Oklahoma Voice

02/04/2025

Oklahoma lawmakers questioned a $3 million request to buy Bibles for public schools as budget projections forecast the state will have less money to spend.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters has asked for increased spending on Bibles and COLA raises while hinting at a reduction in force.

02/04/2025

Mexico, Canada and China are the United States’ top trading partners. The three countries had responded to Trump’s plans with their own retaliatory measures.

President Donald Trump on Monday punted for one month his plans to impose sweeping tariffs against Mexico and Canada.

02/04/2025

“Defendants’ actions in this case potentially run roughshod over a ‘bulwark of the Constitution’ by interfering with Congress’s appropriation of federal funds,” AliKhan wrote in the 30-page ruling.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the Trump administration from implementing a spending freeze on grant and loan programs.

02/04/2025

The American Civil Liberties Union, along with immigration legal aid groups, Monday filed the first major lawsuit against the Trump administration’s proclamation of an “invasion” at the southern border to justify expelling migrants and preventing them from claiming asylum.

Groups filed the first major lawsuit against the Trump administration’s proclamation of an “invasion” at the southern border to justify expelling migrants and preventing them from claiming asylum.

02/03/2025

Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday called on Oklahoma lawmakers to spend nearly $1.4 billion less in the upcoming budget while cutting two key funding streams.

02/03/2025

Gov. Kevin Stitt's annual State of the State address was centered on the idea of the "American dream" and called on lawmakers to pass reforms on education and prisons and to limit the size and spending of the government.

Gov. Kevin Stitt’s annual State of the State centered on the "American dream" and called for limited government and pass education reforms.

02/03/2025

Across the country and around the world, demand for electricity is growing faster than ever. In Oklahoma, energy companies and the regional grid are racing to build infrastructure that can meet the state’s growing electricity needs, KOSU reports.

Some Oklahomans aren’t happy about plans to festoon rural areas with towering transmission lines.

02/03/2025

Indigenous Oklahomans’ life expectancy is 63.6 years, which is among the worst in the country, research finds.

There’s growing evidence that some American demographic groups need more help than others to live longer, healthier lives.

02/03/2025

President Donald Trump said he planned to recommend that “FEMA go away and we pay directly — we pay a percentage to the state.”

States may have to bolster their natural disaster response and recovery efforts in the coming years as President Donald Trump looks for ways to shift the federal government’s role onto states.

02/03/2025

Oklahoma's legislative session kicks off in a few hours.
Opinion: To help our legislators prioritize the right things, here’s a list of common-sense approaches that they could take to actually make our state a better place.

It’s hard not to feel increasingly cynical about the missed opportunities when you live in a state like Oklahoma that always seems on the cusp of greatness, only to see our legislators repeatedly stumble at the finish line.

02/02/2025

As Oklahoma's legislative session kicks off, did you know that you can have the day's top headlines delivered straight to your inbox? Consider subscribing to our daily newsletter, The Word on Oklahoma.

Want the scoop about what’s really going on in Oklahoma’s capital, in D.C. and beyond? Sign up for our morning newsletter, The Word on Oklahoma. It’s free and filled with original reporting, photos, briefs and commentary. And we’ll never share your email address. It’s truly news you can us...

01/31/2025

Missouri is at the center of energy production and the debates over how it’s done. Electricity is often made in rural or agrarian areas and then much of it needs to be transported to urban areas or larger population centers.

The center’s scholars aim to provide information and context to the often controversial topics of developing renewable energy, power plants and transmission lines in rural communities.

01/31/2025

Gabbard, seen as President Donald Trump’s most vulnerable Cabinet nominee, has been in the thick of controversy over her views on foreign policy, her meetings with the former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and accusations of promoting Russian propaganda.

As Tulsi Gabbard bids to be the next director of national intelligence, the former Hawaii congresswoman took heat from U.S. senators.

01/31/2025

The incident has drawn renewed scrutiny to the airport’s location, its restricted airspace, and the heavy volume of helicopter traffic around the Pentagon, White House, and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

The deadly mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., has reignited concerns over air traffic congestion and safety risks at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

01/30/2025

An income tax cut heralded by the governor will cost state coffers hundreds of million less than an independent projection indicated, the Governor’s Office said Thursday. Gov. Kevin Stitt's office said the impact is projected at $202 million, not the estimated $660 million calculated by the Oklahoma Policy Institute, an independent, nonpartisan Tulsa-based think tank.

An income tax cut heralded by the governor will cost state coffers hundreds of million less than an independent projection indicated, the Governor’s Office said.

01/30/2025

Oklahoma's governor said he will review the cases of undocumented immigrants serving time in Oklahoma correctional facilities individually before deciding whether to commute any sentences so that they can be deported.

A push to deport undocumented immigrants serving time in Oklahoma prisons doesn’t mean that they won’t be required to serve out their sentences or will escape justice.

01/30/2025

Oklahoma lawmakers heard budget requests from state Superintendent Ryan Walters on Wednesday, the same day national testing ranked the state in the bottom 10 for reading and math results.

Oklahoma lawmakers were divided on the job state Superintendent Ryan Walters is doing to improve academic outcomes.

01/29/2025

Despite legislators prepare to return to session with less to spend, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that he plans to urge lawmakers to further “protect Oklahoma taxpayers” by slashing the state’s personal income and corporate tax rates.

Even as legislators prepare to return to session with less to spend, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that he plans to urge lawmakers to pass tax cuts.