Local & Regional

By KWGS News/National Weather Service

Tulsa, OK – URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
336 AM CDT SUN AUG 8 2010

ARZ019-020-029-OKZ060-061-064-066-067-070-072-082130-
/O.CON.KTSA.EH.W.0004.100808T1200Z-100811T0000Z/
CRAWFORD-FRANKLIN-SEBASTIAN-TULSA-ROGERS-CREEK-OKMULGEE-WAGONER-
MUSKOGEE-SEQUOYAH-
336 AM CDT SUN AUG 8 2010

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING
TO 7 PM CDT TUESDAY...

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS IN EFFECT...

By KWGS News

Ramona. OK – Highway 75 is reopen in all directions at Ramona. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation closed the roadway last Monday because the highway buckled. The damage was blamed on the intense heat.

Traffic has been diverted onto the shoulders of the Highway while repairs were made. O-DOT announced late Saturday that the repair work has been finished.

By KWGS News

Wagoner, OK – One person is dead after a drowning at Fort Gibson Lake. The Oklahoma Lake Patrol says it happened Saturday afternoon at the Rocky Point Recreational area.

The Patrol says 47-year-old Michael Smith of Locust Grove was fishing in a remote area of the lake when he decided to jump into the water to cool off. A fishing companion says he did not resurface.

His body was recovered with the help of the White Horn Cove First Responders and taken the Tulsa Medical Examiner's Office.

By Associated Press

Tulsa, OK – Okla's tax free weekend for back-to-school

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) While shoppers flocked some malls for Oklahoma's back-to-school tax-free weekend, other stores reported no increase in business.

The state suspends taxes on certain items costing less than $100 each for three days in an effort to help families save on back-to-school items. The tax-free weekend began Friday and runs through Sunday.

State tax officials say shoppers saved $6.8 million in sales taxes last year.

By Associated Press

Oklahoma City, OK – Askins seeks centrist ground in Okla. gov. race

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) After winning the Democratic Party's nomination for governor, Lt. Gov. Jari Askins declared she wanted to be the candidate for "the average Oklahoman" and staked a claim in the middle of the political spectrum.

By Associated Press

Tulsa, OK – Woman sues Tulsa, officers under investigation

TULSA, Okla. (AP) A woman involved in an investigation into alleged police corruption in Tulsa is suing the city and two law officers.

An attorney for Larita Barnes filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Tulsa. It claims undercover officer Jeff Henderson and former U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Brandon McFadden fabricated a May 2007 drug buy for which Barnes and her father were convicted and sentenced to prison.

By Associated Press

Enid, OK – Okla police prevent tanker-train crash, explosion

ENID, Okla. (AP) Two Enid police officers were able to move a stalled fuel tanker truck off a set of railroad tracks with only seconds to spare before a train reached the crossing.

Detective Robin Bench and Officer Ryan Fuxa got the call Thursday evening and rushed to the scene near Vance Air Force Base.

They found a tanker with 8,000 gallons of jet fuel on the tracks while a locomotive was pulling a string of cars less than a mile away.

By Associated Press

Tulsa, OK – Judge denies release for 2 charged Okla officers

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Two Tulsa police officers charged in a corruption scandal have lost a bid to be freed from jail while they await trial.

U.S. District Judge Bruce Black on Friday turned away an attempt by Jeff Henderson and Bill Yelton to overturn a magistrate judge's decision to keep them locked up.

Black said there would be no way to "assure the public safety" if Henderson and Yelton were freed.

By Associated Press

Denver, CO – Okla. City bomber says he was force fed

DENVER (AP) Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols says prison officials inserted IVs into his veins and force fed him following hunger strikes this year.

Nichols recently filed a handwritten document in a lawsuit filed against Supermax prison officials over the lack of whole grains, unpeeled fruit, and fewer refined foods in his diet. He said he has gone through three hunger strikes since February.

By Associated Press

Oklahoma City, OK – Russian grain export ban helps Okla. wheat farmers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma wheat farmers who held onto their grain rather than selling it during the recent harvest are benefiting from Russia's ban on grain exports.

Russian has banned exports of its wheat because of severe drought and wildfires that destroyed about 20 percent of the crop. The ban means countries in Africa and the Middle East are now looking elsewhere for wheat.