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Law Firms Reed Smith LLP FollowWASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday halted the execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose case has drawn support from the state's Republican attorney general after an investigation shed new light on evidence relating to the 1997 murder Glossip was convicted of commissioning. A separate independent investigation conducted last year by the law firm Reed Smith at the request of Oklahoma lawmakers also raised serious concerns about Glossip's case and conviction. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on April 20 upheld Glossip's murder conviction, rebuffing Drummond's request. Sneed confessed to carrying out the killing and said Glossip, a manager at the motel, had hired him to do it. Glossip has pending petitions for appeal before the Supreme Court challenging his conviction on grounds including that prosecutors failed to hand over evidence about Sneed to Glossip's defense counsel.

☆ What to Know About the Case of Richard Glossip, Death Row Prisoner
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Remy Tumin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But after a parole board was split on whether to recommend clemency last month, Mr. Stitt signaled that he would not issue another stay. Mr. Glossip, 60, was convicted of arranging the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, who owned a motel in Oklahoma City where Mr. Glossip worked as a manager. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Glossip promised the motel handyman, Justin Sneed, $10,000 to kill him. According to interviews from inmates incarcerated with Mr. Sneed on unrelated charges, Mr. Sneed said he had acted alone to rob Mr. Van Treese of money that Mr. Sneed and his girlfriend planned to use to buy drugs. Mr. Sneed also has a history of mental illness, which was not disclosed at the time.

☆ Unionized Apple store workers want you to start tipping them
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Workers at Apple's first unionized store in suburban Baltimore are pushing for a tipping system. Employees at Apple's first unionized store in Towson, Maryland are pushing for a contract that includes the introduction of tipping. The proposed system would allow customers to tip store workers in increments of 3%, 5%, or a customized amount for in-store credit card transactions. In October, an Apple store in Oklahoma City became the second to vote to unionize, though its negotiations with management haven't begun yet. In April, a union representative for Apple workers in Towson told The Baltimore Banner that contract discussions have been "very, very slow."

Programming note: The full interview with Richard Glossip will air Friday, May 5, on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” which starts at 4 p.m. Lea Glossip, left, wife of death row inmate Richard Glossip, listens with death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean, right, during a news conference on Thursday, May 4, in Oklahoma City. Sneed admitted to killing Van Treese, but at trial, prosecutors portrayed the killing as a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Glossip. Ultimately, Reed Smith concluded “that no reasonable juror hearing the complete record would have convicted Richard Glossip of first-degree murder,” said Stan Perry, a partner at the firm. The Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, where Richard Glossip is set to be executed, is seen in 2015.

☆ Tracing the Angry Path From Timothy McVeigh to Trumpism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jennifer Szalai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

HOMEGROWN: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, by Jeffrey ToobinIt was the dog whistle heard ’round the world. Along with the standoff at Ruby Ridge, in 1992, Waco became a galvanizing moment for the radical right. Exactly two years later, on the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh drove a Ryder truck loaded with a 7,000-pound fertilizer bomb to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. Contrary to media portrayals of him at the time, McVeigh wasn’t just some lone-wolf drifter or survivalist oddball. Jeffrey Toobin’s “Homegrown” adds to this chorus, but where those other books contain a chapter on Oklahoma City, the entirety of Toobin’s book is given over to McVeigh and the ensuing trials.

☆ I moved to Kansas from New York City to be safe from flooding, afford a bigger house, and put roots down
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Landscape architect Jason Beury, 40, moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Kansas City, Kansas, in 2020. He thinks Kansas City is an up-and-coming destination for people moving from other states. So if I want to build equity in the property, New York City is not the place, both because New York City is so expensive and partially because of climate change. Kansas City, Kansas, is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, pictured here. We found a little house listed at $206,000, a two-bedroom, two-bathroom brick house from the 1920s in Strawberry Hill in Kansas City, Kansas.

