Oklahoma Teen Pleads Guilty To Plotting Election Day Terrorist Attack
An Afghan teenager living in Oklahoma has pleaded guilty to his role in plotting an Election Day terrorist attack.
18-year-old Abdullah Haji Zada pleaded guilty Thursday to receiving firearms and ammunition intended to be used in a terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS in 2024.
Federal prosecutors say though he was 17 years old at the time, Zada entered his plea as an adult and agreed to be sentenced as an adult.
He had been a lawful permanent resident of the United States and living in Moore at the time, but will be deported after serving a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
He also faces a maximum fine of $250,000.
One co-conspirator, 27-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, entered a plea of not guilty.
His trial was originally scheduled for earlier this year but has been postponed to May 12, 2026 due to continuances requested by both parties.
Gov. Stitt Criticizes Oklahoma’s Supreme Court Appointment Process
Gov. Kevin Stitt says he prefers the federal government’s top court justice selection process over Oklahoma’s tiered and so-called independent appointment system.
Stitt just made his fourth appointment to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He says the 15-member Judicial Nominating Commission, which vets candidates and provides him a short list of potential appointees, has mostly worked. But he still has his qualms with it.
"I know how the sausage is made on that and in one day, they had to interview all 14 of them. So they're literally 20 minute, you know, interviews," said Stitt.
The interviews are not open to the public and commissioner votes for candidates are kept secret – in the name of remaining apolitical. But Republican lawmakers don’t buy the secrecy, and are carrying bills this year to reform the process, either in part or completely.
If it were up to Stitt, he says he’d rather have the sole power to pick nominees and hold public Senate confirmation hearings, just like at the federal level.
It could happen if lawmakers – and the general public – want it to, as any change to the judicial selection process would mean a change to the State Constitution and trigger a vote of the people.
Oklahoma City Marks 30 Years Since Murrah Bombing With Ceremony and Reflections
Thirty years ago on April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City became the site of the nation’s deadliest act of domestic terrorism.
The milestone will be marked Saturday morning with a speech from former President Bill Clinton, remarks from community members and 168 moments of silence — one for each person killed in the bombing.
Mayor David Holt said after three decades, the way we remember the bombing is evolving.
"You kind of think of every one of these anniversaries on two levels," Holt said in an interview with News9. "One is to honor those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. But also to share lessons of the event forward with people who maybe weren't even alive, and that's a growing number of people every day, right?"
For those who want to learn more about the bombing and the city’s response to it, the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum will offer no-cost admission on Saturday.
Due to weather conditions and forecasts for Saturday morning, the event is moving indoors.
The ceremony is now set to take place at the First Church at the corner of NW 5th and Robinson.
It begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. KGOU will air an audio simulcast courtesy of KFOR-TV.
OKC Thunder Begin Postseason Play Sunday At Paycom Center
The NBA Playoffs start Sunday for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The team enters the post-season with the best record in the league.
OKC is again the top-seed in the Western Conference, winning nearly 80% of their games by double digits - a league record.
But, they’re also the youngest roster in the NBA, at an average age of 24.
Guard Alex Caruso, one of the veteran additions to the Thunder this past offseason, said the team is confident as it enters postseason play.
“Playoffs is more of a chess match, right? There’s different coverages teams throw at you - different nights with different matchups,” Caruso said.
“Luckily, we’ve gotten a good dose of everything throughout the season, so we’ve seen a lot of it. People will probably try stuff we haven’t seen yet, just to see if that stuff will work, just because we have been so good on that side of the ball.”
The Thunder will face the winner of Friday’s Play-In game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks.
That opening game is set for noon on Easter Sunday at the Paycom Center.
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