The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 1

Tuesday THE Oklahoman NEWS0K.COM 250 500 cell-off Fisher handed bribe, perjury, tax charges OCTOBER 26, 2004 SPORTS OU moves up in BCS The Sooners moved to No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series football standings, behind Southern California. Page 5C In merger, Cingular faces loss of rival's holdings here By Nolan Clay and Randy Ellis, Staff Writers Former state Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher has been indicted again this time on felony charges of accepting bribes, filing a false state tax return and perjury. Fisher "corruptly received money, gifts and gratuities" from Texas businessman Gene E. Phillips, his family and business associates, state grand jurors alleged.

Fisher accepted some bribes even before he took See FISHER, Page 2A Wireless assets in 11 states. "The Department of Justice has required that we are to divest ourselves of the Oklahoma City market and that means that assets in Oklahoma City and other portions of Oklahoma will be involved," said Frank Merriman, a Cingular spokesman. "That includes customers, towers, (radio) spectrum; it will have to be sold." The merger now awaits Federal Communications Commission approval before it can be finalized. Merriman said the divestiture would not affect Cingular's Oklahoma operations. Cin- See MERGER, Page 2A By Jim Stafford, Business Writer Cingular Wireless Corp.

can proceed with its acquisition of Wireless, but it can't keep any of its rival's assets or customers in Oklahoma, according to a settlement the Department of Justice announced Monday. The agreement Cingular reached with the department ends the government's opposition to the blockbuster merger that will make Cingular the largest cell phone service provider in the nation. The Justice Department opposed the buyout on antitrust grounds, but said it would drop its opposition if Cingular divests BY PAUL B. SOUTH ERLAND, THE OKLAHOMAN Former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher was back in Oklahoma County District Court on Monday for the unsealing of his latest indictments. City wreck claims two lives Going into Bedlam week, we take a look at the prospects for the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Page 1C BUSINESS Healthy advice An Oklahoma company's "Doctor on Call" program helped cut emergency room visits and medical claims in South Carolina. It's gotten Oklahoma officials' attention. page IB NATION WORLD Explosives missing in Iraq nTJTJl A U.N. agency said 380 tons of conventional explosives vanished from a former Iraqi military depot. BACKGROUND: The agency had feared they could fall into the wrong hands.

REACTION: The White House said the weapons are not a nuclear proliferation threat. The Kerry campaign demanded an explanation. page 15A Kb. JfflHffi 4K Hist fmi MB mm mm mm mm mmmmmt BY BILL WAUGH, THE OKLAHOMAN Firefighters cut into the wreckage of a tractor-trailer Monday night to extinguish burning tires inside after a collision sparked the fire. Two people were killed and one person was injured in the wreck west of Portland Avenue on Interstate 40 when a pickup collided with the tractor-trailer, authorities said.

Story, Page 4A. Election2004 Poll results More election coverage Pages 8-11A, 16A U.S. chief justice hospitalized for thyroid cancer FLU REALITY CHECK: Unless you are older, very young or chronically ill, getting a flu shot probably isn't a matter of life and death. page 12A SCIENCE HEALTH Bush keeps advantage If the election for U.S. president were held today, which candidate would you vote for: Republican George W.

Bush or Democrat John Kerry? 61 Last week: By The Associated Press WASHINGTON Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, the leading conservative figure on the Supreme Court for a generation, has thyroid cancer but will work while receiving treatment. Rehnquist, 80, un Kerry flff ti 28 Undecided o11 Coburn maintains lead If the election for U.S. Senate were held today, which candidate would you vote for: Republican Tom Coburn, Democrat Brad Carson or independent Sheila Bilyeu? Coburn maintains slim lead in poll By Michael Baker, Staff Writer With Election Day a week away, the contentious Oklahoma race for a U.S. Senate seat is about even, with Republican Tom Coburn having a slim advantage over U.S.

Rep. Brad Carson, according to a KWTVNEWS9poll. Coburn was in front of Carson, D-Claremore, by 3 percentage points in the poll released Monday and conducted by WRS Research. Coburn's advantage was within the poll's margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. "(Coburn) does have a slim lead, but largely the debate is as I think we all like it going to have a lot to do with moving that 15 percent who are undecided right now," said Bill Cullo with the Virginia-based company formerly known as Wilson Research Strategies.

In only two of the eight weekly NEWS9 polls has either candidate established an advantage greater than 4.5 percentage points. Coburn held a 6-point lead the first week of September and Carson held a 5-point lead the last week of September. Coburn has held a 3-point lead the last two weeks. Undecided voters have numbered more than 13 percent each week of the poll. The poll released Monday is the last one leading up to Election Day.

NEWS9 commissioned the poll of See POLL, back page WEATHER Coburn Carson Storms High: 76 Low: 49 William H. Rehnquist 6 Bilyeu Last week: Carson 42.2 Coburn 39 Bilyeu 4 derwent a tracheotomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital in suburban Maryland on Saturday. While no details about his condition were released, a statement issued by the court said he is expected to be back at work next week when justices resume hearing cases. Even so, Rehnquist's hospitalization little more than a week before the election gave new prominence to a campaign issue that has been overshadowed by the war on terrorism. The next president is likely to name at least one justice to the court.

Rehnquist, a conservative named to the court in 1972 by President Nixon and elevated to chief justice by President Reagan in 1986, sided with the 54 majority in the decision giving George W. Undecided 15 QUICK INDEX Advice 5D Business IB IE Deaths 11A Source: WRS Research. Poll information: 500 Oklahoma likely voters were surveyed. Respondents were contacted by phone Oct. 22-24.

The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. FULL INDEX, PAGE 2A The thyroid The thyroid, located in the neck, produces hormones that help regulate the body's use of energy. There are several types of thyroid cancer. It was not known what type the chief justice has. totalcoveraqe Online at NewsOK.com Previous poll results the latest polling figures "NEWS9 TheOklahoman Nens5K.com analysis OT TODAY'S PRAYER Dear Lord, purify our hearts and minds.

Cleanse us from our sins. Amen. Today at 7 a.m. Tobacco companies, sellers fund effort against question Five sections Volume 113, No. 253 Copyright 2004 The Oklahoma Publishing Oklahoma City, OK All rights reserved Bush the presidency.

Rehnquist frequently has been mentioned as a possible retirement prospect, although he has hired law clerks through June 2006. No matter who is elected president next week, a vacancy is likely in the next presidential term. Both Bush and John Kerry have avoided describing a litmus test for a Supreme Court nominee, although their differences on abortion are cut along partisan lines. The future of the Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion is the most visible symbol of the court's ideological split.

Tobacco product makers, wholesalers and retailers accounted for all of the Vote No on State Question 713 group's $1,576,500 in monetary donations. The group also reported $66,644 in in-kind contributions such as mailings, consulting and employee time. The main supporting group, Citizens for a Healthy Oklahoma, raised $258,814 during the period, increasing its total to nearly $1.1 million. Meanwhile, contributions passed the $3 million mark for the group seeking passage of State Question See FUNDS, Page 3A By Tony Thornton and Jack Money, Staff Writers Tobacco giant Philip Morris gave $1 million to help defeat State Question 713, the cigarette tax increase measure, according to campaign contribution reports filed Monday. Vote No on State Question 713, the main group opposing that issue, raised nearly $1.6 million, all of it from Oct.

1 to Oct. 18, its report shows. Monday was the deadline for political action committees to report contributions for the first 18 days of October. More contributions are possible until the Nov. 2 elections.

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