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☆ Tulsa couple finally receives a refund from Starbucks after being charged a $4,000 tip for two coffees
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After contacting the company, Jesse O'Dell told Fox 23 News the first checks they received as a refund bounced. As of Friday morning, checks reissued by Starbucks have cleared, the couple told Fox 23 News. When a confused Deedee checked the account, she noticed the strange deduction, Fox 23 News reported. "For this to happen was just a real it was a real shock," Deedee O'Dell told Fox 23 News. Jesse O'Dell now has a Starbucks receipt depicting the $4,444 charge and encourages others to always "ask for a receipt" and check it.

☆ The US promised the Cherokee Nation a seat in Congress in a treaty that fueled the Trail of Tears. 188 years later, the Cherokee say lawmakers may finally fulfill that promise.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The Cherokee Nation was promised a seat in Congress in the 1835 Treaty of New Echota. The Cherokee Nation appears closer than ever to finally seating a delegate. She said lawmakers asked tough questions, but she felt "very optimistic" the Cherokee delegate was something the committee ultimately supported. The Cherokee Nation is continuing to galvanize support and encourages US citizens to reach out to their representatives in Congress and tell them to fulfill the treaty promise. "I think the stars are aligned for a Cherokee Nation delegate to be seated," she said.

☆ Ukraine's battlefield success surprised Russia, but US troops who trained Ukrainians saw it coming, National Guard chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Army National Guard Sgt. Anthony JonesUS National Guard units began rotating through Ukraine in 2015 to conduct training as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Ukrainian NCOs "were able to lead from the front at the lowest level of supervision. That's where our NCOs really are effective because the things that our commanders empower them to do," Whitehead added.

☆ A GOP-backed bill in Oklahoma would fine drag performers up to $20,000 and have them face up to 2 years in jail for performing in front of a minor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An Oklahoma bill would make it a felony punishable by a $20,000 fine for drag artists to perform in front of minors. The bill by GOP Rep. Kevin West would also make it a misdemeanor for one to organize drag performances in public. At least ten states have proposed legislation that targets drag performances, including drag queen story hours. State GOP Rep. Kevin West, who filed House Bill 2186 on January 19, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The bill is scheduled to have its first reading in the Oklahoma House on February 6, per the Oklahoma legislature's website.

☆ With over 100 anti-LGBTQ bills before state legislatures in 2023 so far, activists say they're 'fired up'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

So far, Texas has taken the lead with 36 such bills, according to Equality Texas, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy group. Four states — Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Arizona — have enacted restrictions on gender-affirming medical care for minors, though federal judges have blocked them from taking effect in Arkansas and Alabama. State Sen. David Bullard, the Republican sponsoring the bill, told The Oklahoman that gender-affirming medical care is a “permanent change in your body that cannot be reversed. Accredited medical associations — including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association — have supported gender-affirming care for minors. Advocates and doctors who treat trans youth have said many of the health care restrictions proposed by state legislators mischaracterize what gender-affirming care is.

☆ With Kevin McCarthy as Speaker, Congress faces a messy debt ceiling fight — and Biden might have to mint a trillion dollar platinum coin
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Those included using the debt ceiling as leverage to slash spending on Democratic priorities like Social Security. These GOP demands could be especially problematic for President Joe Biden as Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling by mid-2023. Importantly, the debt ceiling isn't tied to new spending — it allows the government to pay for what Congress has already appropriated. In 2011, amid another debt ceiling standoff between congressional Republicans and then-President Barack Obama, S&P downgraded the US' credit rating, which top officials at the rating agency said was due to the delay in raising the debt ceiling. Other possibilities include using the 14th Amendment to sidestep the debt ceiling.

☆ A fake tweet spurred an anti-vaccine harassment campaign against a doctor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Brandy-Zadrozny-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Brandy Zadrozny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

When Dr. Natalia Solenkova woke up Monday morning, she was greeted with a flood of Twitter notifications on her phone. It was what misinformation researchers call a “cheap fake,” a term for a piece of fake media such as an image or video that takes little effort to produce. Someone had clumsily altered one of Solenkova’s posts to portray a blind, even deadly, zealotry for Covid vaccines and a vilification of anti-vaccine activists. “And then disinformation became rampant.”Despite the overwhelming success of the covid vaccines — which have prevented millions of severe infections and deaths — an aggressive and politicized anti-vaccine community has persevered. There were obvious tells that the tweet attributed to Solenkova was a fake, likely fabricated with what’s known as a tweet generator.

☆ Nonprofit financed by billionaire George Soros quietly donated $140 million to political causes in 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty ImagesA nonprofit financed by billionaire George Soros quietly donated $140 million to advocacy organizations and ballot initiatives in 2021, plus another $60 million to likeminded charities. The Open Society Policy Center also doled out $138 million to advocacy groups and causes in 2020. All of the nonprofits fall under Soros' Open Society Foundations network, which spans the globe. Both of those groups are run by the billionaire's son Alexander Soros, who also sits on the boards of the Open Society Institute and Open Society Policy Center. Emerson Morrow, a spokesman for America Votes told CNBC that funding from the Open Society Policy Center "has provided critical support for America Votes' mission."

