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News update
'you'll never catch me'
Those words were scrawled in marker on a roadside memorial cross in rural Okfuskee County, one month after 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker, were gunned down at the same county roadside, just a few hundred yards from Taylor's house. The Oklahoman's Johnny Johnson reports nearly six weeks later, there are still no arrests, no suspects and no motive. And a sketch of a suspicious mystery man with a long ponytail who is listed as a "person of interest" has produced hundreds of leads but no notable results.
The ex-husband of Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller has ended up in bankruptcy court in Seattle, months after abruptly shutting down his laser eye surgery business. Nolan Clay reports Dr. Christopher Phillips was the subject of critical news accounts in Seattle earlier this year because some patients complained they had no notice of the closure and did not know what to do next.
Gov Brad Henry visited the Panhandle yesterday. That part of the state is suffering from an ongoing drought that has been compared to the devastating Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s. The Oklahoman's John Sutter reports Gov. Henry also collected a $50 bounty for his appearance, to be donated to a local charity. Read more at NewsOK or the front page ot today's Oklahoman.
Today in OKC expect highs in the lower 90s, with winds around 10 mph.
Three things you should know about the upcoming OU football season and the OSU basketball court.
- Oklahoma lawmakers praised the move by President Bush to lift the executive ban on offshore oil and gas drilling Monday, but the political stalemate over expanding domestic production showed no sign of ending.
- Money Magazine’s annual list of the 100 best places to live in the United States came out yesterday. norman ranked No. 6. Edmond, No. 52.
- Jack Money reports Quest Resource Corp. owns about 78,000 new acres in the Marcellus Shale natural gas field in the Appalachian Basin in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
- And Don Mecoy reports more than 2,000 foreign investors may have been swindled of up to $45 million in a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by a Tulsa oil and gas company, plaintiffs alleged Monday in court documents filed in Tulsa County District Court.
- Today in OKC: another typical summer day. Highs around 90. Winds around 10 mph. Highs increase to the mid 90s later this week.
Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light, has agreed to a takeover by a giant Belgian brewer, a union that creates a global beer leader and brings to an end one of the most iconic names in American business. The deal, still is subject to shareholders' and regulators' approval, would create the world's largest brewer and create the fourth-largest consumer product company worldwide.
Scrambling to bolster eroding investor confidence, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department announced steps to brace slumping mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The plan, unveiled Sunday, is intended to signal the government is prepared to take all necessary steps to prevent the credit market troubles that erupted last year with losses from subprime mortgages from engulfing financial markets.
Oklahoma City native Bobby Murcer, a longtime New York Yankees player and broadcaster, passed away at Mercy Hospital Saturday at the age of 62. A five-time All Star outfielder and three-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, Murcer was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in December of 2006.
You can find a Bobby Murcer photo gallery and virtual guest book online at NewsOK. And columns from Jenni Carlson, Berry Tramel and John Rohde.
The Oklahoman and NewsOK also rank the 50 greatest baseball players from Oklahoma, tomorrow is baseball's all-star game, at Yankee Stadium, no less.
Today in OKC: Mostly sunny. Highs about 90. Southeasterly winds about 10 mph.
Today at Penn Square Mall the line for a new iPhone at the Apple store continued to stretch toward’s Dillard’s.
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iWant my iPhone?
Apple's iPhone went on sale this morning. The first person in the world to buy an iPhone was 22-year-old Auckland student Jonny Gladwell, who queued in freezing temperatures in New Zealand for around 60 hours to be the first to buy it, at a minute past midnight over there.
Locally, the Apple store at Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City had quite the crowd this morning. So did the AT&T stores on Memorial Road in NW Oklahoma City. You can purchase the iPhone from the Apple stores or from the AT&T stores.
Or online at Apple.com, which had a few malfunctions this week with its new data synching service. Some users were denied access to their accounts as Apple transitioned from .Mac to the MobieMe service.
Second thing to know. You should really not like this guy (I'm very much kidding). Or at least really, really envy him. He's Sam Presti, the 31 year old General Manager of the Oklahoma City NBA franchise. He impressed The Oklahoman's Mike Sherman and Berry Tramel as he spoke to the local media for the first time. You can watch Sherm and Tram's take and the entire press conference, online at NewsOK.
And finally, RockLahoma continues in Pryor, Oklahoma. Imagine yourself surrounded by thousands of your sweatiest, perhaps dirtiest friends, all hand banging to some classic 80s hair metal. Mmmm..... The five day event continues through Sunday. The Oklahoman's Matthew Strasen filed these photos from the festival. Looks like fun. Today's headliners are Triumph, Extreme, Night Ranger and Living Colour. Talk about your Cult of Personality.
