Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines and US Airways will merge and create the world's biggestairline. The boards of both companies approved the merger late Wednesday, according to three people close to the situation.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma Senate committee has approved a measure to improve the care given to Oklahoma National Guard members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Brian Crain, says many guard members with post-traumatic stress disorder don't get proper treatment. His bill, passed Wednesday by the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, calls for training for members' caregivers on treating PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Three employees of a Tulsa megachurch have waived their right to a jury trial on misdemeanor charges that they did not promptly report the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

Meanwhile, attorneys representing John and Charica Daugherty — the son and daughter-in-law of the head pastor of Victory Christian Center — say their clients will go to trial on the same charges.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A former Tulsa Public Schools athletic director accused of stealing more than $5,000 from the district has waived her right to have her case presented to a federal grand jury.

Stephanie Spring was charged last month with misapplication of federal funds. Prosecutors allege that Spring deposited more than $5,000 belonging to the school into her personal bank account. Prosecutors say the money should have been deposited in the district's general fund.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers has begun releasing water from Canton Lake in northwestern Oklahoma to help replenish the drinking water supply in Oklahoma City.

Debbie Ragan, a spokeswoman for the city's utilities department, says the release began Wednesday morning. Ragan says 30,000 acre-feet of water will be released into the North Canadian River and captured in Lake Hefner to replenish the drinking water supply that serves about 1.2 million people. It should take about two weeks for the water to reach Oklahoma City.

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says authorities have recaptured an inmate who escaped a prison in Muskogee County.

Authorities say prison officials found 40-year-old Dave O'Malley on Sunday night on a road near the Jess Dunn Correctional Facility in Taft. He had last been seen at the prison at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.

O'Malley was convicted of burglary and robbery in Tulsa County. Authorities say he wasn't scheduled for release until 2022.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tulsa police have arrested a man on a first-degree murder complaint for a stabbing death.

Authorities say 55-year-old Dennis Ray Daney was arrested Friday after 31-year-old Justin Todd was killed.

The incident occurred at about 5 p.m. Todd was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour after he was stabbed.

The Tulsa World reports (http://is.gd/jCeEMo ) Daney has a number of convictions out of Pittsburg County, including possession of methamphetamine, assaulting a police officer and DWI.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Julie Bays has been named the new chief of the attorney general's public protection unit.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt made the announcement Friday. Bays replaces Tom Bates, who was named first assistant attorney general in October.

PAWHUSKA, Okla. (AP) — Officials say they're relieved no artifacts were damaged after a fire broke out at the Osage County Historical Society Museum in Pawhuska.

Authorities say the fire was reported early Wednesday. Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames, though the blaze caused extensive smoke damage in the building.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma is now the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Inhofe announced Friday that he was unanimously elected to the post by his Republican colleagues on the panel. He takes over the position previously held by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who was limited to six years in the role.

Since Democrats control the U.S. Senate, the panel is chaired by Michigan Democrat Carl Levin. Levin has served in the Senate since 1979.