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Articles by Sean Murphy
Oklahoma Black Lives Matter leader indicted for fraud, money laundering
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal grand jury indicted the leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in Oklahoma City over allegations that millions of dollars in grant funds were improperly spent on international trips, groceries and personal real estate, prosecutors announced Thursday. Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, was indicted earlier this month on 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering, court records show.
First Native woman drives Oklahoma's iconic Sooner Schooner
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — For the first time in its 60-year history, the Sooner Schooner, the University of Oklahoma’s iconic covered wagon mascot, was driven by a Native American woman. Brianna Howard, a junior at OU and a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, first drove the Schooner onto the field during the football team's season opener against Illinois State. kAm“x @?=J 925 2 >:?FE6 E@ 86E @?
Divided Oklahoma board recommends clemency for man scheduled for lethal injection
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 on Wednesday to recommend the governor spare the life of a man scheduled to be executed next week for the 2001 stabbing death of a man during a botched robbery. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt must now consider whether to commute the death sentence of Tremane Wood, 46, to life in prison. Stitt has granted clemency only once during his nearly seven years in office, to death row inmate Julius Jones in 2021.
New Oklahoma schools superintendent rescinds mandate for Bible instruction in schools
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s new public schools superintendent announced Wednesday he is rescinding a mandate from his predecessor that forced schools to place Bibles in classrooms and incorporate the book into lesson plans for students.
Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa enters race for governor
Texas Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa entered the race for governor Wednesday, criticizing Republican Gov. Greg Abbott as beholden to big donors in an uphill bid to become the first Democrat to hold the office since 1995. Hinojosa, who represents Austin, joins a race that has been without big-name challengers and overshadowed in Texas by a competitive U.S. Senate contest.
Oklahoma’s GOP governor opposes sending out-of-state troops to states that don't welcome them
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, the chair of the National Governors Association, said Thursday that he opposes sending National Guard troops across state borders without the permission of the state receiving them. The position from a sitting Republican official posed a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump’s push to send National Guard troops to cities in states where Democrats are in charge, including Chicago where Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov.
What to know about the capture of the last of 10 escapees from a New Orleans jail
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — All 10 fugitives who made a brazen escape from a New Orleans jail in May are back in custody after the last inmate who was still on the run was captured hiding in the basement crawl space of an Atlanta home. Derrick Groves, 28, was found Wednesday holed up beneath the home by a police dog sent inside after an Atlanta Police Department SWAT team spent hours searching the home and deploying tear gas into it. kAm%96 @E96C ?:?6 :?>2E6D 925 366? C642AEFC65 H:E9:?
New Orleans police official says crime is down after governor requests National Guard troops
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A top New Orleans police official on Tuesday welcomed the possibility of a National Guard deployment in his city but pushed back on suggestions of rising crime rates and said he was unclear on how the military might be used. Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is asking for up to 1,000 National Guard troops to help fight crime in his state, a request that comes weeks after President Donald Trump raised the potential of sending troops to New Orleans. kAmx?
Online threats of violence lead to arrests after Charlie Kirk's killing
The killing of Charlie Kirk has been followed by a string of arrests across the U.S. over alleged threats of violence in response to the assassination of the conservative activist. A Texas man who authorities say expressed support for Kirk is facing federal charges after making alleged threats online this month to shoot up a Pride parade in the city of Abilene as an act of revenge for Kirk's killing.
Man who fired on ICE facility hated US government, sought to kill federal agents, officials say
DALLAS (AP) — The gunman who opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas hated the U.S. government and wanted to incite terror by killing federal agents, officials said Thursday, offering the first hint of a motive in the attack. Citing handwritten notes found at his suburban home, authorities said 29-year-old Joshua Jahn set out to ambush the agency and then fatally shot himself following the assault.
Tiger fatally mauls handler during big cat show in Oklahoma, sheriff says
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A large tiger fatally attacked an animal handler as horrified onlookers watched during the end of a big cat show at a preserve in southeastern Oklahoma, officials said Monday. Ryan Easley, 37, was dead when deputies arrived Saturday at the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve near Hugo, not far from the Texas border, just minutes after dispatchers received an emergency call, said Choctaw County Sheriff Terry Park. kAm!2C< D2:5 E96 E:86C F?6IA64E65=J DE2CE65 E@ 3:E6 2?5 E96?
