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☆ These are America's 10 worst states for quality of life in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-13 | by ( Scott Cohn | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

2024 Quality of Life Score: 119 out of 325 Points (Top States Grade: D-) Strengths: Crime, Voting Rights, Worker Protections Weaknesses: Air Quality, Reproductive Rights, Health Care9. 2024 Quality of Life Score: 98 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: F) Strength: Air Quality Weaknesses: Voting Rights, Crime, Reproductive Rights6. 2024 Quality of Life Score: 96 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: F) Strengths: Child Care, Air Quality Weaknesses: Crime, Inclusiveness, Health Care5. 2024 Quality of Life Score: 85 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: F) Strength: Air Quality Weaknesses: Reproductive Rights, Health, Worker Protections, Voting Rights3. 2024 Quality of Life Score: 83 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: F) Strength: Child Care Weaknesses: Voting Rights, Inclusiveness, Worker Protections2.

Persons: CNBC's, Rebecca Noble, Katie Hobbs, Kansas Thomas Barwick, Bacchus, Chandan Khanna, Wesley Bell, Michael B, Thomas, Michael Pomante, Bill Lee's, Seth Herald, Bill Lee, Oklahoma Dr, Franz Theard, Paul Ratje, Dobbs, Oklahomans, Elijah Nouvelage, Darwin Varela, Brandon Bell Organizations: Business, Arizona, Abortion, Arizona House Republicans, American Lung Association, American Hospital Association, Democratic, Health, Kansas, Digitalvision, Getty, FBI, Louisiana Police, AFP, United Health Foundation, Louisiana Department of Education, Louis County Board, United Democracy Center ., Tennessee Educators, The Tennessee Bureau, Investigation, Volunteer State, Rights, Republican Gov, Care, National Conference of State Legislatures, Reproductive Clinic, Washington, Washington Post, Guttmacher, Sooner State, Alabama Voters, Alabama, Center, Election Innovation, Research, Oxfam America, State, Indiana, Getty Images Indiana, Hoosier State, Reproductive, Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center Locations: States, Arizona, Phoenix , Arizona, Sunflower, America . Kansas, Kansas, New Orleans, Pelican, Louisiana, Missouri, Louis, Louis County, St, Ann , Missouri, United Democracy Center . Missouri, Tennessee, Nashville, Nashville , Tennessee, Seth, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Santa Teresa , New Mexico, Oxford , Alabama, Delaware , Mississippi, New Hampshire, Alabama, Hoosier, Indiana, Eagle Pass , Texas

☆ Opinion: Public schools are not Sunday schools
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Opinion Amanda Tyler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —It has been an especially active few weeks for news about religion in public schools. Public schools are not Sunday schools, and families should feel free to send their children to school without worrying about state officials interfering in their choices about religious instruction. These politically conservative state officials are seemingly making a show of testing the limits of government-sponsored religious instruction and exercise in public schools, emboldened by the US Supreme Court’s recent decisions. Like religious instruction in public schools, the public funding of religion undermines fundamental principles of religious freedom for all. By merging religious and political authority, taxpayer funding of religious schools threatens the rights of people of all faiths — and those of no faith.

Persons: Amanda Tyler, Jeff Landry, Ryan Walters, ” Amanda Tyler, Kennedy, Walters, beholden, ” Walters Organizations: Baptist, Religious Liberty, Christian Nationalism, CNN, Texas Education Agency, Louisiana Gov, US, Twitter, Oklahoma Supreme Court Locations: Louisiana, Oklahoma’s, Kennedy v, Bremerton, Kentucky, Texas , Louisiana, Oklahoma

☆ Oklahoma Was a Legal Marijuana Utopia. Then Came the Mass Murder
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Matt Stroud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Fourteen months after the murders, the garage of the abandoned marijuana farm on prairie tableland northwest of Oklahoma City sits frozen and dark. Broadway Avenue in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, about 30 miles south of where Wu Chen, 47, executed four people at a marijuana farm. When Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana, the only real requirement was that Oklahoma residents had to be involved in marijuana growing and selling. But Oklahoma required 75% of any marijuana business to be owned by an Oklahoma resident. Deputies from the Kingfisher County Sheriff's Office were the first to arrive at the scene of a quadruple homicide at an abandoned marijuana farm.

