Republican lawmakers are backing dozens of bills targeting diversity efforts on campus and elsewhere
Diversity initiatives would be defunded or banned from universities and other public institutions under a slate of bills pending in Republican-led legislatures, with some lawmakers counting on the issue resonating with voters in this election year.
DeSantis argues he's top Trump alternative even as ex-president's indictment overshadows 2024 race
Republican White House candidate Ron DeSantis is plowing ahead with efforts to portray himself as his partyโs staunchest national conservative leader, even as the 2024 GOP race had been overshadowed by the federal indictment for mishandling classified documents against former President Donald Trump.
The Latest: Japan to tighten border control against variants
Japan has confirmed 345 cases of the more contagious new variants, mostly the kind first found in Britain, the health ministry said. ___WELLINGTON, New Zealand โ New Zealand has removed remaining coronavirus restrictions on the city of Auckland after containing a small outbreak. Ad___WASHINGTON โ President Joe Biden is planning to announce during his prime-time address Thursday night that heโll deploy 4,000 additional U.S. troops to support coronavirus vaccination efforts. Thursdayโs announcement from the Department of Corrections comes a year after suspending visits at prisons because of the coronavirus pandemic. John Bel Edwards has loosened his COVID-19 restrictions.
The Latest: Most of a Mississippi city is without water
Another man died at a health-care facility after a lack of water pressure made medical treatment impossible. ___OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt pleaded with residents Thursday to limit water usage after city officials said some hospitals faced what Holt called a crisis because of a sharp drop in water pressure. Integris Baptist lost water pressure at two of its hospitals, according to city utilities director Chris Browning. The drop in water pressure was due largely to customers running faucets to prevent frozen and burst water lines, and nearly tripling the amount of water used, according to city utilities director Chris Browning. She says โโFrozenโ is always a good choice.โAd___AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Gov.
The Latest: Oklahoma gov seeks federal disaster declaration
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)The Latest on winter weather across the U.S. (all times local):OKLAHOMA CITY โ Oklahoma Gov. Stittโs disaster declaration request for all 77 Oklahoma counties comes a day after the governor spoke with Biden by phone. ___NEW ORLEANS โ Rolling power blackouts necessitated by severe winter weather hit water systems in at least two Louisiana cities. He implored residents to stop running water, noting that temperatures had risen above the freezing mark___RALEIGH, N.C. โ North Carolina Gov. โ The Louisiana Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed three deaths related to winter weather this week.
Oklahoma seeking to return $2M worth of hydroxychloroquine
FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2017, file photo, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter sits at a meeting in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office is attempting to return $2 million worth of an anti-malaria drug once touted by former President Donald Trump as an effective treatment for COVID-19, a spokesman said Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Alex Gerszewski, a spokesman for Attorney General Mike Hunter, said Hunter is attempting to negotiate a return of the 1.2 million hydroxychloroquine pills Oklahoma acquired in April from a California-based supplier, FFF Enterprises. He said the office was acting on a request from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, which authorized the purchase. The attempt by Oklahoma to return the hydroxychloroquine was first reported by the online news publication The Frontier.
The Latest: Hawaii imposes new COVID-19 travel restrictions
There were 1,225 new confirmed COVID-19 cases increasing the state total to 60,873. ___WASHINGTON -- Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech will seek emergency government approval for their coronavirus vaccine, as the U.S. aims to begin administering doses by the end of the year. ___LOUISVILLE, Kentucky โ Kentucky reported a new daily record of 3,649 coronavirus cases Thursday amid warnings by Gov. He and public health experts are warily watching the number of patients hospitalized with the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus. ___WASHINGTON โ Infection disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says he โwants to settleโ concerns about a coronavirus vaccine as he returns to the White House podium for the first time in months.
The Latest: NZealand mulls masks on Auckland public transit
Health officials had asked workers in central Auckland to stay home on Friday while they investigated the case but say they can now return to work. โ Surge of coronavirus cases appears to be slowing in Germany and France, but still straining hospitals. Alaska has had over 20,000 cases, including 477 new cases reported Thursday. She is scheduled Friday to address the situation and is expected to announce new public health restrictions aimed to curbing spread. Thatโs the impassioned message that dozens of parents and school administrators are sending to public health officials in Pennsylvaniaโs third-most populous county.
