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OKLAHOMA CITY (CN) - Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged a 74-year-old attorney with stealing more than $300,000 from four clients, who were orphaned when their parents died in a car crash. The 12-count grand jury indictment charges John Milton Merritt, of Oklahoma City, with bank fraud, using the forged signature of a federal judge and money laundering. Merritt appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Purcell early Wednesday and faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine if convicted. Merritt defrauded the Quail Creek Bank in Oklahoma City by fraudulently removing funds from his clients' bank...

Yesterday on Laura IngrahamÂ’s radio show, she asked Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell about a recent Roll Call article that framed me as one of the loud leaders of conservatives opposed to Mitch McConnell. The Senator from Kentucky responded that he had never heard of me and I did not have an audience. That sounds a bit like the child, when asked if he ate the cookie, replying that he had not and besides it did not taste good. If heÂ’d never heard of me, how can he comment on my audience? If he states plainly I have no audience,...

A North Carolina Democrat faces serious sexual misconduct charges, and this time it isn't the state's former senator John Edwards. The ex-girlfriend of former state party executive Jay Parmley claims that he gave her HIV and his lawyers promised to put her on the Democratic National Committee's health insurance. Mr Parmley's ex Rebecca Burgin, 29, spoke out today saying that her 'biggest concern is for anybody else that had had a relationship with him that he did not tell'. Ms Burgin started dating Mr Parmley when she was 20 and he was her 32-year-old teacher at Oklahoma City Community College...

Voice of the Martyrs' Tom White's Death an Apparent Suicide Following Molestation Investigation Leader of prominent persecution ministry was being investigated by police on allegations of molesting a young girl. Jeremy Weber | posted 4/20/2012 06:17PM This week's death of a prominent persecution ministry leader is now being described as a possible suicide in the wake of a molestation investigation by local police. Tom White, executive director of The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), was found dead Wednesday morning in a warehouse at the ministry's headquarters in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, according to Tulsa CBS affiliate News on 6. Court records indicate...

Earlier this month, innovative legislators in the state of Oklahoma voted unanimously to advance a proposed amendment that guarantees Second Amendment protections to law abiding citizens during a state of emergency declared by a state official or agency. Current state riot law is unclear as to how far law enforcement can go with respect to handling disasters, riots, or disorder. In fact, the Oklahoma Riot Control and Prevention Act provide for such wide latitude, that law enforcement, if they wanted to, could effectuate a military, take our guns away operation. Oklahoma Senate Bill 1760 makes it clear that provisions in...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson came to Tulsa to help bring healing in the wake of the Good Friday shootings that left three people dead, he said Friday. "When you walk down the street and are shot in cold blood, there are some broken hearts in town," he said in an afternoon press conference on the steps of First Baptist Church North Tulsa. "Our mission is to heal the broken-hearted and set the captives free, and to do it now," he said. "This is my ministry. This is what Jesus would have me do - preach good news to the poor,...

Baseball-sized hail is tearing the siding off homes in northeast Nebraska, a tornado has touched down in Kansas and forecasters are warning residents across the nation's midsection to brace for "life threatening" storms. The National Weather Service says a rain-wrapped tornado touched down in southwest Kansas on Saturday afternoon, while at least three possible tornadoes were reported earlier in central Oklahoma. No injuries were immediately reported. But forecasters are expecting the most dangerous weather later in the day and are warning residents across the region of possible fast-moving tornadoes overnight. Officials say a large area spanning from Minnesota to Texas...

At least three possible tornadoes hit central Oklahoma early Saturday in a prelude to what forecasters warned could be a day of "life-threatening" storms in the nation's midsection. No injuries were immediately reported. Department of Emergency Management official Michelann Ooten said the possible tornadoes were reported west and north of Oklahoma City. One was spotted near Piedmont, a small town where a twister last May killed several people. The National Weather Service was working to confirm the reports. Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Brown told The Associated Press the storms were fairly weak but still damaged some homes. A tornado that...

The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office ruled Tuesday that the deadly force used by the Tulsa Police Department last month during a burglary was justified. Officer James Comstock shot Phillip Steven Doll, 25, after Doll was found hovering over a 65-year-old woman in her home and refused to obey officers' commands to back away, police said. "At the time (Comstock) used deadly force, he had a reasonable belief that that woman's life was in jeopardy," First Assistant District Attorney Doug Drummond said. Doll was shot about 8:15 p.m. March 20 in the residence of Eva Dell Jones in the 900...

Oklahoma prosecutors filed murder and hate crime charges Friday against two men arrested in an Easter weekend shooting spree that left three people dead and terrorized Tulsa's black community. Jake England, 19, and his roommate, Alvin Watts, 33, each are charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of shooting with intent to kill and five counts of malicious harassment. The harassment counts allege the victims were targeted because of their race.

