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Daily Bible verse
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
Colossians 3:12
I'm 63 With $1.5M. Can I Spend $10K a Month?
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News
July 31 is deadline to register for runoff
July 31 is the last day to apply for voter registration in order to be eligible to vote in the Aug. 25 Runoff Primary, LeFlore County Election Board Secretary Kayla Rees said.
Summer cooling assistance applications now open
Oklahoma Human Services is now accepting applications for summer cooling help through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which offsets summer electric bills for eligible households as temperatures climb statewide.
How to apply: Visit OKDHSLive.org with your ID, Social Security number, income verification, and most recent cooling bill. Enter your information exactly as it appears on your utility bill — applying online is the fastest option, since phone lines tend to get backed up during LIHEAP season.
A few things to know:
Some households already receiving agency benefits are pre-authorized and don't need to apply — those families have already been notified.
Each household (defined as everyone sharing a single utility meter) receives one payment, applied to their primary cooling source.
Native American households can apply through OKDHSLive.org or their tribal nation, but not both in the same fiscal year.
Eligibility is based on household size and monthly income — check the current guidelines here.
LIHEAP runs twice a year — winter heating and summer cooling — with the Energy Crisis Assistance Program available each spring and life-threatening energy crisis help available year-round.
Need help now? If someone in your household relies on lifesaving medical equipment, or you're facing extreme temperatures, call (405) 522-5050 and select the energy assistance option. Summer cooling assistance itself isn't a crisis program — utility cutoff notices don't get priority — so it's best to keep paying your bill or work with your provider while your application processes.
Funding is limited. Once it runs out, remaining applications will be denied.
Sports
Kitler, Rhodes Jr., Smith set to join Silverfield at SEC Media Days
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Talking season kicks off for the Southeastern Conference on Monday, July 20, at SEC Media Days at the JW Marriott in Tampa, Florida, with the Arkansas Razorbacks taking their turn Thursday, July 23. Offensive lineman Caden Kitler, defensive lineman Quincy Rhodes Jr. and running back Sutton Smith will accompany first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield.
Rhodes Jr. enters the 2026 season as one of the top defensive linemen in the SEC, earning preseason all-league praise from Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. The North Little Rock, Arkansas, native is coming off a breakout junior season in 2025, tallying 44 total tackles with a team-leading 15.5 tackles for loss, along with eight sacks, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. His 15.5 tackles for loss were the most by an Arkansas defender since Trey Flowers' 15.5 in 2015. He also became the first Hog to register double-digit tackles for loss in a season since Landon Jackson's 13.5 in 2023, and the first Razorback to record three multi-sack games in a season since Tre Williams in 2021. Rhodes finished the regular season ranked 13th nationally and second in the SEC in tackles for loss per game (1.23), and 23rd nationally in sacks per game (0.67). Against Mississippi State on Nov. 1, he tallied six tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble — one of just three Power 4 defenders to register 4.5 tackles for loss in a single game last season, and the most by an Arkansas defender in a game since 2005.
Kitler returns for his redshirt senior season after starting all 11 games he played in a year ago on the Razorbacks' offensive line. The Colony, Texas, native helped pave the way for six games of 500-plus yards of total offense. Behind Kitler's blocking, Arkansas saw a 119-yard improvement in total rushing yards, highlighted by senior running back Mike Washington Jr. becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher for Arkansas since Raheim "Rocket" Sanders rushed for 1,443 yards in 2022. Kitler and the Hogs allowed 29 sacks last season, the fewest by an Arkansas team since 2019, and didn't allow a sack in either the Arkansas State or Ole Miss games — the first time since 2015 Arkansas went without a sack allowed in consecutive games.
Smith arrives in Fayetteville after four years at Memphis playing under Silverfield. As a redshirt junior in 2025, Smith appeared in 12 games, rushing for 669 yards and seven touchdowns on 102 carries, while adding 20 receptions for 109 yards, 155 yards on five kick returns and 125 yards on 15 punt returns for 1,058 total yards. He posted three 100-yard rushing games, including a career-high 147 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries against Arkansas on Sept. 20 — a game Smith won with a 64-yard touchdown run with 4:51 left. He also rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries against Troy on Sept. 13, and closed his season with 109 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries against East Carolina on Nov. 15. The Powder Springs, Georgia, product also returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown Oct. 18 at UAB. Smith tied for ninth nationally in rushing plays of 60-plus yards last season and is one of just 14 returning FBS running backs with an 80-plus-yard rush in 2025.
Silverfield, who will make his debut at SEC Media Days, spent the last six seasons as head coach at Memphis, going 50-25 with a pair of 10-plus-win seasons in 2023 and 2024. The Tigers reached bowl eligibility in all six years under Silverfield, and Memphis posted 29 wins over his final three seasons — ranking among the nation's top 15 programs in victories over that stretch.
Arkansas opens the season against North Alabama on Sept. 5 at 3:15 p.m. inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, airing on SEC Network. Season and single-game tickets are on sale now; call the Razorback Ticket Center at 479-575-5151 for seating information.
Misc.
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Weather
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Rain chances high for Wednesday
Wednesday will bring the best rain chances of the week to LeFlore County, with an 88 percent chance of precipitation and a high near 83 degrees — a notable break from Tuesday's 91-degree high.
Thursday should see rain chances drop to around 35 percent, with temperatures climbing back to near 89 degrees.
Friday looks mostly dry with only a 15 percent chance of rain and a high near 92 degrees.
By Saturday, rain chances fall to zero and the heat returns in full, with a high near 94 degrees.
Oklahoma market report
Cattle prices stayed strong at McAlester Livestock Auction this week, with steer calves under 500 pounds jumping 20 dollars or more and heifer calves climbing as much as 9 dollars, as Oklahoma's feeder cattle market continued a red-hot run that has pushed prices up 20 to 40 dollars over the past three weeks, according to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture's weekly market report.
Today in history
July 15 is the 196th day of 2026, with 169 days remaining in the year.
1799: French soldiers discovered the Rosetta Stone in Egypt during Napoleon's campaign, a find that later unlocked the ability to decode ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
1870: Georgia became the last former Confederate state readmitted to the Union.
1916: The Boeing Company was founded in Seattle under the name Pacific Aero Products Co.
1975: Three American astronauts launched aboard an Apollo spacecraft for a historic joint mission with two Soviet cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.
1996: MSNBC made its debut as a 24-hour cable and internet news network.
Born on this day: Singer Linda Ronstadt (80), actor Forest Whitaker (65), and Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington (76).
Notable deaths:
1381: John Ball, an English priest who helped lead the Peasants' Revolt and championed the idea of a classless society, was executed for his role in the uprising.
1997: Fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot and killed outside his Miami Beach home by a gunman who took his own life days later.
Obits