As cases rise, states say they'll work with Biden on virus
Gary Herbert speaks as he joins state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn at a press conference at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, clarifying the state's mask mandate on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Minnesotaโs per-capita new case counts are better than neighboring Wisconsin and the Dakotas, which have some of the countryโs highest transmission rates, but have still raised alarm with the state's health officials. In Idaho, where 1 of every 223 residents tested positive for the virus over the last week, Republican Gov. With Trump still not conceding the race, some Republican governors have greeted Bidenโs efforts in a more measured way. In Oklahoma, where cases also are on the rise, Republican Gov.
The Latest: Ireland sets new virus restrictions for 6 weeks
(AP Photo/Anupam Nath)LONDON โ Irelandโs government is putting the country at its highest level of coronavirus restrictions for six weeks in a bid to combat a rise in infections. The board members hail from top California top universities and medical providers, along with state and local public health officials. ___AUSTIN, Texas -- Health officials in Texas have reported 4,319 COVID-19 hospital patients, the most since Aug. 28. Khanโs remarks come amid a slight increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths in recent weeks. Pakistan also reported 440 new confirmed cases, raising its total cases to 323,452 since February when Pakistan reported its first case.
Hospitals feel squeeze as coronavirus spikes in Midwest
Like other states, health officials in Wisconsin had warned since the pandemic began that COVID-19 patients could overwhelm hospitals. Nearly 678 COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people have been diagnosed over the past two weeks, leading the country for new cases per capita, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The space isn't exclusively for coronavirus patients but could be used to treat them if needed. Last week, the state had the nationโs sixth-highest rate of coronavirus infections per 100,000 people, according to a White House coronavirus task force report dated Sunday. The number of reported coronavirus cases in Oklahoma increased by 980 on Wednesday, with 13 additional deaths, state health officials said.
Virginia governor, wife test positive for coronavirus
Ralph Northam announced Friday that he and his wife have both tested positive for the coronavirus, though he said he is showing no symptoms. He's among four governors around the country who have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, but one of the others turned out to be a false positive. The governor and first lady were notified Wednesday that a member of the Executive Mansion staff developed COVID-19 symptoms and that the staff member's virus test came back positive. Mike Parson, a Republican who has steadfastly refused to require residents to wear masks, announced heโd tested positive. Kevin Stitt in July became the first governor to announce heโd tested positive.
The Latest: Concerns over coronavirus upticks in California
The directive comes amid concerns about an uptick in coronavirus cases in certain Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods with large Orthodox Jewish populations. New York Cityโs current overall infection rate remains low, but official figures indicate the affected neighborhoods accounted for 20% of the cityโs coronavirus cases in recent weeks. ___BOSTON โ An outbreak of coronavirus infections at a major Boston hospital has grown to 19 confirmed cases. ___DES MOINES, Iowa โ Iowa has reported a jump of 1,086 new coronavirus cases, the second consecutive day of new cases exceeding 1,000. There are currently nearly 985,000 worldwide coronavirus deaths.
Baseball season teeters, while states resist mask rules
Nebraska's online virus tracker on Monday showed 800 cases were confirmed Friday through Sunday, bringing the state's total to 24,618 since the outbreak began. Florida reported 191 new deaths, another one-day high for the state, while Arizona recorded 104, and Arkansas had a single-day record with 20. Mississippi Republican Gov. His return came on the same day the state reported over 1,400 new cases the second consecutive day of record highs. The storm pounded the Rio Grande Valley, where hospitals have been overwhelmed with coronavirus cases.
Oklahoma voters to decide whether to expand Medicaid
OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahoma voters will decide Tuesday whether to expand Medicaid to tens of thousands of low-income residents and become the first state to amend their Constitution to do so. While an increasing number of Oklahoma voters took advantage of mail-in voting for Tuesday's primary, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. statewide. Amending the Oklahoma Constitution will prevent the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has resisted Medicaid expansion for a decade, from tinkering with the program or rolling back coverage. Oklahoma is one of 14 states, along with neighboring Texas and Kansas, that have not expanded Medicaid under the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority has projected that about 215,000 residents would qualify for a Medicaid expansion, for a total annual cost of about $1.3 billion.