Persons: Wu Chen, Mike Simons, Kevin Stitt, Sean Hannity's, Dan Newhouse, Liu, Chen, Yi Fei Lin, Mark Woodward, —, OBN, Adria Berry, BI Adria Berry, I'm, Barb Miuccio, Jeremy Grable, Jeremy, Barb, she's, Barbara Miuccio, Treez, Matt Stacy, Stacy, Stitt, Jeremy they'd, he'd, OMMA, didn't, Barb didn't, Barbara, Stacy —, she'd, Stacy hadn't, BI Jonathan Riedlinger, Riedlinger, Lin, Qirong Lin, Hechun Chen, Qiang Chen, Fang Lee —, Wenbo Lin, Wu Chen —, Wenbo Lin didn't, Reidlinger, Jed Green, Matthew Alan Stacy, Barb —, — he's, He'd, Woodward, Helen Carillo, He's, Kevin Pham, Pham, BI Pham, ProPublica, recriminations, Green, It's, they're, I'd, Ken Thompson, Thompson, Chen didn't, He'll, Jonathan Riedlinger, Kiki, I've Organizations: Oklahoma City, Broadway, BI, Marijuana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, Republican, Sean Hannity's Fox, Fox News, Chen Inc, Narcotics, BI Adria, Oklahoma's Army National Guard, OBN, Business, Oklahoma State Bureau of, Sheriff's, Prosecutors, CSI Accounting Services, Whitney Economics, NBC, Cannabis, Virginia Slim, Florida . Police Locations: Oklahoma, Kingfisher County , Oklahoma, Ames , Oklahoma, Kingfisher , Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, Republican Washington, China, Kingfisher County, Dallas, Moore , Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, He's, Moore, Kingfisher, Hennessey , Oklahoma, OMMA, Mexico, Edmond, Tulsa, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Steakhouse, Virginia, Florida, Miami Beach, Miami

☆ Second largest wildfire in Texas history has scorched 850,000 acres
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Joe Sutton | Steve Almasy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A satellite image shows Fritch, Texas in August 2023. Maxar Technologies Satellite images show homes in Fritch, Texas, before the wildfire (in August 2023), and after (on Wednesday). Maxar Technologies Satellite images show homes in Fritch, Texas, before the fire (in August 2023), and after (on Wednesday). A sudden shift of wind direction in the Texas panhandle this week contributed to the explosion in size of the Smokehouse Creek wildfire. Latest developments* The Smokehouse Creek Fire grew from 500,000 acres to 850,000 on Wednesday, according to fire officials.

Persons: Joyce Blankenship, Fritch, ” Frank Probst, ”, “, Adam Turner, Snow, Andy Holloway, Greg Abbott, Kevin Stitt, ” Hutchinson, Tyler McCain, Fritch’s, McCain, Addison, Addison can’t, ” McCain, Windy Deuce, Probst, CNN’s Caroll Alvarado, Amanada Jackson, Monica Garrett, Sharif Paget, Sara Tonks, Lucy Kafanov, Andi Babineau Organizations: CNN, Maxar, M Forest Service, AgriLife, Texas, Oklahoma Gov, Amarillo National Bank, Panhandle Disaster Relief Locations: Texas, Rhode, state’s, Oklahoma, Stinnett ., , Texas, Fritch , Texas, Hemphill, Hemphill County, Canadian, Amarillo, Amarillo ., Hutchinson County, Stinnett, Borger, Fritch

☆ Trump hates the bipartisan immigration-Ukraine deal so much that he's falsely claiming he didn't endorse the GOP senator who helped write it
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump is misleading people about his past support for Republican Sen. James Lankford. Trump endorsed Lankford in 2022, but he's trying to distance himself from him now. Lankford was the lead Republican negotiator for a bipartisan immigration-Ukraine deal that Trump loathes. AdvertisementFormer President Donald Trump took aim at Republican Sen. James Lankford on Monday, falsely claiming he did not previously back the Oklahoman amid a torrent of criticism directed at the bipartisan Ukraine-immigration deal. "I think this is a very bad bill for his career and especially in Oklahoma," Trump told Bongino.

