backed awards to expand internet service to underserved areas. Most of the projects receiving grants this week are in eastern Oklahoma.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma State University says it has received a $7.5 million grant that will allow it to collaborate with NASA to improve the use and effectiveness of online learning technologies in common and higher education. Steve Marks, a professor in OSU's College of Education, will lead the university's efforts on the five-year national project, which will begin Aug. 1. Officials say the NASA Distance Learning Network will emphasize learning in science, technology, engineering and math. Marks says the project continues the partnership the federal agency and OSU have had for decades. He says the project will have the potential to spread NASA's science and engineering knowledge to "every American with access to the Internet."

Oklahomans are following a national trend that has seen American households ditching their landline phones in favor in favor of cell phone service only. Nationwide, nearly 1 in 4 homes have made the switch to wireless, with a majority of those being in less-populated areas. A recent study shows Tulsa and Lawton are both at the national average, while portions of eastern Oklahoma are above the average.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - University of Oklahoma information technology officials say they've developed an iPad application that will go live in July. The iPad, a touch-screen tablet computer, launched on April 3 in the U.S. The OU IT store has sold about 350 iPads since then and store employees anticipate selling another 350 before school starts in August. OU officials say the iPad application is designed to improve efficiencies through technology and will allow the university's regents to opt for mobile delivery of agendas and supporting materials, which often can be hundreds of pages long. OU's IT staff also plans this fall to make the university's course management system available to students in a mobile format. When that is done, students who own an iPad or iPhone will be able to use those devices to check assignments and grades, submit homework or participate in discussions.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Two projects to improve broadband services in western Oklahoma are among 12 that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says will receive funding. Vilsack announced Tuesday that Pioneer Long Distance Inc. and Panhandle Telephone Cooperative Inc. are among those chose for thefunding. Pioneer's Western Oklahoma Wireless Project will get a $1.8 million loan and a $1.7 million federal grant to provide wireless broadband in unserved and underserved areas of western Oklahoma. Panhandle's Western Oklahoma Broadband Infrastructure Development Project will receive a $3.3 million loan, $10 milliongrant and $23. 2 million in private investment. The money will be used to provide broadband infrastructure in the Panhandle area.  

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The Canadian company that wants to build an oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico has dropped a proposal to run the pipeline at a higher pressure level and agreed to follow U.S. safety standards for the project. TransCanada officials said Thursday the company would withdraw its application for a special permit and operate the Keystone XL pipeline at a normal pressure level. Keystone pipeline vice president Robert Jones says TransCanada is responding to the concerns aired at public meetings on the project earlier this year. Keystone XL would move oil from Canada through Montana, along the border of North Dakota and South Dakota to Nebraska. The pipeline then would hook up with another pipeline in Kansas and move oil through Oklahoma and Texas.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has approved construction of another wind farm for Oklahoma Gas and Electric. OG&E says the "Crossroads" wind farm will be built near Canton in Dewey County and will include at least 86 wind turbines to generate electricity. The company says customers will initially see a 59 to 65 cent increase in monthly bills due to the wind farm - but the cost is expected to begin falling in 2013 or 2014. The wind farm is expected to be completed during the second half of 2011. It will be the third OG&E owned wind farm in northwestern Oklahoma. The company also has agreements to buy wind-generated electricity from three other wind farms - including two that are under construction.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - An Oklahoma company plans a pipeline pegged at about $500 million to move natural gas liquids from North Dakota's oil patch. Tulsa-based Oneok Partners says the pipeline would run from western North Dakota through eastern Montana to Cheyenne, Wyo. In Wyoming, it would link with the company's Overland Pass Pipeline, which stretches 760 miles to Conway, Kan. Brad Borror, a company spokesman, says the proposed pipeline would cost between $450 million and $550 million and would originate at a yet-to-be-determined location in western North Dakota. He says the pipeline would transport up to 60,000 barrels a day of natural-gas liquids such as methane, propane, butane, ethane and natural gasoline.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency is criticizing an environmental impact statement for a proposed pipeline that would move oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The EPA says the environmental impact statement for TransCanada's $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline does not adequatelyaddress "potentially significant environmental impacts." EPA cited several concerns, from greenhouse gases to pipeline safety, and said the draft environmental statement should be revised and opened again for public comment. Keystone XL would move oil from Alberta, Canada, down through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and then from Oklahoma to the Gulfof Mexico. Other sections of the Keystone network have been approved to move oil from Canada across several states, including Kansas and Missouri.

