Free Republic

Indiana will not comply with President Barack Obama's plan to battle climate change by requiring reductions in emissions from coal-fired power plants, Republican Gov. Mike Pence said Wednesday. The proposal as currently written, known as the Clean Power Plan, will make Indiana electricity more expensive and less reliable and hurt economic growth in Indiana and across the nation, Pence wrote in a letter to Obama. The plan targets pollution from the coal-fired power plants that Indiana relies on. Pence said the Indiana coal industry employs more than 26,000 people. "If your administration proceeds to finalize the Clean Power Plan, and...

After the decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to remove the Ten Commandments Monument outside the state Capitol, the Satanic Temple is now looking for another home for its Baphomet monument. In 2012, Rep. Mike Ritze paid for the installation of a Ten Commandments Monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol’s front lawn. Since he paid for the Commandments himself, it was classified as a donation and was allowed to be placed on government property. After the Ten Commandments Monument was placed at the Oklahoma Capitol, the Satanic Temple announced that it wanted to donate a public monument to “complement and...

TEXAS -- A giant redheaded centipede was found crawling on a broom in a park in Texas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department posted a photo of the insect on Twitter. The centipede was discovered at Garner State Park in Uvalde County in the Hill Country. This is one scary looking insect. In the wild, it can grow to be 8 inches long with a brightly colored body and legs. Officials at the University of Arkansas Arthropod Museum describe this species of centipede as "fast moving and aggressive titans." The giant redheaded centipede is a predator that primarily feeds on...

Oklahoma's Supreme Court ruled that a Ten Commandments display on the capitol grounds of Oklahoma City must be removed. In a 7-2 decision released Tuesday, the state's highest court concluded that the privately-funded 6-foot tall granite monument violates the Oklahoma constitution, which states, "No public ... property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any ... system of religion ...." "Because the monument at issue operates for the use, benefit or support of a sect or system of religion, it violates Article 2, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution...

If you read the title there’s not much more of an intro to do, really. Let’s just get to the case. Oklahoma’s Supreme Court said New Dominion LLC can be sued for damage caused by an earthquake that a woman blames on disposal wells tied to fracking, in what may be the first such case to head to a jury trial.Sandra Ladra sued New Dominion and Spess Oil Co. for injuries suffered to her knees and legs in November 2011, when a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck near her home in central Oklahoma. She said the tremor caused the rock...

An Oklahoma woman who was injured when an earthquake rocked her home in 2011 can sue oil companies for damages, the state's highest court ruled on Tuesday, opening the door to other potential lawsuits against the state's energy companies. Oklahoma has experienced a dramatic spike in earthquakes in the last five years, and researchers have blamed the oil and gas industry's practice of injecting massive volumes of saltwater left over from oil and gas drilling. The state saw nearly 600 quakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in 2014, compared to just one or two per year prior to 2009, according...

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday against three death row inmates who had sought to bar the use of an execution drug they said risked causing excruciating pain. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the majority opinion in the 5-to-4 decision. He was joined by the court’s four more conservative justices. The drug, the sedative midazolam, played a part in three long and apparently painful executions last year. It was used in an effort to render inmates unconscious before they were injected with other, severely painful drugs. Four condemned inmates in Oklahoma challenged the use of the drug, saying it...

Like something straight out of "The Twilight Zone", a swirling vortex has opened up in a giant lake on the border of Oklahoma and Texas. The gaping hole — which appeared recently in Lake Texoma — alarmed everyone from Twitter users to the Tulsa District US Army Corps of Engineers, who posted a YouTube video of the vortex. Below the video, they describe the hole as being "8 feet in diameter and capable of sucking in a full-sized boat."

I hate using ATMs. It’s not the lines that bother me, nor is it the inevitable awkwardness of the person lurking behind you, seemingly in a rush and looking over your shoulder as you type. No, I hate ATMs because I know when I swipe my card, when the machine dispenses pieces of my livelihood, I have to see that face. His face. On the $20 bill. When historian David Greenberg thinks of Andrew Jackson, he thinks of democracy. When I see Andrew Jackson, I think of my grandmother’s spit. * * * The trip was long. And for an...

While the Obama administration and environmentalists celebrate Pope Francis’ encyclical on global warming, Sen. Jim Inhofe is warning the pope’s views on the subject could be used by the left to enact the biggest tax increase in U.S. history. “I disagree with the pope’s philosophy on global warming,” the Oklahoma Republican said in a statement. “I am concerned that his encyclical will be used by global warming alarmists to advocate for policies that will equate to the largest, most regressive tax increase in our nation’s history.” Francis’s encyclical, called “Laudato Si,” calls for reducing fossil fuel use and increasing green...

