What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is May 21, and here are a handful of headlines before we get started:

•  The Oklahoma City Thunder had a huge second half en route to a 114-88 win over Minnesota in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals. Game 2 happens on Thursday night from the Paycom Center. Tip-off will be just after 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN. 💙🧡

• Norm! Actor George Wendt, best known for his beer-loving character on Cheers, has died at the age of 76. (CNN)

• What's in President Trump's 'big' tax and immigration bill? (ABC News)

• Stock futures steady, but the winning streak is over. (CNBC)

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Weather Update ☀️

I’ll take some sunshine with a side of heat, please…but not too much.

🌡️ Wednesday's high in OKC 88°
🌡️ Wednesday’s high in Tulsa 84°

Hot dogs and high voltage: OAEC training event delivers jarring but crucial safety lessons

By Ryan Welton, Oklahoma Memo

OKLAHOMA CITY – It technically only takes .25 amps of electricity to kill you, according to Daniel Lofland—and by comparison, a typical household socket puts out a lot more than that.

That certainly got my attention.

Lofland has been an Energy Specialist with the Oklahoma Electric Cooperative (OEC) in Norman, Okla., since 2016, and before that he was a lineman. But on Tuesday, in front of a crowd of linemen, apprentices and news media, the lineman-turned-marketer was a showman.

His mission? Help Oklahomans better understand how electricity works and the dangers of interacting with it without proper knowledge and care.

But first, what is OEC? And what is OAEC?

Daniel is with Oklahoma Electric Cooperative. OEC serves electricity customers in Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, McClain, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie counties — and they are one of 30 members of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives.

Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives power more than 1.1 million Oklahomans, serving 527,000+ in-state meters and over 134,000 meters in surrounding states. Co-ops maintain 118,210 miles of distribution line.  We serve 93% of Oklahoma’s landmass, providing service in all of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.

OAEC member cooperatives power most of the parts of Oklahoma not served by OG&E and PSO.

The hot dog demonstration

One of the highlights of this event involved an American staple, the hot dog. This demonstration was about showing what can go wrong — not just telling, Lofland explained, moments before an assistant used a hot dog to simulate what happens when the human body makes contact with a live wire.

The result: a cooked hot dog with a severed tip.

Mustard and relish, please.

“You're actually gonna blow your whole arm off,” Lofland said, detailing how our bodies would react to the same. “Can we live without an arm? A leg? Absolutely. But can you see the black hole at the bottom of that hot dog?”

The likelihood though is that you’re not surviving that. The black hole, symbolically, represents a surge of electricity running through your body, damaging organs from top to bottom.

My attention? Lofland kept it.

Safety in storms

The most practical electricity education application this time of year in Oklahoma is to know what to do in the event you’re caught in a severe weather situation where an exposed line might be nearby.

The scenario might look like this: You’re coming back to a neighborhood where there has been storm damage and power lines are down. Or maybe you’re driving and a power pole falls on top of your vehicle.

First and foremost…Stay in your vehicle unless that vehicle starts to catch fire. If you must exit the vehicle with an exposed line anywhere nearby, don’t just walk out of the car or truck.

Hop. With both feet.

“Hop like a bunny for like two minutes — 200 feet. Look real silly for a little bit and save your life,” Lofland said. “(And) don’t touch any other part of the car when you do it... because you’re giving it a path to ground at that point.”

This also explains why birds can sit on an electrical wire and not fry—because they’re not touching the ground simultaneously.

“The minute we touch two things, we give electricity a path,” Lofland said.

I’ll be posting some video from this event on Oklahoma Memo social channels as well as my YouTube channel (@RyanIsThatDude). You’ll want to see the hot dog segment for sure!

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Federal judge temporarily blocks Oklahoma immigration law

By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
Click to read the story.
Donate to Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma City federal judge on Tuesday put a two-week hold on the state’s enforcement of a law criminalizing immigrants living in Oklahoma without legal residency.

House Bill 4156 created the state crime of “impermissible occupation” last year. Federal District Judge Bernard Jones blocked enforcement of HB 4156 from June until March, when President Donald Trump’s administration dropped his Democratic predecessor’s lawsuit challenging the law.