Oklahoma court stops social studies standards with 2020 election misinformation from taking effect
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily put on hold proposed new social studies standards for K-12 public school students that include conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The state’s high court issued a temporary stay on Monday while a lawsuit filed by a group of parents and educators challenging the new standards is being litigated.
Rural Texas county's top leaders were asleep, out of town during initial hours of flood crisis
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Two top leaders in a rural Texas county were asleep and a third was out of town in the initial hours of a catastrophic flood that came barreling through the region, causing widespread destruction and killing more than 130 people earlier this month.
Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Shock has turned into grief across Texas where at least 120 people died from flash floods and more were missing as the search for victims moved methodically along endless miles of rivers and rubble Thursday. Photos of those who have died along with a colorful array of flowers and candles now decorate a fence in Hill Country — a growing tribute that reflects the enormity of the disaster in the region.
Harrowing stories of rescue emerge from Texas floods as crews search for over 160 reported missing
HUNT, Texas (AP) — In the frantic hours after a wall of water engulfed camps and homes in Texas, a police officer who was trapped himself spotted dozens of people stranded on roofs and waded out to bring them to safety, a fellow officer said Wednesday. Another off-duty officer tied a garden hose around his waist so he could reach two people clinging to a tree above swirling floodwaters, Kerrville officer Jonathan Lamb said, describing another harrowing rescue.
Texas inspectors approved Camp Mystic’s disaster plan 2 days before deadly flood, records show
HUNT, Texas (AP) — Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic’s emergency planning just two days before catastrophic flooding killed more than two dozen people at the all-girls Christian summer camp, most of them children.
Oklahoma executes a man who was transferred from federal custody by Trump officials
McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma executed a man Thursday whose transfer to state custody was expedited by the Trump administration. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, received a three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was pronounced dead at 10:11 a.m., prison officials said. Hanson was sentenced to die after he was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping and killing a Tulsa woman in 1999. kAm“!6246 E@ 6G6CJ@?6[” w2?D@?
Oklahoma court clears the way for execution of a man convicted in a Tulsa woman's killing
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma appeals court on Wednesday ordered a stay of execution to be lifted for a man on death row, clearing the way for him to receive a lethal injection for killing a Tulsa woman in 1999. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, has been scheduled to be put to death Thursday, but a district court judge temporarily halted the execution this week after Hanson’s attorneys argued he didn’t receive a fair clemency hearing before the state’s Pardon and Parole Board.
Oklahoma judge stays execution of a man set to receive lethal injection this week
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge granted a temporary stay of execution Monday to a man whose transfer to death row was expedited by the Trump administration and who was scheduled to receive a lethal injection this week. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, was set to die Thursday for killing a Tulsa woman in 1999.
Tulsa's new Black mayor proposes $100M trust to 'repair' impact of 1921 Race Massacre
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tulsa's new mayor on Sunday proposed a $100 million private trust as part of a reparations plan to give descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre scholarships and housing help in a city-backed bid to make amends for one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history.
The Oklahoma City bombing was 30 years ago. Some survivors worry America didn’t learn the lesson
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thirty years after a truck bomb detonated outside a federal building in America's heartland, killing 168 people in the deadliest homegrown attack on U.S. soil, deep scars remain. From a mother who lost her first-born baby, a son who never got to know his father, and a young man so badly injured that he still struggles to breathe, three decades have not healed the wounds from the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.
Residue from human waste has long wound up as farm fertilizer. Some neighbors hate it
WELLSTON, Okla. (AP) — When Leslie Stewart moved to her home in a rural expanse of Lincoln County outside of Oklahoma City more than 20 years ago, she thought she'd found a slice of heaven. In a town of fewer than 700 people, her son could attend a good school and her acreage offered plenty of room to raise goats and let her dogs run.
Oklahoma schools chief seeks donations to put Bibles in classrooms
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's top education official said he's teaming with country music singer Lee Greenwood in seeking donations to get $59.99 leather-bound “God Bless the USA” Bibles into classrooms throughout the state, after a legislative panel rejected his $3 million request to fund the effort. State Superintendent Ryan Walters said this week that he's partnering with Greenwood to help ensure the Bibles, which have been endorsed by President Donald Trump, get to Oklahoma schools.
