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WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama says he still thinks there needs to be a playoff system for determining the country's college football champion. Obama, asked what he thought about Florida's 24-14 victory Thursday night over Oklahoma in the BCS championship game, congratulated the Gators and said he'd sent a message to a friend whose son plays for the team. At the same time, he said, "If I'm Utah, or if I'm USC or if I'm Texas, I might still have some quibbles." Obama said, "That's why we need a playoff."

We've reached the final game of the college football season. I know that we've had some arguments regarding who really should be the national champion (and due to my own bias I've tried to stay away from it). But anyway, somebody decided #'s 1 and 2 for this game a long time ago and here they are. The BCS National Championship Game: Florida vs. Oklahoma (8:00 pm, FOX) The last two Heisman trophy winners take to the turf for the waterford crystal shaped football from Sears (or at least it used to be from Sears). Leading up to this game,...

A man was in critical condition late Monday after being shot in the head by his wife, police said. The man, whose name was not released but who police said is 44, was shot once during an alcohol-fueled fight with his wife about 10:30 p.m., Tulsa Police Capt. Jonathan Brooks said. The 58-year-old woman, whose name also was withheld, told police that she had taken the handgun away from her husband and fired in self-defense, Brooks said. She and her 30-year-old daughter were taken to police headquarters for questioning along with a third person who had information about the attack,...

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson recently told supporters that he plans to run for Governor in 2010. So voters might be interested in how the AG has treated critics of government while serving as the state's top law enforcer. The case of Paul Jacob is instructive. A veteran political activist, Mr. Jacob is the former head of U.S. Term Limits and the current head of Citizens in Charge. A year ago, he and two fellow grassroots organizers, Rick Carpenter and Susan Johnson, were indicted on criminal conspiracy charges. Mr. Edmondson's office alleges that they attempted to defraud the state by...

Video: Bomb Squad Scours Metro Home For Explosives House Searched After Man Found Near Mall With Bomb Steven Jordal, 24, Arrested On Suspicion Of Making Explosive Device With Intent To Sell POSTED: 6:53 pm CST December 23, 2008 UPDATED: 7:13 pm CST December 23, 2008 OKLAHOMA CITY -- A robot has been combing a metro home for explosives since Tuesday morning after finding a man near Penn Square Mall with a bomb on Monday, police said. VIDEO: Bomb Squad Scours Metro Home For Explosives Officers said an anonymous tip led police to Steven Andrew Jordal, 24, who has been accused...

WashingtonJourneys have cost taxpayers more than $187,000 since 1999 BY CHRIS CASTEEL Published: December 21, 2008 WASHINGTON — In the past decade, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Tulsa has made at least 20 trips to Africa as part of a mission that he frequently describes in religious terms. Sen. Jim Inhofe Inhofe’s African trips have cost taxpayers more than $187,000 since 1999, according to a review of expenses Inhofe and staff members have submitted through the Armed Services Committee. Some of the trips have been taken on military planes that cost thousands of dollars an hour to operate. The military does...

December 9, 2008 Note: The following text is a quote: http://dallas.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel08/dl120908.htm Suspicious White Powder Letters Received Around the United States Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Dallas FBI, announces during the last 24 hours, at least seven letters containing a suspicious white powder have been received by the offices of governors around the country. The white powder substance has been field screened and the tests have met with negative results. The white powder substance has been forwarded to local laboratories for further testing. To date, all letters have been postmarked from Dallas, Texas and were received by governors’...

"It was one of those deals of being in the right place at the right time," Robinson said. "I believe he would have loaded up that gun and gone to town because he was praying for Allah to help him carry out his mission." Jerome Norvell Denson, 24, of Tulsa was arrested on charges of attempting to perform an act of violence and possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony. He remains in jail awaiting a preliminary hearing....

Trafficking has traits in common with terror enterprises, he said.

First and foremost, I need to offer up a confession. The last time I spit out my bowl game predictions - they stunk. Those things reeked worse than LSU's and Texas Tech's defense combined. Bad. Awful. Sorry, even. But... the past is the past. THIS time, I think I got it right. (And I don't have any teams playing in more than one bowl!) So... without further ado... my updated bowl game projections for games played through November 22, 2008. Click here for the complete 2008-2009 College Football Bowl Game Schedule BCS National Championship Game - Florida vs Oklahoma Fiesta...

