News Stories
KGOU - Jacob Mccleland
The U.S. Congress if wrapping up the year with several key bills. Last week, the House passed a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law, and the Senate sent a highway bill to President Obama’s desk.
On today’s show we’ll talk with Republican Congressman Tom Cole. The veteran lawmaker from Oklahoma spoke with KGOU’s Jacob McCleland on November 24 in his Norman office.
Some excerpts:
NewsOK - Chris Casteel
Four of the five U.S. House members from Oklahoma voted for the education bill meant to replace the much-criticized No Child Left Behind Act.
The Every Student Succeeds Act passed the House on Wednesday night by a vote of 359-64.
Reps. Tom Cole, R-Moore; Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne; Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville; and Steve Russell, R-Choctaw voted for it. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Tulsa, voted against.
The bill is expected to be approved by the Senate and signed by the president this month.
The Oklahoman - Chris Casteel
Congress gave strong bipartisan approval Thursday to a $305 billion highway bill that Oklahoma lawmakers praised for providing certainty to state officials planning critical road and bridge projects.
The bill, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign soon, will set the nation's surface transportation policy for the next five years and provide a boost in funding for highways and mass transit.
News9 - Alex Cameron
One day after a mass shooting took the lives of 14 people in San Bernardino, CA, a gun-control measure intended to help keep suspected terrorists from getting access to guns is defeated in Washington, D.C.
The measure, offered by Sen. Diane Feinstein, (D) California, Thursday afternoon as an amendment to a health care bill, is an exact duplicate of a House bill that was referenced by President Obama in his reaction to this latest shooting.
Tulsa World - Jackie Kouri
Everyone with a brain is at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. It’s that simple, and that dire.
Fortune - Steven T. Dennis
Paul Ryan’s on a roll. The new House speaker set Democrats back on their heels this week with a proposal to hit the pause button on the U.S. acceptance of Syrian refugees, even as he forcefully put down anti-Muslim sentiment on his party’s right flank.
Radcliffe Institute For Advanced Study Hardvard University - Pat Harrison
Mary Kathryn Nagle wrote the play Sliver of a Full Moon—which will be read today at the Radcliffe Institute—because Native leaders asked her to. Nagle, an attorney and citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, was approached by tribal leaders in early 2013 who asked her to interview Native women survivors and share their stories.
The Oklahoman - Chris Casteel
Echoing the concerns of many Republican officeholders, Sen. Jim Inhofe said Monday that no more Syrian refugees should be allowed into the United States until Congress has reviewed the process for screening them.
“Accepting refugees is an important and historical practice of our nation, but the Syrian refugee situation is atypical due to ISIS's attempts to exploit the crisis and concerns over the validity of Syrian passports,” said Inhofe, R-Tulsa.
Ada News - Eric Swanson
President Barack Obama’s decision to block the Keystone XL pipeline project doesn’t stand up under scrutiny, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole said Tuesday.
“Every study we’ve had indicates that it’s safer, cheaper and more efficient to use the pipeline than to transport the oil or by rail or by truck,” the Oklahoma Republican said. “And it’s also diplomatically insulting to a country (Canada) that’s one of our very best friends in the world, a dependable ally that we’ve fought with together for a hundred years in different parts of the globe.”
Ada News
A host of dignitaries will be on hand today, along with family and friends, to honor the late Harland C. Stonecipher, one of Ada's biggest movers and shakers, on the one-year anniversary of his death at a public reception from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the LegalShield Corporate Office, One Pre-Paid Way, Ada.