America's last big-city stockyard in downtown Oklahoma City is up for sale
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — On the edge of a thriving downtown dotted with luxury hotels and trendy restaurants is a more than 100-year-old relic of Oklahoma City's western heritage: One of the world's largest cattle stockyards. But maybe not for much longer. kAm%96 ~<=29@>2 }2E:@?2= $E@4<J2C5D — E96 =2DE 3:8\4:EJ DE@4<J2C5 :? E96 &]$] — :D 7@C D2=6] %96 Saf >:==:@? AC:46 E28 :?4=F56D `__ 24C6D Wc_ 964E2C6DX @7 AC:>6 AC@A6CEJ 2=@?8 E96 ~<=29@>2 #:G6C :?
Oklahoma proposal requires parents to provide immigration status when enrolling students
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Parents enrolling children in Oklahoma public schools will be required to provide proof of their child’s U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status under a proposed rule approved Tuesday by the State Board of Education.
Federal probe of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre says 'no avenue' for criminal case in connection to attack
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The first-ever U.S. Justice Department review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre concluded Friday that while federal prosecution may have been possible a century ago there is no longer an avenue to bring a criminal case more than 100 years after one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history.
Analysis: Police officers are starting to use AI chatbots to write crime reports. Will they hold up in court?
OKLAHOMA CITY — A body camera captured every word and bark uttered as police Sgt. Matt Gilmore and his K-9 dog, Gunner, searched for a group of suspects for nearly an hour. Normally, the Oklahoma City police sergeant would grab his laptop and spend another 30 to 45 minutes writing up a report about the search. But this time he had artificial intelligence write the first draft.
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DOJ adds Oklahoma to the list of states it's suing to block their immigration laws
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice sued Oklahoma on Tuesday seeking to block a law that seeks to impose criminal penalties on those living in the state illegally. The lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City challenges a law that makes it a state crime — punishable by up to two years in prison — to live in Oklahoma without legal immigration status. Similar laws passed in Texas and Iowa already are facing challenges from the Justice Department.
Storms battering the Midwest bring tornadoes, hail and strong winds
DETROIT (AP) — Severe storms barreled through the Midwest, unleashing a curtain of heavy rain, gusty winds and tornadoes throughout the region that forecasters warned could stretch into Wednesday morning. Tornadoes were spotted after dark Tuesday in parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Portions of Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri were also under a tornado watch, according to the National Weather Service. kAmx? D@FE9H6DE6C?
How Republican-led states far from the US-Mexico border are rushing to pass tough immigration laws
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Republican-led states are rushing to give broader immigration enforcement powers to local police and impose criminal penalties for those living in the country illegally as the issue of migrants crossing the U.S. border remains central to the 2024 elections. The Oklahoma Legislature this week fast-tracked a bill to the governor that creates the new crime of “impermissible occupation,” which imposes penalties of as much as two years in prison for being in the state illegally.
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How Kansas women's disappearance on a drive to pick up kids led to 4 arrests in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A two-week search for two missing Kansas women came to a fatal end last weekend when Oklahoma authorities confirmed the two were dead and announced the arrests of four people who allegedly belonged to an anti-government group that called themselves “God's Misfits.” Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, of Hugoton, Kansas, disappeared on March 30 while driving to pick up Butler's two children for a birthday party.
What to know about the $30 million cash heist in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A brazen Los Angeles cash heist on Easter weekend in which thieves cracked a safe and got away with as much as $30 million is believed to be one of the largest such heists in U.S. history. The heist has triggered rampant speculation among a public long infatuated with daring burglaries and hefty criminal paydays. Here are some things to know about the recent theft in Los Angeles and the history of such crimes.
Oklahoma judge rules death row inmate not competent to be executed
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge ruled Thursday that a death row inmate is not competent to be executed for his role in the 1999 slayings of a mother and son. Pittsburg County Judge Michael Hogan issued an order in the case involving 61-year-old James Ryder in that county. “The court could go on ad nauseum discussing the irrational thought processes of Mr. Ryder, but this is not needed,” Hogan wrote in his order.
Kansas moves to join Texas and other states in requiring porn sites to verify people's ages
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is poised to require pornography websites to verify visitors are adults, a move that would follow Texas and a handful of other states despite concerns about privacy and how broadly the law could be applied. The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature passed the proposal Tuesday, sending it to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The House voted for it 92-31 and the Senate approved it unanimously last month.
