7 bodies found during search for missing Oklahoma teens
HENRYETTA, Okla. (AP) 鈥� Authorities discovered the bodies of seven people Monday while searching a rural Oklahoma property for two missing teenagers, state investigators confirmed.
The bodies were found near the town of Henryetta, a town of about 6,000 located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesman Gerald Davidson said.
He said the state medical examiner will have to identify the victims, but authorities were no longer searching for the missing teens or a man they may have been with.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had our share of troubles and woes, but this one is pretty bad,鈥� Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice told reporters.
Rice declined to confirm the identities of any of the victims, where the bodies were found or any details about weapons that may have been discovered on the property.
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Man who lost wife, son in Texas mass shooting tells story
CLEVELAND, Texas (AP) 鈥� Wilson Garcia hadn鈥檛 even asked his neighbor to stop shooting his gun.
People in their rural town north of Houston are used to people firing their weapons to blow off steam, but it was late Friday night, and Garcia had a month-old son who was crying.
So, Garcia said, he and two other people went to his neighbor鈥檚 house to 鈥渞espectfully鈥� ask that he shoot farther away from their home.
鈥淗e told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted,鈥� Garcia said Sunday after a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, for his 9-year-old son who was killed in the attack that soon followed.
The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remained at large Monday despite a search involving more than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions.
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Met Gala 2023 live updates: Fashion highlights from carpet
NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Fashion's biggest night is underway 鈥� after all, it is the first Monday in May. Follow along for real-time updates on the 2023 Met Gala from The Associated Press. We'll be bringing you news in all formats, all day and all night, from the carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and behind the scenes. This year's theme revolves around late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
Live updates are contributed by Leanne Italie, Jocelyn Noveck, Beatrice Dupuy, Lindsey Bahr, Elise Ryan, Mallika Sen and other AP journalists.
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IS RIHANNA AT THE MET GALA?
Yes! About an hour and a half after reporters were told to expect one more guest in about 15 minutes, Rihanna herself arrived at the Met Gala. She ascended the steps in voluminous white bedecked with rosettes that doubled as a hood, accompanied by A$AP Rocky in a kilt-type layer over jeans (reminiscent of mid-aughts Disney Channel couture).
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Treasury's Yellen says US could default as soon as June 1
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Monday that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1, if legislators do not raise or suspend the nation's borrowing authority before then and avert what could potentially become a global financial crisis.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Yellen urged congressional leaders 鈥渢o protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible鈥� to address the $31.4 trillion limit on its legal borrowing authority. She added that it is impossible to predict with certainty the exact date of when the U.S. will run out of cash.
鈥淲e have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States," Yellen said in the letter.
Also Monday, the Congressional Budget Office reported that it saw a greater risk of the U.S. running out of funds in early June. CBO Director Phillip L. Swagel said because of less-than-expected tax receipts this filing season and a faster IRS having processed already received returns, 鈥淭reasury鈥檚 extraordinary measures will be exhausted sooner than we previously projected.鈥�
In January, Yellen sent a letter to congressional leaders, stating that her department had begun resorting to 鈥渆xtraordinary measures鈥� to avoid a federal government default.
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At least 6 dead after dust storm causes crashes in Illinois
DIVERNON, Ill. (AP) 鈥� A windstorm in central Illinois kicked up dangerous clouds of blinding dust off farm fields Monday, causing numerous crashes that killed at least six people on Interstate 55, police said.
The late morning crashes involved 40 to 60 cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said.
He said at least six people died, all in the northbound lanes, and more than 30 people on both sides of I-55 were transported to hospitals with injuries.
鈥淭he only thing you could hear after we got hit was crash after crash after crash behind us,鈥� said Tom Thomas, 43, who was traveling south to St. Louis.
I-55 was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St. Louis, and likely won't reopen until Tuesday.
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Oklahoma governor signs gender-affirming care ban for kids
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) 鈥� Oklahoma on Monday became the latest state to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors as Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill that makes it a felony for health care workers to provide children with treatments that can include puberty-blocking drugs and hormones.
Oklahoma joins at least 15 other states with laws banning such care, as conservatives across the country have targeted transgender rights.
Stitt, who was reelected in November, made the ban a priority of this year鈥檚 legislative session, saying he wanted to protect children. Transgender advocates and parents of transgender children say such care is essential.
Stitt signed bills last year that prohibit transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams and prevent transgender children from using school bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.
