Local & Regional

By AP

Tushka, OK – Tushka family struggles with tornado aftermath

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A Tushka woman says her family is struggling in the aftermath of a tornado that killed two women but will survive.

Kimberly Gabriel said Saturday that there is no electricity to her home and she, her husband and 15-year-old daughter are staying at a hotel in nearby Atoka.

She said her home still has walls standing and its roof is intact but the windows are broken and nearly everything inside is wet.

By KWGS News

Tulsa, OK – Ground is broken for a brand new Tulsa bridge over the Arkansas River.

The bridge at Interstate 244 will be a double-decker bridge, the first of its kind in Oklahoma. The bridge will have motor traffic on one deck with rail and pedestrian traffic available on another deck.

By AP

Tushka, OK – Okla. governor plans tour of tornado-ravaged area

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Gov. Mary Fallin is heading to a small southeast Oklahoma town where a tornado left two dead and destroyed homes, businesses and the local school.

A Fallin spokesman says she'll travel to Tushka (TUHS'-kuh) on Friday afternoon after she makes a scheduled visit to Fort Sill. Fallin will fly in an Oklahoma National Guard Blackhawk helicopter to tour the damage and meet with local residents.

By AP

Oklahoma City, OK – Fallin turns down insurance exchange federal grant

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Gov. Mary Fallin says she will reject a $54 million federal grant to create a health insurance exchange for uninsured Oklahomans and pay for it instead with state and private money.

Fallin made the announcement Thursday, two weeks after Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said members of the Senate objected to the grant. Bingman says taking the money would appear to be a step toward complying with the new federal health care law.

By AP

Tushka, OK – 2 people killed as storms tear through Oklahoma

TUSHKA, Okla. (AP) Authorities have confirmed that who people have been killed after a tornado ripped through the tiny southeastern Oklahoma town.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management says the state medical examiner's office confirmed both deaths in Tushka. More than two dozen other people were hurt.

By John Durkee

Tulsa, OK – Hear this morning's Top Local Stories from 89.5/KWGS:

By KWGS News

Tulsa, OK – THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

MUCH OF THE EASTERN HALF OF OKLAHOMA
PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL/NORTHEASTERN TEXAS

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 230 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.

...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...

DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE
POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

By Charlie Spears

Tulsa, OK – A clerk is shot after a failed robbery attempt last night at Popeye's Chicken near Pine and Peoria.
Tulsa Police officer Leland Ashley says a man entered through the back door while the crew was cleaning and shot one of the clerks after she sprayed him with a hose.
The man fled the scene without taking any money. No other employees were injured.

By John Durkee

Tulsa, OK – Hear a recap of this morning's Top Local Stories from KWGS:

By AP

Tulsa, OK – Forum will discuss Tulsa school consolidation plan

TULSA, Okla. (AP) The second of four community forums designed to discuss plans to consolidate Tulsa Public Schools is expected to draw parents and city leaders.

Thursday's meeting at Foster Middle School is part of the cash-strapped district's Project Schoolhouse, a massive review of the efficiency and effectiveness of every one of the 90 schools Tulsa operates.