Latest Oklahoma Headlines

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

Group Continuing Effort to Legalize Recreational Marijuana in Oklahoma

Jan 2 2020 // A group seeking to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Oklahoma refiled their petition in late December after facing a fierce backlash over what the plan might do to the state’s burgeoning medical marijuana...

Insurance Journal’s Top 10 South Central Region Stories of 2019

Jan 2 2020 // It almost seemed like there was a major fire or explosion per month at one petrochemical facility or another in the South Central region last year. That’s not really the case, but there were a number of high-profile...

Bipartisan Internet Privacy Proposal Calls for User OK to Share Data But Is Mum on Suits

Dec 23 2019 // A top House panel unveiled long-awaited draft privacy legislation that calls for limits on sharing consumers’ information and would allow users to correct their personal data.The draft, which also calls for the...

Oklahoma Appeals Judge’s $465M Order in Opioid Lawsuit

Dec 18 2019 // A judge didn’t order Johnson & Johnson to pay enough when he said the company must pay $465 million to address Oklahoma’s opioid crisis, the state said in an appeal filed on Dec. 16.Attorney General Mike...

Magnitude 3.6 Quake Reported in Oklahoma

Dec 17 2019 // The U.S. Geological Survey has reported a magnitude 3.6 earthquake in Oklahoma near Stroud. The quake was recorded Sunday morning about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) north of Stroud. Stroud, which has a population of about...

Johnson & Johnson Appeals Judge’s Ruling in Oklahoma Opioid Lawsuit

Dec 12 2019 // Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson have appealed an Oklahoma judge’s order for the company to pay $465 million to address the state’s opioid crisis.The company argues in an appeal filed on Dec. 9 that the...

University of Oklahoma Asks to Be Dismissed From Lawsuit

Dec 10 2019 // The University of Oklahoma is asking to be dismissed from a sexual assault lawsuit against a former OU vice president.The motion filed Tuesday says the university is immune from the claims by Levi Hilliard that allege...

Earthquake Rattles Prague, Oklahoma, Site of Past 5.7 Temblor

Dec 4 2019 // The U.S. Geological Survey has reported a magnitude 3.8 earthquake in Oklahoma near Prague, where a magnitude 5.7 quake struck eight years ago.Prague City Manager Jim Greff says there are no reports of injury or damage...

New Oklahoma Law, Workplace Shooting Fears Prompt Security Changes

Dec 3 2019 // Security is not subtle at the sprawling campus of human resources technology giant Paycom in Oklahoma City.Off-duty police officers roam the grounds, bolstering the company’s own force of armed guards. A basement...

Oklahoma Commissioner OKs Rhode Island Insurer’s Insurance Business Transfer Plan

Nov 26 2019 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready on Nov. 26 authorized Rhode Island-based insurance Providence Washington Insurance Co. (PWIC) to submit its Insurance Business Transfer (IBT) Plan to the District Court of...

5 Quakes, Including 3 of Mag 3.6, Struck Oklahoma Last Week

Nov 25 2019 // The U.S. Geological Survey reports five earthquakes, including three of magnitude 3.6, were recorded in Oklahoma and felt in Kansas and Texas.One of the 3.6 magnitude earthquakes took place late Thursday night while the...

Oklahoma AG to Appeal Judge’s Opioid Ruling in J&J Case

Nov 25 2019 // Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says he plans to appeal a judge’s order directing consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson to pay the state $465 million to help address the state’s opioid...

Oklahoma High Court: Cities May Regulate Medical Marijuana

Nov 21 2019 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that cities may approve some regulations of the medical marijuana industry. The court has dismissed an appeal by the city of Broken Arrow in a case filed by marijuana grower Austin...

Experts Say Oklahoma’s Insurance Business Transfer Law Will Boost Economy

Nov 19 2019 // An international forum of insurance experts meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said the Insurance Business Transfer law expected to bring an economic boost to the state.The IBT law creates a way for insurers to transfer entire...

Oklahoma Appeals Court Upholds Class Action Status for Earthquake Lawsuit

Nov 18 2019 // The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals has upheld the class action designation of a lawsuit against an oil company over damage caused by earthquakes near Prague in November 2011, including one of magnitude 5.7.The court on...

Rate Increases OK’d for Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association

Nov 18 2019 // Proposed rate increases for both private passenger and commercial auto insurance rates have been approved for the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA).The Texas Department of Insurance granted TAIPA’s...

Judge Trims Oklahoma Opioid Penalty on J&J to $465M to Reflect Math Error

Nov 17 2019 // An Oklahoma judge on Friday said Johnson & Johnson must pay that state $465 million for fueling the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers, down from his original award of $572 million.The...

U.S. Attorney: Oklahoma Man Sentenced for Stealing Almost $370K from Employer

Nov 15 2019 // A Tulsa, Oklahoma, man was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to repay nearly $370,000 after being found guilty of stealing from his employer.Ernest Everette Howard, 49, of Tulsa, must $368,329.61 in restitution,...

Attorney: Oklahoma’s Tulsa County to Pay $10M to Settle Jail Death Suit

Nov 15 2019 // Officials have agreed to settle a lawsuit over the death of a 37-year-old man, who died in 2011 after lying naked in a Tulsa County, Oklahoma, jail cell for five days with a broken neck.Documents filed in federal court in...

Gwartney Appointed VP, Employee Benefits at Oklahoma’s Universal Insurance

Nov 14 2019 // Dason Gwartney has been named vice president and employee benefits practice leader at Universal Insurance Agency in Durant, Oklahoma, a unit of First United Bank.Gwartney joins First United/Universal with more than 25...