Sean Murphy

Associated Press

Expanding Opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

Expanding Opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

The Export-Import Bank of the United States offers a number of tools to assist all U.S. manufacturers, and works to ensure that these opportunities are readily available to businesses owned by minorities and women. Watch video to learn more.

In this Aug. 26, 2019 file photo, Judge Thad Balkman reads a summary of his decision in the opioid trial at the Cleveland County Courthouse in Norman, OK.

Judge Reduces J&J Order in Opioid Lawsuit by $107M

The judge acknowledged he miscalculated in his original award how much it would cost to develop a program for treating babies born addicted to opioids.

Oklahoma Judge, Thad Balkman.

Judge Miscalculated Opioid Judgement

District Judge Thad Balkman acknowledged making the error in his August judgment in which he ordered J&J to pay $572 million to address the opioid crisis.

Judge Thad Balkman announces his decision in the Opioid Lawsuit In Norman, Okla., Monday, Aug. 26, 2019. Balkman found Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries helped fuel the state's opioid drug crisis and ordered the consumer products giant to pay $572 million to help abate the problem in the coming years.

J&J Ordered to Pay $572M

Oklahoma argued the companies launched a misleading marketing campaign that overstated how effective the drugs were and understated the risk of addiction.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter talks with the media during a break the Opioid trial in Norman, Okla., Wednesday, June 26, 2019. Oklahoma is wrapping up its presentation of evidence against Johnson & Johnson in the state's case alleging the consumer products giant and its subsidiaries helped fuel the deadly opioid crisis.

Feds Want Cut of State Settlement

Most of the money has already been earmarked for the creation of a center for addiction studies and treatment at Oklahoma State University.

Judge Thad Balkman announces that he has signed off on the state's $85 million settlement with Israeli-owned Teva Pharmaceuticals on Monday, June 2, 2019, following a squabble between the attorney general, Legislature and governor over how the deal was structured during the Opioid trial in Norman, Okla.

Judge OKs $85M Opioid Settlement

Under the deal, Teva admits to no wrongdoing and agrees to not promote opioids in Oklahoma.

Judge Thad Balkman listens during opening arguments for the state of Oklahoma Tuesday, May 28, 2019, in Norman, Okla., as the nation's first state trial against drugmakers blamed for contributing to the opioid crisis begins in Oklahoma. At right is a slide from the state's presentation shown on a monitor.

Corporate Greed Blamed for Opioid Crisis

Oklahoma's attorney general had sharp words for J&J and its subsidiaries, as a state trial kicked off against the makers of opioids.

In this Feb. 8, 2018, file photo, Oklahoma state Rep. Mark McBride, listens during a committee hearing in Oklahoma City. The president of a Texas-based wind energy trade group has been subpoenaed to appear before an Oklahoma grand jury looking into McBride's claim that someone connected to the industry is responsible for putting a tracking device on his pickup. The Republican has worked on worked on legislation to tax wind-energy companies.

Wind Rep Subpoenaed Over Scandal

An OK state lawmaker claims that someone connected to the industry put a tracking device on his pickup.

In this Jan. 22, 2018 file photo provided from a frame grab by Tulsa's KOTV/NewsOn6.com, fires burn at an eastern Oklahoma drilling rig near Quinton, Okla. Five people workers were killed after a fiery explosion ripped through a drilling rig, sending plumes of black smoke into the air and leaving a derrick crumpled on the ground, emergency officials said. Federal records show 10 workers have died over the past decade at well sites linked Patterson-UTI, the same driller involved in this week’s rig explosion.

Rig Explosion Driller Has History of Fatal Accidents

The company has been fined nearly $367,000 for more than 140 safety violations

In this photo provided from a frame grab from Tulsa's KOTV/NewsOn6.com, fires burn at an eastern Oklahoma drilling rig near Quinton, Okla., Monday Jan. 22, 2018. Five people are missing after a fiery explosion ripped through a drilling rig, sending plumes of black smoke into the air and leaving a derrick crumpled on the ground, emergency officials said.

5 Workers Die in Rig Explosion

The bodies were found in an area they called the 'dog house'.

In this Jan. 4, 2017, file photo, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator-designate Scott Pruitt answer a reporter's question during his meeting with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., on Capitol Hill in Washington. When President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency first took office as Oklahoma’s attorney general, he disbanded the unit responsible for protecting the state’s natural resources. Instead, Pruitt reassigned his staff to focus on filing lawsuits against the federal agency he’s now selected to lead.

Trump EPA Pick Has Corporate Ties

Though Scott Pruitt ran unopposed for a second term as Oklahoma's attorney general in 2014, records show he raised more than $700,000, much of it from people in the energy and utility industries.

In a Sept. 8, 2009, file photo, Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon speaks during the opening of a compressed natural gas filling station in Oklahoma City.

Chesapeake Energy Founder Dies in Crash

Federal investigators announced antitrust charges against McClendon on Tuesday. Sixteen hours later, he was dead in a fiery single-car traffic accident on an isolated road in northeast Oklahoma City.