Oklahoma News
Oklahoma County judge dismisses lawsuit that opposed social studies standards: District Judge Brent Dishman decided Friday that the group of parents, grandparents and teachers who filed the lawsuit failed to cite any applicable law or rule that was broken when the Oklahoma State Board of Education approved the new standards this year. Final review of new academic standards, which mandate what topics Oklahoma public schools must teach, rests with the state Legislature, which permitted the new social studies standards to take effect, Dishman wrote. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Oklahoma court dismisses lawsuit challenging Ryan Walters-backed social studies standards [The Oklahoman]
- Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Oklahoma social studies standards [Tulsa World]
- Walters claims victory over dismissal of Oklahoma social studies standards lawsuit [StateImpact Oklahoma]
- Superintendent Walters defends new curriculum, vows end to woke education in state schools [Fox 25]
- Court grants motion to dismiss the Social Studies Standards lawsuit against OSDE [Fox 23]
State Government News
Why 5 bills passed by the Oklahoma Legislature won't become law: At least five bills passed during the final week of the 2025 regular session — including one concerning who would administer a high-profile consent decree involving the state's mental health agency — will not become law after Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt declined to act upon them before a legal deadline. The bills fell victim to what is called a "pocket veto," which happens when a governor does not sign or directly veto a bill passed during the final week of the legislative session within 15 days of the final adjournment of the Legislature. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma created a new court to compete with Delaware. What is a business court?: Oklahoma soon will create two new courts that will exclusively handle complex business lawsuits. Supporters say the courts will reduce the burden of lengthy and complicated legal matters faced by regular district courts while making the state attractive to companies looking for a new place to call home. Opponents, however, criticized the new law as being too costly and favoring business over "common people." [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma Attorney General still wants to work out a deal with poultry companies to protect the Illinois River as decades-long lawsuit drags on: After a years-long legal battle with some of the world's largest poultry producers over pollutants in one of Oklahoma's most important waterways, the state attorney general still thinks he can strike a deal with the powerful industry. Oklahoma is still waiting on a ruling in a two-decade-old lawsuit that could have far-reaching consequences for the Illinois River and the surrounding region. But the parties could still reach a settlement outside of court. [The Frontier]
Federal Government News
Members of Congress on edge after assassination of Minnesota state legislator: The U.S. Senate will gather behind closed doors Tuesday to hear from federal law enforcement officials about protection for lawmakers and the safety of their families, just days after a gunman said to be posing as a police officer targeted state lawmakers in Minnesota. [Oklahoma Voice]
Trump directs ICE to target 3 big Democratic cities for raids: President Donald Trump announced late Sunday that he was directing U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers to conduct immigration raids in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the nation's three most populous cities that are all led by elected Democrats in heavily Democratic states. The announcement escalates a week-long conflict in Los Angeles, where large protests started after immigration officials began arresting day laborers at Home Depot stores across the city. [Oklahoma Voice]
Less than 10% of immigrants taken into ICE custody since October had serious criminal convictions, internal data shows: As the Trump administration has ramped up raids in Los Angeles and around the country, top officials have highlighted the capture of immigrants convicted of crimes like murder, assault and rape — describing them as "barbaric" criminals who "reigned terror" on American communities. But internal government documents obtained by CNN show that only a fraction of migrants booked into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since October have been convicted of serious violent or sexual crimes. [CNN]
Housing advocates worry states can't fill rental aid gaps if Trump cuts go through: The Trump administration is pushing to reshape the federal housing safety net by slashing spending and shifting the burden of housing millions of people to states, which may be ill-equipped to handle the mission. President Donald Trump's recent budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2026, a preliminary plan released in early May and known as "skinny" because a more robust ask will follow, outlines a 44% cut to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, including a 43% reduction in rental assistance programs that support more than 9 million Americans. [Oklahoma Voice]
