Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Governor Mary Fallin has tapped a Tulsa woman to advise her on Native American affairs.

Fallin announced Tuesday that Jacque Secondine Hensley will be her Native American liaison, an executive branch position created when the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission was eliminated in 2011.

Hensley has a bachelor's degree in education from Oklahoma State University and a master's degree in counseling and psychology from the University of Tulsa.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Members of Oklahoma's U.S. House delegation, including the lone Democrat, have voted for a resolution to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Congressman Dan Boren joined fellow U.S. Representatives Tom Cole, James Lankford, Frank Lucas and John Sullivan, all Republicans, in passing HR 6079, which would repeal the law in its entirety. Boren was among five U.S. House Democrats who voted for the resolution on Wednesday.

Some 185 House members voted against the measure.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — As extreme drought and scorching heat creep back into the Southern Plains, ranchers and state foresters fear a repeat of last summer's tinderbox conditions that turned pastures into wasteland, sparked hundreds of wildfires and ravaged countless acres of crops.

The region is emerging from a blistering June where temperatures reached 112 degrees in the Oklahoma towns of Buffalo and Freedom and 106 degrees in Harrison and Russellville in Arkansas.

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) — The two Republicans vying for the 2nd Congressional District nomination will meet next week for a debate.

Markwayne Mullin and George Faught are scheduled to debate Monday at Rogers State University in Claremore. The event is sponsored by RSU-TV, the Claremore Daily Progress, the Claremore Chamber of Commerce and the RSU Department of Communications.

The event will be broadcast on RSU-TV and will be streamed live at www.rsupublictv.org .

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (AP) — A Sperry man has been ordered to stand trial on a first-degree manslaughter charge in the death of a transportation worker.

Special Judge John Gerkin scheduled a July 25 formal arraignment for Deven Franklin on Tuesday after determining there was enough evidence for Franklin to be bound over for trial. Franklin also is charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Franklin is accused in the Nov. 30 death of 42-year-old Ira Henderson.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — State finance officials say Oklahoma is expected to make a record $306 million deposit into its Rainy Day Fund this week after the final revenue figures from the 2012 fiscal year are totaled.

But figures released Tuesday by the Office of State Finance showed collections to the state's general revenue fund in June were down by about $45 million compared to June 2011. The decline is mostly because of a nearly 60 percent drop in tax collections on oil and natural gas production.

DALLAS (AP) — A labor union says it has tentative contract agreements that would grant pay raises for mechanics and other ground workers at American Airlines.

The Transport Workers Union says a ratification vote will end in August before a federal bankruptcy court judge rules on whether American can impose its own terms for pay and benefits. The contract proposal calls for a 3% increase in pay. That is the same pay-hike offered to the pilot’s union.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two Republican candidates seeking an open congressional seat in eastern Oklahoma are targeting each other in a dispute over whether one of them should be held accountable for remarks made about health care issues at a candidate forum last year.

A television advertisement by state Rep. George Faught's campaign includes a clip of businessman Markwayne Mullin saying he supported a "single-payer, single-pay system" when it comes to medical care.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A former State Treasurer's Office employee has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for participating in a scheme to steal money from the unclaimed property fund.

An Oklahoma County District judge also gave ex-internal auditor LaTisha Reid 16 years of probation and ordered her to pay $19,101 in restitution Monday.

The multicounty grand jury indicted Reid on 24 counts in September, alleging she created fraudulent court documents and death certificates using state computers in order to obtain money from Oklahoma's unclaimed property fund.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The number of Oklahoma counties under a county burn ban is growing.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture's website, 21 counties were under a ban as of late Monday.

Just before the Independence Day holiday, only two counties — Beaver and LeFlore — were under county burn bans. Since then, Tulsa County officials have issued a burn ban, and Comanche, McIntosh, Pittsburg and Wagoner are among the counties that joined the list this week.