WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill lawmakers from both parties on Wednesday grilled UnitedHealth Group’s CEO over the largest-ever cyberattack on the U.S. health care industry, which has crippled payments to providers and pharmacies and left millions of patients clueless about whether their information is now on the dark web. A Russia-linked cybercrime organization dubbed “BlackCat” infiltrated […] The post UnitedHealth CEO savaged for failings in massive cyberattack that’s crippled health care appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Former Lt. Gov. Jari Askins is retiring as administrative director of the courts. Her last day is June 30. “Jari has been a zealous advocate for the judiciary, and a faithful friend and wise counselor to every Oklahoma Chief Justice lucky enough to have benefitted from her service,” said Oklahoma Supreme Court […] The post Oklahoma ‘legend’ Askins to retire from courts job appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY — President Joe Biden declared a major state of disaster for three Oklahoma counties related to the deadly weekend storms that brought tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding to the state. The declaration makes federal funding available to impacted Oklahomans in Hughes, Love and Murray counties. The funding is also available to state, tribal […] The post President Joe Biden approves federal disaster declaration as Oklahomans recover from deadly storms appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Internal Revenue Service saw a successful tax filing season, providing high levels of customer service, enforcing collection from the wealthy and launching a free filing option for taxpayers, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told tax writers on Capitol Hill Tuesday. The agency “met or exceeded” goals for the filing season and “successfully” […] The post Yellen touts success of IRS pilot program that allowed direct free filing of tax returns appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

The Biden administration plans to remove marijuana from a list of the most dangerous and highly regulated drugs, the Department of Justice said Tuesday night. The Drug Enforcement Administration will propose moving the drug from a Schedule I substance, which also includes heroin and methamphetamine, to Schedule III, which is the category for regulated-but-legal drugs […] The post Biden administration to greatly ease marijuana regulations appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday signed a controversial immigration bill that is expected to draw a legal challenge. House Bill 4156 would create a new crime called “impermissible occupation” for willfully entering the state without legal authorization to be in the United States. The first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by one […] The post Stitt signs controversial Oklahoma immigration bill appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed dozens of bills into law that range from a measure cracking down on homeless camps on public property to one creating a new state legume. Senate Bill 1854 makes erecting homeless camps on public property a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $50 or up […] The post Gov. Kevin Stitt signs bills on ranked choice voting, poll worker incentives and others appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed a bill that would have added two invasive weeds to Oklahoma’s Noxious Weed Law. The musk, Scotch and Canada thistles are the only weeds on the state’s noxious weeds law at the moment. House Bill 3186 would have added kudzu, a vine that overruns other plants and structures, and poison hemlock, […] The post Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoes bill adding plants to Oklahoma noxious weed hit list appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed on to a letter Monday alongside 47 other state governors, as well as five territories and commonwealths, opposing the Biden administration’s move to incorporate Air National Guard service members into the Space Force. The letter from the National Governors’ Association, addressed to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, is written in […] The post Oklahoma’s governor among 47 others opposing National Guard move to Space Force appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Seeking to “eliminate any distractions” from her public service, the governor’s tourism secretary Shelley Zumwalt has withdrawn from her Cabinet position but will continue as a state agency director. Zumwalt has led the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation since October 2022. Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed her in January to be his […] The post Zumwalt withdraws from governor’s Cabinet, continues at Tourism Department appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

Former President Donald Trump defied a gag order in his New York state hush-money trial by posting attacks on likely witnesses on his social media platform and campaign website, the judge in the case ruled Tuesday. Judge Juan M. Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for nine violations of an order barring him from making public statements […] The post Trump fined $9,000 for violating gag order in NY hush-money trial appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

Key members of Congress announced an agreement Monday on a $105 billion bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five years ahead of a May 10 deadline. The 1,000-page bill would raise hiring targets for air traffic control and would codify in law a rule the Biden administration introduced this month requiring airlines to […] The post Congress to add flights at Washington National, require new air refund rule in FAA deal appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

A Utah woman recorded in a viral video showing an ID badge and saying she’s a state employee after tugging down a young woman’s skirt that she said was too short is now facing criminal charges. Ida Ann Lorenzo, 48, of Santa Clara, was charged Thursday with sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, after calling […] The post Saying she’s a state employee, woman tugs down another’s skirt at restaurant; charges filed appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans on Monday were digging through the rubble of homes and businesses after at least 34 tornadoes ripped through the state. The weekend storms left four dead and more than 100 injured. Gov. Kevin Stitt declared a state of emergency for 12 of the state’s 77 counties. President Joe Biden spoke with […] The post Oklahoma residents dig out from weekend tornado outbreak that killed 4, injured over 100 appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Speaker Charles McCall on Monday said he hopes to get a state budget agreement this week. “I think we are very close,” McCall, R-Atoka said. But the House and Senate do not have an agreement on a possible income tax cut. McCall and Gov. Kevin Stitt have been pushing for a […] The post Oklahoma state budget deal close, House leader says appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

When the U.S. Department of Education announced last summer that federal Pell Grants would become available to incarcerated college students, lawmakers and state corrections agencies scrambled to adjust statutes and step up potential partnerships with universities. But nearly a year later, colleges and agencies are recognizing the steep administrative challenge to winning approval from the […] The post ‘Transformative’: More college programs are slowly coming into prisons appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

Across various news channels and outlets, a visceral fear of some property owners — that an unwanted guest could move into their vacant home, refuse to leave, and then claim ownership — has been a trending story. These squatter horror stories have reached a fever pitch in the past month after a migrant TikTok influencer, […] The post Anxiety over squatters, fueled by TikTok, inspires a wave of legislation, including in Oklahoma appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

It’s extremely embarrassing that we still allow our disabled children to be spanked, hit and paddled at school. No child should have to deal with that, but it’s truly terrible that we can’t even agree to spare some of our most vulnerable children.  Yet, for a second year in a row, our lawmakers are spending […] The post Oklahoma lawmakers shouldn’t be defending physically disciplining disabled children at school appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released a sweeping set of rules aimed at cutting air, water and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Environmental and clean energy groups celebrated the announcement as long overdue, particularly for coal-burning power plants, which have saddled hundreds of communities across the country with dirty air and […] The post New EPA rules will force fossil fuel power plants to cut pollution appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday called a recent state audit and demands for a member of his administration to resign a “frustrating” political attack from state leaders preparing to run for higher office. “I think what Oklahomans need to understand is you’ve got an AG who’s already said he’s running for governor […] The post Stitt calls scathing state audit a political attack, voices support for tourism director appeared first on Oklahoma Voice.