SHAWNEE, Okla. — Legislation signed by Gov. Mary Fallin would limit the liability of owners, employees and customers for injuries that take place on gun ranges, gun shops and gun clubs. Senate Bill 875, by state Sen. Anthony Sykes and state Rep. Dennis Johnson, would limit liability for injuries if the party in question acted in good faith. Liability would not be limited if the party involved acted intentionally, willfully or with wanton disregard for the safety of those injured. Sykes said the legislation helps bolster the Second Amendment rights of Oklahomans. “This measure will enhance our ability to exercise...

<p>The Storm Prediction Center has predicted a slight chance of severe weather for parts of Texas and Oklahoma this entire week, thus it should come as no surprise that the weekend holds the best chance of dangerous severe weather.</p> <p>The Storm Prediction Center has issued an upgraded, high chance of severe weather from central Oklahoma through eastern Kansas (see image below). In addition, there is a moderate risk of severe weather from western Texas through southern Iowa, and a slight risk in the greater area from central Texas through southern Wisconsin.</p>

The Rev. Jesse Jackson will be in town this weekend arguing that the federal government needs to get involved in Tulsa's Good Friday shooting spree that left three people dead. Jackson will meet with north Tulsa ministers and elected officials at noon Friday at First Baptist Church North Tulsa, and will hold a public rally at the church at 6 p.m. Saturday. He was invited to Tulsa by the State Legislative Black Caucus and local ministers. Jackson said in a conference phone call Wednesday afternoon that the Tulsa shootings were not an isolated crime, but part of a pattern of...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Right now, two open carry bills allowing people to openly carry firearms are moving through the state legislature. Click Like For Oklahoma News Updates: Lawmakers are debating them, but first they want to clarify the rules. Rep. Steve Martin says the open carry law was stopped in 1971. However, it could soon be back. "It is an open carry for people with a permit," said Martin. Martin spearheaded the idea with House bill 2522. Then a similar bill proposed in the Senate changed some language for specific rules. For instance if passed, this bill will not allow...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Members of a state House committee have voted to increase the legal protection of citizens’ constitutional rights. Senate Bill 1760, by state Sen. Anthony Sykes and state Rep. T.W. Shannon, would specify that Oklahomans’ Second Amendment rights cannot be taken away during a declared state of emergency. “While government may assume greater police powers to preserve public safety during times of emergency, the government should never be allowed to strip citizens of their most basic constitutional rights,” said Shannon , R-Lawton. “This legislation simply makes clear that Oklahomans will continue to have the right to self-defense during...

(Reuters) - A proposed law in Oklahoma that would grant embryos full rights as people from the moment of conception may represent the next big challenge to the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. Oklahoma's Personhood Act passed the state Senate in February and is expected to be approved by the Republican-controlled House within weeks. The state's Republican governor, Mary Fallin, is an abortion opponent and is expected to sign the bill if it passes. If an embryo has full legal rights, abortion would represent murder. While the bill does not expressly prohibit abortion, abortion-rights advocates say there's...

ulsa, Oklahoma (CNN) -- Authorities in Oklahoma arrested two people early Sunday in connection with a deadly spate of apparently random shootings in Tulsa that have had residents on edge. About 30 representatives from four law enforcement agencies -- the Tulsa police, Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI -- had been working around the clock looking for the person that authorities say killed three people and wounded two others in shooting attacks early Friday. The police identified the arrested men as Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32. They were taken into custody from a...

Facebook page of accused north Tulsa shooter paints chilling picture of animosity towards blacks Accused man's father was believed shot and killed by a black man exactly 2 years earlier

Tula, Okla. – Two arrests have been made in the North Tulsa shootings that left three African-American men dead, FOX23 reports. The Tulsa Police Department sent out a press release early Sunday stating that two males had been apprehended. "Within 24 hours of its formation, the task force "Operation Random Shooter" has completed its mission. At 1:47am, officers apprehended suspects of the North Tulsa shootings that occurred on Good Friday. Jake England, 19 year old white male, and Alvin Watts, 32 year old white male, have been arrested and will be charged with 3 counts of murder and 2 counts...

We fully support the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. However, the possible expansion of Oklahoma’s open carry laws for handguns is off target. What’s the status of the legislation? The House of Representatives recently approved a bill to allow anyone who has completed conceal and carry qualifications to be able to openly carry weapons. Then the bill was sent to the Senate, where an amendment that may eliminate the requirement for a conceal and carry license was added. However, state Sen. Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, believes a bill that allows only those with the conceal and carry license...