Week in review
Another week has passed, and here is a chance for you to catch up on some of the events that you may have missed.
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Roy Williams, president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, said approval of a temporary penny sales tax to raise funds for improving the Ford Center would build on the investments already made through MAPS.
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Sen. Jim Inhofe, a 22-year veteran of Washington, said he has no intention of retiring when his term ends in early 2009; his seniority would give Oklahoma influence that it wouldn’t have with a new senator.
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Months after Egypt announced that archaeologists had identified a mummy as female pharoah Queen Hatshepsut, scientists are still analyzing DNA in hopes of conclusively proving her identity.
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A 2002 Justice Department grant is continuing to assist Oklahoma City authorities attempting to find DNA links to 120 unsolved murder and rape cases.
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In a 50-page report to state lawmakers, higher education officials said that while in-state college tuition costs have increased, a college education in Oklahoma is still a bargain.
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Turkey continued its bombing campaign against Kurdish rebels inside Iraq.
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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ruled out any truce talks with Hamas and vowed to continue military operations against the militant Islamic organization.
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On Christmas Eve, President Bush made telephone calls to thank 10 U.S. troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other spots in the world for their service and sacrifices to the country. Bush phoned from his retreat at Camp David in the Maryland mountains, where he and his family spent the holidays.
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Criminologists, doctors and other officials say the differences between crack and powdered cocaine are largely exaggerated and do not justify the way sentencing law comes down 100 times harder on crack offenders.
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A study found that many Americans who have obese children do not see them that way. It is a worrisome trend because child obesity can lead to such health issues as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems and other ailments more commonly found in adults.
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A McClain County jury awarded $2.8 million in damages to country singer Toby Keith’s mother, Carolyn Covel, and her children in the March 2001 traffic death of Keith’s father. H.K. Covel was driving on Interstate 35 near Goldsby when his truck was bumped by another vehicle, knocking it across the median where it collided with a southbound charter-type bus owned by Elias and Pedro Rodriguez of Tulsa. Jurors unanimously found against the Rodriguezes, agreeing the air brakes on their bus were not working properly and the accident could have been avoided.
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A Tulsa doctor may have developed a technique to help lung cancer patients who have trouble breathing because tumors block the bronchioles, which are the passages through which they receive air.
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Friends and family of Chet Fitch of Ashland, Ore., got surprise Christmas cards in the mail, written in his hand with a return address of “Heaven.” The 88-year-old, who died in October, had arranged with his barber to send the cards after his death.
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An investigation into the shooting death of a 14-year-old in Altus bridged the Christmas holiday, but it was soon clear the teen’s death was a tragic accident, Altus Police Chief Michael Patterson said.
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After a tiger killed a visitor at the San Francisco Zoo, officials assured the public the exhibits at the Oklahoma City Zoo are safe.
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U.S. officials expect a decrease in violence in Iraq for 2008, despite a planned reduction of American troops; about 30,000 are to be withdrawn by July.
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Curtis Edward McCarty, a former Oklahoma death row inmate, filed a federal lawsuit against disgraced former Oklahoma City police chemist Joyce Gilchrist, alleging that she fabricated evidence leading to his conviction.
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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
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A proposed reduction in individual income taxes set to take effect Jan. 1, 2009, won’t occur because not enough growth is projected in state earnings for the upcoming fiscal year.
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The Library of Congress announced that the film “Oklahoma!” will be added, along with 24 others, to the national registry. The 25 additional titles bring the registry total to 475. Hundreds are nominated each year.
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It was tragic what happened to Mr. McClendon and he deserves everything and a whole lot more for the time he had to spend in prison for a crime he did not commit. We would have never known about him if
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Americaswrongfullyconvicted. You see, our brother is also named
Robert McClendon and he was wrongfully convicted in Harris county, Texas (Houston). He was convicted only on the perjured testimony of his ex girlfriend and her daughter. They had very clear motives for doing this to Robert and they have been caught lying in several court appearances.
They had absolutely no evidence on him and over 154 discrepancies in testimony from the two ladies. Even the arresting officer testified in Robert’s behalf because he did not believe the ladies stories. There is a mountain of evidence on americaswrongfullyconvicted and a recording that is posted on the front page that everyone should listen to. The recording was taken inside the Harris county district attorney’s office and you can plainly hear that the DA’s and attorney’s understood that the two ladies lied a multitude of times in the attempt to get Robert McClendon convicted. Please come by and visit our site and we wish the Ohio Robert McClendon all the luck in his new life.