OKLAHOMA CITY (April 17, 2025) – Legal counsel representing the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) Fund Board of Investors filed a petition with the Oklahoma Supreme Court today seeking a declaratory judgment after a formal vote of the Board authorized legal action against improper interference by Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced the cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC).
Following a thorough line by line review of each of these Biden era partnerships, it became clear that the majority of these projects had sky-high administration fees which in many instances provided less than half of the federal funding directly to farmers. The release today noted that select projects may continue if it is demonstrated that a significant amount of the federal funds awarded will go to farmers.
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma House of Representatives today called on Congress to pass a federal version of Oklahoma’s first-of-its-kind tax credit for working family caregivers.
In 2023, Oklahoma became the first state in the nation to implement a comprehensive caregiver tax credit, the Caring for Caregivers Act, offering up to $3,000 annually to qualified residents. Now, lawmakers are urging their federal counterparts to help ease the financial burden on the nearly 490,000 family caregivers across Oklahoma.
Rep. Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City, who proposed the state tax credit, introduced House Concurrent Resolution 1009 on the House floor Monday.
“Whenever someone cares for a loved one, unexpected out-of-pocket expenses inevitably arise,” West said. “Oklahoma led the way in recognizing and supporting this essential work and now we have the chance to lead again by advocating for national relief through the Credit for Caring Act.”
In a post on Truth Social and later by media release, President Donald J. Trump today has made his position clear. America will reset trade relationships with all who will welcome fairness in commerce or hammer those that do not – in this case, the Criminal Slaver Nation of Chinese Communists.
President Trump wrote, “Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.
“Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” President Trump continued.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter,” President Trump concluded.
Public Health Watch: What Is the State of American Science?
Are you worried that the U.S. will lose its preeminence in science if DOGE manages to achieve massive cuts in spending?
Universities are loudly lamenting the termination of grants and the slashing of the “overhead” portion that goes to the institution rather than to the researcher. “The weeks ahead may be the greatest test the US scientific community has ever faced,” writes editor-in-chief H. Holden Thorp (Science 2/28/25). But is the threat to science a loss of funding—or the lock that the system places on innovation or discoveries that disrupt the status quo, as shown below.
