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What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is May 23, and here are a handful of headlines before we get started:

• Game 2 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a 118-103 winner over Minnesota on Thursday night. The newly crowned MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, had 38 points for OKC. Game 3 tips off just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday from Minneapolis, and it will be televised on ABC. 💙🧡

• 2 staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., were shot to death late Wednesday night as they left an event. The shooter was a 31-year-old man who said he “did it for Palestine.” (AP News)

• Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling international students (CNN)

• Stock futures are relatively unmoved as investors weigh the impact of higher U.S. Treasury yields. (CNBC)

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Weather Update ⛈️

It could be a stormy weekend, and severe weather is a possibility. Have a plan, and know whose coverage you can watch from home or listen to if you’re on the road.

🌡️ Friday's high in OKC 82°
🌡️ Friday’s high in Tulsa 77°

Split decision halts Oklahoma’s plan to open religious charter school

By Jennifer Palmer, Oklahoma Watch
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Oklahoma’s top court’s ruling to block a state-funded Catholic charter school will stand after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked on the issue. 

The unsigned order, issued Thursday, reads simply: “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” A 4-4 split was possible because Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. 

The school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, named after the patron saint of the Internet, was to be operated by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. St. Isidore proposed being Catholic in every aspect, including instruction and operations. St. Isidore applied to be a charter school, privately run but publicly funded. 

Attorney General Gentner Drummond challenged the school in court, arguing the state’s sponsorship of the school violates the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause and state statute, which prohibits public schools, including charters, from being affiliated with any particular religious group.  

Erin Brewer, an Oklahoma parent who joined a lawsuit challenging St. Isidore, said the tie feels like a win.

“The Supreme Court made the right decision in affirming that religious freedom means that individuals, families, have the right to raise their children, live our values, to pursue our faith, but we should not be forced as taxpayers to fund religious activity,” she said.

The court’s order doesn’t indicate how the justices voted. When the court heard arguments in late April, Chief Justice John Roberts seemed most likely to split with the conservative majority, with pointed questions indicating he hadn’t yet chosen a side. 

Split decisions don’t set a precedent, so religious groups can try again with a different case. 

Click to finish the story.

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Oklahoma lawmakers pushing to restructure TSET board in act of ‘retaliation,’ Dem says

By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Republicans are moving forward with legislation to restructure a voter-approved state board that oversees a multi-billion dollar trust after it didn’t immediately allocate $50 million to pay for a new University of Oklahoma hospital, Democrat lawmakers said. 

Democrats said efforts to strip the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust of its independence follow a dustup between the agency, which oversees a $2 billion public trust, and Republican legislative leaders who became frustrated after the board did not promptly hand over funding to pay for OU’s new pediatric heart hospital. 

House Bill 2783, which heads to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk, would allow the TSET board of directors to be removed “at the pleasure” of their appointing authority and would limit them to no more than a seven year term. Currently the seven board members, who decide how to spend the proceeds of Oklahoma’s settlement with the tobacco industry, are appointed to a blanket, staggered seven year term. 

While debating the bill in the House on Tuesday, Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, said the legislation was filed because Republican leadership wasn’t happy that TSET hadn’t funded the heart hospital. 

“What we are doing here is we are using legislative power to extract retaliation,” she said. 

Blancett said the legislation places “undue pressure” on the board and is “antithetical” to how the TSET board was set up when voters added it to the state constitution. 

The seven board members are appointed by the governor, treasurer, state superintendent, attorney general, state auditor and the leaders of the House and Senate. Appointees are required to have experience in health care or programs benefitting children or seniors. No more than four appointees may come from one political party and at least one appointee must come from each congressional district, with no more than two from the same district. 

The bill would not alter who has appointing authority or the other qualification requirements.

Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, who voted for the measure, said Thursday TSET is in the process of awarding $150 million in grants, and lawmakers requested a third of that be awarded to help pay for OU’s hospital.

He said there’s been “some frustration” with how the TSET board responded to the request. While he said he’s satisfied with the current condition of TSET, Paxton said sometimes they need to listen to legislative funding needs. 

“One of the things I get concerned about with some of these agencies is that when you separate them too far from the legislative branch, that sometimes they kind of become their own kingdom where they don’t listen to the elected people,” he said.

The Legislature is moving forward with funding $200 million without the grant.

Click to finish the story.

The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

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

• Woman raped at Myriad Gardens, suspect is on the run (KFOR)

• Trader Joe's to open location in Broken Arrow (News On 6)

• Did Bixby school officials fail to stop attack on student? (KTUL)

• OU athletic department to lay off 5% of staff due to looming revenue-sharing with athletes (OU Daily)

• ‘Bit of a mess’: Legislative workaround stalls, Muscogee compact dispute lingers with Stitt (NonDoc)

• Collinsville shop owners take over Main Street in inflatable suits to protest City ordinance (Fox 23)

• 10 restaurants opening soon, including Ava June and Doctor Kustom Bistro (Tulsa World)

• Sweet bear family moment captured in southeastern Oklahoma forest (News On 6)

• Ginnie Graham: Right ruling against St. Isidore. Wrong response from Gentner Drummond (Tulsa World)

• Meet the two moms and artists behind more than 100 OKC Thunder window paintings around town (The Oklahoman)

• Oklahoma City’s OKANA Beach opens Saturday (KFOR)

• Why OU softball is more prepared for Alabama this time around in NCAA super regionals (The Oklahoman)

• 'Just crazy': Okemah non-profit loses new roof in May 19 storm (2 News Oklahoma)

• City: As many as 30 graves still in Oaklawn Cemetery (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Senate sends state budget bill, tax cut to Oklahoma governor (Oklahoma Voice)

• New Oklahoma Republican senator takes office in final days of legislative session (The Oklahoman)

• Tom Cole Fights Against EPA Budget Cuts for His District (Oklahoma Watch)

• Oklahoma Health Care Authority addresses impacts to Medicaid proposed in House budget bill (KGOU)

• BancFirst acquiring Collinsville-based American Bank of Oklahoma in merger (News On 6)

• Deer Creek middle school students ride into last day on horses (KFOR)

• Cache teacher retires after 50 years of teaching (KSWO)

• Education Pioneer Mrs. JoAnn Goodwin Fields Gilford Dies at Age 91 (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Healdton man seriously injured in shooting (Ardmoreite)

• Enid grad kicks off campaign for lieutenant governor (Enid News & Eagle)

• Pimping charge leads to the pokey (Lawton Constitution)

• City of Sapulpa says it will not provide a place for limb or debris drop-off (Sapulpa Times)

• The grief and relief of rural school annexation in Oklahoma (KOSU)

• Tulsa Co. Sheriff, DHS accused of illegally detaining immigrant (2 News Oklahoma)

• Osage Agency in Pawhuska to stay open (Osage News)

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