The Oklahoman

LEADING THE WAY

Since the beginning of the year we’ve introduced you to nearly a dozen members of our community we thought you’d be interested in getting to know. h We told you about Dr. Jihan AbdulHaaq. She’s running a free – completely free – health care clinic for...

STRIKES ON HOLD

The Pentagon is weighing sending an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East as the war with Iran rages, multiple news outlets reported. It remained unclear when a decision will be made on whether to send the additional combat soldiers, according...

CHANGES IN STORE

Homeland’s senior leadership have announced plans to close four grocery stores, consolidate other locations and market some stores for potential sale in a move aimed at “stabilizing business” for the Oklahoma-based grocer. “We know we had issues,”...

RED-LETTER EVENT

Nebraska basketball fans drained bars and restaurants of their beer supplies, jumped into the Bricktown Canal and made the entertainment district their home turf during the recent NCAA playoffs. By all appearances, a good time was had by all –...

POSITIVE ENERGY?

Tulsa oil and gas executive Alan Armstrong is Oklahoma’s newest U.S. senator, ending weeks of speculation about who would succeed former Sen. Markwayne Mullin. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Tuesday, March 24, that he had picked Armstrong, 63,...

CDL CRACKDOWN

A sweeping federal enforcement campaign that includes heightened regulations on non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses and the targeting of non-compliant CDL training schools is reshaping the industry landscape in Oklahoma and throughout the...

DHS to be massive challenge for Mullin

From running an Oklahoma plumbing company with a few hundred employees to leading a federal agency with more than 260,000 workers, Markwayne Mullin will likely face his toughest challenge yet heading the embattled U.S. Department of Homeland...

'I want the HQ here'

Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy were for more than a quarter-century among the most powerful corporate names in Oklahoma City. ● The two companies at their peak employed thousands, built the city’s most visible corporate headquarters, and donated...

‘BELOVED’

Two Goldsby volunteer firefighters died early Friday, March 20, while responding to a structure fire in McClain County, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has confirmed. The OHP said they responded to a call at 3:17 a.m., where a Goldsby Fire Department...

MADNESS BEGINS IN OKC

The NCAA Tournament got underway March 19 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City with some history. Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort, center, celebrates after the Cornhuskers beat Troy in first-round action. It was Nebraska’s first-ever NCAA Tournament...

‘I WON’T FAIL YOU’

Senator nominated to succeed Noem at DHS WASHINGTON − Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-OK, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, offered a conciliatory approach in his confirmation hearing March 18...

MULLIN’S MILLIONS

STILWELL – In 2017, a company owned by then-U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin paid $99,000 for a half-acre empty lot along the highway that runs through Stilwell, a small city in far eastern Oklahoma near Mullin’s hometown. Mullin’s family later built a...

ENID STUDENT IN ICE CUSTODY

Juan Diego Lopez Macias, a senior at Enid High School, was counting down the days to graduation and making plans with friends for spring break when a routine traffic stop for speeding landed him in ICE custody. Rather than spending his spring break...

HOME SWEET HOMES

A triangular parcel of land near a railroad track in Oklahoma City’s historic JFK neighborhood sat largely overlooked for years. But a local developer saw an awkward constraint as an opportunity to bring more long-term homeowners to the area. It’s a...

MAIN COURSE

Not long ago, they were students in their very first chef coats, whisking sauces in the fluorescent light of a kitchen lab with an instructor checking their techniques. Today, their kitchens look very different. One belongs to a polished fine-dining...

RECORD KEEPERS

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander confessed that he’s bad at keeping track of his memorabilia. That’s why, after breaking a Wilt Chamberlain record Thursday night, March 12, Gilgeous-Alexander slipped out of his jersey and wrapped it neatly with the NBAbranded...

CHASING HISTORY

Did he do it? Find out at www.oklahoman.com/sports/.

TRUMP FACES TESTS

Can President Donald Trump run both a war and a midterm campaign at the same time? He is discovering just how difficult that can be. In week two of the biggest military operation of his presidency − a conflict that already has ensnared the Gulf...

