News
Oklahoma’s private school tax credits to launch Friday with influx of applicants expected
OKLAHOMA CITY — About 130 private schools across Oklahoma have registered for a new tax credit program launching this week that offers $5,000-$7,500 to students’ families. The Oklahoma Tax Commission will start accepting applications for the tax credits at 8:30 a.m. Friday at parentalchoice.ok.gov. Families can apply for their entire household but must submit a […]
Agency finalizing rules for Oklahoma’s $215 million affordable housing program
New homes and rental properties could hit the Oklahoma market in the next two years if rules for a $215 million state-funded construction loan program are approved by the end of the year, officials said. The Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, which will oversee the state’s new Housing Stability Program, is crafting rules to administer it. […]
Schumer on U.S. Senate floor condemns ‘rank antisemitism’ amid Israel-Hamas war
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the nation’s highest-ranking Jewish official, spoke from the chamber on Wednesday about the rise of antisemitism in the United States since the attack by Hamas militants on Israel and that nation’s airstrikes on Gaza. Schumer, speaking to a mostly empty chamber, an unlikely setting for what he described […]
Jimmy Carter attends ceremony for wife of 77 years as celebration of Rosalynn Carter continues
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s life of service and advocacy was celebrated Tuesday at a tribute ceremony in Atlanta attended by the current president and first lady and other dignitaries. Carter, 96, died last Sunday at her home in Plains just a few days after her family announced she had entered hospice. She was diagnosed […]
Ransomware attacks force Oklahoma hospitals to divert emergency room patients
Oklahoma is among six states experiencing a temporary disruption to some hospital services after a ransomware attack against Ardent Health Services, a health care company based in Nashville. Ardent operates 30 hospitals, including those under Oklahoma’s Hillcrest HealthCare System. It’s investigating a ransomware attack it experienced on Nov. 23, and, according to a news release, […]
Oklahoma governor hosts event to honor Native American heritage, families
OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt hosted several dozen tribal members at a special event Tuesday designed to celebrate and honor Native American heritage and families. Attendees said the event at the Oklahoma Governor’s Mansion was a fitting way to commemorate the end of Native American Heritage Month, but also served as a way for […]
Oklahoma fundraising campaign hopes to wipe out over $76,000 in school lunch debt
OKLAHOMA CITY — A fundraiser aims to relieve more than $76,000 in lunch debt for Oklahoma students, as struggles with outstanding meal fees continue in schools. That total would cover overdue cafeteria bills from seven school districts across the state. The largest of them, Stillwater Public Schools, reported $37,003 in student lunch debt from the […]
Mike Lindell’s conspiracy-fueled pillow company fights to survive his election obsession
CHASKA — Pillow mogul Mike Lindell calls up former Michigan state senator Patrick Colbeck, who works for something Lindell made up called the Election Crime Bureau, to talk about press strategy. Lindell tells Colbeck a press release needs to mention his “offense fund,” to which people can give donations so Lindell can keep funding his […]
High fees, long waits cast shadow over new criminal expungement laws
More states are making it easier for residents to clear or seal their criminal records. The effort has drawn bipartisan support, as lawmakers across the political spectrum say it will help people find jobs and housing, in turn boosting local economies and reducing reliance on social services. “Folks that get out of jail or prison […]
Well-wishers flock to Rosalynn Carter tribute to bid farewell to former U.S. and Georgia first lady
The museum at the Carter Center in Atlanta typically echoes with the oohs and ahhs of tourists and the banter of field tripping schoolchildren, but all was silent Monday night as hundreds of well-wishers walked through the colorful displays to honor a flower-draped casket. Rosalynn Carter, former first lady of Georgia and the United States, […]
Efforts to criminalize homelessness growing in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY — A national push to criminalize homelessness is impacting the state as cities and lawmakers introduce policies aimed at regulating encampments and other support for unhoused Oklahomans, legal experts say. Efforts to criminalize homelessness through tickets, fines or arrests aren’t new, but have increased in the last few years partly as a result […]
Where the 2024 presidential candidates stand on Indigenous issues
WASHINGTON — Marianne Williamson, a 2020 presidential hopeful, promised before an auditorium of Indigenous leaders, elders and voters that under her administration the White House would formally apologize and atone for the horrific treatment of Native Americans by the federal government, alluding to genocidal policies enacted by the United States. In 2019, Williamson was one […]