News

Oklahoma's Scenic Rivers Commission is warning holiday travelers not to swim or canoe the Illinois River after a week of heavy rainfall in northeast Oklahoma.

Commission member Ed Fite warns campers that river levels are high and the water is moving twice as fast as usual.

Fite told television station KTUL it's too dangerous to swim, tube or canoe over the Memorial Day weekend.

The commission also says fallen trees and debris — along with the fast-moving currents — are the main concerns.

The Oklahoma Senate has approved a bill to provide various tax breaks to property and vehicle owners who suffered losses in Monday's tornado that tore through Moore and left 24 people dead.

The bill approved unanimously in the Senate on Friday also provides sales tax breaks for businesses that donate inventory to help storm victims and property tax credits for property that increases in value after it's rebuilt.

Please listen in for the forthcoming edition of All This Jazz, which happens Saturday the 25th here on Public Radio 89.5-1, from 10pm till midnight. Our show delivers modern jazz, both recent and classic --- "all killer, no filler," like the poet said --- and there's always a next-day re-broadcast of ATJ on Sunday at 7pm on Jazz 89.5-2, which is our station's all-jazz HD Radio channel.

State Representative Doug Cox says his fellow Republicans are trying to enact legislation that would harm women in Oklahoma. He says one example is a bill that would effectively de-fund Planned Parenthood, which provides important services.

"Cervical cancer screening for women, breast cancer screening for women, (Planned Parenthood) provides family planning services for women so that they can prevent unwanted pregnancies," says Cox. "In my mind the best way to prevent abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancies."

Additional tests reveal no new cases of hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS among patients of a Tulsa oral surgeon accused of running dirty clinics.

The pace of people seeking testing has slowed. About 3,900 patients of Dr. W. Scott Harrington have gone to state clinics for testing. In March, health departments urged testing for 7,000 patients. Just 54 patients sought tests within the past week.

Inspectors said they found unsanitary conditions inside Harrington's clinics at Tulsa and Owasso.

Oklahoma lawmakers are hoping to adjourn the 2013 Legislature one week earlier than required.

Lawmakers hope to wrap up their work for the year on Friday. The Legislature is constitutionally required to adjourn by 5 p.m. on the last Friday in May, or May 31.

The American Legion says it's allocating $1 million to veterans affected by the Oklahoma tornado.

The Indianapolis-based veterans organization announced this week the money will be used to cover relocation expenses for veterans and their families whose homes were devastated by the disaster.

The Legion also provided relief funds after Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.

With a current membership of 2.4-million wartime veterans, the American Legion is the nation's largest veterans organization.

Students from a suburban Oklahoma City elementary school destroyed by this week's tornado reunited with their teachers Thursday and collected whatever could be salvaged from the ruins.

Some children carried thank-you cards. A first-grader was eager to see her favorite gym teacher and for a chance to say goodbye for the school year.

In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. has asked a federal appeals court for an exemption from part of the federal health care law.

The retailer said Thursday it shouldn't be required to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill and other contraceptives that the owners oppose on religious grounds.

The Oklahoma City-based arts-and-crafts chain argues that for-profit businesses should have the same exceptions granted to religious groups and some nonprofits.

What should one say to a person who's thinking of taking his or her own life? What's the proper way to react to such news? How best should one respond? The Mental Health Association in Tulsa will present the 13th Annual Charles P. Seger Seminar this evening (Thursday the 23rd) at 6pm at the Cascia Hall Performing Arts Center. The theme for this year's seminar, which is free to the public (with no registration required), is "Recovering from Suicide and Depression." Our guest on ST is Dr.