'Big Beautiful Bill' would put intense pressure on Oklahoma Medicaid program: House Resolution 1, the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," eked through the U.S. House of Representatives by a single vote – mostly along party lines – and now is in the U.S. Senate for consideration. Following is an examination of that legislation on SoonerCare, which is Oklahoma's Medicaid program for low-income individuals and families, and on other state programs that receive Medicaid, which requires a heavily subsidized federal match to operate. [Southwest Ledger]
Key GOP holdouts signal displeasure with Senate's tax and Medicaid blueprint: Several Senate Republicans who have withheld their support for the party's massive tax and spending package signaled on Monday that they weren't swayed by details unveiled by GOP leaders earlier in the day. The text released by the Senate Finance Committee Monday included some of the most controversial issues Republicans have been wrestling with — including Medicaid, taxes and green energy tax credits — and contained a number of departures from the House-passed version of the legislation. [The Hill]
U.S. Senate GOP wants to hike debt limit by $5 trillion in mega-bill: U.S. Senate Republicans unveiled Monday that they plan to raise the country's debt limit by $5 trillion in the "big, beautiful bill," a full $1 trillion more than House GOP lawmakers proposed in their version. The provision is tucked into the Senate Finance Committee's 549-page section of the package, which also includes tax law changes and how Republicans in the upper chamber plan to rework Medicaid. [Oklahoma Voice]
Americans want Medicaid and food stamps funding maintained or increased, AP-NORC poll shows: As Republican senators consider President Donald Trump's big bill that could slash federal spending and extend tax cuts, a new survey shows most U.S. adults don't think the government is overspending on the programs the GOP has focused on cutting, like Medicaid and food stamps. Americans broadly support increasing or maintaining existing levels of funding for popular safety net programs, including Social Security and Medicare, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. [Associated Press]
Army parade, Trump birthday take over D.C., as 'No Kings' protests erupt across nation: President Donald Trump on Saturday celebrated his 79th birthday reviewing a parade of tanks, armament and marching soldiers gathered in the nation's capital for the Army's 250th anniversary celebration, amid heightened political tensions across the country and anti-Trump "No Kings" protests. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Opinion: "No Kings" Rallies Across America: This What Democracy Looks Like to Me [Native News Online]
Federal funding for these ag research labs ended. Now the search is on for new support: The Trump administration cut off nearly all funding for food and agricultural research at universities across the country as part of the Feed the Future Initiative. While some hope Congress will restore the funding, the global research continues on a much smaller scale, funded by private donors and individual universities. [Harvest Public Media via KOSU]
Tribal Nations News
The U.S. sold this tribe's land illegally. It's now the latest Native group to get its home back: The United States government promised the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation about 1,280 acres of Illinois reservation in an 1829 treaty. Instead, the U.S sold all of it illegally to white settlers. The Prairie Band is now the latest tribe in the Midwest and Great Plains to get some of their ancestral home back. [Harvest Public Media via KOSU]
Voting and Election News
Oklahoma Democrat Kalyn Free Pushed for New DNC Elections — And She Wants a Seat at the Table: A renewed round of leadership elections at the Democratic National Committee is underway after the elections of Vice Chairs David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta were vacated, and Oklahoma's DNC representative Kalyn Free is the reason why. Oklahoma rarely gets a spot on the national Democratic stage — given its bright red electorate and all-Republican congressional delegation. But Free wants to change that. [NOTUS]
Oklahoma City man pleads guilty to election day terrorism plot: Ahead of the 2024 election, two Afghan men living in central Oklahoma planned an election day terror attack on behalf of the Islamic State group. After Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi changed his plea last week, both men have admitted to the plot. [KOSU]
Education News
Oklahoma Legislature limits virtual school days, adds more instruction for 2025-26 calendar: During Oklahoma's 2025 legislative session, efforts to put students in the classroom longer led the year's education conversations, as bills limiting virtual learning days and requiring additional in-person instruction received varying levels of support. While the failure of one such bill on the House floor irritated a Senate leader, the concept was ultimately reincorporated into the Legislature's budget deal, meaning Oklahoma students will receive one additional day's worth of instruction next school year. [NonDoc]
