Daily Oklahoman: Politics

By Carla HintonFaith editorchinton@oklahoman.comApplause and shouts of joy arose on Monday as people gathered at a prayer vigil learned that Julius Jones' commutation request had been moved to the next phase.The vigil had been underway for about 35 minutes outside the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board office, 2915 N Classen, before Jones' supporters learned that the board had voted to move his request to the next phase of the commutation process.

A USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll published Friday shows Americans, by an 18-point margin, say it is more important to ensure law and order than to protect the right to protest.
Results reflect a change in attitudes from last June, amid demonstrations over the death in police custody of George Floyd, when Americans were more evenly split on the question.

By Chris CasteelStaff writer ccasteel@oklahoman.comNearly 3,800 Oklahomans purchased health insurance on the federal exchange after the Biden administration opened enrollment in mid-February to anyone needing coverage.

By Nolan ClayStaff writernclay@oklahoman.comAn Oklahoma gun smuggler was sentenced Wednesday to federal prison for shipping Glock pistols hidden in tools to Kurdish freedom fighters.
Randy Lew Williams, 57, agreed to send the guns after fighting with the Kurdish Peshmerga against the Islamic State.

By William CrumStaff writerwcrum@oklahoman.comA public health official said predictive modeling shows local herd immunity to COVID-19 could be achieved in June.
The announcement came Tuesday as the Oklahoma City Council passed a mask ordinance extension.

By Chris CasteelStaff writerccasteel@oklahoman.comA U.S. House bill to make voting easier would amount to a federal takeover of state elections and deprive Oklahoma of ways to detect fraud, according to Oklahoma’s top election official.

By Carmen FormanStaff writer cforman@oklahoman.comLess than a year after state lawmakers temporarily granted Gov. Kevin Stitt unprecedented emergency powers, legislators are looking to curb the governor’s authority in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

Oklahoma's five U.S. House members joined all other Republicans early Saturday in voting against the $1.9 trillion spending package that includes $1,400 direct payments for most Americans; expanded and extended unemployment benefits; money for state and local governments and schools; and numerous other measures to strengthen federal aid programs and beef up COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

By Jack MoneyBusiness writerjmoney@oklahoman.comMore regulated utilities kicked off cases seeking to recover billions of dollars of storm-related costs from customers at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission this week.

By Nuria Martinez-KeelStaff writernmartinez-keel@oklahoman.comHouse lawmakers voted to expand transfers between public schools and to limit the “ghost students” that could appear as a result.