Order was simultaneously restored and destroyed here Saturday night. Standard protocol in the Big 12 is this: Oklahoma owns teams like Texas Tech when they come to Owen Field. The challenge to that tradition was established when the undefeated, nouveau riche Red Raiders came to town ranked higher (2nd) than the once-beaten, old-money home team (fifth). The challenge was eliminated in an old-school, name-the-score massacre of a Red Raiders team that reverted to classic form -- too soft up front, and too intimidated to win a huge showdown on the road. And this shocking 65-21 beatdown gives "Big Game" Bob...

The FBI is appealing an order that allows a Utah attorney to conduct taped depositions of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols and a death-row inmate. Salt Lake City lawyer Jesse Trentadue believes that the two inmates have valuable information about his brother's death in a federal prison - and about the FBI's alleged withholding of many of the relevant documents requested in his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit. Authorities say the August 1995 death of Kenneth Trentadue in a cell at an Oklahoma City federal prison was a suicide, but the inmate's family believes he was mistaken for...

Mapping the election results county-by-county across America, most states reveal a quilted pattern of red and blue, with a few solid blue patches in the Northeast. Only one state turns solid red. "Inside the room, the noise was all positive" at the Republican watch party on election night in Oklahoma City, state GOP chairman Gary Jones said Wednesday. "Outside of Oklahoma, things were different." Oklahoma was the only place in the whole country where every single county voted for John McCain, making it the reddest of the red states. McCain took 65.6 percent of the total vote in Oklahoma —...

Among Oklahomans, Mr. Cook and Mr. White are hardly alone. Though the state’s Democrats still outnumber its Republicans, you would never know it by looking at the election results. Oklahoma voters went for Senator John McCain by almost two to one, bucking the tide that swept Mr. Obama to the presidency. Not a single one of the state’s 77 counties backed Mr. Obama, despite his endorsement by the popular Democratic governor, Brad Henry. ... Indeed, the state has a political landscape closely resembling that of the old solidly Democratic South, especially in its southeastern corner, known as Little Dixie, where...

NewsChannel 8 - Share Republicans Take Control Of State Senate NewsChannel 8 - Print Republicans Take Control Of State Senate NewsChannel 8 - Email Republicans Take Control Of State Senate NewsChannel 8 - RSS Feeds NewsChannel 8 - Send Republicans Take Control Of State Senate via Instant Messager NewsChannel 8 - Share This Article Stay on top of breaking news! Sign up for NewsChannel 8 e-mail alerts. Your Email: Oklahoma City - Republicans took control of the Oklahoma Senate for the first time in state history in legislative races today. The GOP also increased its majority in the state House...

Why you shouldn't swim in lakes in Oklahoma!!!! A very large alligator gar : the fish was caught in Broken Bow Lake, Oklahoma 8' - 10' and weighed 327 lbs This is why people just disappear from the lakes in Oklahoma! And yes, this is for real."

Now that the early hysteria has died down, the legacy media is moving into the second phase of their assault against Sarah Palin: sometimes regretful, (often mocking) disapproval over her un-ignorable shortcomings. We’ll know we’ve reached phase three — “Palin’s moment is over” when they start digging up a few more rogue “Republicans” to express “second thoughts”. According to Jon Friedman, the media is simply going to close their eyes to Palin until she goes away. But none of it will stick any more than the savage first-stage attacks stuck. Palin will see it through because of her courage, her...

October 17- A Tulsa homeowner shoots a man police say was causing all sorts of problems near 34th & Riverside. Shortly before midnight, police were called to Riverside Drive because a man was seen screaming and shouting at cars driving by. About 10 minutes later, police received another call from a homeowner about the man trying to break into his house. The homeowner was on the phone with a 911 operator and told police he had a gun. He left the phone off the hook and the operator heard several shots fired. The homeowner told police the man had to...

Spokesman suggests Obama better get his facts straight A Wednesday night presidential debate claim by Barack Obama has stirred up car dealers in Oklahoma City who dispute his claim that car dealerships are closing everywhere and people cannot get car loans. "I was surprised to hear it," admitted Peter Hodges, Executive Director of the Oklahoma City Metro Auto Dealers Association. "The facts of the matter are, about 500 dealerships out of 20,000 could close this year because of economic conditions." But what angered Hodges was Obama's claim that car loans are not available. "That's completely untrue," professed Hodges. "And I...

