Ari Fife

Our reporting found gaps in state and federal laws on crimes motivated by gender or sexual orientation and a lack of required training for law enforcement.

Demand for care from out-of-state providers has boomed since Oklahoma banned most abortions. A flurry of bills at the Legislature this year propose criminal penalties, wrongful death lawsuits and narrower medical exemptions.

State education grant writers said they quit in frustration after a lack of support. Walters has vowed in the past not to pursue grants that don’t align with “Oklahoma values.”

Illuminating journalism

After the state banned abortion, it lost federal funding for family planning programs. Oklahoma is now paying for attorneys and to replace lost federal dollars. State health officials say they can’t give women pregnancy counseling that includes information on abortion, or refer them to a hotline

The author of Oklahoma’s anti-school bullying law says she doesn’t think the legislation is working. Lawmakers hope to expand laws to protect students.

The State Department of Education launched its Awareity reporting system in 2022 as a way for community members to submit reports on issues like bullying, civil rights and safety concerns. An Oklahoma grandmother is suing over what she claims is a lack of transparency.

Fentanyl has proliferated so quickly because it’s cheaper to make than other drugs and can be mass-produced in a few hours.

Oklahoma was required to create a special office to help with missing and murdered cases involving Indigenous people under a 2021 state law, but federal funding legislators planned for never materialized.

A pilot program would track people on parole and probation using AI to find patterns in where they go and how often they charge their devices.