☆ Oklahoma bodies found: Convicted sex offender Jesse McFadden and 2 teen girls among 7 bodies found at his home
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tina Burnside Caroll Alvarado Eric Levenson | Tina Burnside | Caroll Alvarado | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A convicted sex offender and two missing teenage girls were believed to be among seven bodies found at the man’s Oklahoma home on Monday, authorities said. Brittany Brewer, 16, left, and Ivy Webster, 14, right, were the subject of an endangered/missing advisory issued by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. From Nathan Brewer/Okmulgee County Sheriff's OfficeThe seven bodies were found at a property where McFadden lived and was listed as his home in the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry. “Our hearts are hurting, and we have considered what would be best for our students in the coming days,” the school system said. “Please continue to keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.”Located in central Oklahoma, Henryetta had a population of 5,640 at the 2020 US census.

☆ Seven bodies, including two missing teens, found in Oklahoma town
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 1 (Reuters) - The bodies of seven people, including two missing teens and a convicted sex offender, were found Monday afternoon on a property in the small Oklahoma city of Henryetta, the county sheriff said. Other bodies likely included McFadden and members of his family, Rice said, cautioning that none of the victims had yet been formally identified by the county medical examiner. The county issued an amber alert earlier Monday saying the two teens were missing, but the alert was called off after the bodies were found. Rice said officers arrived at about 3 p.m. to search the property and found the bodies. They are no longer looking for the missing teens or for McFadden.

The bodies were found at a property in Henryetta, a city about 90 miles from Oklahoma City, authorities said. The bodies were found “not in the residence, but just on the property,” Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Gerald Davidson told reporters Monday. “Our hearts are hurting, and we have considered what would be best for our students in the coming days,” the school system said. The school system added that classes would not be canceled and that students would have access to mental health professionals and faith-based clergy. “Please continue to keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.”A vigil for the “families affected by this tragedy” was scheduled for Monday evening, the school system said on Facebook.

CNN —From statehouses to the presidential campaign trail, Republicans are escalating their political attacks on transgender people – a reflection of what they see as a cultural fight their base is eager to wage. And in recent days, those attacks have turned into new forms of mockery and political retribution, as Republicans seek to turn transgender rights into a flashpoint by seizing on social media controversies and exercising their rule-making power in statehouses where they hold large majorities. “A lot of young trans people are worried that their medication is going to get pulled,” she said of legislation targeting health insurance coverage for gender-affirming care. Transgender rights activists protest outside the House chamber at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City on February 6, 2023. That is not a transgender person,” Haley said of Mulvaney as the crowd nodded.

☆ Oklahoma Panel Declines to Spare Death Row Prisoner Richard Glossip
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A divided Oklahoma panel declined on Wednesday to recommend clemency for Richard Glossip, a death row prisoner whose case has been taken on by a diverse range of supporters, including state lawmakers, Kim Kardashian and the Republican state attorney general, who argued that it would be “a grave injustice” to put him to death. Mr. Glossip, 60, was convicted of arranging the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, who owned a motel in Oklahoma City where Mr. Glossip worked as manager. But Mr. Glossip’s lawyers and supporters have argued that the motel handyman who carried out the killing, Justin Sneed, had acted alone. State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said Mr. Glossip should be spared, with one Republican death penalty supporter saying he would vote to outlaw executions in the state if Mr. Glossip was put to death. Gentner Drummond, the state attorney general, told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board that though he believed Mr. Glossip most likely arranged the murder, the evidence was not strong enough to warrant a conviction, let alone a death sentence.

☆ At Least 2 Dead as Tornado Hits Oklahoma
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

At least two people were killed as stormy weather and at least one confirmed tornado swept through a rural county south of Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, the local police said. The two deaths were recorded in or near Cole, a town of about 600 people south of Oklahoma City, Scott Gibbons, a deputy sheriff for McClain County, said by phone overnight. The authorities believe that the deaths are related to the storm, he added. Deputy Gibbons said people elsewhere in the county had also been injured, but that he did not yet know how many. The National Weather Service warned on Wednesday night that the storm’s exact path was hard to predict because it was behaving “erratically.” KWTV, a CBS affiliate in Oklahoma, aired footage of what it said was a large tornado crossing Interstate 40 in the city of Shawnee, about 40 miles east of Oklahoma City.

