Friday, July 10, 2026 • Very hot, still Upper 90s. ⛅

We received 176 votes on the Thursday poll, “Is it important to you that a political candidate participate in a public debate?”

• 160 said Yes
• 16 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 Ari Fife, The Frontier; and Jillian Taylor, StateImpact Oklahoma
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An out-of-state anti-abortion group successfully lobbied to change Oklahoma law after it was rejected for public funding from a program that encourages women to keep their unplanned pregnancies. 

Human Coalition is a Texas-based nonprofit that uses internet marketing to connect women with crisis pregnancy centers and social workers. The group has pushed for several states to expand anti-abortion programs. About two-thirds of the group’s revenue in the 2025 fiscal year —  $20.7 million — came from government grants, according to tax records. The group spent about $7.5 million on advertising and $241,728 on lobbying nationwide. 

Human Coalition applied for funding from Oklahoma’s Choosing Childbirth program in 2024. The State Department of Health rejected the group because it determined that its lack of a physical presence in Oklahoma didn’t comply with state law. 

The Choosing Childbirth program has become a key part of Oklahoma’s strategy to support young children and pregnant women since the state enacted a near-total abortion ban in 2022. Oklahoma nonprofits can get taxpayer-funded grants through the program to provide things like employment assistance, parenting education and diapers. 

Senate Bill 1503 removes the requirement for a nonprofit to have a location in the state. Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, and Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, sponsored the bill. A handful of groups headquartered out of state already receive Choosing Childbirth funding, but all awardees maintain a physical location in Oklahoma.

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Manhattan’s private-club scene has experienced vertiginous growth. Mario Carbone launched a Hudson Yards joint, ZZ’s Club, in 2023; chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten descended upon the Meatpacking District to open a point-one-percent-filled catacomb, Chez Margaux; and Sunset Tower proprietor Jeff Klein descended upon the city last year to open one of his San Vicente clubs in the former Jane Hotel. As the new guard of hospitality impresarios dot the Big Apple with high-priced venues and piles of zucchini chips, blueblooded New York institutions such as the Union Club, the University Club, the Knickerbocker Club, and the Racquet & Tennis Club haven’t ceded their ground. A growing number of the city’s twenty- and thirty-something men are flocking to the old-world clubs, joining the older guard in the locker rooms.

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