Latest Oklahoma Headlines

All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Bailey Appointed General Counsel at Oklahoma Insurance Department

Jan 7 2021 // Kim Bailey has been named general counsel for the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID), effective Jan. 19, 2021.Bailey currently serves as general counsel and chief operating officer at the Oklahoma State Department of...

Oklahoma Fire Department Earns Highest ISO Protection Classification

Jan 4 2021 // The Norman Fire Department in Oklahoma has achieved the highest Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating from the Insurance Service Office (ISO), the insurance department reported.The ISO rates over 50,000 fire...

Nuro OK’d in California to Charge for Self-Driving Services

Dec 29 2020 // Robotics company Nuro this week received the first-ever permit to commercially deploy its self-driving vehicles in California, allowing the Silicon Valley firm to charge clients for its driverless delivery service.Relying...

Federal Disaster Aid Approved for Oklahoma Winter Storm Recovery

Dec 22 2020 // Federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Oklahoma to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms from Oct. 26-29, 2020, according to...

Judge Gives Oklahoma Bars, Restaurants Temporary Curfew Reprieve

Dec 21 2020 // Oklahoma bars and restaurants have effectively won a temporary reprieve from a curfew that has been forcing them to close early since November to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.A state judge sided with a group of...

Oklahoma Housing Agency Faces Federal Race Discrimination Lawsuit

Dec 17 2020 // The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the affordable housing agency in the western Oklahoma town of Lone Wolf for allegedly denying housing to a Black mother and her 5-year-old daughter because of their race.The Justice...

Oklahoma’s CompSource Mutual Insurance Assigned ‘A’ Rating by AM Best

Dec 11 2020 // AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” to CompSource Mutual Insurance Co. (CompSource Mutual), based in Oklahoma City.The outlook assigned...

Oklahoma Seeking to Make J&J Pay $9.3B to End Opioid Crisis in State

Dec 10 2020 // Oklahoma has asked the state Supreme Court to order Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $9.3 billion to cover the entire anticipated cost of combatting the state’s opioid crisis, arguing in its appeal that a lower...

Appeals Court OK’s Suit Over Mississippi School Funding Disparities

Dec 10 2020 // A federal appeals court has affirmed that Mississippi parents may pursue a lawsuit that says the state allows grave disparities in funding between predominantly Black and predominantly white schools.The 5th U.S. Circuit...

Quinn to Chair Oklahoma Senate Insurance Committee

Dec 8 2020 // Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, a Republican, has appointed Senator Marty Quinn, R-Claremore, chair of the Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee.Other Republican members appointed to the committee...

Sentry’s Insurance Business Transfer Plan OK’d to Advance in Oklahoma

Dec 3 2020 // Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance (Sentry) has gained approval from the Oklahoma Insurance Department to submit its Insurance Business Transfer (IBT) Plan to the District Court of Oklahoma County.This is the second IBT...

China Renews OK of Oceanwide’s Stalled $2.7 Billion Purchase of Genworth

Dec 2 2020 // U.S.-based Genworth Financial Inc. reported that Chinese officials have renewed their approval of China Oceanwide Holdings Group’s acquisition of Genworth’s Delaware-domiciled insurer, allowing the deal to...

$17M Award for Woman Injured at Walmart OK’d by W. Virginia High Court

Nov 30 2020 // The West Virginia Supreme Court has affirmed a jury verdict of nearly $17 million for a woman who was injured when Walmart staffers tried to detain a shoplifter. The court rejected the retail giant’s appeal on Nov....

COVID-19 Vaccines Could Be Sent to States Within 24 Hours of FDA’s OK: Official

Nov 25 2020 // The first Americans could receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as Dec. 11, the chief scientific adviser for the U.S. government’s vaccine program said on Sunday.“Within 24 hours from the approval, the vaccine...

Antidiscrimination Rules for Businesses OK’d by Georgia County Commissioners

Nov 23 2020 // A middle Georgia county has approved an anti-discrimination ordinance that would govern businesses, despite opposition from some.Macon-Bibb commissioners voted 5-4 in favor of the proposal on Tuesday, sending it to Mayor...

Oklahoma Places New Restrictions on Bars, Restaurants Amid Virus Surge

Nov 17 2020 // Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has announced new restrictions on bars and restaurants and plans to require mask wearing inside state buildings, the first state restrictions imposed since the economy reopened in May, as...

Oklahoma Ice Storm Damage Up to $27M; Disaster Declaration Requested

Nov 16 2020 // Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has requested a federal major disaster declaration from last month’s ice storm that caused an estimated $27 million in damages in 13 central Oklahoma counties. Stitt said in a press release...

Johnson Controls, Manpower to Pay $40K in Oklahoma Harassment/Retaliation Suit

Nov 10 2020 // Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) and ManpowerGroup US Inc. (Manpower) have agreed to settle a federal lawsuit charging the companies with sexual harassment and retaliation against a worker at a JCI plant in Norman, Oklahoma.The...

5 more Louisiana Parishes OK’d for Federal Disaster Assistance

Nov 10 2020 // The federal government has approved Louisiana’s request for FEMA individual assistance for five more parishes that were affected by Hurricane Delta, the governor’s office announced.The parishes are Beauregard,...

Voters OK’d Local Measures to Fight Climate Change

Nov 5 2020 // Local governments are increasingly taking it upon themselves to address climate change.Denver voters on election day passed Measure 2A, which would raise city sales tax by 0.25% starting in January with the goal of...