Local & Regional

 A recently released report says Oklahoma has the eighth-highest adult obesity rate in the nation.

A report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation says almost 34 percent of adults in the state are obese.

Louisiana is ranked number one, while West Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama tied for second place. Arkansas is ranked number six.

The rankings are based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

 The Cherokee Nation says it plans to purchase Sequoyah's Cabin and the more than 200 surrounding acres from the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Sequoyah is one of the most well-known Cherokee historical figures, having developed the Cherokee syllabary, or alphabet.

Sequoyah was born in Tennessee about 1778 and migrated to what is now Oklahoma in about 1818. The one-room log cabin was built in 1829.

The cabin and surrounding acres were bought by the historical society in 1936 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's two-term Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones says he is strongly considering running for state treasurer in 2018.

The Republican from Cache said Friday he hasn't made a final decision, but plans to do so after the 2016 general election.

Both Jones and Oklahoma Treasurer Ken Miller are term-limited in 2018.

Jones is a cattle rancher, a certified public accountant and the former chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party. He was elected in 2010 as part of a Republican sweep of every statewide elected office on the ballot.

Saturday morning's sleep-in slumber was rattled awake by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake. It is tied for the strongest in Oklahoma's modern history. The quake was centered near Pawnee. 

Police in Pawnee report some windows were broken and homes sustained damage to the the outside facade. There have been no reports of injuries.

The quake struck just after 7 a.m on Saturday morning. It was nearly four miles deep. 

Tulsa's outgoing Mayor is not pleased with the City Council. Mayor Dewey Bartlett believes the council is holding up his appointments to city authorities, boards and commissions.

He feels they are stalling until G.T. Bynum takes over the mayor's office in December. He says that is not fair to the people who have volunteered to serve the city.  About 20 appointments to various ABC's have been placed on hold.

Tulsa investigators are looking for answers after the body of an assisted-living center resident was found on a bus.

The Tulsa World reports that 84-year-old Mary Schlecht was found dead Sunday evening inside a bus that was parked in the Brookdale Tulsa Midtown facility's lot.

The day after Labor Day, work begins on one of the busiest intersections in Broken Arrow. Some lanes will be closed, but Krista Flasch with the city of Broken Arrow says the improvements at Aspen (145th East Avenue) and Kenosha (71st Street) are badly needed. The intersection hasn’t been upgraded to meet increased traffic in years.

Only a single lane of traffic in all four directions will be open and no left turns will be allowed. The work should take about 45 days. You are asked to plan extra time or use an alternate route.

Police in Tulsa say a 26-year-old man has died after being shot at a home on the city's west side and the 18-year-old son of the victim's girlfriend is wanted for questioning.

Sgt. Dave Walker says the victim was shot Thursday night and died later at a hospital. His name has not been released.

Walker says the victim and his 35-year-old girlfriend had argued earlier Thursday night and the woman's son — Malik Rogers — took a gun and left the home, then returned a short time later and fought with the victim before shooting him once in the chest.

 Leaders from some of Oklahoma's churches, nonprofits and Native American tribes are among those calling for changes to the state's payday loan industry that they say preys on low-income residents and keeps them trapped in a cycle of debt.

The nonprofit group Voices Organized for Civic Engagement held a news conference Thursday also urging Oklahomans to support proposed federal rules that would impose new restrictions on the industry.

 No special session of the Oklahoma Legislature will be held after Gov. Mary Fallin was unable to reach agreement with lawmakers on a plan for a teacher pay raise and the redistribution of $140 million in surplus revenue to targeted agencies.

Collision prevention systems will soon be on all Tulsa Transit buses, but it’s costing a bit more than expected.

There are 21 fixed-route buses left to install Mobileye systems on. This week’s transit board agenda asked them to approve $12,000 for the work, but they approved up to $33,000.

Tulsa Transit General Manager Bill Cartwright said the supplier’s installation estimate was below the installer’s actual rate.

Two months into the typical season, the first cases of West Nile virus are reported in humans in Tulsa County. While Zika is getting most of the publicity nationwide, West Nile remains a much bigger threat in Oklahoma and this area of the state. Kaitlin Snider is with the Tulsa Health Department and she says while there are no cases of Zika being spread by native mosquitoes in Oklahoma, the same isn’t true for West Nile. For the past several years mosquitoes in the state have infected people with cases of West Nile virus.

  The AMC Southroads Theater is bringing a few of Gene Wilder's most beloved films back to theaters this weekend.

The theater chain announced Thursday that audiences can catch "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Blazing Saddles" this Saturday and Sunday evening at 55 participating AMC locations, nationwide. The movies will be shown in Tulsa on Saturday and Sunday.

