Morihei Ueshiba"A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind."
Should pardoned felons have gun rights?
Ex-con from Georgia now living in Franklin is suing after being denied a gun permit in Tennessee, arguing that a Georgia pardon fully restored his rights.
View Entire Story » | 0 CommentsBlack Cherokees regain tribal citizenship
Black Cherokees in Kansas City were ecstatic Tuesday after learning that the tribal citizenship they'd been fighting years for has been restored. Their citizenship is regained through an agreement made in federal court between the Cherokee Nation and black Cherokees known as freedmen, an attorney said Tuesday.
View Entire Story » | 0 CommentsMissouri local school board ends ban on Slaughterhouse Five
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A school board in southwest Missouri on Monday restored two books it had banned from public schools for being contrary to teachings in the Bible.
Missouri high court to hear arguments today on adult entertainment law
Missouri's yearlong dispute over what adult entertainment venues can offer -- and when -- is probably entering its final, decisive stage today in Jefferson City. The state's Supreme Court is to hear oral arguments in the legal challenge to a law that broadly restricts adult entertainment in strip clubs, bookstores and movie houses.
View Entire Story » | 0 CommentsWildfire destroys nearly 500 homes in Texas
BASTROP, Texas (AP) — A roaring wildfire raced through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Central Texas on Monday, destroying nearly 500 homes during a rapid advance that was fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.
At least 5,000 people were forced from their homes in Bastrop County about 25 miles east of Austin, and about 400 were in emergency shelters, officials said.
Strong winds and drought conditions allowed the fire to travel quickly over somewhat hilly terrain, burning through pine and cedar trees and wiping out subdivisions as well as ranchland.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Oklahoma municipalities, counties move to put ‘In God We Trust' on public buildings
BY VALLERY BROWN vbrown@opubco.com
Several municipalities and counties across Oklahoma are unveiling plans to inscribe the national motto, “In God We Trust,” on public buildings.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Oklahoma businessman to join congressional race
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLAREMORE — An Adair County businessman is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the open 2nd Congressional District seat in eastern Oklahoma.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Lower Manhattan: Rising from the ashes
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A decade after the September 11 attacks enveloped Lower Manhattan in a thick gray dust of pulverized buildings and human remains, the surrounding area has become a trendy neighborhood with a booming population.
Most stolen vehicle: Cadillac Escalade
Criminals seem to have a thing for big vehicles. The Cadillac Escalade remains the car most likely to be stolen, according to new data from the Highway Loss Data Institute.
KU researchers work on method to block bullying in schools
Feelings about bullies are the same the world over -- nobody likes them. That's why educators here and abroad are working together to stop them. The University of Kansas is taking a lead role to bring what is considered one of the most effective bully prevention methods in the world to U.S. schools.
View Entire Story » | 0 CommentsOklahoma Highway Patrol refuses to release video taken from former trooper's car
BY MATT PATTERSON mpatterson@opubco.com
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has declined to release video taken from a trooper's patrol car during a stop in June that led to the trooper resigning and being charged with second-degree rape.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Hijacked
View Entire Story » | 0 CommentsJudge rules Little Rock bus line wrong to deny atheist ads
LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the free speech of a coalition of atheists had been violated when Little Rock's public bus line denied them the right to place $5,000 worth of ads on city buses.
More petitions supporting former Oklahoma City pharmacist Jerome Ersland brought to governor
BY MICHAEL MCNUTT Capitol Bureau mmcnutt@opubco.com
The petitions delivered Thursday to the governor's office bring the total to nearly 25,000 seeking a pardon for Jerome Ersland.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Severe drought forces Texas, Oklahoma ranchers to sell cattle, putting future of herds at risk
McALLEN, Texas — Texas cattle rancher Charles Kothman is down to six calves and their mothers after selling off 80 animals in recent months.
The drought that has baked pastures and dried ponds has ranchers in Texas and Oklahoma — the nation’s top two beef producers — culling their herds. Some have sold off all their cattle, but Kothman is hanging on and hoping for rain.
