Oklahoma Watch

Most Oklahoma legislative attempts to regulate artificial intelligence stalled this session, even as other states pushed ahead despite President Trump's executive order discouraging state AI regulation.

An eight-year-old girl lay undiscovered for six hours after a Guymon crash that killed her and her grandfather when a drug task force officer's vehicle, traveling 85 mph in a 70 mph zone, struck their car. Records show a haphazard investigation, no photos taken, no interviews conducted and an incomplete collision report.

A routine study near Lamont detected a synthetic industrial toxin never before detected in the atmosphere of North America.

Nearly 2,000 Oklahomans die from stroke-related complications annually. That burden is felt more in rural communities, where access to specialized care is limited.

Oklahoma consistently ranks near the top nationally in per-capita fatal encounters involving police with about 8 deaths per million residents.

America's opioid epidemic has been a prolonged public health crisis, resulting in countless overdose deaths and billions in settlement funds from opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

A variety of factors have caused some folks to take their own lives.

Former Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Steven Harpe approved a million-dollar deal with a private vendor in early April to install AI call monitoring software in seven state prisons.

This comes amid new leadership at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), with Director Clay Bullard taking the place of former agency CEO Ellen Buettner, who departed to assume the role of CEO at the Regional University System of Oklahoma.

Following the resignation of Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters, Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Lindel Fields as interim superintendent, announced a "turnaround" team and renewed calls to make the position appointed rather than elected.