Costly Hail Storm Hits Oklahoma City Metro
A severe thunderstorm brought large hail to the Oklahoma City metro area Tuesday.
The National Weather Service issued an alert for baseball-sized hail and 60 mph winds.
The storm caught many residents in afternoon rush hour traffic.
Numerous posts online showed extensive damage to vehicles.
KOCO meteorologist Michael Armstrong detailed some of his findings after the storm passed.
"Look at that! Almost the entire back window knocked out from large hail stones. This was absolutely an incredible storm, a historic storm for Oklahoma City," Armstrong said.
Early estimates show losses totaling at least $600 million.
Gov. Stitt Returns to Office Following Surgery
A routine doctor’s visit for Governor Kevin Stitt late last week led to the discovery of a significant blockage in one of his arteries.
Stitt's office says the Governor had surgery to repair the artery and is back in the office.
Stitt’s Director of Communications, Abegail Cave, says the governor had a stent put in to repair the damage he sustained from a “significant blockage in a main artery.”
A stent is basically a small tube surgically inserted into a blood vessel to help it clear an
obstruction and heal. The Governor’s surgery was on Friday. Cave says he’s doing well and has returned to the office.
Muscogee Nation Appeals to Federal Court for Accountability in Alabama Burial Ground Dispute
The Muscogee Nation is appearing before a federal appeals court today in Georgia demanding accountability from another tribe in Alabama.
Muscogee officials filed a lawsuit against the Poarch
Band of Creek Indians in 2012. They allege that the Alabama tribal nation handled human burial grounds improperly at Oce Vpofv or Hickory Ground Tribal Town.
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Muscogee descendants who weren’t removed from Alabama, got the land in 1980. They signed a 20-year agreement to protect burial sites and funerary objects.
But the Poarch began excavation of the human remains after the covenant expired and built a casino on the land.
Muscogee Nation spokesman Jason Salsman says objects and remains were improperly handled.
"The fifty-seven ancestors were removed and dug up from their graves for a casino to be built on top of them," said Salsman.
A federal judge dismissed Muscogee Nation’s lawsuit in 2021. But Muscogee officials are now asking an appeals court to reverse that decision.
Scammers Target Oklahoma Turnpike Users with Fake Toll Charges
Scammers are tricking Oklahoma Turnpike Authority customers into thinking they owe tolls.
The scammers are mimicking the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s website and sending customers fraudulent text messages, charging them for non-existent tolls.
OTA Spokesperson Lisa Shearer-Salim says scammers have become more sophisticated over the last few weeks and encourages customers to stay alert.
“This is where awareness really comes into play. Unfortunately, in this busy, hustle-bustle world that we live in, people will glance at things and go, ‘Oh, I'm just going to take care of it,’ but they really need to take those extra few seconds and look closely at how the language is worded," said Shearer-Salim.
Customers can check their balance on the state’s PikePass or PlatePay websites.
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