Top 26 of 2026… so far!

Highlighted chronologically and broken into two parts, we're revisiting the top scoops, rants, viral hits and insider exclusives from the first half of 2026.

1. Shelby Love parts ways with Fox 25… | Jan. 5, 2026

What We Wrote:

I guess we should get the new year started on a pageview-generating note!
Shelby Love – the beauty pageant winner turned traffic reporter / anchor – announced on New Year's Eve she is no longer with KOKH Fox 25 and its morning show, Good Day Oklahoma.
Here’s her very brief and very direct news report about the decision…

2. RIP: The Flaming Lips (As We Knew Them) | Jan. 5, 2026

What We Wrote:

The Flaming Lips – at least how we all knew them – are officially dead.
In case you missed it over the holidays, Steven Drozd – the instrumentalist, musician and vocalist who has been the better half of The Flaming Lips since the 1990s – accidentally leaked on social media that he’s no longer with the band.
Although the news had been floating around the OKC creative class for a while, it was quickly picked up by the national online music press, sparking mass hysteria in pink robot quarters…

3. Joleen Chaney already out at Oklahoma Department of Education! | Jan. 21, 2026

What We Wrote:

Yep. That’s right. Pour a little watermelon moonshine out for a homie!
Just two months after she left the TV news biz for health reasons, only to suddenly accept a high-profile, high-stress, $150K-a-year state agency gig a few days later, Joleen Chaney is vaguely "no longer with" the Oklahoma Department of Education.
Obviously, the main question here is what exactly happened…

Related:

4. Devon Energy Kicks OKC in the Balls… | Feb. 3, 2026

What We Wrote:

…Oklahoma City took a kick to the balls yesterday when Devon Energy and their asshole CEO, Clay Gaspar, did what many other greedy oil companies have done before them and announced they will be relocating their offices to Houston following a merger...

5. Wealthy Norman Woman To Serve Only 70 Days for Causing Near-Fatal DUI Crash… | Feb. 16, 2026

What We Wrote:

Well, I have some sad, extra-infuriating news to report – I called it.
Thanks to the absurd clown car that is the Oklahoma criminal justice system, Sara Polston is apparently being sent home on GPS release this week after serving just 70 days in prison.
Yep, that’s right. 70 days…

Related:

6. Markturd Mullin Won’t Be Our Senator Anymore! Awesome! Yay! | Mar. 5, 2026

What We Wrote:

That’s amazing on a couple of levels.
First of all, it means Marcuswayne – one of the dumbest humans to ever become a senator, much less a Cabinet Secretary – will no longer represent Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate. Incredible, right? Sure, he’ll probably be replaced by someone nearly as right-wing, but at least there’s a chance we’ll get a senator who can pronounce basic words and doesn’t challenge people to fistfights during committee hearings.
The other great part about this is we’ll get to watch Marcuswayne flounder in the depths of the national MAGA swamp…

Related:

Marcuswayne Mullin: A TLO Retrospective

7. Al Eschbach suffers heart attack during Thai vacation… | Mar. 16, 2026

What We Wrote:

The legendary Sports Animal host revealed last week that he recently survived a heart attack, hospital stay and leg gash during a trip to Thailand. Fortunately, he’s apparently doing better and back on the air, which is good news for sports radio listeners and travel agents alike.
The details are not nearly as fun and exciting as Al’s Colombian adventure – you know, the one that ended with him being stabbed outside a brothel – but if you’ve ever listened to Al once in the last 40 years, it’s probably worth a listen…

8. Podcast Pals Get Into Physical Altercation at Oklahoma Capitol… | Mar. 24, 2026

What We Wrote:

There are lots of ways a podcast can fall apart.
Creative differences, time and scheduling conflicts, or – in rare, special occasions – your hosts allegedly get into a fistfight!
Thanks to The Ogle Mole Network, we’ve learned that may be what happened to the “Inside the Capitol” podcast hosted by State Reps. Josh West and Trey Caldwell…

9. Pauls Valley Principal is an Oklahoma Badass… | Apr. 9, 2026

What We Wrote:

Chuck Norris may have died, but his spirit apparently lives on in the form of a rural high school principal from Oklahoma!
In the name of feel-good clickbait, I thought it would be nice to give a well-deserved standing ovation to Pauls Valley principal Kirk Moore.
In case you haven’t heard, he conjured his inner Walker, Texas Ranger and, while taking a shot to the leg, heroically thwarted some psycho school shooter’s attempt to turn Pauls Valley High School into yet another American tragedy…