A youthful attempt to party their way to popularity and some exaggerated MySpace boasting have turned into a $320,000 tax nightmare for five current and former University of Central Oklahoma students. “This is crazy,” said Julius Baroi, co-founder of Kegheadz, a loosely organized Edmond-based party business. “The Tax Commission claims we owe more than $300,000. We don't have enough money between us to pay $6,000 to hire an attorney. They won't listen to us.” Paula Ross, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Tax Commission, said she couldn't comment on an individual taxpayer's case. Although the Tax Commission wants to tax Kegheadz like...

KUWAIT CITY — Seven U.S. soldiers were killed early Thursday morning when their transport helicopter crashed in southern Iraq, officials said. Enemy fire was not involved in the incident, the military said. The CH-47 Chinook helicopter went down just after midnight around 60 miles west of Basra. All aboard were killed. In its initial news release, the military said five bodies had been recovered and that two soldiers were missing; hours later, that was updated to say the bodies of all seven aboard had been recovered. "It is a tough day for the coalition and we are deeply saddened by...

TvPoll: McCain-Palin By 41, Inhofe By 25 A new TvPoll for KWTV-Channel 9 indicates a Republican sweep of the state this year. The new poll reinforces earlier polls showing the McCain-Palin Republican ticket trouncing the Obama-Biden Democrat ticket and incumbent Senator Jim Inhofe running far ahead of Democrat Andrew Rice. In the new poll, McCain-Palin are at 68.8 percent, Obama-Biden at just 27.4 percent. In the Senate race, Inhofe is at 55.7 percent, Rice at just 30.6 percent.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline)--The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday declined to block a two-month state tax amnesty program set to begin Monday, which is aimed at generating state revenue. The tax amnesty was challenged by Oklahoma City attorney Jerry Fent, who sued arguing that it is unconstitutional for the state to waive penalties and interest on back taxes.

President Bush received updates on Hurricane Ike throughout the day. Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto: He's very comfortable that Texas emergency management authorities are doing everything they can. They have a very strong team down in Texas for dealing with the hurricanes. Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the residents in the affected areas. The President encourages all the residents of Texas to listen to the guidance they're getting from their local emergency management authorities. And if they're getting direction to evacuate, to do it quickly; but just to pay very close mind to their personal safety and listen...

Large and dangerous Hurricane Ike approaching the Upper Texas coast. Mandatory evacuations began in earnest Thursday as an estimated one million coastal residents headed inland. There were widespread reports of gas stations running out of fuel. The National Weather Service posted dire storm surge predictions of 20-25 ft storm surge along the coast and bay heads. Hurricane warnings covered a 400 mile swath of the Gulf of Mexico. Wholesale gasoline prices spiked 30 percent Thursday, or nearly $1 a gallon, out of fear of what Ike might do. Public Advisory Updated every 3 hours Discussion Updated every 6 hours Buoy...

An Owasso man is searching for answers after his wife's death in a hit-and-run accident. As a former police officer and fire chief, Bob Shouse believes that when a driver leaves the scene of an accident, that alone is cause for an arrest. That's why he can't understand why the man who fled after crashing an SUV into his wife's motorcycle, causing her death, was never taken into custody and now might have left the country. "My wife and I had a relationship that most people dream for," said Shouse, who lives in Owasso. "The whole family is in shock,...

The three years John Roberson spent as an Army drill sergeant were not enough to satisfy his itch to teach. Troops to Teachers We interviewed some faculty from the Crooked Oak school district about how... "I often thought, ‘Well, if I enjoy this, being an instructor, I might enjoy being a schoolteacher at some point in my life,'” the retired sergeant major said. So after tours of duty in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the California-born Roberson came to Oklahoma for a second career.

Talk about a stinging endorsement! A tattoo shop in Moore, Oklahoma is giving Barack Obama tattoos for free. The tattoo has a picture of the senator with "Obama 2008" to the left. The shop owner says it's his way to show support to the democratic presidential candidate. "I don't have any extra money to donate to the cause," said Phillip Calfy, tattoo shop owner. "I'm a tattoo artist and a lot of people that are into the tattoo thing like free tattoos." The owner says he's done around 100 of the tattoos.

The Keetoowahs are the traditonal people, the keepers of the language and heritage. They came west 20 years before the Trail of Tears, trading their land in North Carolina for new land the US gave them. Later the "civilized" tribes came and "white-manned" the Keetoowahs out of their land and other Federal entitlements. Learn more about the Keetoowahs at http://unitedkeetoowahband.org/History.htm http://www.keetoowahcherokee.org/

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A new poll found little support among Oklahoma voters for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. The Oklahoma Poll found that Republican John McCain has broad support in the state to lead Obama by 32%age points, 56% to 24%.

