Free Republic

A federal court has ruled that four Christian universities based in Oklahoma will not be penalized for refusing to provide health care coverage for the birth control services they consider contrary to their religious beliefs. In 2013, Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, and Southern Nazarene University filed suit against the Obama administration over their mandate that forced most employers, regardless of religious convictions, to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and contraception. A decision released Tuesday by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma granted relief for the four universities, in large part...

The shelter's euthanasia technician Amanda Dinwiddie says six of the dogs are believed to be standard dachshund and terrier mix, one is believed to be a border collie mix.

A pack of seven dogs with legs shorter than an adult hand attacked an Oklahoma woman, inflicting injuries so severe she later died. ARDMORE, OK — A pack of vicious dogs, some of them described as predominantly dachshunds, or wiener dogs, mauled an Oklahoma woman to death last week. It's unclear what caused the dogs to attack Tracy Garcia, 52, outside her home near Ardmore on Thursday, but their owner could face charges, according to media reports. One of the dogs was shot after charging at a Carter County deputy who responded to the attack, and the other six were...

Mother stabs her 11 year old 50-70 times Tulsa woman who was captured on Tuesday after police said she stabbed her 11-year-old daughter and left home with her 8-year-old daughter, said she committed the acts after becoming angry about the children’s behavior while reading and looking at her, police said. Taheerah Ayesha Ahmad, 39, and her 8-year-old daughter Hafsa Hayle — who also goes by Hafsa Hussein — were found in a parking lot near Cameron and Main streets about 12:20 p.m. Tuesday. The girl was found safe. Police located Ahmad and her daughter after two women — Anastasia Brazendeh...

AOKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma's Republican Governor Mary Fallin vetoed a bill that would have allowed adults to carry handguns without a permit and signed another that permits religious organizations to exclude same sex couples from adoptions, managing to anger both gun and gay rights groups on the same day. The twin actions announced late Friday were among more than a dozen decisions on legislation taken by the term-limited governor as she clears the decks in her waning months in office. They also followed a tumultuous session of the Legislature that saw striking teachers march on the Capitol, prompting lawmakers to...

Oklahoma's Republican Gov. Mary Fallin on Friday vetoed a bill supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA) that would have allowed state residents to carry a firearm without a permit or training. "I believe the firearms laws we currently have in place are effective, appropriate and minimal," Fallin said in announcing her veto of Senate Bill 1212, which would have removed the requirement for Oklahoma residents to complete a training course and demonstrate competency with a firearm before carrying in public. The governor argued that the bill would have taken away the ability of the state's law enforcement personnel to...

A former Oklahoma pharmacist is seeking a reduction of the life prison sentence he received for shooting a teenage would-be robber to death nine years ago, but legal experts say actions that many consider vigilantism leave little chance the request will be granted.

extremely dry with wind guts to 50 MPH live shot from air http://www.news9.com from ground http://www.news9.com/?autostart=true

Former MSNBC host Ed Schultz opened up in a recent interview about why he believes he was fired in 2015. Schultz, who’s now anchor of a show on RT, told National Review‘s Jamie Weinstein that he believes it was because he supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), which was problematic, he charged, because the network was “in the tank for Hillary Clinton.”He described how MSNBC chief Phil Griffin was a "watchdog" who closely managed which stories were covered, and relayed one incident where his story about Sanders’s launch of his campaign was bumped in favor of other news. Sanders gave his official campaign...

The play-by-play announcer said Westbrook was 'out of his cotton-picking mind' The Oklahoma City Thunder suspended play-by-play announcer Brian Davis for one game following his racially insensitive comment about Thunder star Russell Westbrook. During the Thunder's final regular-season game on Wednesday night, Davis said that Westbrook was "out of his cotton-picking mind" following a nifty assist by the guard.

She added though “The Constitution gives Congress the power to authorize military action. If @realDonaldTrump wants to expand American military involvement in Syria’s civil war, he must seek approval from Congress – & provide a comprehensive strategy with clear goals & a plan to achieve them.” Her comments were echoed by Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who said “I’m deeply concerned that President Trump continues to conduct military operations without any comprehensive strategy or the necessary congressional authorization.”