PAIN & GAIN

Oklahomans grimacing at the gas pump as prices hit $3 per gallon may find cold comfort in knowing the geopolitical crisis affecting their fuel budget could deliver a significant boost to the state’s oildependent economy. The conflict with Iran,...

Iran names new leader

Iran’s Assembly of Experts picked Mojtaba Khamenei on March 9 to succeed his late father as supreme leader. The body of 88 clerics was charged with choosing the new leader after Ali Khamenei was killed Feb. 28 in the strikes that ignited the ongoing...

Appeals court upholds riot law

Oklahoma’s top criminal appeals court has ruled that a standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court about “true threats” of violence does not apply to the state’s century-old law on prosecuting riots. The constitutionality of the state riot law has been at...

F-BEMBS. PROFANITY POLITICS.

While political rhetoric has long been harsh and occasionally led to violence, experts warn that social media conveys vitriol faster and wider at a time when weapons are more accessible.

TWISTERS’ TOLL

The threat of severe weather remains active into the weekend across Oklahoma after a rash of tornadoes killed at least two people in storms crossing the region earlier this week. h On Thursday evening, a 47year-old mother and her 13-year-old daughter...

MULLIN GETS DHS NOD

AIR PRESSURE RISES

People look on March 2 as smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran. White House officials and U.S. military leaders show no sign of slowing attacks on Iran, but U.S. ground troops are “not part” of plan in...

‘CHAPTER 2’

MINCO – Taitlyn Voss broke into a wide smile as she hustled across the Minco High School softball field and into the Bulldogs’ dugout. Her eyes beamed. “Play ball!” the junior catcher proclaimed. Play ball, indeed. Monday, March 2, was opening...

OUT IN THE COLD

Families and local immigration attorneys say they have been unable to visit detainees virtually or in-person at the privately owned Diamondback Correctional Facility since it reopened in December to house detainees for Immigration and Customs...

TEHRAN RETALIATES AFTER LEADER KILLED IN STRIKES

Three American service members were killed in action amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, U.S. military officials confirmed March 1, one day after the United States and Israel launched strikes against the country and Tehran quickly hit back. Five...

FINDING S LUTIONS

Chance Stone is the project manager at the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), heading a high-profile initiative to improve math performance in the state’s public schools. Stone is happy to talk about what the department is doing and what...

BRIGHT FUTURE

For kids dealing with brain injuries, a traumatic spinal cord injury or another life-altering condition, a trip to the International Space Station or a safari journey might seem impossible. But in a year’s time, experiences like those will be possible...

DEFENSE ‘ECOSYSTEM’

MyDefence, a Danish company specializing in NATO-grade drone technology, opened its Oklahoma City research and development operation on Thursday, Feb. 26, and is set to follow up with the addition of its North American headquarters later this...

TRUMP TOUTS GAINS

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump declared the country is booming, his opponents are “crazy” and his administration is engaged in unprecedented levels of “winning” in a marathon State of the Union address that comes as polls showed deep skepticism of...

Not just numbers

Elease Clewis awoke early one Monday morning in her Oklahoma City home to an alert on her phone: “Shooting in the Meadow Apartments. Black male.” She turned her phone over and went back to sleep. The last time she saw her son, Mark Clewis Jr., Elease...

THE TRUMP CARD

As the race for Oklahoma governor heats up, leading Republican candidates are working to convince voters that they are the most aligned with President Donald Trump. The candidates all appeared at a forum Thursday, Feb. 19, at Randall University, a...

Lawmakers pushing consumer protections

Oklahoma legislators are moving on multiple fronts to shield residential ratepayers from bearing the infrastructure costs of large load electric users like data centers, with three consumer protection bills clearing their first hurdles in recent...

SHARED GOALS

Jozy Altidore was playing pick-up soccer in a park near his South Florida home when his life changed. A coach who ran a soccer academy in Boca Raton just happened to be taking a stroll through the park when he spied Altidore. The coach found the...