Persons: Trump, Republican Sen, James Lankford, Lankford, —, Donald Trump, Dan Bongino, Sen, Dan Bongino’s, ”, Mike Johnson, Bongino, Tom Coburn, MAGA, Dan, Mitch McConnell, CNN's Jake Tapper Organizations: Republican, Trump, Service, Senate, China, Baptist, Democratic, Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Asia Pacific, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Arizona

☆ EV maker Canoo slashes spending for second half of 2023, forecasts smaller loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view shows the Canoo logo on a Canoo LV (Lifestyle Vehicle) electric vehicle outside a manufacturing site in Livonia, Michigan, U.S. November 29, 2022. The EV maker expects capital expenditure of $30 million to $40 million in the second half of 2023, compared with its prior forecast range of $70 million to $100 million. Canoo projects core loss to be between $85 million and $105 million for the second half, versus its previous range of $120 million to $140 million. Adjusted loss per share was 6 cents, compared with LSEG estimates of a 12-cent loss. Its cash and cash equivalents were $8.3 million as of Sept. 30, compared with $5 million in the preceding three months.

Persons: Rebecca Cook, Canoo, Tony Aquila, EVs, Aquila, Samrhitha, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: REUTERS, Ford, General Motors, U.S . Defense Department, Walmart, NASA, Thomson Locations: Livonia , Michigan, U.S, Oklahoma, Bengaluru

Two of the laws were already put on hold by a district court judge. About a month later, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped away women’s constitutional protections for abortion, which led to abortion bans in more than 20 states. The number of abortions performed in Oklahoma immediately dropped dramatically, falling from about 4,145 in 2021 to 898 in 2022, according to statistics from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In at least 66 cases in 2022, the abortion was necessary to avert the death of the mother, the statistics show. Abortion statistics for 2023 are not yet available, a health department spokeswoman said.

Persons: The, Rabia Muqaddam, Gentner Drummond, ” Drummond, Phil Bacharach, Kevin Stitt Organizations: OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma Supreme Court, Senior, Center for Reproductive Rights, Oklahoma, Republican Gov, U.S, Supreme, Oklahoma State Department of Health Locations: The Oklahoma, Oklahoma, New York

☆ Italy's Enel to invest more than $1 bln in Oklahoma solar panel factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A logo of Italian multinational energy company Enel is seen at the Milan's headquarters, Italy, February 5, 2020. The facility will be among the largest to produce solar equipment in the United States, where most projects are built with imported panels. It is also one of the first U.S. factories to produce silicon-based solar cells on a large scale. The investment is one of the biggest in solar manufacturing since the passage of U.S. President Joe Biden's landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), last year. Enel, which had first said last year it planned to build a U.S. solar factory, selected a site in Inola, Oklahoma, near Tulsa.

☆ Oklahoma governor wages war on PBS station after claiming it is indoctrinating children with LGBTQ content
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —America’s most-watched PBS station is on the verge of going dark. The Republican governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, recently vetoed a bill that would have renewed the license and provided millions in funding for the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, the statewide PBS network that reaches more than 650,000 viewers a week. The fundamental goal of PBS KIDS remains supporting children as they learn and grow through programming they have come to know and love. While the Oklahoma station receives $6.3 million in funding from donors and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, $2.9 million comes from the state government. It produces and airs the “Oklahoma News Report,” the only state news program that reaches every county in Oklahoma.