Law enforcement officials in Texas wonder how they will enforce migrant arrest law
SANDERSON, Texas (AP) — During the nine hours that Texas was allowed to arrest and deport people who illegally enter the U.S., Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland never changed his tactics with migrants in his remote border county. Not because he opposes the idea. There's just no practical way to do it, said the sheriff of Terrell County, where last year an average of about 10 people each day were caught crossing the border from Mexico.
Texas wildfires may have destroyed up to 500 structures, governor says
STINNETT, Texas (AP) — Wildfires may have destroyed as many as 500 structures in the Texas Panhandle, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday, describing how the largest blaze in state history scorched everything in its path, leaving ashes in its wake. kAm%6I2D @77:4:2=D H2C?65 E92E E96 E9C62E H2D ?@E J6E @G6C] w:896C E6>A6C2EFC6D 2?5 DEC@?86C H:?5D 7@C642DE 7@C $2EFC52J 6=6G2E65 H@CC:6D E92E 7:C6D :? E96 !2?92?5=6 4@F=5 DAC625 36J@?5 E96 >@C6 E92?
Texas Panhandle ranchers face losses and grim task of removing dead cattle killed by wildfires
SKELLYTOWN, Texas (AP) — First, the flames came storming across the vistas of the Texas Panhandle, burning through the grassy plains and scrub land of the region's cattle ranches. By Friday, ranchers faced a grim task: Search miles of scorched earth to dispose of the burned corpses of cattle. Others too badly burned and injured in this week's historic wildfires to survive will be euthanized.
Charred homes, blackened earth after Texas town revisited by destructive wildfire 10 years later
FRITCH, Texas. (AP) — The small town of Fritch is again picking through the rubble of a Texas wildfire, a decade after another destructive blaze burned hundreds of homes and left deep scars in the Panhandle community. Residents in and around Fritch and other rural towns fled for safety Tuesday afternoon as high winds whipped the flames into residential areas and through cattle ranches.
Flames menace multiple towns as wildfire grows into one of the largest in Texas history
CANADIAN, Texas (AP) — A cluster of wildfires that scorched the Texas Panhandle included a blaze that grew into one of the largest in state history, with flames moving with alarming speed and blackening the landscape across a vast stretch of small towns and cattle ranches. An 83-year-old grandmother from the tiny town of Stinnett was the lone confirmed fatality. However, authorities have yet to make a thorough search for victims and have warned the damage to some communities is extensive.
Texas Wildfires
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Texas Wildfires
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Texas Wildfires
State AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington D.C.West VirginiaWisconsinWyomingPuerto RicoUS Virgin IslandsArmed Forces AmericasArmed...
Texas Wildfires
State AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington D.C.West VirginiaWisconsinWyomingPuerto RicoUS Virgin IslandsArmed Forces AmericasArmed...
Barbie doll honoring Cherokee Nation leader is met with mixed emotions. Symbols say “Chicken,” rather than “Cherokee.”
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What did police know as the Uvalde school shooting unfolded? Chief had no radio during massacre
As investigators dig deeper into the law enforcement response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a host of disturbing questions remain about what officers on the scene knew as the deadly attack was unfolding. kAms:5 2?J @7 E96> <?@H 49:=5C6? H6C6 EC2AA65 :? 2 4=2DDC@@> H:E9 E96 8F?>2?n (2D E92E A@E6?E:2==J 4C:E:42= :?7@C>2E:@? C6=2J65 E@ E96 :?4:56?E 4@>>2?56C @? E96 D46?6n p?5 5:5 @77:46CD 492==6?86 E96 4@>>2?56CVD 564:D:@?
Disturbing timeline: Texas elementary school shooting, minute by minute
In the hours and days following the fatal shooting of 19 children and their two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, authorities gave shifting and at times contradictory information of what happened and how they responded. kAm%96 :?G6DE:82E:@? @7 E96 >2DD24C6 :D @?8@:?8[ 3FE >F49 :D 2=C625J <?@H? 23@FE E96 k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^2A?6HD]4@>^cb_3hfd3322446ccdcd`6c_ae4654`f`Q E2C86ElQU>52D9j3=2?<Qm?62C=J EH@ 9@FCD E92E A2DD65k^2m 36EH66? H96?
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a Texas-style abortion ban on Tuesday that prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, part of a nationwide push in GOP-led states hopeful that the conservative U.S. Supreme Court will uphold new restrictions. “I want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country," Stitt tweeted after signing the bill. kAm$E:EEVD D:8?:?8 @7 E96 3:== 4@>6D @?
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