☆ As child vaccine rates slip, local health officials fight misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Lauren Sausser | Kaiser Health News | Lauren Sausser Covers Health Across The South As Part Of Khn'S Southern Bureau. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

So the Health Department conducted something called an online “sentiment search,” which gauges how certain words are perceived on social media. An analysis conducted by KHN and The Associated Press found local health department spending dropped by 18% per capita from 2010 to 2020. To that end, the health department has partnered with local leaders and groups to encourage vaccinations. — Phil Maytubby, Oklahoma city County health departmentThe more than 3,000 public health departments nationwide stand to benefit from a unified message, he said. In late 2020, the foundation, working with other public health groups, established the Public Health Communications Collaborative to amplify easy-to-understand information about vaccines.

Dec 6 (Reuters) - An Oklahoma man was charged with four counts of murder in the killing and dismemberment of four men he believed were stealing from his salvage yard, according to court documents. Joseph Lloyd Kennedy, 67, was charged in Okmulgee County court on Monday. Kennedy was already on probation for shooting a man in 2012 who he believed was stealing from his salvage yard. Okmulgee County district attorney Carol Iski, who announced the charges against Kennedy on Monday, was asked by reporters whether the men were stealing from Kennedy's salvage yard. She replied that it would not matter as "we don't have a death penalty in Oklahoma for stealing."

Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crypto investors sued FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and several celebrities who promoted his exchange including NFL quarterback Tom Brady and comedian Larry David, claiming they engaged in deceptive practices to sell FTX yield-bearing digital currency accounts. The proposed class action filed on Tuesday night in Miami alleges that FTX yield-bearing accounts were unregistered securities that were unlawfully sold in the United States. When the crypto exchange faltered on liquidity concerns, U.S. investors sustained $11 billion in damages, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit seeks damages from Bankman-Fried and 11 athletes and other celebrities who promoted FTX, including David, the creator of "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Sean Masson, an attorney at Scott+Scott who represents crypto investors in the EMAX case, said investors have used the Florida unfair trade law to target crypto promoters in lawsuits that are pending.

Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crypto investors sued FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and several celebrities who promoted his exchange including comedian Larry David, alleging they engaged in deceptive practices to sell FTX yield-bearing digital currency accounts. The proposed class action filed late Tuesday night in Miami alleges that FTX yield-bearing accounts were unregistered securities that were unlawfully sold in the U.S. When the crypto exchange faltered on liquidity concerns, U.S. investors sustained $11 billion in damages, the lawsuit alleges. Representatives for Bankman-Fried, Brady, Osaka and the Golden State Warriors did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. FTX filed for bankruptcy and is facing scrutiny from U.S. authorities amid reports that $10 billion in customer assets were shifted from FTX to Bankman-Fried's trading company Alameda Research.

☆ Factbox: No consensus in Congress on making daylight saving time permanent
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Clocks in the United States will return to standard time at 2 a.m. EDT on Sunday with no consensus on the matter. The current system of daylight saving is good for business, energy efficiency, and the prevention of vehicle accidents." There's some strong science behind it that is now showing and making people aware of the harm that clock switching has. Congress created Daylight Saving decades ago as a wartime effort, now it is well past time to lock the clock and end this experiment." Permanent, year-round Standard Time is the best match for our biological sleep-wake cycle."

☆ Oklahoma couple accused of killing 6 kids in murder-suicide faced financial pressures
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — An Oklahoma couple considered “primary suspects” in last week’s killings of their six children faced growing financial pressures and the husband experienced recurring pain from a workplace head injury, family members say. “I turned on the 6 o’clock news, and they said there had been a fire near Hickory and Galveston in Broken Arrow. Medical examiners at the scene of a house fire in Broken Arrow, Okla. on Thursday. I just don’t understand why he ended up in that situation. I talk to God all the time — and I just don’t understand.”

☆ 6 children killed in apparent murder-suicide at Oklahoma home
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A murder-suicide investigation is underway into an Oklahoma house fire that left eight people dead, including six young children, police announced Friday. Two adults and six children — ranging in age from 1 to 13 years old — were found inside. Broken Arrow Police Chief Brandon Berryhill said Friday two adult suspects found deceased in the home are being investigated as suspects in the murder-suicide. He said the adults are being investigated as suspects in the murder-suicide due to the nature of where the adult and juvenile bodies were found. The official cause of death will be determined by the local medical examiner's office, and the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

☆ Exhumations resume for DNA to ID Tulsa Race Massacre victims
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Some of the 19 bodies exhumed for testing in an effort to identify victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and then reburied in an Oklahoma cemetery will be removed again starting Wednesday to gather more DNA. The latest exhumations of bodies, some of which were taken last year from Oaklawn Cemetery, will be followed by another excavation for additional remains. “There were 14 of the 19 that fit the criteria for further DNA analysis,” city spokesperson Michelle Brooks said. Work continues on an excavation of a potential unmarked mass grave from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, at Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa, Okla., on July 14, 2020. Intermountain Forensics is seeking people who believe they are descendants of massacre victims to provide genetic material to help scientists find potential matches.