Wilder died Sunday at age 83 of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Fans worldwide have mourned since the news broke Monday.

State regulators say more than 450,000 gallons of gasoline containing three times the acceptable level of ethanol was delivered to retailers across the Oklahoma City metropolitan area over the last week.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission reported Tuesday it notified by Magellan Midstream Partners that the problem resulted from an equipment failure at its Oklahoma City fuel distribution terminal.

If you purchased gasoline, and are having problems, you are asked to call Magellan Midstream direct. 

An Oklahoma congressional candidate who demanded a recount after he lost a primary runoff election by just 40 votes has dropped his fight.

Oklahoma election officials say Democrat Tom Guild asked that the recount be stopped Wednesday after he lost three votes during a partial recount in his party's runoff for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District.

That means former state Sen. Al McAffrey will be the Democrat running in the heavily Republican district in November.

An Oklahoma police department is investigating after an officer used pepper spray to subdue an 84-year-old woman in her home.

Footage from a police body camera shows an officer using the spray after Geneva Smith cursed at officers and refused orders to get down. Officers had kicked in her door looking for her son.

The video was released by the Muskogee Police Department. Spokesman Sgt. Ty Pickering says at least eight officers are part of an internal investigation into the Aug. 7 incident. All have returned to duty.

 Figures from a survey of supply managers in nine Midwest and Plains states have risen slightly but still suggest slow or no economic growth ahead.

A report issued Thursday says the Mid-American Business Conditions index inched up to 47.8 in August from 47.6 in July.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says he expects the regional economy to underperform the national economy because of the region's heavy dependence on manufacturers linked to the weak sectors of agriculture and energy.

AAA expects 411,000 Oklahomans to travel this Labor Day 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The AAA says about 411,000 Oklahomans are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home this Labor Day weekend. That's the highest number of Labor Day travelers in the state in eight years.

AAA Oklahoma spokesman Chuck Mai says more than 95 percent of Oklahoma travelers will drive to their holiday destinations this year.

Tulsa Police hope they’ll have new tools soon to fight illegal scrap metal sales.

The problem isn’t with well-known dealers, which are often connected to steel corporations.

"They really have no interest in the illegal purchase of that kind of material to shut down their billion-dollar business," said TPD Cpl. Jason Muse. "What we're talking about when we talk about the illegal guys are just the mom-and-pop stores that pop up in the metro area or the people who will buy metal illegally and then try to go resell it."

Helmerich Park’s designation under new Arkansas River corridor zoning regulations is being reviewed.

City councilors are partly following a planning commission recommendation from two weeks ago to take the park out of the river design overlay and reconsider its RDO-2 designation, which allows some development. Rather than take out the entire parcel Helmerich Park sits on as the commission recommended, councilors are isolating the park amenities and some adjacent land.

Anna America is among those wanting it to have the RDO-1, or parks, designation.

County leaders would like to find ways to save more money at the financially strapped Tulsa jail. Commissioner Ron Peters is requesting a study to form a strategic energy and maintenance program to save dollars on utility bills. He believes that could cut costs at the lockup.

One suggestion is to investigate a new power plant for both the jail and the yet to be built Family Justice Center. It could possibly also serve the County Annex. Peters has no estimate yet on how much money could be saved through energy improvements, but believes it could be substantial.

Oklahoma U.S. Senator James Lankford spends his day in Green Country. The Republican lawmaker started off his day auto manufacturing company in Broken Arrow.  He toured PACCAR Winch, a global company that designs and manufactures high-quality light, medium and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates.

A state investigation into reported misconduct within the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office will soon be handed off to prosecutors.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown says the report will be forwarded to the Okmulgee County District Attorney's Office for review and possible charges.

The Tulsa World reports that the OSBI had been waiting on the outcome of former Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz's indictment on two misdemeanor charges.

An Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper is facing child abuse charges in Tulsa District Court. Records show Trooper John Michael Moore was arrested by Broken Arrow Police and booked into the Tulsa Jail yesterday.

Moore is 26 years-old.  He is accused of spanking his girlfriend's son so hard that bruises were left on the child. He allegedly used a Frisbe to spank the child. 

A woman is dead after being hit by a car on Highway 11 near Tulsa's International Airport.

Tulsa Police report 34-year-old Amanda Dooley,  of Owasso,  was looking for her cell phone, which had been tossed out of the car, when she was struck by another vehicle last night around 10:30.

She was rushed to the hospital, but later died.  Charges against the driver, who struck her, are not expected.