Oklahoma

Parts of I-35 closed in Norman after power lines fall across highway

Published

1 hour ago

March 15, 2026

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Parts of I-35 closed in Norman after power lines fall across highway

NORMAN, Okla. –

High winds continue to cause power outages and traffic backups in the Norman, Oklahoma area Sunday.

ODOT reports at 3:12 p.m. that all lanes of north and southbound I-35 are closed between Main St. and SH-9E in Norman due to a downed power line. Drivers should avoid the area and locate an alternate route.

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Downed power lines forced the closure of southbound Interstate 35 near Lindsey Street in Norman on Sunday afternoon.

Authorities say power lines blew across the interstate, creating a hazardous situation for drivers.

Officials shut down all southbound lanes of I-35 while utility crews work to secure the lines and clear the roadway.

Drivers urged to avoid southbound I-35 near Lindsey Street

Traffic is expected to be affected while the closure remains in place.

Drivers are urged to avoid the area and use alternate routes until the roadway reopens.

Officials have not said how long the closure will remain in place as crews respond.

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Oklahoma

Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder odds, picks and predictions

Published

14 hours ago

March 15, 2026

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Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder odds, picks and predictions

The Minnesota Timberwolves (41-26) and Oklahoma City Thunder (52-15) meet Sunday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. ET (ABC). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NBA odds around the Timberwolves vs. Thunder odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: Timberwolves lead 2-1

The Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 127-117 Friday, covering as a 5.5-point road favorite with the Over (222.5) cashing. Minnesota snapped a 3-game losing streak with the victory and is just 1-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last 4 contests. It is 28-39 ATS on the season.

The Thunder edged the Boston Celtics 104-102 Thursday, failing to cover as a 9-point home favorite as the Under (216.5) hit. Oklahoma City has ripped off 7 straight victories, but it is 0-7 ATS in those, often as a lofty favorite. The Thunder are 31-35-1 ATS this season.

Oklahoma City won the first meeting betwen the teams 113-105 Nov. 26 at home, but the T-wolves won the next 2 games in Minnesota — 112-107 Dec. 19 and 123-111 Jan. 29

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Timberwolves at Thunder odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 10:56 p.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Timberwolves +325 (bet $100 to win $325) | Thunder -425 (bet $425 to win $100)
Against the spread (ATS): Timberwolves +9.5 (-118) | Thunder -9.5 (-102)
Over/Under (O/U): 226.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)

Timberwolves at Thunder key injuries

Timberwolves

F Anthony Edwards (knee) questionable

Thunder

C Isaiah Hartenstein (calf) questionable
G Jalen Williams (hamstring) out

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

Timberwolves at Thunder picks and predictions

Prediction

Thunder 114, Timberwolves 108

PASS.

Avoid this play. The Thunder (-425) are 28-6 at home and should come out on top, yet they aren’t worth more than 4 times your money.

BET TIMBERWOLVES +9.5 (-118).

The Timberwolves are surging. Since Feb. 9, Minnesota is 9-4 straight up, has gone 1-1 ATS as an underdog, and is 2-2 ATS in its last 4 road games.

OKC has played well, but as noted above it hasn’t been winning by a sizable margin. The Thunder are just 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games when favored and have failed to cover in 4 straight home games.

BET UNDER 226.5 (-115).

Both teams are trending toward the Under here. The Timberwolves are 2-6 O/U in their previous 8 games and 2-3 O/U in their last 5 road games.

The Thunder, who have scored fewer than 105 points in 3 of their last 4 games, are 1-5 O/U in their past 6 contests. They’ve allowed 102 points or fewer in 4 of their last 6 games.

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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Oklahoma

Family rallies around Oklahoma father after head-on crash

Published

1 day ago

March 14, 2026

Press Room

Family rallies around Oklahoma father after head-on crash

OKLAHOMA CITY –

A newlywed Oklahoma man expecting his first child with his wife is now facing a long road to healing after a devastating crash.

Zain Daniels had just married the love of his life in December. Now, the couple is preparing to welcome a baby boy.

But instead of getting ready for their son’s arrival, Daniels’ family says they are focused on helping him recover from serious injuries after a head-on crash.

Family members say Daniels was simply driving to pick up his daughter from school when the collision happened.

The crash left him hospitalized with three broken bones, facial fractures and an abdominal wound.