I'm standing while typing this, so consider it a writer's rendition of a standing ovation. Presumably, this standing "O” is for Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops. Perhaps it should be directed at OU president David Boren, or to Stoops and Boren. Maybe athletic director Joe Castiglione is in there somewhere. Whoever is responsible for dismissing freshman wide receiver Josh Jarboe, bravo. Jarboe was allowed to keep his scholarship after felony gun charges were lowered to misdemeanors in Superior Court at DeKalb County, Ga. Jarboe pleaded guilty to bringing a gun to school and carrying a pistol without a license last...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn underwent tests Friday for what was described as an irregular heartbeat. His office told news outlets that the 60-year-old Oklahoma Republican was expected to return to work at the Senate over the weekend. An aide said Coburn was at a hospital for the tests for "common arrhythmia.'' He was not admitted to the hospital, the aide said. Coburn's office would not comment further. A physician, Coburn describes himself as a two-time cancer survivor. In 2003, just months before deciding to run for the Senate, he confirmed that he had undergone surgery and treatment for...

OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline)-Oklahoma Attorney General W.A. Drew Edmondson is featured in a county commissioner's anti-gay campaign comic book. In the comic created by Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart, a devil threatens a small child with a pitchfork, saying" "If I can get the kids to believe homosexuality is normal!" while an angel yells, "Not with Brent around you won't!"

One of the unappreciated casualties of the War of 1861, erroneously called a Civil War, was its contribution to the erosion of constitutional guarantees of state sovereignty. It settled the issue of secession, making it possible for the federal government to increasingly run roughshod over Ninth and 10th Amendment guarantees. A civil war, by the way, is a struggle where two or more parties try to take over the central government. Confederate President Jefferson Davis no more wanted to take over Washington, D.C., than George Washington wanted to take over London. Both wars are more properly described as wars of...

Your states have passed significant changes in enforcement of immigration laws. What do you see around you? Have you observed changes in your schools, workplaces, markets?

TULSA — While dog-sitting for his mother earlier this month, Bryan Whalen discovered video recordings of his mother and two other people engaging in sex acts with three dogs, according to an affidavit filed Monday in Tulsa County. Authorities have charged Diane Whalen, 54, and Donald Roy Seigfried, 55, with crimes against nature, a felony that includes bestiality, said Capt. John Bowman of the Tulsa County sheriff's office. Seigfried was arrested and released Tuesday on $10,000 bail. Bowman said Whalen had not been arrested, but authorities were in contact with her lawyer. Bryan Whalen was feeding and taking care of...

AUSTIN — The Texas Transportation Commission on Thursday selected San Antonio's Zachry Construction Corp. and a Spanish toll road developer to plan a superhighway from Texarkana to Brownsville. The $5 million contract calls for Zachry American Infrastructure and ACS Infrastructure to create a financial plan for the Interstate 69 segment of the Trans-Texas Corridor. "This team represents the best in the balance of local and global expertise necessary to complete a project of this scope," said David Zachry, chief operating officer of Zachry Construction Corp. The private developers' plan calls for seven new loops around Corpus Christi and other cities...

While much of the U.S. Constitution invites legitimate debate as to the “Framer’s Intent,” the twenty-eight words which comprise the Tenth Amendment are as unambiguous as they are forgotten. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” One of the clearest and most compelling proofs that our Founding Fathers indeed envisaged a limited federal government, the Tenth Amendment is a vital safeguard against an overreaching central authority. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most routinely discarded pieces of our...

Steamed over a perceived increase in federal usurping of states' rights, Oklahoma's House of Representatives told Washington, D.C., to back off. Joint House Resolution 1089, passed by an overwhelming 92-3 margin, reasserts Oklahoma's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and, according to the resolution's own language, is "serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates." The Tenth Amendment states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." Traditionally, this language has meant that...

STATE OF OKLAHOMA 2nd Session of the 51st Legislature (2008) HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1089 By: Key AS INTRODUCED A Joint Resolution claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers; serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates; and directing distribution. WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."; and WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines...

Oklahoma City (AP) - Democratic Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma said Tuesday Barack Obama is "the most liberal senator" in Congress and he has no intention of endorsing him for the White House. ... Boren, the lone Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegate, said that while Obama has talked about working with Republicans, "unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion."

