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Trump Says He Will Sign Order To End Family Separations

Updated at 1:15 p.m. ET President Trump said on Wednesday he will be signing an executive order to address his controversial zero-tolerance immigration policy that has resulted in thousands of family separations and brought criticism from Democrats and Republicans. "We're going to keep families together but we still have to maintain toughness or our country will be overrun by people, by crime, by all of the things that we don't stand for and that we don't want," Trump said. At a brief...

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Shaunna and Michael Oliver at their home in Mannford, Okla. The couple is voting ‘yes’ on SQ 788 and say medical marijuana will help them with chronic pain from fibromyalgia, diabetes and other conditions.
Jackie Fortier / StateImpact Oklahoma

Oklahomans Eying Medical Marijuana Vote Worry About Addiction While Others Are Eager For Treatment

A New Wave Of Meth Overloads Communities Struggling With Opioids

Oklahoma Suicide Rate Up 36 Percent Since 1999

By & StateImpact Oklahoma • Jun 7, 2018
CDC’s National Vital Statistics System; CDC Vital Signs, June 2018. / Centers for Disease Control

Suicide rates are on the rise in Oklahoma and nearly every state, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Between 1999 and 2016, suicide rates increased significantly in 44 states. Oklahoma is one of 25 states that saw rates climb more than 30 percent.

State’s Record Gross Receipts Reflect Resilient Oil And Gas Industry

By • Jun 6, 2018
oil pump jack
Paul Lowry / Flickr

The money collected by the state of Oklahoma, or gross receipts, totaled $970 million in May. That’s up by 13.6 percent from the same month last year and an all-time record for the state. It’s part of a steep upward trend that can be traced back to January 2017, according to the Oklahoma State Treasurer’s office.

New Mexico Could Elect First Native-American Woman To Congress

By • Jun 6, 2018

Tuesday's primary election in New Mexico moved the country one step closer to putting the first Native-American woman in Congress.

Deb Haaland won the Democratic nomination in New Mexico's heavily Democratic 1st district. The former state party chair beat two other candidates. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.

In her victory speech Tuesday night, Haaland said "New Mexico made history," adding that hers was a "victory for working people, a victory for women and a victory for everyone who has been sidelined by the billionaire class."

Democrats Breathe Sigh Of Relief After Tuesday's Primaries

By • Jun 6, 2018

Across the country Tuesday night, Democrats got good news in their effort to take back the House.

They advanced candidates in key races in California (after being concerned they could be shut out), put forward what party operatives see as the best candidates in suburban New Jersey, and they feel good about their candidates who won in New Mexico and Iowa.

More Companies Sign On To Wind Catcher Settlement

By & Sarah Terry-Cobo • Jun 5, 2018
Attorney Jack Fite, representing Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, addresses the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
Brent Fuchs / Journal Record

Four companies have agreed to support a proposed $4.5 billion wind power project. The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, Oneta Power LLC, South Central MCN and Tri-County Electric Cooperative reached an agreement with Public Service Co, or PSO, who announced the Wind Catcher project last summer. Wind Catcher could provide up to 2 gigawatts of electricity and could potentially be the largest wind farm in the country.

State Turns To Urgent Placement Of Foster Kids With Relatives, Friends

By & Whitney Bryen • Jun 5, 2018
Whitney Bryen / Oklahoma Watch

It was 6 a.m. Las Vegas time when Keli Tointigh awoke to her cell phone ringing.

The Chickasha resident was on vacation with her husband, John Tointigh, when an Oklahoma Department of Human Services employee asked if the couple would be willing to take in the children of one of Keli Tointigh’s cousins. The Tointighs had never applied to be foster parents.

“She said, ‘Can you call me back today and let me know?’” Keli recalls. “I was like, ‘Today?’”

Mexico Hits U.S. Steel And Farm Products With Tariffs, Retaliating For Trump Move

By • Jun 5, 2018

Updated at 9:14 a.m. ET

Mexico is putting tariffs on imports of U.S. steel and farm products — including pork, cheese, apples and potatoes — as it hits back at the U.S. for the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and aluminum products from Mexico, Canada and the European Union.

Signed by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the decree also suspends the country's preferential tariff treatment of the U.S. It was published in Mexico's official gazette on Tuesday.

How Curious: Is It Illegal To Take A Bite Of Someone Else's Hamburger?

By • Jun 5, 2018
Robert's Grill in El Reno, Oklahoma has been serving up onion burgers like this one since 1926.
Claire Donnelly / KGOU

Many lists of unusual state statutes say it's against the law in Oklahoma to take a bite of someone else's hamburger. 

KGOU listener Greg Elwell asked How Curious: Is this a real law?

Reveal: Cops On A Crime Spree

By • Jun 4, 2018
Nikka Singh / Reveal

Baltimore’s police department was already notorious.  

But this year, eight former police officers were convicted on federal racketeering charges stemming from an FBI investigation. They belonged to an elite task force charged with getting guns off the city’s streets. Instead, the plainclothes cops roamed Baltimore neighborhoods at will, robbing people on the street, breaking into homes to steal money, drugs or guns and planting evidence on their victims.  

In Narrow Opinion, Supreme Court Rules For Baker In Gay-Rights Case

By • Jun 4, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. But the 7-to-2 decision was on the narrowest of grounds and left unresolved whether business owners have a free speech right to refuse to sell goods and services to same-sex couples.

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