“Ideally, we hope that he would make a full recovery,” said his aunt, Tamara Daniels. “But the reality of it is we just don’t know because of the extent of the injuries. He will have issues in the future.”

Daniels’ aunt and stepmother say the situation has been especially difficult for his wife, Paige.

“She’s really stressed out,” said Anna Daniels, his stepmother. “She is pregnant with their child that they’re expecting, and so we try to keep the stress down to a minimum on her.”

The crash has also created major financial strain for the family.

Tamara Daniels says his job does not provide short-term or long-term disability benefits.

“His company doesn’t offer any type of short-term or long-term disability,” she said. “So his income is completely out of the picture. It’s just her income.”

With additional surgeries expected and medical bills continuing to grow, the family is now asking the community for help.

“It’s a family that’s going to have to struggle to make their ends meet because of somebody’s decisions that they made that day,” Anna Daniels said.

Family members describe Daniels as a caring and giving person who spends time giving back to young athletes in the community. He volunteers as a wrestling and baseball coach and is known as a dedicated family man.

His family says the recovery process could take more than a year.

For now, they say their focus is helping him heal, and preparing for the arrival of his baby boy.

A GoFundMe has been created to help the family with medical expenses: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-nephew-after-car-crash

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Oklahoma Attorney-General accuses rigging of Jewish charter shcool vote | The Jerusalem Post

Published

2 days ago

March 14, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Attorney-General accuses rigging of Jewish charter shcool vote | The Jerusalem Post

Oklahoma’s attorney general is accusing a state board of trying to rig the legal fight over a proposed Jewish charter school – a dispute that could open the door for publicly funded religious charter schools across the United States.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a motion this week asking an Oklahoma County district judge to intervene after the Statewide Charter School Board rejected an application to open the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School, a virtual statewide school that would combine secular studies with Jewish religious instruction.

Drummond alleges that the board engineered its vote so the rejection would focus only on the school’s religious character, strengthening the legal case for the school’s supporters, who are preparing a federal lawsuit challenging Oklahoma’s ban on religious charter schools.

“A state agency that deliberately hobbles its own legal position is not doing its job – it is betraying Oklahoma taxpayers. I will not allow that,” Drummond said in a statement.

He added: “The Board deliberately suppressed those findings to manufacture a cleaner path to federal court. I will not allow this Board to rig the record at taxpayers’ expense.”

The shape of a cross is illuminated on a high-rise building in downtown Oklahoma City, US. Ilustrative. (credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)

Drummond asked the court to order the board to issue a new rejection letter detailing all of the reasons the proposal was deficient.

The dispute centers on the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, led by former Florida Democratic Rep. Peter Deutsch. The group applied to open a statewide online charter school serving kindergarten through 12th-grade students beginning next school year.

The proposal called for a curriculum combining secular coursework with daily Jewish religious studies. If approved, it would have become the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.

Jewish groups in Oklahoma have opposed the proposal, saying they prefer not to be thrust into the middle of a debate over church-state separation and that there is little demand for such a school among local Jewish residents.

The charter board voted earlier this week to reject the application, citing a 2024 Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that charter schools must remain secular.

That ruling overturned a previous effort to open a Catholic charter school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court ended in a 4–4 tie after Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself, leaving the state court decision in place.

Several board members said the precedent left them no choice but to reject Ben Gamla’s application.

At the same time, the board has signaled it may support the school’s broader constitutional argument in court. The board hired the conservative Christian legal group First Liberty Institute to represent it in the expected litigation and has indicated it could back the school’s position once a lawsuit is filed.

Drummond also fought Catholic charter school proposal

Drummond, who also fought the Catholic charter school proposal, said the legal question about religious charter schools had already been settled by the state courts and insisted his objection to the board’s vote was procedural rather than religious.

Among the issues he says the board improperly left out was a discrepancy in Ben Gamla’s projected enrollment.

Deutsch initially said the online school would serve about 40 high school students, but the formal application projected enrollment of 400 students across grades K-12.

State officials also raised questions about the composition of the school’s governing board. Oklahoma law requires a charter school board to include a parent or grandparent of a student. Ben Gamla listed Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, as its parent representative.

Supporters of the school have said they plan to challenge Oklahoma’s prohibition on religious charter schools in federal court, arguing that excluding religious schools from charter programs violates the Constitution’s protections for religious freedom.

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