鈥淟ast year, I called for a statewide ban on all irreversible gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors so I am thrilled to sign this into law today and protect our kids,鈥� Stitt said in a statement released after the signing. 鈥淲e cannot turn a blind eye to what鈥檚 happening across our nation, and as governor I am proud to stand up for what鈥檚 right and ban life-altering transition surgeries on children in the state of Oklahoma.鈥�
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Chinese electric vehicle brands expand to global markets
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) 鈥� Osamu Furukawa has driven lots of Japanese cars for his business converting classic gasoline-powered models to electric. But his favorite ride is an import: A battery-powered SUV from China鈥檚 BYD Auto.
BYD Auto is part of a wave of Chinese electric car exporters that are starting to compete with Western and Japanese brands in their home markets. They bring fast-developing technology and low prices that Tesla Inc.'s chief financial officer says 鈥渁re scary.鈥�
Furukawa said he ordered an ATTO 3 when it went on sale Jan. 31, for its user-friendly features and appealing price of 4.4 million yen ($33,000) 鈥� or about one-quarter less than a Tesla.
鈥淚t鈥檚 perfect,鈥� Furukawa said in his office in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo.
Other ambitious Chinese EV exporters include NIO, Geely Group鈥檚 Zeekr and Ora, a unit of SUV maker Great Wall Motors.
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Pot consulting paid Oregon secretary of state $10K monthly
SALEM, Ore. (AP) 鈥� Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan apologized Monday for taking a job as a consultant for a marijuana company 鈥� part of an industry that her office just audited 鈥� that paid far more than her state salary.
After previously refusing to disclose the terms of her contract, Fagan had her office email reporters a copy on Monday. It showed the consultancy paid $10,000 per month, with bonuses three times that amount if she helped the company get licensed in other states.
Fagan, a Democrat who is the state鈥檚 second-highest ranking official, indicated she aims to hold onto her elected position despite Republican calls for her to resign. Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, requested investigations by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission and the Oregon Department of Justice into the matter Friday.
鈥淚 am sorry for harming the trust that I and so many others have worked so hard to build with you over the last few years,鈥� Fagan said during a Zoom conference she held Monday. 鈥淚 will begin working to build that trust back today.鈥�
The matter came to a head after Fagan's office released an audit Friday that called for the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to 鈥渞eform鈥� some rules for marijuana businesses, saying they are 鈥渂urdens鈥� when combined with federal restrictions on interstate commerce, banking and taxation.
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'Waste of time': Community college transfers derail students
First came the good news. After taking classes at a community college, Ricki Korba was admitted to California State University, Bakersfield, as a transfer student. But when she logged on to her student account, she got a gut punch: Most of her previous classes wouldn鈥檛 count.
The university rejected most of her science classes, she was told, because they were deemed less rigorous than those at Bakersfield 鈥� even though some used the same textbooks. Several other courses were rejected because Korba exceeded a cap on how many credits can be transferred.
Now Korba, a chemistry and music major, is retaking classes she already passed once. It will add a year to her studies, plus at least $20,000 in tuition and fees.
鈥淚t just feels like a waste of time,鈥� said Korba, 23, of Sonora, California. 鈥淚 thought I was supposed to be going to a CSU and starting hard classes and doing a bunch of cool labs.鈥�
Every year, hundreds of thousands of students start at community colleges hoping to transfer to a university later. It鈥檚 advertised as a cheaper path to a bachelor鈥檚 degree, an education hack in a world of ever-rising tuition costs.
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91原创 folk singer Gordon Lightfoot dies at 84
TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Gordon Lightfoot, Canada's legendary folk singer-songwriter whose hits including 鈥淓arly Morning Rain鈥� and 鈥淭he Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" told a tale of 91原创 identity that was exported worldwide, died on Monday. He was 84.
Representative Victoria Lord said the musician died at a Toronto hospital. His cause of death was not immediately available.
Considered one of the most renowned voices to emerge from Toronto鈥檚 Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s, Lightfoot went on to record 20 studio albums and pen hundreds of songs, including 鈥淐arefree Highway鈥� and 鈥淪undown.鈥�
Once called a 鈥渞are talent鈥� by Bob Dylan, dozens of artists have covered his work, including Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, Anne Murray, Jane鈥檚 Addiction and Sarah McLachlan.
Most of his songs are deeply autobiographical with lyrics that probe his own experiences in a frank manner and explore issues surrounding the 91原创 national identity.
The Associated Press
