Wednesday, June 24 2026 • Storm chances linger. Highs in the lower-to-mid 80s. ⛈️

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We received 94 votes on the Tuesday poll, “Did you get the Imminent Threat weather alert on your phone at 1:15 a.m. Monday?”

• 48 said YES
• 46 said NO

New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)

By Maya Henry, Oklahoma Watch
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Clara Goletto no longer picks up the phone when calls come from unknown numbers. The last time she did, she lost $2,500. 

On March 19, shortly after nine in the morning, Goletto received a call. Her daughter was arrested the night before, so she wasn’t surprised to hear the voice on the other end identify himself as Deputy Humphrey from the Oklahoma County jail. 

But she was surprised by the declaration that came next: her daughter, the voice on the line said, had COVID-19. Goletto owed the jail $2,500 for related fees. She was stressed, running on three hours of sleep and was watching her grandchildren, whom she’d assumed temporary care of while their mother was in jail. Goletto was suspicious, but the caller seemed legitimate: he knew her name, her daughter’s name and, even stranger, she later thought, her grandchildren’s names. And, he’d called her directly. 

She read aloud her debit card information; the jail only took debit, Deputy Humphrey warned her. Goletto would learn later that credit cards offer significantly stronger fraud protection than debit cards.

Then, there was another charge, for $900, an extended bill on her record that Goletto needed to clear for her daughter to be eligible for bail. She tried to negotiate and succeeded. When the voices on the line — at some point, she said, two other purported jail officials had joined the call — said she could pay off the last charge for $100, Goletto realized she was being scammed. 

“Well, that was it,” said Goletto, who’s retired and lives on a fixed income with her husband. “There’s all my money. They just got me, and I couldn’t do anything about it.” 

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Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:

• Brent Swadley rushed to ER after jail incident, attorney says (KFOR)

• Date set for Richard Glossip's new trial in case that sent him to death row for nearly 30 years (KOCO)

• Two more arrested in connection with Arcadia Lake shooting; total arrests climb to 6 (News 9)

• Lawsuit challenges Norman’s Rock Creek district, seeks injunction to halt public funding (Fox 25)

• Oklahoma private school tax credit program sees growth. Who benefits? (Oklahoma Voice)

• Oklahoma ACA insurer Mending to end health plans after this year (StateImpact Oklahoma)

• To help wildlife habitats, Oklahoma experts burn fields (KOSU)

• Tahlequah neighbors upset with lack of ODOT flooding fix (2 News Oklahoma)

• Turner Falls park closes after heavy rains and flooding (KXII)

• 17 GOP AGs, including Oklahoma’s, sue California over single-use plastics law (Oklahoma Voice)

• Osage Nation, Oklahoma State University announce uniform patch agreement (KOSU)

• Congress presses University of Oklahoma to repatriate Indigenous remains (KOSU)

• Uncommon Ground leaders pitch TIF as park progresses toward 2027 opening (NonDoc)

• 3 agencies are expanding adult education options in Tulsa area as Union closes its center (Tulsa Flyer)

• City’s Rapid Exit from Shelters strategy gaining momentum (Tulsa World)*

• Former employee at southern Oklahoma Arby’s arrested, charged with felony, for allegedly spitting in customer’s food (KXII)

• Oklahoma woman explains viral video after pet preservation mix-up goes wrong (News 9)

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