U.S. State Department releases 2012 human trafficking report
NPR reports that the U.S. State Department released a report Tuesday that estimates 27 million people are trafficked each year.
The report ranks countries and looks at how victims can be protected. it also provides insight into the United States’ problem with human trafficking.
Even though the report noted that the U.S. ranked as one of the most active countries in combating human trafficking, officials still need to improve techniques to monitor trafficking trends, according to U.S. News.
Read the full report here.
Watch the announcement of the report on the U.S. State Department’s website.
Photo by Cliff Owen: Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton presents Vannak Anan Prum, of Cambodia, a plaque for his work to end human trafficking, during the release of the 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2012.
Oklahoma City Zoo hopes to raise money for new medical facility
The zoo has outgrown its current medical facility and has plans for a new $9 million medical center. Learn more about the new facility in the video above.
Daily Caller reporter defends interrupting President Obama during speech
A Daily Caller reporter who interrupted President Barack Obama last week during a speech about the president’s new immigration policy appeared on Fox News to defend his actions.
Neil Munro told Sean Hannity that he thought Obama was mid-sentence when he interrupted him.
The only way to ask [Obama] a question at these events is to get him at the end as he’s leaving just before he dashes back to the Oval Office…Yes, I mistimed it. I thought I was getting him at the end and frankly, I was wrong about that,” Munro said.
The Huffington Post reports that Hannity then played a clip of reporters interrupting President Ronald Reagan in 1986 during his remarks. Watch the video interview here.
Pew Research report: Asian Americans are fastest-growing racial group in U.S.
A new Pew Research Center report released Tuesday shows that Asians have surpassed Hispanics as the largest group of new immigrants in the United States.
USA Today reporter Haya El Nasser has broken the study down in the video above.
According to report, Asians are more educated, wealthier and value work, marriage and family more than Americans as a whole.
The survey says Asian Americans are more satisfied with their lives, personal finances and the general direction of the country than Americans as a whole.
Check out highlights from the survey here or read the full report online.
Oklahoma City police ask public to help identify robber
Police are looking for a man who stole a handgun and $1,000 from the Public Auto Auction in Oklahoma City earlier this year.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300.
Former University of Oklahoma All-American signs with Tulsa Shock
Former University of Oklahoma women’s basketball All-American Courtney Paris has signed with The Tulsa Shock, the team announced Monday.
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Rodney King found dead in California Sunday
A man whose videotaped police beating in 1991 led to one of the worst race riots in history has died.
The New York Times reports that Rodney King died at age 47 Sunday. He was found dead in a swimming pool at his home in Rialto, Calif.
Mr. King, whose life was a roller coaster of drug and alcohol abuse, multiple arrests and unwanted celebrity, pleaded for calm during the 1992 riots. More than 55 people were killed and 600 buildings destroyed in the violence.
In a phrase that became part of American culture, he asked at a news conference, “Can we all get along?”
An autopsy is scheduled Monday to determine King’s cause of death.
King photo by Matt Sayles: This April 13, 2012 file photo shows Rodney posing for a portrait in Los Angeles. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation’s history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47.
Riot photo by Paul Sakuma: This April 30, 1992 file photo shows smoke rising as fires like this one near Vermont Street burn out of control in Los Angeles. Rodney King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation’s history, has died, his publicist said Sunday.
Thundering up around the Globe
I wrote an article last week on the ways Thunder fans stationed all over the world are catching game. Several people sent photos, and after the article ran, I heard from more global fans, mostly Oklahomans pursuing their dreams abroad. Here are a few of the photos:
Craig Bell and Renee Schweitzer watch the games on American Forces Network at 5 a.m.. They are Oklahoma City residents currently working in Moscow, Russia.
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- Craig Bell and Renee Schweitzer watch the games on American Forces Network at 5 a.m.. They are Oklahoma City residents currently working in Moscow, Russia.
New pretrial date set for former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper charged with rape
A new pretrial court date has been set for a former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper charged with second-degree rape.
Patrick Venable, 28, is accused of raping a Guthrie woman while on duty June 20. He was ordered to stand trial after Special Judge R.L. Hert Jr. ruled April 4 that there was enough evidence presented at the preliminary hearing for Venable to face trial in district court.
His attorney, Carl Hughes, wrote in an email that Venable plans to proceed with a trial. He said he is still waiting on discovery materials from prosecutors before the case can move forward.
Another pretrial date has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 17, Hughes said.
Photo by Paul Southerland: Former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Patrick Venable talking with his attorney outside a courtroom during his preliminary hearing at the Payne County Courthouse in Stillwater Monday, Jan. 23, 2012.
Reporter interrupts Obama during immigration announcement
President Barack Obama announced Friday that his administration would block deportations of young undocumented immigrants who moved to the United States as children.
During his speech at the White House Rose Garden, Obama scolded a reporter from the Daily Caller after the man interrupted the president to ask a question.
The next time I prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question,” Obama said.
