Infant, 3 others killed in northeast Okla. storms

NOWATA, Okla. (AP) ? Four people, including a young child, were killed when strong winds accompanying severe thunderstorms blew through northeastern Oklahoma, authorities said.

Two adults and a child were killed Friday when straight-line winds destroyed a mobile home in Nowata County, located along Oklahoma's border with Kansas, Undersheriff Doug Sonenberg told KSWO-TV. They were found in a creek.

Authorities didn't identify the three people killed. Sonenberg didn't immediately return calls from The Associated Press early Saturday.

Farther east, straight-line winds flipped a semi onto a cement barrier wall, trapping the driver inside for nearly three hours near Afton in Ottawa County, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported. Jimmy King, 70, of Ash Grove, Mo., died at the scene of massive injuries, troopers said.

The storms were part of storm system and cold front that collided with triple-digit temperatures in much of the state on Friday. Wind gusts topping 70 mph were reported at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City.

Damage to some roofs and a garage also were reported in Nowata County, and tree and power line damage was reported in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The winds and storms caused more than 18,100 power outages in western, central and northeastern Oklahoma.

The heavy winds propelled grass fires across the area, and Osage County Undersheriff Lou Ann Brown told the Tulsa World that four people had to be evacuated. Crews were able to slow most of the blazes, and rainfall was expected to assist with the efforts, Brown said.

In just an hour at Tulsa International Airport, the temperature dropped from 101 degrees to 78 degrees.

Marianne McGovern, a legal assistant, said the winds caused her downtown Tulsa office building to sway Friday afternoon.

"You sit here and you feel like you're on a ship kind of," she said. "Everybody was coming out in the hall saying, 'Did you feel that?'"

___

Information from: KSWO-TV, http://www.kswo.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/infant-3-others-killed-northeast-okla-storms-080854505.html

carlos pena amanda bynes arrested f 18 jet crash in virginia beach john tortorella nicki minaj beez in the trap video food network

Dwyane Wade: The NBA?s Fashion Ambassador

By Ben Cohen

If you follow the NBA, this past postseason was a revelation, but not just because LeBron James won a championship. Never in the history of sports has fashion been at the forefront quite like it is in professional basketball these days. And there might not be anyone who takes style more seriously than the Miami Heat?s Dwyane Wade.

Among his many resplendent flashes in last season?s NBA playoffs: tortoiseshell eyeglasses, lensless frames, pop-up sunglasses, green gingham jackets, magenta blazers, pocket squares the size of softballs and pants so pink they?d light up Times Square on their own. He has the sartorial respect of his peers: According to a Sports Illustrated poll of NBA players, Wade has the best fashion sense in the league. Just this week, Wade even curated his own Gilt sale.

At the Calvin Klein store on Madison Avenue for Fashion?s Night Out on Thursday, Wade was joined by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, plus enough models to fill Wintour?s magazine. Wearing a black T-shirt under a gray suit with rolled-up sleeves, he spoke with Speakeasy between signing Heat jerseys, copies of his new book ?A Father First? and?September issues of Vogue.

Speakeasy: A lot of basketball players consider you the?style icon of the NBA.

Wade: Really?

Apparently! So who are your personal style icons? Who influences your style?

I?m more influenced by brands. I love a lot of brands?like, obviously Calvin Klein. If I could look at one athlete, it might be David Beckham.

David Beckham?

It seems like whatever he touches is gold.

Gold like your necklace?

I came real casual tonight. So I decided to throw on a little stuff just to give it a little something.

I saw your Gilt sale: the lizard belt, the alligator wallet, the lambskin card case. It seems like you like animals?

You know what I like? I love the way that it plays on other things. I love it on a watch, or sneakers. It brings a lot of character to whatever you?re wearing. So when I was picking them out, I was like, ?Yeeeaahh, I like this, I like this.?

What about that bomber hat in the sale? There?s shearling on it. You can?t really wear that in Miami.

Nah, but I can pull it off. I?m from Chicago, man.

The glasses were a big deal. We wrote a story about it and talked to James Jones, who said monocles were the next big thing.?Is he right?

You know what? Never say never.

We also talked to Edward Beiner, who said the glasses you wore with that blue blazer (left), the side of them was translucent blue.

It was sweet.

Do you match glasses to outfits? How many pairs of glasses do you own?

They send me a lot, so I had a lot of options. I can?t match every one. But if you have a couple of colors, then you can pull them off with certain outfits. That was my best one.

What about socks? Do you have a philosophy on socks?

They just add personality. If you have an all-black suit on and you sit down, someone sees you have some style, and it makes them think something different. They can tell you?re a little edgy. You?re not boring in any sense.

What?s your favorite item in your closet?

I would have to say?shoes.

What shoes are you wearing tonight?

These are Louboutin.

So besides you, or anyone else on the Heat, who is the most stylish dresser in the NBA? Not the best dressed, but the most stylish?

(Silence.)

Are you going to say Russell Westbrook?

I?m not going to say most stylish. I?m going to say?he just started. You gotta give him more time.

So he?ll grow out of fish-hook polos, or that?s his thing?

No, that?s his thing right now. It?s good that he has that. But he has to do more. He?s gotta do a little more.

Is there one who sticks out?

I mean, honestly, with Bron and CB on my team, I get to see a lot. But obviously Amar?e, Carmelo, Chris and those guys. They dress very well, as well.

Do you acknowledge each other in private? Will you send Russ a text being like, ?I saw those glasses, they were pretty nice??

If somebody?s got on something, I?ll say something. I?m not a hater.

Which coach has the most style?

