News update
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.
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Immigration lawsuit update
A federal judge Wednesday blocked enforcement of employer-related provisions of House Bill 1804, the state’s controversial immigration law.
The Oklahoman’s Jay Marks and Devona Walker report U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron in Oklahoma City ruled those sections likely interfere with federal rules regarding the hiring of unauthorized workers. In granting the injunction, she said a pending lawsuit against HB 1804 has “a substantial likelihood of success.”
Continental Airlines Inc. said today it is cutting 3,000 jobs and reducing capacity in the fourth quarter by 11 percent, citing record fuel costs that have pushed the airline industry into a “crisis.”
John Sutter reports the state secretary of agriculture asked the governor Wednesday afternoon to start the process of classifying the Oklahoma Panhandle as a disaster area because of an extreme drought. Here’s how it’s affecting farmers: Crops are failing in the western Panhandle, and farmers are running out of grass to feed their cattle.
Your OKC forecast: Partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 90s. Southerly winds 25 to 35 mph. Twenty percent chance of thunderstorms, with some turning severe late in the afternoon.