10. Creepy John Waldron AI Kissing Scandal Finally Comes To Light… | Apr. 13, 2026

What We Wrote:

Back in January, I received multiple tips via The Ogle Mole Network letting me know that NonDoc – or as we affectionately call it, Yawn Doc – was about to drop a big exposé on State Representative and former OK Democratic Chair John Waldron.
According to my Moles, the non-profit was preparing to report that the real reason behind Waldron’s sudden resignation from his party post wasn’t due to “time and family reasons”... but because he allegedly sent an aspiring candidate a totally out-of-the-blue, creepy, and wildly inappropriate AI-generated photo of the two of them kissing…

11. Stitt Mad at Media for Exposing His Billion-Dollar Grift… | Apr. 14, 2026

What We Wrote:

The gist is that Stitt basically steered a lucrative billion-dollar investment management agreement to his Young Presidents’ buddy, business partner, and political ally Bond “Pork Chop” Payne – the trust fund baby turned trust fund manager who served as Ol’ Stitter’s chief of staff from 2020 to 2022 – without ever formally disclosing their cozy relationship…

Related:

12. A Post-Apocalyptic Trip to Mary’s Swap Meet… | Apr. 14, 2026

What We Wrote:

As a beefy woman blew cheap cigarette smoke on me—I guessed as a sly come-on—I got out of my car and stepped onto the very muddy parking lot.
An ever-slight, near muggy mist enveloped me as I walked through the lot of Mary’s Swap Meet, 7905 NE 23rd. It was at the non-existent gates that I fully realized this trip was going to be empirically… different…

13. News 9’s “Sassy Mama” Drops Behind-The-Scenes F-Bomb… | Apr. 21, 2026

What We Wrote:

Yikes! I guess they call her Sassy Mama for a reason!
I wonder what caused her to drop the F-bomb? Did someone forget to dice the parsley? Was her favorite knife not where it’s supposed to be? Did she just discover a hidden camera in the oven? We need answers…

14. Chief Photographer Arrested in News 9 “Peeping Tom” Case! | Apr. 21, 2026

What We Wrote:

An arrest has been made in the News 9 Peeping Tom incident.
Thanks to a tip via the Ogle Mole Network, we’ve learned that former News 9 chief photographer Darrell Vannostran – yes, Seinfeld fans, that’s his real-life last name – was arrested this morning on a felony charge of “use of photo or video equipment in a clandestine manner in a private place," after he allegedly placed hidden cameras in the station's men's and women's dressing rooms...

15. Shady Shenanigans: Leaked DOC Files Shed Light on Justin Humphrey’s Messy Past | May 6, 2026

What We Wrote:

A while back, an anonymous Ogle Mole sent us a treasure trove of Oklahoma Department of Corrections documents detailing Humphrey’s chaotic career as a parole officer from the early 2000s through 2010.
That’s worth noting because DOC is the very same agency Humphrey has spent years attacking as a lawmaker – suing them for misconduct and retaliation, and even filing a bill to rename it the Department of Corruption...

16. Desmond Mason Arrested on Felony Theft Charge… | May 11, 2026

What We Wrote:

This time around, instead of being locked up for failure to pay child support, the former Thunder star, NBA slam dunk champion, and self-styled ARTrepreneur was arrested in Oklahoma County on a felony theft warrant out of Collin County, Texas.

We still haven’t been able to track down the full official court records out of Texas, but according to the Ogle Mole Network, Mason is accused of stealing a rare, game-worn Kobe Bryant rookie jersey that was somehow involved in one of his art projects...

17. Ryan Walters Files for Divorce! | May 12, 2026

What We Wrote:

Take a seat, grab some popcorn and read a banned library book. The tabloid story of the year in Oklahoma politics is officially here!
On Monday afternoon, we received a tip via the Ogle Mole Network that former Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters – the infamous right-wing evangelical culture warrior who made a name for himself in some of the dumbest ways possible – has filed for divorce from his wife, Katie...

Related:

18. The Oklahoman Publishes, Then Deletes, Op-Ed Comparing OKC Thunder to Israel… | May 19, 2026

What We Wrote:

Shalom, Thunder fans!
Although last night’s battle against the Spurs may not have produced the outcome we all wanted, don’t get too pessimistic. The teams have only played one game, and just like the country of Israel, the Thunder may just have what it takes to survive, persevere and – who knows – unleash another Middle Eastern war!
In case you missed it, The Oklahoman made news yesterday when – on the precipice of the NBA Western Conference Finals – it published, and then deleted, a comically awful guest op-ed that outlined the very stretchy “similarities” between the OKC Thunder and Israel...