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., said Tuesday he will not endorse Barack Obama for president. "I still remain very concerned about the (Obama) voting record being the most liberal of the United States Senate," said Boren, a superdelegate to this summer’s national Democratic convention in Denver. He expressed support for what he described as a "centrist" agenda, adding his party’s presumptive nominee’s record does not reflect that approach.

A federal judge today blocked enforcement of employer-related provisions of the state's controversial immigration law, ruling it likely interferes with federal regulations regarding the hiring of unauthorized workers. Several business groups challenged House Bill 1804 — which has been called the toughest immigration statute in the nation — in federal court in Oklahoma City. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The State Chamber, the Oklahoma City and Tulsa chambers of commerce, and the Oklahoma restaurant and hotel and lodging associations contend the law places unreasonable burdens on businesses, according to the lawsuit filed Feb. 1 by the National Chamber Litigation Center....

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Jack Mildren, a former lieutenant governor and the first quarterback in the University of Oklahoma's vaunted wishbone offense, died on Thursday, his brother said. He was 58. Mildren, who had been undergoing treatment for stomach cancer, died at Integris Baptist Medical Center, spokeswoman Brooke Cayot confirmed. Mildren was diagnosed two years ago with cancer but had continued to serve as a vice chairman for Arvest Bank and host a daily sports radio show on WKY 930-AM. Legislators at the state Capitol observed a moment of silence for the former lieutenant governor, who walked the halls there in...

Posted at 6PM on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 OWASSO, OK Police are seeking the help of residents to identify a woman. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19686350&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=597380&rfi=6 "The Owasso Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the person shown in this photograph. This person is not a suspect in a crime, but needs to be identified as soon as possible so her well being can be established," said Owasso Police Chief Dan Yancey. Anyone with information about the identity of the woman should contact Detective Jason Woodruff at 272-COPS (272-2677). ©Neighbor Newspapers 2008

A tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed several people as severe storms raked the nation's heart Saturday, taking at least 11 lives, mangling buildings and trapping people in rubble in the storm-weary region. At least six people were killed as the tornado flattened the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher before the funnel struck about 15 miles away near Seneca, Mo., and killed at least three, authorities said. The death toll in Oklahoma could climb, said state Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten. The tornado in Picher — a depressed and pollution-scarred mining town that many residents had already fled...

Exponential growth in addiction met with a dramatic reduction in supply, creates a situation where a large number of people get sick and desperate. Prices spike as addicts clamor to find the drugs they need so badly. Alternative, and often illegal, methods for raising funds are employed. Progressively risky behavior and criminal associations occur. People lose jobs, lose housing, and lose families, dismantling a network of support systems that are challenging, if not impossible, to rebuild. The magnitude of people potentially involved will send shockwaves through the criminal justice, social services, health care, and criminal justice service delivery systems as...

SAMHSA announced in March 2008 that Oklahoma topped the nation in prescription painkiller addiction. Effective law enforcement strategies by the DEA and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs have abruptly shut down many of the online pharmacies, loose physician prescription practices, and multiple doctor sourcing. The result is a dramatic reduction in supply. The huge growth in painkiller addiction fueled by cheap and easy supply is being faced with a shutdown in supply. The result will be a sudden overwhelming number of sick and desperate people. Before we become too judgmental of such people, let us not forget...

HOWDY FREEPERS!!!!!!!As the day begins one of the web sites I frequent in my first rounds of web surfing is the Oklahoma Political News Service. (http://www.okpns.com) This web site has won critical acclaim as a reliable source for poltical information here in Oklahoma and has been mentioned in news stories on radio stations here in Oklahoma such as KTOK.Recently, OKPNS did an analysis of the race between Inhofe and Rice. The analysis made reference to a blog in the Daily Kos that Rice writes in which he spouts off talking points that quite frankly are more appropiate for San Fransisco...

Senator Inhofe Excerpt: "Despite this gloomy EIA analysis, proponents of Lieberman-Warner are still claiming the bill will not impose economic harm to America. Only in Washington could higher energy prices be characterized as not negatively impacting the U.S. economy. If Democrats have their way, Americans will pay significantly more at the pump, in their homes, and in many cases, with their jobs, all to accomplish an undetectable impact on the climate. "The question now is which U.S. Senator will dare to stand on the Senate Floor a month from now to vote in favor of significantly increasing the price of...