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What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is May 8, and here are a couple of headlines before we get started:

• President Trump has offered to help resolve the conflict between India and Pakistan.

• Fed holds interest rates steady amid stagflation risk. Stock futures barely move.

• 3 Doors Down lead singer diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.

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Weather Update ⛅

It’s going to be tough Thursday to not start thinkin’ about the weekend.

🌡️ Thursday's high in OKC 71°
🌡️ Thursday’s high in Tulsa 71°

Allergy report: tree pollen (moderate), grass pollen (very high)

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Lawmaker battling breast cancer vows to challenge Oklahoma governor’s veto on diagnostic screening 

By Janelle Stecklein, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY — A Democratic lawmaker, who is battling breast cancer, said Wednesday that she plans to try to override the governor’s veto of a bill designed to improve access to diagnostic screening of the disease.

Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, said Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto of House Bill 1389 generated a “lot of shock” and felt personal even though she’s well through the diagnostic screening process for her own breast cancer. 

She said that close to 1 in 6 Oklahoma women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, which is above the national average.

The measure sought to add contrast-enhanced mammograms and molecular breast imaging to the list of diagnostic examinations that insurance companies must cover without patient cost-sharing. Supporters said such diagnostic tests are essential to early detection, treatment and improved outcomes.

Provenzano said lawmakers in 2022 passed legislation requiring the coverage of diagnostic mammograms, but she has since discovered that access to the same machines depends on where you live.

“I’ve also fielded call after call from women who say their insurance companies are pushing back on coverage, despite what the law says,” Provenzano said in a statement. “In the simplest of terms, HB 1389 clarifies the language so no matter where you live – be it Guymon, Tulsa or Broken Bow, your access to care is there. This bill seeks to make sure every woman can get care, regardless of her zip code.”

Her bill was one of four vetoed Tuesday by Stitt.

“I am deeply sympathetic to the women across our state who have bravely fought breast cancer,” Stitt wrote in his veto message. “While early detection and access to care are critical priorities, this legislation imposes new and costly insurance mandates on private health plans that will ultimately raise insurance premiums for working families and small businesses.”

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Former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter sues State Board of Education over academic standards

By Lionel Ramos, KOSU
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Former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter is suing the State Board of Education on behalf of half a dozen plaintiffs. Hunter is questioning the board's approval of the latest proposed academic standards.

Hunter says the State Board of Education violated the law when it approved proposed social studies standards and sent them to the legislature. 

“The Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act required the Oklahoma State Board of Education to follow its internal rules and procedures in developing, proposing and adopting the new social studies standards,” Hunter said. “They did not.”

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Pardon and Parole Board rejects clemency for a man convicted in the 1999 murder of a Tulsa woman

By Dylan Goforth, The Frontier
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The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 on Wednesday to deny clemency for John Fitzgerald Hanson, who was sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of Mary Bowles.  

Hanson and Victor Cornell Miller kidnapped Bowles from a Tulsa shopping mall and drove her to a secluded dirt pit in Owasso. Miller shot the dirt pit owner, Jerald Thurman, who saw the kidnappers in Bowles’ car. He died in the local hospital two weeks later. Jake Thurman, his son, addressed the board on Wednesday and said he was 19 when Miller killed his father and he’s now the age his father was when he was killed. 

Thurman told the board that rejecting clemency would allow his family to move forward with their lives.

A court re-sentenced Miller to life in prison for shooting Thurman after overturning two previous death sentences. Thurman told The Frontier he has waited decades for Hanson’s execution even though he didn’t fire the fatal shot that killed his father. 

Hanson shot Bowles, 77, four to six times at point-blank range before dumping her body face down in a “swampy roadside ditch” and covering her body with branches, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office A motorist found her partially decomposed remains a week later. Sara Mooney, Bowles’ niece, told the board Bowles was a second mother to her. 

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Tulsa County Sheriff’s office seeks expanded ICE contract

By Max Bryan, Public Radio Tulsa
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The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office is working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold undocumented detainees for longer periods of time.

The sheriff’s office participates in ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows them to hold David L. Moss Detention Center detainees for 72 hours.

Sheriff Vic Regalado said Monday that the jail has seen “a significant increase” in the number of detainees with ICE holds in recent months.

On April 29, ICE claimed it arrested more than 66,000 undocumented people in President Donald Trump’s first 100 days as his administration seeks an aggressive second-term immigration policy.

Assistant Jail Administrator Marcus Berry said he last counted on April 28 230 ICE detainees in the jail.

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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

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

• Multiple dogs attacked Cleveland County child before his death, documents show (KOCO)

• Former Oklahoma substitute teacher arrested again for alleged molestation (KOCO)

• More Norman property owners may lose homes as OTA revives frontage road plan (Oklahoman)

• Bill restricting gathering signatures for Oklahoma ballot initiatives heads back to Senate (Oklahoma Voice)

• Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoes bill to extend eviction process (Tulsa World)

• Inmate accused of killing, decapitating cellmate (Lawton Constitution)

• Ginnie Graham: Gov. Stitt not so pro-life when it comes to women (Tulsa World)

• Cherokee Nation declares May MMIP Awareness Month (Cherokee Phoenix)

• Overholser overhaul expected to begin next year, Oklahoma City Utilities officials say (KOSU)

• Gov. Stitt signs Food Truck Freedom Act into law (KSWO)

• Return of Marietta warehouse seen as boost to regional economy (KTEN)

• Oasis Fresh Market planning second grocery store location in downtown Tulsa (Tulsa World)

• New management brings big changes to Tulsa’s public golf courses (KWGS)

• Guthrie moves forward with Downtown Pocket Park proposal despite turf debate (Guthrie News Page)

• Phillips 66 donates $50,000 to Ponca City Police Department for radio system upgrade (Kay News Cow)

• Oklahoma City brewing company announces closure by saying it's at end of its 'BROKE era' (Oklahoman)

• Vending machine thief apprehended: Investigation leads to multiple felony charges (Ardmoreite)

SPORTS 🏀⚾🥎🏈

NBA Playoffs Game 2: Oklahoma City 149, Denver 106

Best-of-seven series tied 1-1. Game 3 is Friday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

• Freshman pitcher Sophia Bordi away from OU softball team amid 'personal situation' (Tulsa World)

• No. 2 Sooners Open SEC Softball Tournament Against No. 9 LSU (SoonerSports)

• Cowgirl Golf clinches fifth-straight trip to NCAA Championship (OKState)

• Former Mercer University quarterback Whitt Newbauer commits to Oklahoma (SoonerSports)

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