By Janelle Stecklein | Editor
“Meek’s post was undeniably about his ex-wife, and we are not indifferent to the embarrassment and harmful emotional toll being the subject of a spiteful rant concerning one’s personal life can have, especially in such a public forum as YouTube.” - Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals of dismissing a man’s conviction for stalking for posting a 40-minute YouTube video
The Oklahoma Judicial Center is the headquarters of the Oklahoma Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals. (Photo by Carmen Forman/Oklahoma Voice)
By Barbara Hoberock
A Bryan County man’s decision to post a 40-minute rant about his ex-wife on YouTube doesn’t constitute stalking, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled.
In an order released Thursday, the state’s high court for criminal matters ordered the case against Lon Brandon Meeks, 45, dismissed.
The high court ruled that the state’s anti-stalking law is designed to “shield a person from unwanted conduct,” not “censor someone from randomly talking negatively about a third party to others.” The court said the law prohibits contact “directed toward” a person, not “communication about a person.”
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol unveiled two new motorcycles wrapped in black and white, a color scheme the patrol’s vehicles were historically outfitted in. (Screenshot courtesy of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol)
By Courtney Bell
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has unveiled a new look for some of its motorcycles.
A dock sits above the water level at Cedar Lake near Hinton, Okla., Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (Photo by Nate Billings/For Oklahoma Voice)
OPINION
By Janelle Stecklein
No resource is more critical to our state’s future than water. Yet the state agency entrusted with ensuring that our water resources are being managed appropriately is dispatching a clear SOS that they’re in over their heads.
N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas on April 3, 2026 at the Capitol files to be a Democratic candidate to be Oklahoma’s next U.S. senator. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
By Sabrina Thaler and Natalie Armour, KOSU
KOSU interviewed N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas about how she would approach a race against Republican U.S. Senate nominee Kevin Hern, her attitudes toward the President and what her priorities would be in Congress.
Tractor trailers sit parked in a row at a truck stop in Bloomsbury, N.J. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)
By Ariana Figueroa
President Donald Trump announced an initiative Thursday for veterans to quickly obtain commercial driver’s licenses, as the administration attempts to fill vacancies in the industry after pausing license renewals for foreign-born truck drivers.
ICYMI
US Senate panel advances bill to reject Education Department transfers | Shauneen Miranda
Haitian immigrants brace for end of protected status | Ariana Figueroa
String of outbreaks tests US public health system amid funding cuts, vaccine resistance | Jennifer Shutt
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