Oklahoma
Traffic tie-ups, sudden darkness: ODOT officials preparing for April 8 eclipse
From selling special glasses to preparing for traffic snarls, Oklahoma officials are prepping for the April 8 solar eclipse expected to pass directly over southeastern Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Department of Transportation Executive Director Tim Gatz on Monday urged motorists to use caution during the eclipse.
Gatz’s remarks were made during the regular Oklahoma Transportation Commission meeting.
The moon will block out the sun, plunging parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada into darkness.
Southeastern Oklahoma will be impacted, including Broken Bow, Idabel, Hugo and Antlers. The eclipse will pass over Oklahoma starting at 1:44 p.m. and end by 1:51 p.m.
Gatz said his agency is working with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Office of Emergency Management and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
“We will have personnel on site during the eclipse working closely, hand in hand with OHP and their mobile command so we can quickly respond to anything that might come up,” Gatz said.
More: A total solar eclipse is coming to Oklahoma in April. Here’s where to find eclipse glasses
ODOT to pause construction in SE Oklahoma during eclipse
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is looking at pausing maintenance activities and construction projects to make sure traffic flow out of the area can be optimized, Gatz said.
“The area will be concentrated in McCurtain County, in the southeast corner of the state,” Gatz said. “However, the effects will be more broad sweeping than that.
“We expect traffic conditions will be somewhat problematic across the southeast region.”
More: Solar eclipse 2024: What Oklahoma communities will have the longest time in totality?
He said it will be crucial that his agency can communicate with drivers in the area during that time.
Officials are expecting that those trying to see the eclipse will trickle into the area at a slower pace, but when the eclipse is over, spectators will all try to leave at once, Gatz said.
“I think that is where we are going to have our biggest traffic challenges,” Gatz said.
ODOT putting live cameras, messages boards in SE Oklahoma ahead of 2024 eclipse
The agency is setting up additional cameras to provide live pictures of the conditions, Gatz said.
Changeable message boards will be placed at key locations across the area so transportation officials can communicate with drivers, Gatz said.
“One of the things we want to ask drivers is please don’t stop on the highway during the event, because again that creates congestion in traffic queues that can result in secondary accidents along the routes and once those traffic queues build up, they can take hours to clear,” Gatz said.
Motorists should turn on their headlights, he said.
“This is planned to be a total eclipse and the light conditions are going to change dramatically,” Gatz said.
Motorists should be aware of and watch out for pedestrians, he said.
“Because somebody is going to pull off on the side of the road and get out of their vehicle and that is going to create a dangerous situation,” Gatz said.
The major highways in the area are U.S. 70, U.S. 259 and Oklahoma Highway 3, according to the Department of Public Safety.
Visitors might consider stopping at a restaurant until traffic conditions improve, Gatz said.
“We will do everything we can to try to be ready for it and are doing everything we can, but it is still going to be bad,” Gatz said.
Three state parks will be totally eclipsed, said Chase Horn, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.
Lodging and campsites at Beavers Bend State Park, Lake Wister State Park and Talimena State Park are full or filling up, he said.
Four other state parks will be eclipsed 97.8% to 99%, Horn said.
“We are working with the Department of Public Safety and other agencies making sure everyone is safe,” Horn said.
The Department of Public Safety said visitors to the area should expect maximum capacity in hotels, cabins and camp grounds.
In addition, the area should expect decreased quality of cellular service, delays in deliveries and increased emergency response times, DPS said.
Hoping to capitalize on the enthusiasm, the state Capitol gift shop on Monday was selling “Official Eclipse Glasses” to visitors for $2.99. Officials said tens of thousands of pairs were for sale across the state.
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said he’s not sure the House will be doing anything to commemorate the occasion.“But you can get a great look at it in southeastern Oklahoma if you want to travel down there towards Atoka,” he said with a grin.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City police investigating early morning shooting
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Oklahoma City police are investigating an early morning shooting that left one man injured in northeast Oklahoma City.
Around 3 a.m. on Thursday, emergency crews were called to a reported shooting near Kelley and Wilshire Blvd.
Investigators say the shooting occurred between a couple inside the home, adding that the woman shot the man.
However, police say they are trying to determine if the shooting was accidental.
The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
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The woman has been taken into custody for questioning, but it is unknown if she will face charges just yet.
