Local & Regional

Authorities say a 28-year-old Tulsa woman was killed after crashing her motorcycle in northern Oklahoma on Memorial Day.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the wreck happened Monday afternoon on a county road near Avant, about 25 miles north of Tulsa. According to a preliminary report, Kristen O'Donnell was killed after crashing into a culvert.

A preliminary report says O'Donnell was pinned beneath the motorcycle for an unknown amount of time before a passer-by stopped to pull the vehicle off her. O'Donnell was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections says an escape from a state prison has been recaptured in California. The department said in a news release Tuesday that 27-year-old Rhodrick Walden was found in Los Angeles after the U.S. Marshal's Metro Fugitive Task Force in Oklahoma City received a tip regarding his location. The DOC said previously that Walden was an inmate at the medium security Jackie Brannon Correctional Center in McAlester when he apparently walked away from a work crew last week.

State officials are urging caution when Oklahomans visit waterways in eastern Oklahoma this week.

The Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission says recent heavy rainfall in the region has swelled river levels in the region.

The agency says fallen trees and debris have accumulated along the Illinois River following flooding on April 30th, posing navigational hazards to boaters and swimmers.

No one is hurt as a Kendall-Whittier area home goes up in flames this morning. The house was near 5th and Yorktown. 

Fire officials say flames were through the roof when fire fighters rolled to the scene about 4:30 this morning. The home was apparently being remodeled. It is most likely a loss now. 

No word at this point on the cause.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt says the agency is looking for the source of pollution at a contaminated creek in Osage County.

Pruitt, Oklahoma's former attorney general, visited the contaminated Bird Creek Friday to discuss the agency's efforts to determine the source of the pollution and correct it.

The Tulsa World reports that saltwater contamination was first reported in August 2016 when an oily sheen appeared on North Bird Creek along with dead fish and turtles a few miles from the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.

President Donald Trump expressed the nation's "boundless" gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice paid by Americans defending the United States, dedicating his first Memorial Day address as commander in chief to a top Cabinet secretary and two other families who lost loved ones.

Meet Kayla Jefferies. She is a 25-year-old doing hard time at the Mabel Basset prison near Oklahoma City. She flunked out of drug court and was sent to prison for dealing drugs.

But now, she is getting a second chance behind the prison walls. She is taking part in a new class at the prison that teaches cosmetology to the inmates.

The program gives the inmates a chance to learn a useable skill. It is just like attending any other beauty college. When she graduates from the program, she will be given a chance to take the state cosmetology test and get a license. 

Despite high water and many closed campgrounds, Oklahoma's lakes and recreation areas a busy this holiday weekend.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warns of submerged objects in the lakes. Objects like stumps and an picnic tables. There is also a lot of floating debris from the recent floods.

The park rangers and the Oklahoma Lake Patrol are out in force watching for violators of lake laws.

Authorities in Bartlesville have identified the victims of an apparent murder-suicide involving a husband and wife. Bartlesville Police Capt. Jay Hastings says officers received a call about 2:15 p.m. Saturday from a relative who witnessed the shooting at a Bartlesville residence. Police responded and found the bodies of two adults. On Sunday, officials identified the couple as 44-year-old James Delbert Tygart and his wife, 42-year-old Janie Marie Tygart.

A woman is hospitalized in critical condition after a strange traffic stop overnight involving the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The OHP says a trooper had stopped a woman on I-44 near 161st Street for intoxicated driving.

The trooper was in the process of taking the woman to the Roger's County Jail at Claremore when he noticed she  was moving around in the back of the car. He pulled over and was going to tighten the seatbelts when the woman suddenly jumped from the patrol car. She leaped off the 193rd Street and I-44 bridge, near the Hardrock Casino.

Hundreds of utility customers are without power across Oklahoma following severe storms that brought strong winds and torrential rain to the state. Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. says more than 1,200 customers were without power early Sunday including more than 500 in Woodward in northwestern Oklahoma and 400 in Ringling in the southern part of the state. Public Service Company of Oklahoma says about 600 of its customers are without power in parts of its service area in southeastern Oklahoma.

Authorities in Pryor say a pedestrian has died after being struck by a freight train.

The incident occurred about 10:45 a.m. Sunday in the northeastern Oklahoma city. Witnesses say the unidentified man was struck by a train at a crossing in the city.

A medical helicopter and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers responded to the scene. Assistant Police Chief James Willyard says a middle-aged man was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries.

Police in Bartlesville are investigating what appears to be a holiday weekend murder-suicide.

Authorities say a man and woman were found dead inside a home in the 1400-block of west Maple. It appears the man killed his wife and then himself.

The discovery was made by the woman's 15-year-old son.

The outdoor concerts at Rocklahoma resume on Sunday after severe storms and lightning stopped the show Saturday night.  30,000 people were told to leave the stage area. The multi-day event takes place north of Pryor in Mayes County.

Severe severe thunderstorms rolled through the area on Saturday evening with strong winds and lots of lightning. It was that lightning the scared organizers the most. People were sent to their cars to wait out the storm. However, as the rain and lightning continued the event was halted for the evening.

