Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Treasurer Ken Miller says Oklahoma's economy is continuing to improve, but the pace slowed both last month and in 2012.

Miller released revenue figures Thursday that show overall receipts in December exceeded those from the same month in 2011 by 1.5 percent. That marks the eighth time in 2012 where monthly collections outpaced those from the same month of the prior year.

JENKS, Okla. (AP) — A prosecutor has filed first-degree murder and burglary charges against a 14-year-old boy in the shooting death of a 47-year-old Nevada woman who was killed while visiting her parents in Oklahoma.The teen has been identified in court papers as Joshua Mooney.

Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris filed the charges Thursday in Tulsa County District Court, indicating that the teen will be prosecuted as an adult.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — U.S. Rep. Tom Cole has been appointed by House Speaker John Boehner to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee.

Cole says his appointment was approved Wednesday night by the House Republican Conference.

The nine Republican members on the panel are personally selected by the speaker and is part of the House leadership. The committee is the first to consider all House measures and works with the speaker and majority leader to schedule bills for debate.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Authorities say a man who was killed by his brother two days after Christmas had shown signs of violence and his mother had filed a protective order against him.

Police say 40-year-old Michael Todd Hall was shot and killed Dec. 27 as he armed himself with a knife and began to attack his mother. Police said Wednesday that Hall's mother filed a protective order and told police her son had become increasingly violent.

SEMINOLE, Okla. (AP) — Four people are hurt after a Mediflight helicopter smacked the ground during an emergency landing in a field in Seminole.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the helicopter's pilot, a nurse and two medics were injured Wednesday when it landed hard near Seminole's airport.

CATOOSA, Okla. (AP) — The Tulsa Port of Catoosa surpassed its highest annual shipping total in history in November with one month left to go in 2012.

The port says that by the end of November, more than 2.5 million tons of water-borne cargo had shipped through the port that utilizes the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. That exceeded the 2.4 million tons shipped in 1998 and was more than last year's total of 2.1 million tons.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Arraignment is scheduled for a 24-year-old man charged with shooting into a crowded Tulsa plaza and wounding a sheriff's deputy and a bystander.

Andrew Dennehy is scheduled for district court arraignment Thursday afternoon.

Dennehy faces shooting with intent to kill and firearms charges. His family and attorney say he's a paranoid schizophrenic plagued by bizarre thoughts and delusions. Prosecutors say he's bluffing and understands the charges against him.

Patti Page, who made "Tennessee Waltz" the third best-selling recording ever, has died. She was 85.

The singer who was born in Claremore and grew up in Tulsa died on New Year's Day in Encinitas, Calif., according to her manager. She graduated from Tulsa Webster High School. She got her start and name from the "Page Milk Program" that aired on Tulsa Radio Station, KTUL in the 1940s.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly economic index for nine Midwest and Plains states rose again last month but still suggests an economic slump will continue over the next three to six months.

The Mid-America Business Conditions index hit 49.5 in December, up from November's 48.0 and October's 46.5.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says he's expecting only small regional increases in the job market.

Okla. inmate dies of suspected natural causes

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Authorities say a death-row inmate at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary has died of apparent natural causes.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections says 64-year-old Karl Myers was found unresponsive Friday in the medical unit at the prison in McAlester. The department says Myers pronounced dead a short time later.

Tulsa television station KOTV reports that Myers was sentenced to death for the 1996 killing of Cindy Marzano of Broken Arrow.