☆ Lauri Markkanen: NBA star undertaking military service in Finland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Utah Jazz All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen is undertaking military service in Finland following the conclusion of his NBA season. He added that he doesn’t know exactly how long he will spend on military service over the coming months, explaining that he has the option to complete it across two summers. “I definitely don’t want it to affect the basketball part, so we’ll figure out how to do a combination,” said Markkanen. Markkanen starts his military service at the Finnish Defence Forces Sports School in Helsinki. CNN has contacted the Jazz and Markkanen’s representative for further comment on his military service.

☆ Opinion | How the Oklahoma City Bombing Case (and the O.J. Simpson Case) Shaped Merrick Garland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jeffrey Toobin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

A few days after he arrived in Oklahoma, Mr. Garland served as prosecutor in Mr. McVeigh’s bail hearing. The Justice Department was embarrassed by its failure to catch the mysterious perpetrator, and Ms. Gorelick told Mr. Garland to take over, which he did. For the trials of Mr. McVeigh and Terry Nichols in the Oklahoma City bombing, Mr. Garland helped select a prosecution team led by Joseph Hartzler and Larry Mackey, who never became as famous as the O.J. A fair verdict on Mr. Garland should await the outcome of Mr. Smith’s work. (In my interview with him, Mr. Garland not only refused to draw any comparisons between Mr. McVeigh and the Capitol rioters but also refused even to utter the words “January 6.”)

☆ Oklahoma official caught on tape talking about lynching Black people and killing reporters resigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jennings was caught on tape talking about lynching Black people and killing reporters. In the recording, Jennings also appears to complain about not being able to hang Black people, saying: "They got more rights than we got." The newspaper has filed a lawsuit against the sheriff's office seeking body camera footage and other records connected to Barrick's death. On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Sheriff's Association, a voluntary membership organization and not a regulatory agency, held an emergency meeting of its board. It voted unanimously to suspend Clardy, Manning and Hendrix from the association.

☆ James leads surging Lakers into playoffs, Bucks enter as favourites
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Apr 11, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) celebrates the victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves following overtime at Crypto.com Arena. By clinching the Western Conference's seventh seed, the Lakers earned the right to face electrifying guard Ja Morant and the No. He's going to get to the paint one way or another," ESPN NBA analyst JJ Reddick said on a conference call. "He's going to elevate. He's going to decide what the hell to do in the air and he's probably going to score.

☆ Racial Disparities are worsening disaster recovery for people of color. With climate change, things could get worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Rolling Fork, Mississippi suffered massive damage from a powerful tornado on March 24. Racial disparities existed in Rolling Fork for decades. She started I-DIEM after spending over 14 years in disaster management. Shirley Stamps stands in the rubble of her home in the aftermath of the Rolling Fork tornado. And increasingly, non-profits are doing things differently to address racial disparities in disaster management.

☆ Can AI answer your money questions? We put chatbots to the test
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Chris Taylor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Face it, we could all use a little help with our money. So who better to ask for personal finance advice than a couple of the most powerful chatbots on the planet? Each has far more processing power than, say, any individual personal finance writer (ahem). That in mind, we asked our AI assistants-slash-overlords these classic personal finance questions:What is one great business idea? I couldn’t leave our new AI friends without asking a deeper question about money and its role in our existence.

☆ Oklahoma to vote on first religious charter school in US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Brad Brooks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

April 11 (Reuters) - An Oklahoma school board is set to vote on Tuesday on whether the state will allow the first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in the U.S. - a decision that promises to ignite a legal battle testing the concept of separation of church and state. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board will vote on an application backed by the Catholic church for the creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, planned by its organizers to offer an online education for kindergarten through high school initially for 500 students and eventually 1,500. The board is a state entity that considers applications for charter schools - publicly funded but independently run - that operate virtually in Oklahoma. Laser disagreed and said her organization would fight the Catholic church in any court over St. Isidore and any other publicly funded religious school. "There is an attack being waged on public schools in Oklahoma, and that attack is to convert public schools into religious schools," Laser said.