Law Firms Reed Smith LLP FollowWASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday halted the execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose case has drawn support from the state's Republican attorney general after an investigation shed new light on evidence relating to the 1997 murder Glossip was convicted of commissioning. A separate independent investigation conducted last year by the law firm Reed Smith at the request of Oklahoma lawmakers also raised serious concerns about Glossip's case and conviction. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on April 20 upheld Glossip's murder conviction, rebuffing Drummond's request. Sneed confessed to carrying out the killing and said Glossip, a manager at the motel, had hired him to do it. Glossip has pending petitions for appeal before the Supreme Court challenging his conviction on grounds including that prosecutors failed to hand over evidence about Sneed to Glossip's defense counsel.

[1/2] The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoLaw Firms Reed Smith LLP FollowWASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday halted the scheduled execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose cause drew support from the state's Republican attorney general after an investigation shed new light on evidence relating to the 1997 murder Glossip was convicted of commissioning. "We are very grateful to the U.S. Supreme Court for doing the right thing in stopping Richard Glossip's unlawful execution," Knight said. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on April 20 upheld Glossip's murder conviction, rebuffing Drummond's request. Glossip has pending petitions for appeal before the Supreme Court challenging his conviction on grounds including that prosecutors failed to hand over evidence about Sneed to Glossip's defense counsel.

March 21 (Reuters) - Oklahoma's highest court on Tuesday ruled the state's constitution protects a right to an abortion to preserve the mother's life, and that a doctor does not need to wait until there is an immediate medical emergency to perform one. In a 5-4 ruling, the Oklahoma Supreme Court found that a law passed last year that allows life-saving abortion only when there is a "medical emergency" violates the "inherent right to life" under the state constitution. The court did not strike down a separate 1910 abortion ban with an exception for preserving the mother's life that does not require a medical emergency. It also did not address whether the state constitution includes a right to abortion under any other circumstances. Tuesday's decision comes amid widespread uncertainty in states with abortion bans about when doctors can perform the procedure if needed to preserve the mother's life or health.

☆ Oklahoma State Question 820 Election Results: Marijuana Legalization
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Oklahomans are voting on whether to allow for recreational use of marijuana during a special election in the state, where medical marijuana has been legal and widely available to residents for years. The measure is supported by criminal justice reform advocates and the A.C.L.U. and opposed by Gov. Kevin Stitt and several law enforcement associations. Backers have raised far more campaign money than opponents.

☆ Live Results: Oklahoma votes in congressional and state elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Walt Hickey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Explore more race results below. Polls close in the state at 7 p.m. local time, or 8 p.m. EST. Loading Something is loading. It symobilizes the 2022 Election. Polls close in the state at 7 p.m. local time, or 8 p.m. EST.

☆ At least 50 homes destroyed as tornadoes rip through Texas and Oklahoma
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Tornadoes ripped through parts of Texas and Oklahoma, destroying and damaging dozens of homes and injuring at least 10 people Friday, officials said. Two people were in “critical but stable,” condition, a statement posted to the Facebook page of the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office in northern Texas said. The small town of Idabel saw a church, medical center and school torn apart, according to the Associated Press. The National Weather Service said tornadoes also were reported Arkansas and a storm system was heading toward Louisiana. There were 17 reports of tornadoes in northeastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, and Arkansas late Friday, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.

☆ Republicans are spending millions to boost Gov. Kevin Stitt's reelection bid in deep-red Oklahoma: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The RGA is investing in a "seven figure" ad buy to boost Kevin Stitt's reelection bid, per Politico. Stitt has faced a barrage of ads criticizing his record, which has made the race competitive. The governor will face Republican-turned-Democrat Joy Hofmeister in the November general election. "This year's Oklahoma gubernatorial election is the most important in generations for all Oklahomans, and that's why leaders of the Five Tribes are endorsing Joy Hofmeister to be Oklahoma's 29th Governor." And the governor has eagerly pointed to the tribes as the source of the advertisement campaign.

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