Medicaid, GOP congressional primary top Oklahoma ballot
Oklahoma voters will vote in Tuesday's primary election on State Question 802, which would amend the Oklahoma Constitution to expand Medicaid health insurance. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, Pool, File)OKLAHOMA CITY A question on whether to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma and a crowded Republican field vying to challenge the state's lone congressional Democrat are drawing the most attention ahead of Tuesday's primary election. According to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, states that have expanded Medicaid through a ballot measure include Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Utah. This is going to cost our state $200 million," Stitt said during an event this week with Americans for Prosperity. Republicans clearly see OK-5 as one of their best chances to flip' a House seat, and theyre correct to see it that way," said Matthew Motta, a political science professor at Oklahoma State University.
Metal barriers, Trump gear: Crowd readies for Tulsa rally
TULSA, Okla. Supporters of President Donald Trump were lining up Saturday outside metal barriers surrounding the Tulsa stadium where the president will hold his first rally in months, ready to welcome him back to the campaign trail despite warnings from health officials about the coronavirus. Trump also will speak at an outdoor event to be held inside the barriers. Protests also are planned for Saturday, and some Black leaders in Tulsa have said they're worried the visit could lead to violence. Tulsa has seen cases of COVID-19 spike in the past week, and the local health department director asked that the rally be postponed. The Trump campaign said it will hand out masks and hand sanitizer, but there is no requirement that participants use them.
Oklahoma governor seeks larger event for Trump's Tulsa rally
OKLAHOMA CITY So many people have expressed an interest in attending President Donald Trumps rally Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that the governor said hes asked the campaign to consider a larger, outdoor venue to accommodate them. Kevin Stitt said Monday after talking with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that nearly one million people have requested tickets to the event. Some Trump supporters have already started waiting in line outside the 19,000-seat BOK Center in downtown Tulsa. The Trump campaign didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on whether theyre considering moving the event to a larger venue or accepting Stitts invitation to tour the Greenwood District. Oklahoma County Republican Party Chairman David McLain said Monday that the Trump campaign intends to fill every one of the venues seats.
Oklahoma woman imprisoned in failure-to-protect case is free
MCLOUD, OK An Oklahoma woman who failed to report her boyfriend for abusing her children and who spent about 13 years longer in prison than he did for the abuse was released Friday. Tondalao Hall left a women's prison in McLoud, Oklahoma, after serving 15 years behind bars. "Secondly, for all the people God has placed in my life, my children and my family for sticking by me. The case has outraged women's rights groups and brought further attention to Oklahoma's high rate of incarceration, particularly of women. The American Civil Liberties Union in 2017 filed a lawsuit challenging what it said was a disproportionate sentence because Braxton was also abusing Hall.
More than 450 Oklahoma inmates walking out of prison doors
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)OKLAHOMA CITY, OK More than 450 inmates walked out the doors of prisons across Oklahoma on Monday as part of what state officials say is the largest single-day mass commutation in U.S. history. The release of inmates, all with convictions for low-level drug and property crimes, resulted from a bill signed by new Republican Gov. Releasing the inmates will save Oklahoma an estimated $11.9 million over the cost of continuing to keep them behind bars, according to the governor's office. The board last week considered 814 cases and recommended 527 inmates for commutation. She said she was surprised at the number of women she met in prison serving long sentences for drug crimes.
Oklahoma judge rejects challenge to 'permitless carry' law
After hearing arguments from both sides, Oklahoma County District Judge Don Andrews rejected a request by Oklahoma City Democratic Rep. Jason Lowe for a preliminary injunction that would have stopped the "permitless carry" law from taking effect on Friday. But the judge said Rughani failed to prove that the law taking effect would cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs. "We're going to fight hard to keep this dangerous law from taking effect," Lowe said after the hearing. Dubbed "constitutional carry" by its supporters, the bill approved overwhelmingly by the GOP-led Legislature was the first signed into law by new Republican Gov. Spencer and other gun rights advocates plan to hold a rally at the state Capitol on Friday to celebrate the new law taking effect.