A two-year-old boy is undergoing medical treatment after police say he accidentally shot himself with a gun.

Oklahoma City television station KFOR reports that the child was taken to a hospital after Saturday's shooting. Officials say the child sustained a head injury but is expected to survive.

The incident occurred about 11:45 a.m. at a residence in Yukon, Oklahoma, an Oklahoma City suburb. Police received a call from child welfare officials saying a child had shot himself with a gun.

Police in Tulsa have arrested a 27-year-old suspect in the shooting death of a man last year.

Authorities say Cammaron Brown of Tulsa was arrested on Friday on a first-degree murder charge and was booked into the Tulsa Jail without bond.

Court records indicate Brown is also charged with obstructing an officer and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The records don't indicate whether Brown is represented by an attorney.

Oklahoma Republicans who campaigned on lower taxes and smaller government delivered neither during the 2017 session that ended Friday, as a budget crisis forced lawmakers to come up with creative ways to generate revenue and keep state programs afloat.

The final $6.8 billion budget deal that Republicans developed used a combination of agency budget cuts and tax hikes on things like cigarettes, vehicle purchases and sports tickets. The Legislature also eliminated some tax subsidies and raided the state's Rainy Day Fund and dozens of agency revolving accounts.

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by seven this week to 908.

A year ago, 404 rigs were active.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 722 rigs sought oil and 185 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous.

Colorado added five rigs while Alaska, New Mexico, North Dakota and Oklahoma each gained one.

Texas lost one rig.

Arkansas, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming were all unchanged.

After months of worries that lawmakers wouldn’t be able to close an $878 million budget hole, the Legislature narrowly passed a series of revenue-raising bills that provide enough money to avoid drastic cuts to state agencies.

Few lawmakers – even among Republicans – said it was a perfect budget. It didn’t include any money for teacher raises. It slashed higher education funding by $30 million. It will require many state agencies to make cuts of around 4 percent. And Democrats have raised constitutional concerns about the approval process.

Police say a bomb squad has found hand grenades inside a recreational vehicle during a traffic stop in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoman reports that Oklahoma City police arrested 41-year-old Scott Michael Boden near an RV park early Friday after officers found five homemade grenades in his vehicle, which had Nevada license plates.

Police spokesman Master Sgt. Gary Knight says Boden will be booked into Oklahoma County jail on five complaints of manufacturing an explosive device. He says it's unclear what Boden planned to do with the grenades.

Authorities say a man accused of driving a stolen truck while fleeing police and fatally hitting another driver told investigators he doesn't recall stealing the vehicle due to drugs.

The Tulsa World reports that Jerry Newman was charged Thursday in Tulsa County District Court with murder and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He's being held at Tulsa County Jail without bail.

The Oklahoma House has passed a $6.8 billion spending plan that protects the budgets of about 15 state agencies but cuts many others by about 5 percent.

It now heads to Gov. Mary Fallin for her signature.

The House approved the measure 57-42 Friday just hours before lawmakers are constitutionally required to adjourn the 2017 legislative session. The Senate passed the measure on Wednesday.

Here is your one stop location for information you need concerning our severe weather threat in Green Country.

 The Oklahoma House has passed a $6.8 billion spending plan that protects the budgets of about 15 state agencies but cuts many others by about 5 percent.

It now heads to Gov. Mary Fallin for her signature.

The House approved the measure 57-42 Friday just hours before lawmakers are constitutionally required to adjourn the 2017 legislative session. The Senate passed the measure on Wednesday.

The Sapulpa school teacher accused of bringing drugs and syringes into her classroom has had her state teaching certificate suspended.

The state took the action against 27-year-old Megan Sloan, while her case moves forward in the courtroom.

Sloan is also accused of taking field trip money and pawning school district equipment in order to support her alleged drug habit.

Tulsa County has agreed to a $242,000, out-of-court settlement, in a 2011 jail attack. A woman claims she was raped at the Tulsa jail in 2011 by a Tulsa County Jail Trustee.

The woman was 20 years old at the time. The attack took place in the medical unit. The county admitted no guilt, but felt the settlement was cheaper than going forward with a defense. Stanley Glanz was the Tulsa Sheriff at the time of the attack.

It is unknown what, if anything, impact the settlement could have on Tulsa County Property Taxes.

A colorful, mullet-wearing operator of an exotic animal park who ran as a write-in candidate for president is among a group of Libertarian Party candidates planning to run for Oklahoma's open governor seat in 2018. The Libertarian Party announced Thursday that Joseph Maldonado, a self-described actor and musician known as "Joe Exotic," will join a crowded field vying to become the state's chief executive. The 54-year-old Maldonado operates The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the death penalty of a man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two children in 2010.

The court ruled Thursday that testimony by the victims' relatives saying Shaun Bosse should receive the death penalty shouldn't have been allowed, but was harmless error.

The court said "overwhelming evidence" proves the crime was heinous, atrocious or cruel.