Two undocumented immigrants living in Oklahoma and two organizations based in the state refiled the case this month. Jones agreed, like he did last year, that their case against HB 4156 is likely to succeed in court.

The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly found that control of immigration is an exclusively federal power, he wrote in his decision issued Tuesday. Jones found that federal law on this issue is likely to preempt state laws.

“Based on the comprehensive and exhaustive immigration framework that Congress designed, the Court is left with one conclusion: H.B. 4156 must fail,” Jones wrote.

Jones’ decision blocks enforcement of the law until June 3, but the order could be extended.

Click to finish the story.

Some barbers, hairstylists oppose Oklahoma governor's dissolution of cosmetology board

By Max Bryan, Public Radio Tulsa
Click to read the story.
Donate to KWGS.

Hairstylists and barbers in Tulsa are concerned Gov. Kevin Stitt’s decision to get rid of the state board of cosmetology and barbering could impact the professionalism and health standards of their industry.

Stitt vetoed House Bill 1030, which would have extended the life of the board through June 2028. The board is in charge of licensing and regulating beauticians and barbers in the state.

In his veto message, Stitt argued the board needs to be more transparent and responsive, and should be reorganized.

“Before granting another sunset extension, the Legislature should take a step back and ask: What does this Board really need to do, and who should be in charge of it?” the governor’s statement reads.

Cultured Hair Lounge owner Jesse Cuyan is also concerned Stitt’s move will make running his business more challenging. Barbers are currently required to complete 1,500 hours of training in Oklahoma.

“In particular, me as a business owner, who am I going to hire that is qualified enough to work in the shop?” Cuyan said.

Cuyan says barbers and beauticians learn health standards for the profession in cosmetology school.

Click to finish the story.

The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• ‘All of a sudden, we heard a loud bam!’ Garage takes flight in extreme Collinsville weather (News On 6)

• 'A witch hunt': Community leaders outraged after 154 arrested at OKC birthday party (KOCO)

• Tornado damage in Blanco, Pittsburg County, leaves widespread destruction, no fatalities reported (News On 6)

• Ryan Walters: Bibles will be in Oklahoma classrooms this fall, despite no money to buy them (The Oklahoman)

• Storms cause major damage in Fort Gibson; community rallies for clean-up effort (News On 6)

• Husband and wife flown to hospital after catching fire in Cleveland County (KOCO)

• Popular liquor store chain begins construction on first Oklahoma location amid lengthy legal battle (KOCO)

• Mental health department has ‘glaring’ issues, Oklahoma state auditor reports (Oklahoma Voice)

• Report: Mental Health Department employees 'discouraged' from cooperating with audit (Tulsa World)

• County commissioners declare state of emergency; Red Cross establishes shelter at Pittsburg School (McAlester News-Capital) 

• Oklahoma income tax cut bill clears first hurdle, sets stage for future reductions (Oklahoma Voice)

• Severe storm in Sapulpa brings down trees, blows out windows in The Way Church (Sapulpa Times)

• Stitt criticized for veto of MMIW bill (Cherokee Phoenix)

• Oklahoma governor's veto shuts down agency responsible for funeral regulations (KOSU)

• 'Take action now': Oklahoma healthcare providers launch program to combat measles outbreak (KTUL)

• Atoka County homicide investigation turned over to the FBI (KXII)

• Black Tulsans still feel effects of Greenwood neighborhood's 'second destruction' (KGOU)

• New Oklahoma law bars discrimination against foster parents based on religious beliefs (KGOU)

• Severe weather causes need for repairs in Atoka (KTEN)

• Norman City Council approves Rock Creek Entertainment District phasing plan (OU Daily)

• Stillwater City Council approves rezoning for local developer; one resident pushes back (The O’Colly)

• Osage Casinos nears $500K in donations to Osage Nation Foundation (Osage News)

• OU beats Kentucky in first round of SEC Tournament (SoonerSports)

• Continental Resources files lawsuit against Hess, says it was defrauded out of $69M (The Oklahoman / Reuters)

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