The 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament runs from April 11-14 to decide the final seeds in this year's playoffs. How to watch the NBA Play-In Tournament in the USYou can watch the NBA Play-In Tournament on TNT and ESPN, with games spread across both channels. If you're outside the US right now, you might be in a region that doesn't have access to the NBA Play-In Tournament. How to watch the NBA Play-In Tournament with a VPNSign up for a VPN if you don't have one. 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament scheduleGame Date and time Channel Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat April 11, 7:30 p.m.

☆ Timberwolves suspend Gobert for play-in game against Lakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Apr 2, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) works against Portland Trail Blazers center Drew Eubanks (24) in the second quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY SportsLOS ANGELES, April 10 (Reuters) - Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been suspended for Tuesday's play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers after he punched team mate Kyle Anderson in the chest during an incident on the sidelines of Sunday's game, the NBA team said on Monday. The Frenchman will miss one game and he will be eligible to participate in a second play-in game, if necessary. Gobert left Sunday's game after the altercation that came during a time out in the first half of the team's 113-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. If the Timberwolves lose to the Lakers, they will play the winner of the Pelicans-Oklahoma City Thunder play-in game, with the winner to take on the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round.

☆ NBA roundup: Warriors hang 157 on Blazers, glide into playoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Shaedon Sharpe added 18 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds, while Jeenathan Williams had 17 points for Portland. New Orleans' Brandon Ingram had 42 points and 12 rebounds, CJ McCollum scored 23 points and Trey Murphy III had 20. Lindell Wigginton scored 17 points and Bobby Portis had 16 for the Bucks. Jaden Hardy led all scorers with 25 points, with Theo Pinson forging a triple-double (23 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) for the Mavericks. De'Aaron Fox, who scored 13 points, played less than 18 minutes.

☆ NBA roundup: Mavs' playoff hopes dashed by Bulls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

The result ended the Mavericks' hopes of reaching the Western Conference play-in tournament. Chicago, which had already clinched an Eastern Conference play-in spot, played without leading scorers DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine as well as Patrick Beverley. Orlando, which was in contention for a play-in spot over the past month following a 5-20 start, played its second game since being eliminated Tuesday. Grizzlies 137, Bucks 114Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 36 points to lead seven Memphis players in double figures as the Grizzlies clinched the No. Pascal Siakam scored 19 points, Precious Achiuwa added 16 points, and Fred VanVleet had 12 points and eight assists.

☆ NBA roundup: Suns secure No. 4 seed in West
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Deandre Ayton scored 16 points, and Devin Booker had 15 points and eight assists. Christian Braun scored 15 points, Jeff Green had 14 and DeAndre Jordan registered 12 points and 11 rebounds. Bam Adebayo supplied 14 points and eight rebounds, while Max Strus also had 14 points as Miami connected on 18 of its 39 shot attempts from beyond the arc. Joel Embiid paced the 76ers with 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while James Harden finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Kris Dunn finished with 22 points, eight assists and seven boards, while Kelly Olynyk totaled 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to pace the Jazz.

☆ Oklahoma eyes first US religious charter school after Supreme Court rulings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstApril 6 (Reuters) - An Oklahoma school board is set to consider next week whether to approve the first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in the United States in a move that follows recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings expanding religious rights. The board is a state entity that considers applications for charter schools - publicly funded but independently run - that operate virtually in Oklahoma. They estimated that it would cost Oklahoma taxpayers up to $25.7 million over its first five years in operation as a charter school. In 2020, the Supreme Court endorsed Montana tax credits that helped pay for students to attend religious schools. Secular opponents have said religious charter schools would violate legal limits on government involvement in religion.

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