What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is May 14, and here are a couple of headlines before we get started:

• Oklahoma City Thunder beat Denver 112-105 on Tuesday night to win Game 5 of their Best of 7 playoff series. The Thunder are up 3-2 in the series. Game 6 in Denver is Thursday night at 7:30. You can watch the game on ESPN.

• It was Election Day for some across Oklahoma on Tuesday. Click here for election results.

• Menendez brothers resentenced. Is parole next?

• Baseball surprise: Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson are now Hall-of-Fame eligible.

• Stock futures are flat, but NASDAQ is on a winning streak… 

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Weather Update ☀️

Could be a record high today. Put on sunscreen, and drink water!

🌡️ Wednesday's high in OKC 93°
🌡️ Wednesday’s high in Tulsa 92°

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Potential NOAA cuts are already giving one Oklahoma lawmaker ‘stomach cramps’

By Em Luetkemeyer, Oklahoma Watch
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Rep. Frank Lucas wasn’t familiar with proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget. But the very idea of it, given Oklahoma’s heavy reliance on its data because of its location in the heart of Tornado Alley, was already physically hurting him.

“The very discussion about reducing our investment in our scientific research and our weather forecasting causes me to have stomach cramps,” Lucas, a Republican, said.

Multiple outlets reported that the Office of Management and Budget is considering cuts to NOAA that would effectively eliminate its research arm and slash its budget by $1.3 billion. OMB and NOAA did not respond to a request for comment about the cuts, including questions about how they could affect Oklahoma facilities.

But Lucas said he hopes future funding of NOAA will be “rational and practical” and “not a step back from progress we’ve made” in weather forecasting.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but thank goodness I have the chairman of the Appropriations Committee,” Lucas added, referring to Republican Rep. Tom Cole, also a member of the Oklahoma delegation.

Click to finish the story.

Veto of public records transparency measure draws ire from Oklahoma Attorney General

By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto of a bill that would provide Oklahomans more recourse in pursuing open records has drawn the ire of the state’s attorney general.

Stitt vetoed House Bill 2163 that would have formally created a Public Access Counselor Unit in Drummond’s office and a deadline-laden process to help those seeking public records. The measure would allow for a person to request a review from the access counselor, who will then determine if the denial violated state law and advise the public body.

The government body must then promptly and reasonably comply. 

“Oklahomans have several effective tools to ensure transparency and accountability in government,” Stitt’s veto message said. “Public records laws and the courts provide a neutral, fair process to review and resolve disputes over access to information. This bill bypasses that process and concentrates too much power in one office.”

Attorney General Gentner Drummond criticized the veto, saying Stitt didn’t want  him to have increased authority and the ability to hold the governor and his “failed political appointees” accountable for not following the law.

“As Attorney General, I serve the people of Oklahoma, not bureaucrats or politicians,” Drummond said. “My client is the state of Oklahoma, not powerful insiders or special-interest groups.”

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Oklahoma has some of the highest suicide rates in the U.S. A new report examines why

By Sierra Pfeifer, KOSU
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Oklahoma has a higher suicide rate than most other states, and it's increasing faster than the national average.

From 2013 to 2022, nearly 8,000 Oklahomans died by suicide, according to a new report examining data from the Oklahoma Violent Death Reporting System. That’s approximately two people every day, for the last ten years.

The report, compiled by Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, links deaths to low broadband access, intimate partner conflict, poor mental health screening practices and weak gun laws. Executive Director Zack Stoycoff said these factors, among others, illustrate the complexity of suicide, and the state’s need for targeted solutions.

“It's much more complex than simply saying depression is high and, therefore, suicide is high,” he said. “There are so many reasons and causes for suicide that differ based on your culture and whether you're in urban or rural Oklahoma or what stage of life you're in.”

Click to finish the story.

The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

A concise summary of the latest news from across the state:

• Lawmakers move to reject immigration status tracking at Oklahoma schools (Oklahoman)

• Councilors, city leaders to host fourth community conversation in Midtown on Thursday, North Tulsa on Monday (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• MMIP relatives like Baylee Mason Good may choose to remain unhoused (Osage News)

• Oklahoma turnpike tidbits, and about those ‘smishing’ scam texts in Oklahoma (Luther Register News)

• 21-year-old woman dies in hospital day after being shot inside car (KOCO)

• Man found dead in Atoka County identified (KXII)

• ‘Just a sweet girl' : Muskogee mom remembers daughter who drowned (2 News Oklahoma)

• Southern Hills adds another golf jewel, lands 2032 PGA Championship (Tulsa World)

• Glenpool Public Schools administrator resigns amid fight to get her certification reinstated (Tulsa World)

• Midwest City grandmother discovers her SNAP benefits were stolen on Mother’s Day (KFOR)

• ‘Heroic’: Pottawatomie Co. men rush towards burning truck to save lives (KFOR)

• Sterlin Harjo's Tulsa noir series starring Ethan Hawke gets new title, premiere date (Tulsa World)

• High water levels, debris cleanup delay reopening of Tulsa Wave Park (News On 6)

• 5 things to know before heading to Rooster Days 2025 (News On 6)

• Former inmate comes forward with info on missing Creek County woman (Fox 23)

• Tulsa police issue warning over new fentanyl mix resistant to Narcan (KTUL)

• Fort Supply Lake remains open despite staffing shortages (Woodward News)

• City officials ready to move into next design phase for indoor sports complex (Lawton Constitution)

• Loose cow causes chaos on I-40 after escaped Oklahoma National Stockyards (KOCO)

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