Ice leaves 370,000 Oklahomans in dark
OKLAHOMA CITY -- More than 370,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma were without electricity Wednesday as cleanup continued from an ice storm that ravaged much of the state.
As of 5 p.m., 372,771 homes and businesses were without electricity statewide, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.
Gov. Kevin Stitt declared a state of emergency for 47 of the state's 77 counties because of severe winter weather.
Brian Alford, OG&E spokesman, told The Oklahoman that some people could be without power for days as crews work long hours to restore electricity.
"Fall storms like this are your worst nightmare," Alford said. "You still have leaves on branches that create a considerable amount of weight. And once you begin to thaw, you see the ice melt and you get the rebound effect of branches bouncing up. So we might make progress and then there will be a setback with the bounding due to the thaw."
In Oklahoma City, a daytime warming center was opened at the Cox Convention Center for those who needed it.
Fast ballots-extension review ruled out
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would not grant a quick pre-election review to a new Republican appeal to exclude Pennsylvania absentee ballots received after Election Day.
But the court's order left open the possibility that the justices could take up and decide after the voting whether a three-day extension to receive and count absentee ballots ordered by the state's high court was proper.
The issue would take on enormous importance if Pennsylvania turns out to be the crucial state in next week's presidential election and the votes received between Nov. 3 and Nov. 6 are potentially decisive.
Earlier Wednesday, the state agreed to segregate ballots received in the mail after polls close Tuesday and before 5 p.m. on Nov. 6.
New high court Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not take part in the vote "because of the need for a prompt resolution of it and because she has not had time to fully review the parties' filings," court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in an email.
Justice Samuel Alito, writing for three justices, indicated that he would support the high court's eventual review of the issue. But, he wrote, "I reluctantly conclude that there is simply not enough time at this late date to decide the question before the election."
Last week, the justices divided 4-4, a tie vote that allowed the three-day extension ordered by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to remain in effect.
Plan to remove Lee statue OK'd, on hold
RICHMOND, Va. -- A judge has ruled in favor of the Democratic Virginia governor's plans to remove a large statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, but said the state can't immediately act on his order.
Circuit Judge W. Reilly Marchant on Tuesday dissolved a temporary injunction prohibiting the statue's removal from a historic avenue in downtown Richmond, but he also suspended his own order pending the resolution of an appeal by a group of residents who live near the statue.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced plans to take down the Lee statue in June after the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a Black man, died as he was being arrested by police officers in Minneapolis in May, sparking nationwide protests.
Reached by phone, an attorney for the plaintiffs, Patrick McSweeney, confirmed that his clients would appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
The plaintiffs said in their lawsuit that taking down the bronze equestrian figure installed in 1890 would violate restrictive covenants in deeds that transferred to the state the statue, its soaring pedestal and the land they sit on.
The state argued that it cannot be forced to forever maintain a statue it says no longer comports with its values.
Four other prominent statues of Confederate leaders have been taken down along the city's Monument Avenue.
8 people tied to China coercion charged
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department has charged eight people with working on behalf of the Chinese government in a pressure campaign aimed at coercing a New Jersey man, who was wanted by Beijing, to return to China to face charges, officials said Wednesday.
The defendants participated in a Chinese government operation known as "Fox Hunt," which was ostensibly created to help Beijing locate fugitives abroad. But U.S. officials say in practice it relied on intimidation and bullying to go after dissidents and political opponents.
Five of the eight, including an American private investigator who was hired as part of the effort, were arrested Wednesday. The other three are believed to be in China. All eight were charged with conspiring to act as illegal agents for China in a case filed in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y.
In this case, prosecutors said, the defendants in 2016 and 2017 harassed the family of a man, who wasn't identified, who had been a city government official in China before arriving in the U.S. 10 years ago.