Uh, coaches ain?t got style. Coach Riley?s gone. Ain?t no more Coach Rileys on the bench.

You have a stylist. What is the best advice that she?s given you?

She helped me take a chance. She opened me up a little bit. I was all dark colors and didn?t want to take chances. She kind of was like, ?Man, listen, you can do it.?

She says, Here are pink pants.

I trust her now. She pushes me a little bit. Sometimes, I?ll be like, ?Uh, I don?t know.? She?ll be like, ?Trust me.?

I know you probably don?t get starstruck much, but you?ve sat in the front row at shows with Anna Wintour, and she was here tonight. What is it like meeting her?

Since I have a good relationship with Anna, I will call her Anna. People are like, ?Anna who?? I?m like, ?Anna Wintour.? And they don?t care what I do in basketball, how many championships I win. They?re like, ?Oh my god, you know Anna Wintour??

Source: http://feeds.wsjonline.com/~r/wsj/runway/feed/~3/BK09VfntEuM/

cough matt groening brandon phillips summerfest summerfest fidel castro rick santorum

Chicago teachers say latest offer disappointing

CHICAGO (AP) ? The vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union said Saturday the city school district's latest offer in contract negotiations was disappointing and that the wrangling would continue throughout the weekend, as tens of thousands of teachers readied to walk off the job on Monday.

Chicago teachers say they're prepared to walk off the job for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. A strike would cause massive disruptions in the nation's third-largest school district, which has 400,000 students.

Both sides met Saturday to try to close the remaining gaps, but union Vice President Jesse Sharkey told reporters about an hour into the talks that there was more work to be done because the district's latest proposal fell short.

"The offer they came back with was disappointing to say the least and frankly there's not enough pieces of the puzzle there yet to make a picture," he said. "We're going to go back tomorrow."

A spokeswoman for Chicago Public Schools would not comment on Saturday's talks.

Meanwhile, hundreds of teachers stopped by the strike headquarters the union opened Saturday to pick up picket signs and T-shirts.

Here is a closer look at the situation:

___

REMAINING ISSUES

The district offered a cost-of-living raise of 2 percent a year for four years, which the union said was unacceptable ? especially after Mayor Rahm Emanuel last year canceled a previously negotiated 4 percent raise, citing budget problems. A school district spokeswoman has said that raise will not be made up and the district will not address it in negotiations. The union has lowered the amount it's asking for, but has not said what its counterproposal is now. Only weeks ago, it sought a 19 percent raise in the first year of the contract.

The union also is concerned about raises based on teacher experience and education. It has said the district agreed to retain language allowing raises based on experience, called step increases, but it would not actually pay the money now. Keeping the language in the contract, though, could be important for teachers in future negotiations.

Teachers also are concerned about new teacher evaluations, health benefits and how a longer school day for students is being implemented.

___

HARD FEELINGS

Negotiations did not get off to a good start. The union and school district began negotiating in November on a contract that was to expire seven months later, in June. Things heated up in May, when teachers picketed over a lack of progress on talks. Then in June, 90 percent of teachers voted to authorize a strike if a contract wasn't reached over the summer.

It all began when Emanuel last year asked the union to re-open its existing contract and accept 2 percent pay raises in exchange for lengthening the day by 90 minutes. The union refused, noting he'd already rescinded 4 percent raises over the summer. Emanuel, who had won legislative approval to lengthen the school day, then attempted to go around the union by asking individual schools to waive the contract and add 90 minutes to the day ? until the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board told him he couldn't.

The mayor also angered teachers by publicly declaring that students were getting "the shaft," though he since has toned down his rhetoric.

___

MIXED MESSAGES

In July, there appeared to be a big breakthrough in negotiations when the district agreed to hire almost 500 laid-off teachers so students would have a longer day but current teachers wouldn't. Both sides expressed optimism that a deal could be reached, but the hires didn't give talks the lift many expected.

Since then, the optimism gave way to a 10-day notice to strike, which goes into effect Monday. Even as the union complained about a virtual stalemate, the district insisted talks were progressing.

On Friday, the union president said the talks had taken a "turn for the better," but her spokeswoman hours later issued a statement saying the two sides remained far apart on pay and job security. The union president then came back Friday night to say she was disappointed with the latest offer.

If the teachers do go on strike, the city has set aside $25 million to keep 144 schools open between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Staffed by non-union and central office workers, the schools would provide activities such as independent reading and athletics, along with two meals.

"What I would say to parents is that I hope they understand that it's extraordinarily important that we have really good schools in Chicago and we will continue to advocate for them," Karen Lewis, the union president, said Friday night.

___

WHAT'S AT STAKE

Behind the posturing on both sides is a tense showdown between Emanuel and the teachers, with possible ramifications beyond Chicago at a time when most unions have seen their power slip dramatically.

Emanuel, a nationally recognized, powerful Democrat who has taken a tough stance against other city unions, had made good on his promise of a longer school day, and he could get more concessions from teachers while the district faces a nearly $700 million deficit. But he also risks souring relations with the unions and would be the first big-city mayor to deal with a strike since Detroit teachers walked in 2006. The last Chicago strike was 1987.

Meanwhile, teachers and the union believe they have to take a tough stand now so they don't lose ground on pay raises and have a say in job security issues, especially as teacher evaluations are tied more closely to student performance. They're also aware that their struggle is being watched by other unions around the country, many of which feel as if they're under attack.

___

Associated Press writer Jason Keyser contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-teachers-latest-offer-disappointing-201331670.html

Olympics closing ceremony PGA Championship 2012 John Witherspoon hope solo hope solo george michael meteor shower