☆ More questions than answers surround the deaths of four friends found dead in an Oklahoma river
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Mark Chastain, 32, and Billy Chastain, 30, were the “definition of brothers and were always together,” their grandmother, Milissia Smith, said in a verified online fundraiser. Billy Chastain — who went by BJ — was a handyman with four children, two girls and two boys ages 2 to 12, Gordon said. Megan GordonGordon said the last time she spoke to Billy Chastain was the day before he vanished. An affidavit filed for the grand theft charge states that Kennedy told the arresting officer that the truck's owner told him he could borrow the vehicle whenever he wanted. Kennedy told the officer he took the truck last week and drove to Florida for a weekend vacation, the document says.

☆ 'Person of interest' in Oklahoma dismemberment case arrested in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - A salvage yard owner who authorities consider a "person of interest" in the murder of four men whose dismembered bodies were found in an Oklahoma river has been arrested in Florida on unrelated charges, police said on Tuesday. Joe Kennedy, 67, was taken into custody in Daytona Beach Shores while driving a car that had been reported stolen in Oklahoma, police in the Oklahoma city of Okmulgee said in a statement. Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice has described Kennedy as a person of interest in the Oklahoma killings and said evidence of a "violent event" was found on a property adjacent to his salvage yard. Kennedy was being held without bail in Daytona Beach Shores and will face extradition proceedings to return to him to Oklahoma, officials said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. winter wheat farmers plant into dust as Plains drought persists
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Julie Ingwersen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CHICAGO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - With planting roughly halfway complete, the 2023 U.S. hard red winter wheat crop is already being hobbled by drought in the heart of the southern Plains, wheat experts said. The drought threatens Kansas, the top winter wheat growing state, and Oklahoma in two ways: discouraging farmers who have not yet planted from trying, while threatening crops already in the ground from developing properly. About two-thirds of wheat in the United States, among the top five global exporters, is grown as a winter crop rather than spring. As a result, Justin Gilpin, chief executive of the Kansas Wheat Commission, expected the number of Kansas wheat acres planted for harvest in 2023 to remain steady with the 7.3 million acres seeded for 2022. A key driver of the drought is the La Nina weather phenomenon, which tends to favor warm and dry conditions in the Plains.

☆ Continental Resources Gets Buyout Offer From Founder
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Chris Wack | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Continental would continue as the surviving corporation after merging with Harold Hamm’s Omega Acquisition. Continental Resources said Monday it is being bought by Omega Acquisition Inc., an Oklahoma corporation that is owned by Continental’s founder, Harold G. Hamm. The company said Omega will begin a tender offer to purchase any and all of the shares outstanding of Continental’s common stock at $74.28 a share, other than shares owned directly or indirectly by Mr. Hamm and the Hamm family, and shares of common stock underlying unvested equity awards issued pursuant to Continental’s long-term incentive plans.

☆ Apple workers vote to unionize second U.S. store
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Doyinsola Oladipo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Apple Inc retail workers voted to form a union at an Oklahoma location, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said on Friday, making it the tech giant's second U.S. store to organize. Employees at the Apple Penn Square store in Oklahoma City voted 56 to 32 in support of joining the Communications Workers of America Union (CWA), securing the needed majority, according to a tally by the NLRB. Apple workers near Baltimore, Maryland, voted in June to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The CWA in May withdrew an election petition on behalf of Apple workers in Atlanta, Georgia, claiming that Apple had repeatedly violated federal labor law and the rising number of COVID infections among store employees made a fair election impossible, according to the CWA. Some current and former Apple workers last year began criticizing the company's working conditions online, using the hashtag #AppleToo.

☆ Factbox: Voters in five U.S. states to decide on legalizing marijuana in November midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Customers are seen inside Shango Cannabis shop to purchase legal recreational marijuana beginning at midnight in Portland, Oregon October 1, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Dipaola/File PhotoOct 7 (Reuters) - Voters in five states will decide whether to legalize adult-use marijuana in November's midterm elections, as 19 other states and the District of Columbia have done. Residents approved a prior marijuana referendum in 2020, but Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican, challenged the result in court. In addition to the statewide referendums, voters in some cities around the country will decide whether to decriminalize marijuana possession laws and whether to allow licensed cannabis retailers in their areas. All told, 19 states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use of marijuana, and 37 states regulate cannabis for medical use.

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