HOUSTON (AP) - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by ten this week to 1,567. Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 964 rigs were exploring for natural gas and 592 for oil. Eleven were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago this week, the rig count stood at 916. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Pennsylvania gained five, Colorado gained four and North Dakota gained two. Alaska, Arkansas and West Virginia each gained one. Louisiana and Texas each lost two and Oklahoma and Wyoming each lost one. California and New Mexico remain unchanged. The rig count tally peaked at 4,530 in 1981, during the height of the oil boom. The industry posted a record low of 488 in 1999.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - More than 4,400 nonprofit organizations in Oklahoma are at risk of losing their tax-exempt status. The Internal Revenue Service said Monday that exemptions for 4,425 organizations are in danger because they failed to file tax returns for the past three years. The IRS is giving the organizations until Oct. 15 to file the returns in order to comply with the law and retain their tax exemptions. The returns are required as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 in which all charities except churches and church-related groups must file tax returns starting in 2007. IRS spokesman David Stell says the filing is to confirm to the IRS that the organization still exists.

The U.S. Senate has once again failed to pass legislation to settle a class-action lawsuit over the Interior Department's management of funds held in trust for Native Americans. Senators stripped the 3.4 billion dollar settlement out of a bill funding the president's troop surge in Afghanistan. The settlement calls for the Interior Department to distribute the money to more than 300,000 Indians, including members of the Osage Tribe in Oklahoma.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded more than $4.6 million in housing assistance to Oklahoma for the elderly and those with disabilities. HUD officials said Monday that $2.24 million will go to Native American Housing Services in Shawnee; $1.34 million will go to Central Oklahoma Community Action in Seminole; $499,700 was awarded to Kibois Community Action Foundation and Quality Enterprises of Lawton will receive $534,700. HUD announced that more than $550 million in grants will go to 169 projects in 46 states.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The U.S. House has passed a bill by Rep. Dan Boren that would transfer 18 acres of land at the Fountainhead Resort in Eufaula to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The House voted 421-1 Wednesday for the bill, which now heads to the Senate. The land to be transferred now is owned by the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers and would be placed into trust for the Okmulgee-based tribe. The Creek Nation bought the Fountainhead Lodge and 48 surrounding acres in 2005, but a survey later determined that 18 acres was owned by the Corps of Engineers. The tribe plans to build a casino resort on the Fountainhead property. The bill by Boren, D-Okla., would require that the tribe pay fair market value for the 18 acres as well as the costs associated with placing the land into trust.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma is among those on the Judiciary Committee who will be asking questions as confirmation hearings start today for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. The 62-year-old Republican scored a 100 percent approval rating last year from the American Conservative Union and tends to focus on subjects like abortion and gun rights.But Coburn has served notice this year that he is concerned with Kagan's focus on international law during her career, from Harvard to the solicitor general's office. Coburn wrote on his website that he believes "significant questions" have been raised about whether Kagan plans to use foreign law if she is confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. PBS NewsHour gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Kagan Confirmation Hearings begins at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, June 28 on OETA OKLA and on the OETA website, and will continue each day this week.

Agriculture producers are voicing concerns about a new Environmental Protection Agency "clean air" policy, fearing it will stiffle economic growth. As part of the proposed National Ambient Air Quality Standards, companies must regulate the amount of contaminants released into the air. Oklahoma Farm Bureau Officials say the standards would be impossible to meet in drier regions of the state where it's difficult to control dust.

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Food safety advocates are pushing the U.S. government to step up efforts to monitor less common E. coli strains. The food industry and government regulators have focused for years on finding the most virulent strain, which every year sickens thousands of people. But they don't regularly test for six less common strains that can cause illnesses equally as serious. Most recently, two dozen illnesses in four states were tied this spring to bagged romaine lettuce contaminated by an uncommon E. coli strain. Industry officials say tests aren't available for widespread monitoring of those less common strains. But a Seattle law firm known for food-illness lawsuits has petitioned the USDA to list them as adulterants in meat, requiring regular screening.