19. RIP: Turner Turnpike Vagina | May 21, 2026

What We Wrote:

Before we embark on Memorial Day holiday break, I want to break some important news that the local media is apparently ignoring.
Thanks to a tip via the Ogle Mole Network, we have learned that demolition has officially commenced inside the Turner Turnpike Vagina – the iconic almond-shaped divide of I-44 located just outside Oklahoma City that has been giving people giggles for generations…

20. Swadley Smoked! Foggy Bottom Fraudster Guilty On All Counts | May 29, 2026

What We Wrote:

Fresh meat is about to be delivered to the Oklahoma prison system!
As you probably noticed on social media yesterday, Brent Swadley – the slow-smokin’ fraudster at the center of the Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Swindle – was found guilty by an Oklahoma County jury on all six felony charges, including one count of conspiracy and five counts of fraud...

Related:

Brent Swadley is cooked!

21. Art of the Deal: Mike Mazzei Paid Roger Stone $67,500 Before Landing Trump Endorsement… | Jun. 1, 2026

What We Wrote:

Endorsements in a corrupt regime aren’t cheap, and according to campaign finance records, it appears Mazzei’s campaign has funneled more than $65,000 over the last six months to an LLC owned by Trump confidant Roger Stone for him to serve as a “Senior Campaign Advisor...”

22. State Treasurer’s Sketchy Commute Scheme Exposed… | Jun. 4, 2026

What We Wrote:

State Treasurer Todd Russ is in the news again.
This time around, instead of being accused of steering lucrative state contracts to his investment buddies, he’s being accused of opening a taxpayer-funded satellite office in Clinton as part of a ruse to justify commuting to Oklahoma City in a state vehicle...

23. Gentner Drummond’s Wife Begs for Forgiveness in Bizarre Political Hostage Video… | Jun. 8, 2026

What We Wrote:

We’ve officially reached the point of the Oklahoma gubernatorial race where you can’t distinguish satire from reality!
Okay, technically I think we reached that point with the first crazed banana slicer ad, but you catch my drift.
Over the weekend, Wendy Drummond – Gentner’s loyal, loving campaign spouse – channeled the lessons learned in her high school drama class and released an over-the-top, absolutely hysterical mercy-plea monologue where she took full responsibility for a 2020 campaign donation to Joe Biden...

24. Jackson Lahmeyer Caught Wooing Right-Wing Oklahoma Beauty Queen… | Jun. 15, 2026

What We Wrote:

The party of hypocrisy and projection strikes again!
Last week, I was at home minding my own business when a high-level Mole reached out with a fun news tip.
Apparently, someone was shopping a story to the press that Jackson Lahmeyer – the ultra right-wing, Trump-endorsed pastor running for Congress up in Tulsa – was having an affair of sorts, and they were curious if we’d like to buy it…

Related:

25. Chamber Tries to Plant Former Lingerie Football Star Into County Commissioner Seat… | Jun. 15, 2026

What We Wrote:

First Jack Mildren, then JC Watts now… Kayla Baker? Football and Oklahoma politics always find a way to mix!
Back in the TLO Bro Stool Days, we probably would have already dedicated several posts to Baker’s playing career, but instead we’re going to focus on something probably more important and intriguing – how she’s seemingly come out of nowhere to run a very pretty, very organized and very suspiciously well-funded campaign for a seat currently held by Democrat Jason Lowe.
For example, here’s a mailer that a dark money group called "OKLAHOMA INFORMATION NETWORK" recently issued on her behalf. It gives the impression that Kayla is aligned with Cyndi Munson and supports SQ 832…

26. 7 Things That Happened on Election Night | Jun. 17, 2026

What We Wrote:

Last night, a small but apparently very motivated collection of Oklahoma voters headed to the polls to decide the future of our state, our minimum wage, and which millionaire Republicans get to spend the next few months ruining local TV with campaign ads.
As usual, the results were a fun mix of depressing, hilarious, predictable and oddly satisfying. We had rich guys lighting money on fire, MAGA pastors limping into runoffs, Christian Nationalists getting bounced, and Oklahoma voters once again reminding poor people to stop being so poor...

We hope you enjoyed this little TLO Time Capsule of the first six months of 2026. Stay tuned, stay subscribed.