“I may get to the point that I say ‘no’ and take them over to the sale barn,” said Kothman, whose ranch is about 70 miles south of San Angelo. Some ranchers say they may sell out and get back into the business down the road. Others may never get back in, Kothman said. “My reason for saying maybe is because I’m 74 years old.”
View Entire Story » | 0 Comments
West Virginia Mountains Flattened to Get Coal
From the road, West Virginia's mountains look as pristine as ever, but from above, the landscape resembles more of a moonscape. From even higher up in space, entire swathes of countryside appear flattened.
Oklahoma AG launches investigation into pension investments
BY MICHAEL MCNUTT mmcnutt@opubco.com
The attorney general's office is making inquiries to banks that hold pension funds and is seeking information on investment transactions, including those involving foreign currency exchanges.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Hordes of hungry bats both delight and darken Austin
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - There are 1.5 million bats living under a bridge in downtown Austin, and a historic Texas drought is making them hungrier than ever.
Postal Service names 3,700 post offices that could be closed
The U.S. Postal Service is targeting 3,700 post offices across the country that could be closed, the largest downsizing in the history of the money-losing agency.
The unprofitable stations, branches and main offices that could be shuttered starting in January account for about 11 percent of the Postal Service’s retail operations. In the Washington area, 32 post offices could be jettisoned, from those servicing Congress in the U.S. Capitol to ones in Silver Spring and downtown Leesburg.
Another 124 elsewhere in Maryland and Virginia are on the list, with the rest are scattered across 47 other states. The local post office with an American flag flying overhead has helped define communities — rural, suburban and urban — in many of these areas for more than two centuries.
View Entire Story » | 0 Comments
5 Best Small Towns in America
The assignment: Start in New York City and wind up in Los Angeles, exploring the best of small-town America along the way. Three weeks and 25,000 miles later, five teams competing in the Best of the Road contest — sponsored by Rand McNally in collaboration with USA TODAY — have turned in their maps and car keys, consulted with a panel of judges and come up with the winners: five towns full of friendly people, great scenery, terrific food, patriotic fervor and just plain fun. Selected from 30 nominees (each team visited the six in their category), the winners were announced Thursday at the Destination Marketing Association International's annual meeting in New Orleans. For more on the winning towns, the worthy also-rans and the teams that got to sample their charms, check out bestoftheroad.com. Friendliest Walla Walla, Wash. Team that visited: Jason and Nikki Wynn ("Gone with the Wynns") of Dallas, who were the winning team What made it stand out: This...
Alarming ‘dead zone’ grows in the Chesapeake
A giant underwater “dead zone” in the Chesapeake Bay is growing at an alarming rate because of unusually high nutrient pollution levels this year, according to Virginia and Maryland officials. They said the expanding area of oxygen-starved water is on track to become the bay’s largest ever.
This year’s Chesapeake Bay dead zone covers a third of the bay, stretching from the Baltimore Harbor to the bay’s mid-channel region in the Potomac River, about 83 miles, when it was last measured in late June. It has since expanded beyond the Potomac into Virginia, officials said.
View Entire Story » | 0 CommentsOfficial: Wyo. highway may have failed in minutes
A raging creek may have eroded the dirt under a highway for hours before it gouged out a huge trench that pulled four members of a Colorado family to their deaths, a state Transportation Department spokesman said.
View Entire Story » | 0 CommentsFree birth control backed by advisers
Millions of women could stand to gain free access to a broad menu of birth control methods, thanks to a recommendation issued Tuesday by health experts advising the government.
View Entire Story » | 0 CommentsOklahomans swelter as infrastructure begins cracking in heat wave
BY BRYAN DEAN bdean@opubco.com
Oklahoma City saw its 28th day of triple-digit temperatures this year after Monday's high soared past 100 degrees.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Iowa congressman helps fight off home invasion
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - An eight-term congressman from Iowa helped fight off an armed man who invaded his farm house in Decatur County and attacked his daughter on Saturday night, according to a statement from his office.