LAWTON, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma wheat harvest is starting in and producers say all is well except for the prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday reported prices from $2.88 per bushel in Lawton to $3.35 in Hobart. That's down from $3.59 in Lawton and $3.74 in Hobart last week. Agriculture analysts say the prices are due to an overabundance of supply leftover from last year and a shaky global market. Eldorado Farmers Co-op Association general manager Barney Trammell says some farmers are storing their wheat instead of selling it in hopes the prices will rise. Mark Hodges - the director of the private wheat marketing organization Plains Grains Inc. in Stillwater - says wheat farmers need at least $4.50 per bushel to break even.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is asking for help in solving a string of cattle thefts. Capt. Jerry Flowers with the Agriculture Department agent said Tuesday the agency has received reports of 321 head of cattle being stolen since March. Flowers says in Woodward County, a ranch hand interrupted thieves loading cattle into a trailer and traded gunfire with one of the suspects. The truck was described as a red Chevrolet with chrome-type wheels. It was pulling a white Titan Gooseneck stock trailer with Kansas tags. Scott Dewald of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association says a reward of up to $10,000 may be paid for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone stealing cattle from one of its members.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A recall of romaine lettuce that has sickened students with E. coli poisoning is expanding as the government tries to find out where the contamination occurred. A food distributor in Moore, Okla., recalled romaine lettuce on Monday that came from the same farm in Yuma, Ariz., that grew lettuce that sickened students in Michigan, Ohio and New York. Ohio-based Freshway Foods announced a widespread recall of romaine lettuce last week related to those outbreaks.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Construction on the new practice facility for the Thunder won't be finished before the NBA team starts its third season in Oklahoma City. Plans had called for the $14.5 million facility to open in late September when the team's training camp begins, but construction delays now mean the Thunder Training Center won't be ready for use until November or December. Project manager John Russell says the delays are partially due to construction add-ons but mostly because of weather issues, including heavy snowfall during the winter, which resulted in the loss of more than 50 construction days. The Thunder now has a temporary practice facility in far north Oklahoma City. Team officials don't know if they'll move when the new facility is finished or wait until after next season to do so.

ARDMORE, Okla. (AP) - The president of the University of Oklahoma says his school and Texas A&M both received invitations to join the Southeastern Conference during the last round of conference realignment. Oklahoma ended up remaining in the Big 12. University president David Boren said Wednesday that the Sooners had offers from both the SEC and the Pac-10. Boren says the Pac-10 offer was for five Big 12 schools - Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech - to join as a group. He says the SEC extended offers only to Oklahoma and Texas A&M, both of which opted to stay in a slimmed-down Big 12 after Colorado left for the Pac-10 and Nebraska left for the Big Ten. Boren says because the SEC offer didn't include Oklahoma State and Texas, he didn't consider it a good option. SEC spokesman Craig Pinkerton says he "is not in a position to comment" on what Boren said.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The cover of EA Sports' new NBA video game features Kevin Durant on the cover in a white Oklahoma City Thunder jersey. Durant hopes he'll be signed up to wear that jersey for a long time. The NBA's scoring champion from last season will get the opportunity to negotiate an extension with the Thunder on July 1 and he said Tuesday that "hopefully something gets done." Durant was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 draft and won the Rookie of the Year award. Last season, he was selected as an All-Star for the first time and averaged 30.1 points to become the youngest player to lead the league in scoring. Durant is signed with the Thunder through next season under his  original rookie contract.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Texas isn't the only Big 12 school looking into whether it should start its own TV network. Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said Tuesday that the Sooners are also interested in the possibility. He says the school has already invested $3 million in a high-definition video facility on campus. He says the school doesn't have a time frame for the project and is still deciding how the network would be made available to customers and fans. He says research suggests the network could be a success. Texas agreed to stay in the Big 12 this week in part after getting assurances that it retains local media rights, including the possibility of a Longhorns network.

SULPHUR, Okla. (AP) - The Chickasaw Nation and the National Park Service are negotiating for the tribe to begin managing the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Tribal administrator of the Division of Self-Governance says the Chickasaws have a historic relationship with the area in southern Oklahoma. Administrator Tom John adds that the negotiations are to manage the area - not to take ownership of the property. John says the tribe's plan would be to expand existing historic, cultural and recreational activities. The area is in the Arbuckle Mountains and includes streams,lakes, springs and valleys and offers boating, fishing, hunting and camping.  

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) - One of the state's oldest buildings now will be used as a museum operated by the Cherokee Nation. Tribal officials including Cherokee Chief Chad Smith gathered Wednesday to dedicate the Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum. The building was built in 1844 and the tribe says it is Oklahoma's oldest public building. Smith says the building was the site of the first sessions of the Cherokee National Supreme Court more than 165 years ago. The museum will feature exhibits focusing on the Cherokee judicial system, the Cherokee Advocate and Cherokee Phoenix newspapers and the Cherokee language. The tribe's preservation projects in recent years have included the building, Ross Cemetery, the Cherokee National Capitol Building and Cherokee National Prison. All are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state Tourism and Recreation Commission has voted to tear down part of the lodge at Roman Nose State Park near Watonga. The commissioners voted to demolish the 27-room south wing of the lodge. The wing has been closed since rains from Tropical Storm Erin hit Blaine County in August 2007. Crews sent to repair the water damage found mold and evidence that the lodge is eroding from its footing. The other part of the lodge including the restaurant, meeting rooms and 20 lodge rooms will remain intact.