Oklahoma AG's Office Launches Tip Line On Winter Storm Uri
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office is seeking people with inside knowledge about how natural gas marketers handled a February 2021 winter storm with a new tip line.
Back in July, Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced his office would explore legal action against natural gas marketers for their actions during the winter storm.
Drummond says the marketers created an unnecessary surge in natural gas prices during the freeze, forcing utilities to pay at 400 times the normal rate.
The AG’s Office is working with Oklahoma City-based law firm Foshee and Yaffe to build that case.
This week, they’re opening a tip line for anyone who has information about potential wrongdoing or market manipulation during Uri.
The AG’s Office isn’t after information about how the storm affected individual gas bills, but it’s seeking any insights from people who have worked for or with the natural gas marketers.
Tulsa Congressman Introduces Legislation Aimed At Mandarin Language Curriculum
Following state-level attacks on Tulsa Public Schools’ Mandarin language curriculum, the city’s congressman has introduced legislation aimed at the program
Congressman Kevin Hern has introduced the Protect Our Kids act, which would keep federal dollars from school districts that use the Confucius Classrooms program to teach mandarin.
Hern claims the Chinese Communist Party is using the program to “brainwash” students.
"These Confucius Classrooms are funded by the Chinese government, both through Confucius institutes and through third parties. Make no mistake - this is not through the kindness of their hearts," Hern said.
Hern’s bill comes roughly four months after State Superintendent Ryan Walters claimed TPS keeps a relationship with the Chinese government through Confucius Classrooms.
School board president Stacey Woolley refuted this claim, but the district still canceled its contract with the program following Walters’ attacks.
A spokesperson for Hern said the congressman and Walters have spoken about Confucius Classrooms, but that the superintendent did not help draft the bill.
Panasonic Rebuffs Oklahoma Again, Won't Build EV Battery Plant In Pryor
Panasonic has once again passed over Oklahoma. A planned EV battery plant will no longer be built in Pryor.
Oklahoma worked hard to attract Panasonic to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Pryor's MidAmerica Industrial Park, offering hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives and funding improvements at the site as requested by Panasonic.
Despite these efforts, Panasonic has decided not to move forward with the development of the site.
Nonprofit news outlet Oklahoma Voice reports a company spokesperson says the company came to the decision after quote “careful deliberations.”
Panasonic had initially announced plans to build a $4 billion electric vehicle plant in Kansas and then explored the possibility of a second plant in Pryor, which could have generated thousands of jobs.
Oklahoma officials expressed disappointment but also conveyed optimism about potential future partnerships with the company.
OU Health Receive Grant To Study Endometrial Cancer
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is receiving millions in grant funding alongside two universities to fund research on endometrial cancer.
OU is joining Washington University in St. Louis and the University of New Mexico to study endometrial cancer, which has increasing incidence and mortality rates among women.
Uterine cancers are the fifth most diagnosed cancer and the eighth highest cause of cancer deaths among Oklahoma women.
The National Cancer Institute funding will help universities conduct a clinical trial covering three research areas.
Oklahoma will study how a drug created by OU researcher Doris Benbrook could be combined with chemotherapy to treat the cancer.
The grant will also fund various projects to address racial disparities among women diagnosed with this cancer.
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