Wildfires in northwestern Oklahoma have burned more than 120,000 acres and forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes. Woodward County Emergency Management Director Matt Lehenbaur said Friday that the fire has destroyed several homes near Woodward, about 125 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. He says no injuries have been reported. CBS News affiliate KOTV reports the Oklahoma Forestry Service says an "historic fire danger" is spanning across most of the state. The public has been advised to avoid outdoor burning and grilling due to high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity. The governor has issued a burn ban for...

Senate Republicans, frustrated by delaying tactics imposed by Democrats on President Trump’s judicial and executive branch nominees, are on the verge of altering the Senate rules in order to speed up the process. GOP lawmakers told the Washington Examiner Tuesday that momentum is building for a change in the Senate rules that would shorten the time frame allowed for lawmakers to debate each nominee. One proposal by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., would reinstate a temporary rules change made by Democrats in 2013 that reduced debate time from 30 hours to eight hours for most executive branch nominations and from 30...

<p>WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. – An Arkansas sailor who died during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor will be honored after his remains are brought home this summer.</p> <p>Glenn Tipton was killed aboard the USS Oklahoma, a battleship that capsized in the attack by Japanese aircraft.</p>

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – An Oklahoma representative says that she has filed legislation this week that would increase the financial scrutiny given to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. House Bill 2530 would require the state auditor and inspector to perform an audit of the Turnpike Authority at least once every two years. “Taxpayers deserve to know where their hard-earned money is going,” Rep. Tess Teague said. “The Turnpike Authority has an annual budget of nearly $100 million, and lawmakers owe it to Oklahomans to track those dollars closely.” The legislation dictates that the audit will take no more than 90 days....

Instead of handing $13,240 a student to the State Department of Education and trusting them to manage it (which they obviously aren’t doing well), put that money into an educational savings account controlled by the family (it’s the people’s money anyway) that could only be spent on education Then let all schools, public and private, compete for the best teachers and compete to earn clients (students) by the quality of their product. If parents want their children to be taught social justice, climate change and transgenderism, they can send their kids to those schools. For parents that prefer quality reading,...

Thousands of Oklahoma teachers walked out of school Monday and protested at the state capitol for higher salaries and increased funding. Oklahoma legislators approved a $6,100 raise for state teachers across the board in an attempt to evade the walk-out, but teachers proceeded with the protest, NBC News reported. “My niece sits on the floor in her middle school English class in Moore, Oklahoma, because they’re overloaded into the class and don’t have enough furniture,” Edmond Public Schools elementary teacher Carrie Akins told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “My son in ninth grade had to get an override on his...

Thousands of determined and boisterous Oklahoma teachers seized every floor of their state capitol building Tuesday vowing not to leave until lawmakers loosen the purse strings on education funding. In a show of force, educators stayed out of classrooms throughout the state for a second day and said in unison that they will continue their walkout until the Republican-dominated legislature substantially boosts money for school resources. "We'll be back on Wednesday!" chanted the teachers. Many of them were holding signs reading, "Let's Start Funding" and "Fund our Future."

Today breathlessly made the teacher walkout in Oklahoma and other states its “top story” this morning, touting the “wildfire” as “thousands are rising up and walking out.” The reporter on the ground in Oklahoma claimed it’s “turning out to be more than a protest, but a movement,” and host Hoda Kotb billed it as “a powerful movement that’s sweeping the country.” A clip showed a student claiming that the walkout is “all for us.” Except it’s not. It’s really about teachers demanding higher salaries, though some window dressing has been added about increasing overall school funding. One inconvenient fact that...

Teachers carried signs and marched during a rally at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City on Monday calling for higher wages. Last week, the legislature in Oklahoma City voted to give teachers an average raise of $6,000 per year, or roughly 16 percent, depending on experience. Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican, signed the package into law, but teachers said it was not enough. They have asked for a $10,000 raise as well as additional funding for schools and raises for support staff like bus drivers and custodians.