Oklahoma
North Carolina, Oklahoma advance to the Men’s College World Series finals
Oklahoma is just three outs away from steamrolling through the right side of the bracket and knocking out Georgia to reach the championship finals.
To prepare, let’s take a look at what arms we should expect for the Sooners just like we did for the North Carolina earlier.
The Sooners have leaned heavily on their freshmen pitching trio in Cord Rager, Xander Mercurius and Nick Wesloski throughout Omaha. The first two went at least seven innings, while Wesloski tossed 5.2 innings on Wednesday. Even though they used relievers LJ Mercurius and Jackson Cleveland in the first two games, neither pitched more than two innings nor allowed a run.
If LJ, who entered for Wesloski on Wednesday, finishes the game, he will have gone 3.1 innings.
That sets up Oklahoma very well to matchup with UNC, which went 3-0 and also hasn’t used many arms up to this point.
If OU does win, expect Rager, Xander Mercurius and Cleveland to be ready to go. Rager, who hasn’t pitched since their first round game against Alabama on Saturday, June 13, would have a full week of rest.
Oklahoma
Rep. Kevin Hern wins Oklahoma GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, governor’s race heads to runoff
U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern easily won Oklahoma’s GOP nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, and the race for a new governor in the deeply conservative state began with Republicans Gentner Drummond and Mark Mazzei advancing to a runoff.
In a primary that again tested President Donald Trump’s status as Republican Party kingmaker, both Hern and Mazzei carried his endorsement in their bids to win open races for two of Oklahoma’s biggest offices. With nearly all the votes counted, Drummond, the state’s attorney general, was narrowly ahead of Mazzei, a former state senator.
The primary had Republicans picking their preferred successor to outgoing Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and a nominee for the Senate seat once held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in Oklahoma since 1990.
Hern’s most serious potential GOP rivals stayed out of the Senate race after Trump endorsed him even before Mullin was confirmed as a replacement for fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Hern received more than 50% of the primary vote to avoid a runoff.
He struck a somewhat bipartisan tone in speaking with reporters after winning big, touting his experience as a House member working on issues such as trade and energy. He promised to represent conservative principles and “Oklahoma ideologies” in the Senate and noted he already has relationships with senators.
“We have a lot of friends in a lot of different states, including blue states,” Hern said.
READ MORE: Live Results: Oklahoma midterm primaries
Trump endorsed Mazzei last month in a hotly contested race that also had other major candidates, including former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall and Chip Keating, a former state public safety director who is the son of a two-term governor.
Drummond told reporters at his watch party that he had expected a runoff after Trump endorsed Mazzei and suggested that Trump could reconsider his endorsement of Mazzei, saying, “who knows?”
“Mr. Mazzei got a bump, but now he’s got to earn the rest,” Drummond said.
Trump repeated his endorsement of Mazzei on his Truth Social platform on Monday. Mazzei told supporters Tuesday night, “All I can say is, ‘Wow.’
“Eighteen months ago when we started this adventure, no one thought this was possible,” he said. “The political insiders said we had no chance. We started at zero, but who in here actually had faith we could get the job done and get in the runoff? You did.”
Mazzei also boosted his campaign with personal funds — nearly $10.9 million, or almost 95% of the $11.5 million he raised, according to campaign finance reports. Drummond put $2.5 million from his own pocket in raising about $7.2 million. Together, Drummond, Mazzei, Keating and McCall contributed $22.5 million of their own funds to their campaigns, or 72% of their combined fundraising of more than $31 million.
READ MORE: Oklahoma begins choosing a new U.S. senator and governor in crowded primary
The winner of the GOP runoff will face Oklahoma House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, who won the Democratic nomination Tuesday by a wide margin.
In a solidly Republican state, the races for two of Oklahoma’s biggest offices set off a political scramble. To replace Mullin in the Senate through this year, Stitt appointed Republican Alan Armstrong, an energy executive, but state law prohibited him from seeking a full term.
In November, Hern will face the winner of a Democratic runoff between N’Kiyla Thomas, a nurse and community activist, and Jim Priest, an attorney and minister.
The governor’s race is open because Stitt is finishing his second four-year term and cannot serve a third under the state constitution. Trump has seemed eager for him to go.
As head of the National Governors Association, Stitt drew Trump’s ire earlier this year over a dispute over invitations to White House events at the group’s annual meeting. The fallout led to Trump attacking Stitt on social media as a “RINO,” meaning Republican in Name Only.
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