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AM NewsBrief: June 6, 2024

This is the KGOU AM NewsBrief for Thursday, June 6, 2024.

Lawmakers Push for Constitutional Amendment to Reinforce Voting Ban on Non-Citizens

Oklahoma lawmakers are calling for a vote of the people to strengthen the state’s ban on non-citizens from voting.

On the last day of the legislative session, Republicans pushed through Senate Joint Resolution 23, which calls for a state question asking voters to tweak a single word in the Oklahoma constitution.

Right now, it says all citizens of the state are eligible to vote in Oklahoma elections… That all would be changed to only.

Proponents argue it will clarify potential confusion about allowing non-citizens to vote in the future. Oklahoma City Democrat Carri Hicks isn’t buying it.

"I fail to understand where the confusion might lie when it is currently a felony to register to vote in the State of Oklahoma if you are not a U.S. citizen," Hicks said.

The measure is slated to appear on the November ballot.

Oklahoma Sees Significant Drop in Teen Birth Rate

A decade ago, Oklahoma had the second-highest teen birth rate in the nation. But new data shows improvement.

Data from the CDC show a 12% decrease in Oklahoma teen births from 2021 to 2022, dropping from the 4th highest in the nation to 5th.

Amplify Youth Health Collective is a Tulsa nonprofit advancing youth well-being and sexual health.

Amplify Executive Director Heather Duvall says the decline is due to teens being better equipped with education and healthcare services.

"We are putting strong policies and best practices in place so that young people have access to the information and resources they need to be able to make the healthiest decisions for themselves," said Duvall.

Duvall says increasing awareness sets teens and the overall community up for success later on.

Oklahoma Sooners One Win Away from Historic Fourth Consecutive Softball National Title

The Oklahoma Sooners are one win away from another national title in softball following the team’s 8-3 victory over the top-seeded Texas Longhorns Wednesday night.

Texas pitchers had not allowed a single run in their time at this year’s Women’s College World Series.

It took just 10 pitches and two batters for O-U to change that, with Tiare Jennings’ two-run homerun in the first inning. Kinzie Hansen and freshman Kasidi Pickering added their own back-to-back homers just two innings later.

It was an offensive explosion for the Sooners, backed up by a stellar pitching effort from Kelly Maxwell, who threw a complete game with eight strikeouts and only one earned run.

OU has a chance Thursday to do something no other NCAA softball program has done: win a fourth consecutive national championship.

The first pitch takes place at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

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