Saturday, May 23, 2026 • Storm chances early. ⛈️ Afternoon in the upper 70s.

Series: Thunder lead 2-1
Leading scorers: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama with 26 each
Next game: 7 p.m. Sunday in San Antonio
TV: NBC/Peacock

• Oklahoma City takes back home court advantage with 123-108 win in Game 3 (News 9)

Softball Super Regionals:
• Mississippi State 11, Oklahoma 9
Game 2 will be at noon at Love’s Field. TV: ESPN
• Nebraska 8, Oklahoma State 1
Game 2 will be in Lincoln at 4 p.m. TV: ESPN

Both the Sooners and Cowgirls need wins Saturday, or their seasons end.

By Ryan Welton, Oklahoma Memo

In what appears to be an escalation of the feud between Oklahoma's governor and attorney general, Kevin Stitt called on Friday for a special audit of Gentner Drummond's office.

The letter was sent to State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd, "citing concerns about a 205% increase in the Attorney General’s office budget between FY23 and FY26 and a massive increase in headcount."

But it appears the governor's primary concern is that Drummond approved funds for a DEI-related program at the Diversity Center of Oklahoma, which Stitt called "a left-wing organization that provides DEI training, LGBT programming, and 'gender affirming care' to adolescents."

Stitt added that this approval came a couple of weeks after he had banned that type of funding.

The governor asked Byrd to hire an independent auditor, citing conflicts of interest.

However, Drummond said that the budget increase was easily explained.

• The AG's budget increased due to monies that were really "pass-through funding that goes back to Oklahomans," and not operating expenses.

• The state Legislature has added to Drummond's plate, things like overseeing pharmacy management benefit enforcement and combatting human trafficking — projects requiring more people and money.

In a letter to Byrd, Stitt wrote:
“Between FY 2023 and FY 2026, OAG legislative appropriations more than doubled, rising from $38.1 million to $90.5 million-making the OAG the second fastest growing agency in state government. The office's overall budget grew even more sharply, rising from $43.2 million to $131.8 million, an increase of approximately 205%. Put differently, the OAG more than tripled its budget in just three years.”

Stitt added: "For an office with established legal and investigative functions, growth of that magnitude requires a clear accounting. The public deserves to know what new duties, cases, programs, grants, or operational needs drove the increase, and whether those tax dollars have been deployed responsibly."

Drummond was not caught off guard by the request for an audit.

"It comes as no surprise that Gov. Stitt has called for an audit of my office. He has a well-established pattern of targeting those who hold him accountable. I welcome it," Drummond said.

He added, "My office has nothing to hide."

👉 Click here to read the governor’s press release.

👉 Click here to read the letter sent to Cindy Byrd.

👉 Click here to read the attorney general’s response.

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Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:

• El Reno teen and three friends killed in wrong-way crash (KOCO)

• 5 ways to spend your weekend in Tulsa May 22-24 (Tulsa Flyer)

• What’s open and closed in Tulsa on Memorial Day? (News On 6)

• New laws impact foster care children, gender-affirming care for Oklahoma adults (Oklahoma Voice)

• Commuter rail could have bigger economic impact than MAPS, officials say (The Oklahoman)*

• Need for religious freedom, more Oklahoma teacher support drives Toni Hasenbeck’s superintendent bid (Oklahoma Voice)

• Automatic expungement, easier medical parole and better good-time credits: Oklahoma’s criminal justice reforms (Oklahoma Watch)

• Greenwood Cyber+AI Lab opens in historic north Tulsa building (Tulsa World)*

• Chickasaw Nation hosts agritour to cultivate traditional knowledge, improve local ecosystems (KOSU)

• Man struck, killed along I-44 on Friday morning west of US-75 (Tulsa World)*

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