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Tulsa County Jumps To No. 1 In Oklahoma For COVID Deaths

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Friday 2,946 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 365,992. Tulsa County had 513 of Friday's cases. Its total now stands at 60,142, second to Oklahoma County's 71,058. Tulsa County became the second in the state to break 60,000 total cases. The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell for the ninth day in a row, dropping from 2,649 to 2,564, its lowest point since Dec. 30. The record of...

State Calling For Volunteers, With And Without Medical Training, To Help With Vaccination Effort

Friday's News Update From KWGS

City Accepting Applications From Nonprofits For $6.5 Million In Pandemic Grants

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum announced Thursday that applications are open for up to $6.5 million in grants for nonprofit organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. "When you think about the work that Tulsa's nonprofit community has done through this pandemic, it's extraordinary, and at the city of Tulsa, the city council and I want to make sure that they have the resources they need to continue and, hopefully, enhance that work," Bynum said at a virtual press conference Thursday morning. In...

Missing Wagoner County Woman Found Dead, Roommate Arrested On Murder Charge

Four Broken Arrow Schools Going To Distance Learning

Japan Tries To Remain Optimistic As COVID-19 Threatens To Cancel Tokyo Olympics

Japanese officials are swatting away rumors and reports that the government has concluded that, with the Tokyo Olympics 151 days away and much of the country in a COVID-19 state of emergency, the games cannot be held. They dismissed an anonymously sourced report by the British newspaper The Times that there is a growing consensus within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that this summer's games must be scrapped and that Japan should bid for the next available slot in 2032. "We would like to...

The Past, and How We Regard the Past: Considering the Official Report of Trump's "1776 Commission"

By Rich Fisher • 1 hour ago

National Park Service / Liberty Bell Center (nps.gov)

It's well-known that Americans today -- in so many cases, if not in most cases -- inhabit completely different worlds when it comes to acquiring news and daily information. But do we also have completely different understandings of our country's history? On this edition of ST, we're discussing the official report of the "1776 Commission." This report was released by the Trump Administration on Monday of this week...and then removed from the White House website two days later by the newly-incumbent Biden Administration.

"Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells" (Encore Presentation)

By Rich Fisher • Jan 19, 2021

(Note: This interview first aired last fall.) Our guest is Harold McGee, who writes about the science of food and cooking. He joins us to discuss his new book, "Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells." As was noted of this work by Booklist: "In his detailed survey of scents, food writer and cooking scientist McGee elegantly explains olfaction.... His exploration of our smelly world includes the odors of flora and fauna, soil and smoke, food and fragrances, but also the unexpected: primordial earth, rain, and the whiff of old books.

ST Medical Monday: "The Case for Keto"

By Rich Fisher • Jan 19, 2021

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we're looking at the connections between diet, weight control, and health.

"Project Hope, Unity, and Compassion" at Living Arts of Tulsa

By Rich Fisher • Jan 15, 2021

On this edition of ST, we chat with artist and Living Arts of Tulsa board member Tina Henley, who is the curator for an interesting group show now on view at Living Arts called "Project Hope, Unity, and Compassion." On view through the 22nd, it is a collection of large-scale artworks which were created on plywood last summer by various artists, and which were then used to cover store-fronts, windows, and buildings in advance of the Trump rally at the BOK Center.

"Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy"

By Rich Fisher • Jan 14, 2021

Our guest on ST is Adam Jentleson, the public affairs director at Democracy Forward and a former deputy chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid. Jentleson joins us to discuss his new book, which argues that far from reflecting the intent and design of the Founding Fathers, the U.S. Senate -- from John C. Calhoun in the mid-1800s up through Mitch McConnell today -- has been transformed by a tenacious, often extremist minority of white conservatives. Per The New York Times: "An impeccably timed book....

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Biography Traces Political Mistakes And Personal Scars That Shaped Joe Biden

By Terry Gross • 33 minutes ago

Evan Osnos talks about Joe Biden's enduring quest to become president. He says Biden has a different mindset today than he once had: "He's a man who is at peace." Originally broadcast Oct. 27, 2020.

Remembering Jazz Tuba Player Howard Johnson

By Terry Gross • 33 minutes ago

In 'White Tiger,' A Dickensian Rags-To-Riches Story Turns Psychological Thriller

By Justin Chang • 33 minutes ago

The year 2008 saw the publication of Aravind Adiga's novel The White Tiger and the release of the film Slumdog Millionaire, two stories about young men escaping poverty and defying the odds against the backdrop of a rapidly globalizing India.

'Until Everyone Is Safe, No One Is Safe': Africa Awaits The COVID-19 Vaccine

By Steve Inskeep • 43 minutes ago

As slow as the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has been in the United States, some estimates say billions of people around the world won't be vaccinated for COVID-19 until 2022 or 2023.

House To Transmit Article Of Impeachment To Senate On Monday, Schumer Says

By Kelsey Snell • 1 hour ago

Updated at 12:43 a.m. ET

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the sole article of impeachment for incitement to insurrection against former President Donald Trump will be delivered to the Senate on Monday, a move that would trigger the start of a Senate trial against Trump.

"The Senate will conduct a trial on the impeachment of Donald Trump," Schumer said Friday on the Senate floor. "It will be a fair trial. But make no mistake, there will be a trial."

Hank Aaron, Baseball's Legendary Slugger, Dies At 86

By Bill Chappell • 1 hour ago

Updated at 2:10 p.m. ET

Hank Aaron, seen as a hero for shattering Babe Ruth's home run record and also for his longtime advocacy for civil rights, has died. "Hammerin' Hank" was 86. The Atlanta Braves confirmed his death on Friday.

Fast-Growing Alternative To Facebook And Twitter Finds Post-Trump Surge 'Messy'

By Shannon Bond • 1 hour ago

The alternative social network MeWe had 12 million users at the end of 2020. Barely three weeks into 2021 — and two since a right-wing mob attacked the U.S. Capitol — the company says it's now passed 16 million.

CEO Mark Weinstein says this popularity is a testament to the reason he launched MeWe in 2016 as an alternative to Facebook. MeWe markets itself as privacy forward. It doesn't harness users' data to sell ads or decide what content to show them.

U.N. Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Takes Effect, Without The U.S. And Other Powers

By Bill Chappell • 3 hours ago

A U.N. treaty outlawing nuclear weapons went into effect on Friday, having been ratified by at least 50 countries. But the ban is largely symbolic: The U.S. and the world's other nuclear powers have not signed the treaty.

"For the first time in history, nuclear weapons are going to be illegal in international law," Elayne Whyte, Costa Rica's former U.N. ambassador who oversaw the treaty's creation, tells NPR's Geoff Brumfiel.

Watch Live: What's Ahead For The COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout?

By Scott Hensley • 3 hours ago

As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines unfolds in the U.S., numerous questions around distribution, supply, hesitancy and efficacy persist. Experts from Harvard and the CDC will tackle these questions.

Lloyd Austin Confirmed As Defense Secretary, Becomes 1st Black Pentagon Chief

By Brakkton Booker • 3 hours ago

Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star Army general, has been confirmed by the Senate, making him the first Black defense secretary in U.S. history.

The Senate approved President Biden's nomination for Pentagon chief in a near-unanimous 93-2 vote Friday.

Austin's nomination was approved despite concerns raised on both sides of the aisle that he hadn't been out of uniform for the legally mandated seven-year period.

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