Terror Plot Suspect To Await Trial In Custody
An Afghan refugee accused of plotting an Election Day terror attack appeared in a federal courtroom in Oklahoma City Thursday.
When someone is arrested by law enforcement for a serious crime, they are assumed innocent until proven guilty, which means prosecutors must prove there is probable cause to justify the arrest and if the accused should be held until trial.
In a preliminary hearing, federal prosecutors argue the FBI has gathered enough evidence to hold Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi while his case is adjudicated.
They say his intentions of martyrdom are clear and that he would be a danger to the community.
Though his public defender argues Tawhedi doesn’t have a criminal record, Judge Suzanne Mitchell agreed with federal prosecutors that Tawhedi is too dangerous.
He will await trial for his Election Day attack plot in custody of the U.S. Marshal. A trial date is pending.
Another Lawsuit Filed Against State Superintendent’s Classroom Bible Mandate
State Superintendent Ryan Walters is facing another lawsuit over his directive to schools to provide a Bible in every classroom.
This suit comes from more than 30 parents, teachers and faith leaders.
The lawsuit was filed in the State Supreme Court Thursday by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU and ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.
This summer, Walters announced all public schools must provide physical copies of the Bible in every classroom and issued guidance saying they should be used as instructional resources.
The suit argues the directive violates the state constitution by spending public money to support religion.
It also contends it violates the Administrative Procedures Act because the directive would constitute an administrative rule, which requires notice and a comment period.
Finally, plaintiffs say state law exclusively prescribes selection of instructional materials to districts.
Oklahoma City Publishes Map Of Lead Service Lines
Across the country, water utilities have been on the hunt for lead in pipes that connect homes and other buildings to water mains. And now, you can see what they found your pipes are made of.
In general, drinking water doesn’t contain any lead as it leaves the treatment plant. But corrosive water passing through a lead pipe can pick up lead contamination. Lead water mains have been eradicated in the U.S. It became illegal to use lead in new plumbing in 1986, but some older lead service lines are still running between water mains and buildings.
In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updated its 1991 Lead and Copper Rule, requiring water utilities to take stock of their service lines to root out the lead.
As of Oct. 16, water systems are federally required to make the results of their service line lead search publicly available.
In Oklahoma City, they’re posted as an interactive map, with little blue check marks for lead-free lines and red exclamation points for lead ones. Gray ellipses mark service lines that haven’t been assessed yet.
Each building has two symbols. One is for the public service line, which runs from the water main to the meter. That segment is the utility’s responsibility. The second symbol is for the private service line, which is the building owner’s responsibility. It runs between the meter and the building plumbing.
Leigh Ann Kitsmiler is the regulatory compliance manager for the OKC Utilities Department. She said the city has been scouring records and digging holes to figure out what people’s lines are made of. So far, the utilities department hasn’t found much lead in the city’s quarter-million service lines.
“We've only found 173 lead ones on our side, which is 0.07% of our total lines,” Kitsmiller said. “We've found zero so far on the customer side.”
But the customer side has a lot of those gray ellipses. Kitsmiller encouraged residents to submit any data they have using the city’s self-reporting tool.
“Maybe you bought the house 20 years ago, and when you moved in, you had to replace the pipes yourself,” she said. “Or maybe you have historical records of maybe your dad replacing it, so maybe a home you lived in for a long amount of time.”
Lead lines are most common in buildings built before 1945. But even then, if a lead line has sprung a leak or required any other work, it’s likely been replaced.
“They could have already been replaced by Oklahoma City because they've replaced lead service lines for years and years before this rule even came into effect,” Kitsmiller said. “But there's a big chance that any home that was built before 1945 could potentially have lead as their service line.”
OKC’s results are available online, as are those for water supplies that serve more than 50,000 people. But smaller communities must have the info available too, even if it’s not online.
“It has to be posted somewhere,” Kitsmiller said. “The best thing to do is just to call their water department and see what they have.”
Kitsmiller encouraged OKC utilities customers to visit the city’s page for frequently asked questions.
Under EPA regulations, water systems must develop a plan to replace lead public service lines and publish it by 2027. Last week, the Biden-Harris administration announced $36 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for lead line inventories and replacement projects in Oklahoma.
Some Oklahoma Tribes Offer Endorsement For Oklahoma Supreme Court Races
Five of Oklahoma’s largest tribes offered an Election endorsement this week.
At this month's quarterly meeting, the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Tribes voted unanimously to support the retention of Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices Noma Gurich, Yvonee Kauger and James Edmondson.
The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Seminole and Choctaw Nations say their support for the justices came from their ability to recognize tribal sovereignty and collaborate effectively with the tribes.
This comes as People for Opportunity, a group related to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, lobbied to reform the judicial selection system and ran targeted ads against the justices.
All three justices up for retention are all former Democratic governor picks.
Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt would get to select their replacements if they are not retained.
_________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU AM NewsBrief.