News Minute: Here is the latest Oklahoma news from The Associated Press - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

News Minute: Here is the latest Oklahoma news from The Associated Press

MOORE, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office says the official death toll from a massive tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area remains at 51, but it's expected to rise. Spokeswoman Amy Elliott says officials could see as many as 40 more deaths from yesterday's twister. At least 20 of the confirmed deaths are children.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Oklahoma as the state recovers from a deadly tornado. Obama has ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the Oklahoma City area. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent a special team to Oklahoma's emergency operations center to help out.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) - The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore had wind speeds up to 200 mph. The preliminary classification of yesterday's tornado was an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale. Moore also was hit hard by a twister in 1999, and that storm had the highest winds ever recorded near the earth's surface.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Attorney General Scott Pruitt is asking for an execution date for a man convicted in the 1979 slaying of a woman in Tulsa. In an appeals court filing, Pruitt says Anthony Rozelle Banks had exhausted his appeals. The 60-year-old Banks wasn't charged until 1997 when he and a co-defendant were linked to the killing of 24-year-old Sun Travis.

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