Al Sharpton: ‘He kept the dream alive’

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering civil rights icon who battled alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., negotiated global hostage releases and shamed corporations for their lack of diversity and failure to support voting rights, died on Feb. 17. He...

TRAILBLAZER APP

The town of Boley, an all-Black town that is home of one of the nation’s oldest Black rodeos, the Tall Chief Theater in Fairfax and the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center in Tulsa are among the sites featured on a new mobile app that...

ARTS AGENDA

From protecting Oklahoma ticket holders from scammers and bots to naming a bridge in honor of the late, great Toby Keith, the Oklahoma Legislature is considering several bills in its recently launched 2026 session that could affect the state’s arts and...

Sedalia’s Oyster & Seafood

Sedalia’s Oyster & Seafood in Oklahoma City is perhaps one of the most unassuming restaurants in the city from the outside. But that lack of pretense lends itself to a charm that pairs with world-class dining that has landed the restaurant in the...

MADE WITH LOVE

Oklahoma City-based chef Andrew Black is ready to welcome guests to his newest restaurant, Dougla Kitchen, after less than two months renovating the former Black Walnut space. Black, a James Beard award winner, made the decision to close Black Walnut...

Simpson executed for double murder

McALESTER − Oklahoma has carried out the nation’s third execution of 2026, giving a lethal injection to an admitted double murderer who said he had been “compelled by paranoia.” Kendrick Antonio Simpson was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. Thursday, Feb....

‘NOT FINISHED YET’

David Holt secured a third term as Oklahoma City mayor in the Feb. 10 election, winning decisively in a lowprofile race against a little-known challenger from the city’s south side. He celebrated the victory alongside his father, Stroud Holt, a former...

POLL POSITIONS

Voters in Oklahoma City went to the polls Tuesday, Feb. 10, to choose a mayor, deciding between incumbent David Holt and political newcomer Matthew Pallares. Some residents in overlapping counties, such as Canadian County, also saw school-related...

LOSING ENERGY

Harold Hamm is not on board with Oklahoma City’s largest oil and gas companies moving to Houston and is “committed” to not making a similar move. Oklahoma City leaders, meanwhile, say the announcements by Devon Energy and Expand Energy that they are...

Weight-loss drug suits allege serious harm

A Maryland truck driver suffered an “eye stroke” that left him blind, first in one eye and then the other. A Louisiana woman vomited for weeks before being diagnosed with a brain dysfunction typically caused by a vitamin deficiency. An Oklahoma real...

OPENING DOORS

Getting to know Anita Arnold is a challenge because – Anita Arnold. she’d rather not talk about herself. She wants you to know about Oklahoma’s African American heritage and people like Charlie Christian, the legendary jazz guitarist with the Benny...

MAGA VS. BAD BUNNY

Sen. Tommy Tuberville was thrilled to attend the Super Bowl in 2025 when he hitched a ride on Air Force One, joining President Donald Trump and several other Republican lawmakers for the big game. “Happy Super Bowl Sunday,” the Republican senator for...

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

So much for a boring trade deadline, huh? That was the widespread expectation given the harsh financial restrictions of the new CBA, but we saw a flurry of moves — several of which involved former All-Stars — leading up to the 2 p.m. Thursday...

‘HERE WE GO’

Patty Gasso rose from her seat at OU softball’s media day and sounded like a coach breaking the huddle instead of saying goodbye to reporters. “Here we go,” she said. She pounded the table. “Here we go, here we go.” Such excitement in the college...

BODY CAMS ORDERED

WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said immigration officers in Minneapolis will begin wearing body cameras immediately, following the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens amid the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown. The...

MAJOR MOVE

Devon Energy is not Oklahoma City largest employer, but with its 50-story tower overshadowing the state’s Capitol, news of the company’s move to Houston has civic leaders, the real estate industry and non-profits on edge wondering what’s next. h The...