WASHINGTON — (...) The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether the subsidies can continue for 6.4 million people in 34 states who use the federal insurance marketplace at HealthCare.gov. (...) More than 4.1 million people, or nearly two out of three who could lose their subsidies in the case this year, live in just 13 Southern states – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2015/06/16/3799971/loss-of-health-care-subsidies.html#storylink=cpy

For decades, entrepreneurs in Oklahoma and Texas have looked to the immense natural resources found beneath our states’ soil, convinced that with a dream and a little hard work they could revolutionize an industry. These entrepreneurs have characterized the innovative spirit that has made the sister states places of promise for countless Americans. We are proud to represent Oklahoma and Texas, respectively, and together we believe we can unleash the American energy renaissance that is already underway. To do so, we need to scale back the government, restore state and local control, and welcome technological advancement to tap into the...

The City of Bixby changed insurance deductibles for their employees. One of the changes means that a family now has a $7,000 deductible instead of a $500 one. There is a gap plan available on limited basis. Employees said that no one asked them about the change or if they would prefer to pay higher premiums instead.

When he finished the speech, he got a very, very, very long standing ovation. It went on so long, that after he sat down, he stood up again to acknowledge it and kind of put his hands in the shape to tell the crowd thanks but that's enough---It was a really long standing ovation. He is a great speaker and he does have charisma.

At an Oklahoma City high school last week, what started out as a routine job for contractors – switching out chalkboards for whiteboards – unearthed some incredible pieces of history: hidden chalkboards with lessons from 1917 almost perfectly preserved. Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson talks with Sherry Read, a math teacher at Emerson High School, where the chalkboards were discovered. Interview Highlights: Sherry Read On her reaction to seeing the chalkboards “It was just incredible. The drawings are pristine. They look like they were drawn yesterday. And just look at the beautiful colors, and the math work that was on...

A stretch of floodplain in northwestern Oklahoma, already known for its profusion of prehistoric hunting sites, has turned up new find: a scatter of butchered bison bones dating back nearly 11,500 years -- extending the evidence of bison hunting in the area by centuries, archaeologists say... Together, these artifacts lend new depth to the already ample record of ancient hunts -- including three bison-kill sites that are even older -- in a region of the southern Plains known as the Beaver River complex... The latest find was made on a narrow bench of land between two arroyos by Carlson's colleague,...

Teachers and students scribbled the lessons — multiplication tables, pilgrim history, how to be clean — nearly 100 years ago. And they haven’t been touched since. This week, contractors removing old chalkboards at Emerson High School in Oklahoma City made a startling discovery: Underneath them rested another set of chalkboards, untouched since 1917. “The penmanship blows me away, because you don’t see a lot of that anymore,” Emerson High School Principal Sherry Kishore told the Oklahoman. “Some of the handwriting in some of these rooms is beautiful.”

Jabar Shumate did not wait until his official start date to begin his duties as OU’s newest administrator. While he had previously been working off the clock, Shumate officially began Monday as the OU Vice President for University Community. He said his preparation has paid off. “For the past month, I’ve been just visiting and connecting with various groups and individuals on campus,” Shumate said. “But it actually feels good to have [an office] of my own.” Shumate and others have laid out a blueprint for mandatory diversity training, which was called for with the rise of black student alliance...

Josiah is very driven for a 9-year-old. When he grows up, he says he wants to a be race car driver. For now, Josiah loves science and math at his elementary school. In his spare time, Josiah loves indoor or outdoor go kart racing. He’s a curious kid who spent the morning climbing to new heights on the rock wall at Andy Alligators. When he’s not reaching for the sky, he’s building a new future in his foster home where he can create his own magical place. “Yeah, and I like playing video games and playing with LEGOS,” Josiah said....

After a record number of public school students being gunned down in their classes in recent decades, elected officials from one state finally said enough is enough. News Flash: Oklahoma just passed a law authorizing teachers to pack heat during school hours to protect children! Oklahoma State Representative Jeff Coody sponsored the bill authorizing handguns to be carried both by teachers and staff. Coody defended his bill in less than 10 words, saying: “A gun-free zone is a target, a soft target.” Gun Owners of America Executive Director Larry Pratt responded to the news with a blunt suggeston, saying: “Ask...