Bill allowing adjunct early childhood teachers stalls in Oklahoma Senate: A bill that would open early childhood classrooms to uncertified adjunct teachers failed to become law this year, but lawmakers could consider it again in 2026. House Bill 2125 passed the House and narrowly survived the Senate Education Committee, but the legislative session ended without it being heard on the Senate floor. [Oklahoma Voice]
University of Oklahoma raises tuition despite opposition from governor, state lawmakers: The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents last week voted to raise tuition for the fifth consecutive year. A 3% increase will apply to tuition and mandatory fees for most undergraduate and graduate students on OU's Norman campus and online programs, the university announced. Students at the health sciences center will see a 2% to 4% increase for most undergraduate and graduate programs and 10 professional programs. [Oklahoma Voice]
Health News
Oklahoma sees one of biggest health care cost spikes: Health care costs have risen dramatically across the U.S. this decade, and Oklahoma has shouldered one of the biggest increases, a new study reveals. On a state level, Oklahoma and Florida tied at 26.6% for the eighth largest increase in health care costs per capita from 2019 to 2023. The cost for Oklahomans grew by $1,760 in those five years to reach $8,382, which is still $813 below the national average. [The Journal Record]
Criminal Justice News
Oklahoma's closed private prisons eyed as ICE detention centers: Shuttered private prisons in Oklahoma could be repurposed to hold migrants arrested in immigration raids. On an earnings call last month, CEO of CoreCivic Damon Heninger said most of the company's dormant or underused holdings will be revitalized, and Oklahoma is especially attractive. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Does Oklahoma rank among the worst states in safety?: Yes. Two 2024 surveys rank Oklahoma at No.37 in terms of safety, placing it lower than 75% of the states. Using FBI data to evaluate each state's violent crime rate and poverty crime rate, U.S. News ranked Oklahoma at No. 37 in terms of public safety. This ranking further informed the best states for crime and corrections rankings and the overall best states rankings, for which Oklahoma ranks No. 36 and No. 42, respectively. [Oklahoma Watch]
Man dies after being shot by police in southwest Oklahoma City: A man died after being shot by Oklahoma City police officers in southwest Oklahoma City on Monday, June 16. The June 16 incident would be the third reported officer-involved shooting by police in Oklahoma City this year. [The Oklahoman]
- Police investigating officer-involved shooting in SW Oklahoma City [KFOR]
Tulsa police lieutenant sues city, claiming retaliation after he called out racism: A Tulsa Police Department lieutenant has filed a lawsuit against the city of Tulsa and Rogers County prosecutors that alleges he was targeted for prosecution after he spoke out against racism in his department. Lt. Marcus Harper, who is Black, claims that fellow law enforcement officers retaliated against him after he spoke out in 2020 about TPD "common practices against the public good, officer cliques … and systemic racist practices of certain officers." [Tulsa World]
Opinion: Trampling dissent: How police horses have been used to crush protest from Selma to LA: In Los Angeles, where protests have risen like heat from the pavement, police mounted on horses have turned city streets into stomping grounds — even as video and social media shine a light on their violence around the clock. They've rammed bodies into walls, herded voices into choke points, and trampled dissent until it falls silent. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
Opinion: Tulsa City Council has chance to do the right thing to protect all rights: Ten years ago, the Tulsa City Council added the terms "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the list of protected classes in the city's fair housing policy by a vote of 8-0. Now the language needs to be updated, clarified and expanded to all city services for consistency. Why ban discrimination in housing but be fine with it in employment? [Ginnie Graham / Tulsa World]
Community News
US News ranked these 8 Oklahoma cities the best in the state: Here's who made the cut: U.S. News & World Report recently released its rankings of the 250 best places to live in the U.S. in 2025-2026, taking into account each city's affordability, job market and quality of life. Six cities from the Sooner State made it into the top 250, with Oklahoma City ranking 96th overall. [The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- Persica Solar Farm proposal near Porter denied by Wagoner County Commission [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa Public Schools to reevaluate testing strategy [Tulsa World]
- OKC's Full Sail sets course for growth with Mercer deal [The Journal Record]
- City of El Reno to launch in-house Emergency Medical Services [StateImpact Oklahoma]
- Kratos to double Bristow facility size, add dozens of aerospace jobs [News on 6]