RED RIFT

As the 2026 legislative session begins, cracks are already emerging among lawmakers in the Oklahoma Senate’s Republican caucus. • Members of the Capitol’s hyperconservative faction are clashing over disciplinary action against one lawmaker who’s...

CAPITOL SETTERS

Oklahoma’s 2026 legislative session kicks off Monday, Feb. 2, and for some lawmakers, it’s an opportunity to bolster their campaigns for a statewide office. For others, the session marks a chance to shake up the power balance. h These are two of the...

GROWING CONCERNS

Charlcey Plummer should have been in high cotton. h “In 2025, we grew the best cotton crop we’ve ever had,” said Plummer, an Oklahoma cotton grower whose family operation has weathered trade disputes, drought, and rising input costs over the past...

DEAL IS OFF

The Kansas owners of a southwest Oklahoma City warehouse targeted for immigrant detention are pulling out of a deal to sell the property to the Department of Homeland Security. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said he spoke with the owners of the...

IS DENNY READY?

NORMAN – Roger Denny swallowed hard, checked emotions and thanked everyone who helped him become the new athletic director at the University of Oklahoma. Mentors. Friends. Family. He saved his twin sons for last. “I know you don’t like to listen to...

‘WE MUST FIGHT’

Oklahoma City residents packed the City Council chamber on an icy Tuesday, Jan. 27, morning to oppose a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility on the city’s south side, pressing local officials to resist federal plans even as...

A TONAL SHIFT IN MN

MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Jan. 26 said President Donald Trump agreed to consider reducing the number of immigration agents in Minnesota and will ensure state officials can independently investigate the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti by...

Oklahomans hunker down for winter storm

The Arctic’s frigid air reached Oklahoma on Friday, Jan. 23, as residents across the state hunkered down for at least three nights of winter weather. Along with near-record levels of snow and ice that will cause widespread impacts to travel,...

READY, SET, SNOW

Oklahomans are quickly emptying grocery store shelves and lining up at gas stations to fill up their tanks ahead of what’s expected to be a significant, impactful winter storm. According to the National Weather Service, wintry precipitation is...

NEIGHBORHOOD ON EDGE

The Department of Homeland Security says it is targeting murderers, rapists, gang members and “other criminals” in its immigration detention sweeps, leading to questions about the safety of children attending school on the same street where the agency...

WINTER WARNINGS

Meteorologists are warning of a severe winter storm that will bring snow, freezing rain and dangerously cold temperatures to Oklahoma at the end of the week. According to the National Weather Service, by Friday, Jan. 23, the entire state should expect...

TRIBAL TRANSPORTS

Imagine a day when unmanned drones crisscross rural Oklahoma, delivering both urgent and routine medical shipments to tribal clinics in the Choctaw Nation. • That day is coming soon. • A grant worth nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of...

IMPERFECT GAME

Mighty Indiana — yes, mighty! — has a chance to write the fairy-tale ending to the greatest college football story ever told. Beat Miami in the College Football Playoff finale, and the Hoosiers — yes, the Hoosiers! — will be the most unlikely champ in...

DC DIALOGUE

President Donald Trump, seated, meets with Archbishop Paul Coakley on Jan. 12 at the White House. PROVIDED BY DANIEL The Archbishop of Oklahoma City, who is the current president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, recently met with...

UPTOWN UNCERTAINTY

Orange cones, blinking construction signs and closed lanes along Northwest 23rd Street arrived this week, signaling the start of a massive $9.3 million improvement project that will dramatically change one of Oklahoma City’s most popular stretches of...

BALANCE OF POWER

The effort to find the right balance between the oil and gas industry – which has propped up Oklahoma’s economy for more than a century – and renewable energy – a relative newcomer – is in the midst of a decisive moment with the potential for shifting...

Protests spread after fatal shooting by ICE

The city of Minneapolis is reeling in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration agent, as federal and local authorities clash over the latest violence in President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration crackdown. Minnesota...