Free Republic

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...

<p>Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is planning to visit Oklahoma this weekend for a fundraiser for the Oklahoma Republican Party.</p> <p>The U.S. senator from Texas will deliver a speech at a luncheon Saturday at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.</p>

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...

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...

The manhunt for a third suspect in the shooting of an Oklahoma police officer ended Friday with the person’s capture. Police caught Alejandro Garcia shortly just past 7 a.m. in Liberty, Kansas, after several car chases, Fox23 reported. Earlier, Cesar Rios, 23, and Roxanna Mendoza 20, were taken into custody after Oologah police officer Charles Neil was shot in the head during a traffic pursuit late Thursday, police said. South Coffeyville Police Chief Wade Lamb told the Tulsa World that the incident began when a Talala officer tried to stop an SUV in Rogers County, Oklahoma, but the vehicle sped...

NOWATA, Okla. — Quick Facts: Police apprehended Alejandro Garcia just after 7 a.m. Friday morning Officer shot Thursday during pursuit of suspects north of Nowata Officer was transported to the hospital in serious condition Pursuit continued across Kansas line where 2 suspects were taken into custody Rifles, body armor were found in the suspects' vehicle Police apprehended a man suspected in the shooting of an Oologah police officer. After several car chases and a man hunt in Liberty, Kansas, police caught Alejandro Garcia shortly after 7 a.m. Friday morning. Cesar Rios, 23, and Roxanne Mendoza, 20, were arrested Thursday night...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Ben Carson won the straw poll at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference Saturday, demonstrating his popularity among conservative activists at one of the party’s traditional presidential cattle call events. Carson, a former surgeon who formally launched his underdog campaign this month with an appeal to the GOP’s tea party wing, finished first with 25 percent. He was followed by Scott Walker, who received 20 percent, and Ted Cruz at 16 percent. Chris Christie and Rick Perry tied at 5 percent, with Jeb Bush narrowly behind. Marco Rubio tied with Bobby Jindal and Rand Paul at 4 percent.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- What a difference a border can make. Sometimes it marks a difference not just in altitude but attitude. When our neighbors in Oklahoma find the ground shaking beneath their feet, they know well enough what's causing it. Or they should know by now. As quake follows quake in the center of that state, the cause becomes undeniable: the injection of wastewater into deep wells as part of the process called fracking. The number of good-sized tremors in our neighboring state has multiplied tenfold within just the past three years. The revolution in oil-and-gas production that's making...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) applauds the passage of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on Thursday after a week of debate and consideration by both parties. Sen. Cruz introduced or cosponsored more than a dozen amendments that were successfully adopted by the committee. “Congress’ first priority is to provide for the national defense and ensure our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have everything they need to defend our freedom,” said Sen. Cruz. “I am grateful for the committee’s support for my amendments, including measures that will ensure...

EVERY day, millions of Americans rely on a remarkable network of roads, bridges, subways, trains and buses to connect us to work, school and opportunity. But our transportation system, once the envy of the world, is in jeopardy. In New York City, subways and buses are overcrowded and often unreliable, and roadways and bridges are in dire need of repair and rehabilitation. From the next phase of the Second Avenue subway to plans to connect the Metro-North Railroad to Pennsylvania Station, to the proposed new subway line under Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, there isn’t a short- or long-term expansion project...

The medical examiner has released the autopsy for a man shot and killed by a Tulsa County reserve deputy. Eric Courtney Harris' death is ruled a homicide by gunshot wound, the report states. Harris, 44, died April 2, 2015, after Reserve Deputy Bob Bates said he accidentally fired his gun instead of his Taser during an arrest. The report states Harris was shot in the right axilla or armpit. The bullet passed through his right rib cage to his left, fracturing ribs on both sides. Both lungs collapsed, the medical examiner's report states.

OKLAHOMA CITY - New information is coming out regarding the rookie Oklahoma City police officer who was beaten by a suspect with his own baton following a burglary on the northwest side of the metro. An armed witness may have been the only thing that kept that officer from a more serious beating, or worse. It happened just after 2 p.m. Tuesday in the 2800 block of W. Park Pl. Rookie Officer Adam Eller and field training officer Sgt. Michael Lambert were responding to the burglary call. ... During the chase the two officers became separated. Eller found himself alone...

OKLAHOMA CITY – Authorities say an Oklahoma City woman apparently drowned after taking cover in an underground storm shelter that later flooded. Oklahoma City police Sergeant Gary Knight says the 42-year-old woman's body was discovered Thursday morning in an underground shelter. She is the only person known to have died in the strong storms that raked the Plains Wednesday and early Thursday.

A proposal that would prohibit private entities from banning firearms in parks, recreational areas or fairgrounds in Oklahoma could threaten dozens of events held in Oklahoma City, including horse shows, basketball tournaments and the Women’s College World Series, the head of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday. Chamber President Roy Williams said he’s urging the governor to veto the measure, which is headed to the governor’s desk after passing the Senate Tuesday on a 39-7 vote. “We could potentially lose Women’s College World Series. We could lose all the Big 12 NCAA sporting events. We could potentially lose...

Churchgoers were upset Sunday morning when they discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary vandalized with black spray paint.The defacement of the shrine at St. Thomas More University Parish and Student Center, 100 E Stinson, near the University of Oklahoma, likely happened overnight.Those in attendance were shocked by the vandalism and offended by a sign left on the statue, church officials said.“It was very disturbing to a lot of people and very deliberate,” said Lisa Schmidt, administrative assistant to the pastor.“As a parishioner and as a Catholic, I would invite them to learn more about why we revere the Mother...

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear a constitutional challenge to Oklahoma’s lethal-injection drug protocol, which last April left a man writhing in agony on the killing table for 43 minutes. In the spectacularly botched execution, the condemned man, Clayton Lockett, first received an untested sedative, midazolam, but it failed to knock him out. As prison officials scrambled to pump the deadly drugs into his veins, he awoke, tried to sit up and said, “The drugs aren’t working,” before finally succumbing to a heart attack. After that debacle, Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma ordered an independent review of the state’s...

From crime to labor issues to an intricate military coup of the entire United States, conspiracy theories are flying around the closed Wal-Mart supercenters in Tulsa and elsewhere. The official reason for the sudden closure of the store at Admiral Place and Memorial Drive last week was two years of plumbing issues that would take six months to fix. That was the same reason given for each of the four other Wal-Mart locations, which all closed at the same time with just a few hours’ notice. The other stores are in Brandon, Florida; Pico Rivera, California; Midland, Texas; and Livingston,...

In November of 2011, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake ripped through the small Oklahoma town of Prague, damaging more than a dozen homes and toppling a turret on a St. Gregory's University building in nearby Shawnee. It was the worst of three large quakes to strike the area over several days, and it still as ranks as the worst Oklahoma has ever experienced. Since then, hundreds more have rattled the state, racking up millions of dollars in damages and unleashing a political and financial maelstrom. Until 2008, Oklahoma typically had one or two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater per year,...

The state House defeated a resolution Tuesday that would have added Oklahoma to the list of states petitioning Congress for a convention to alter the U.S. Constitution. Senate Joint Resolution 4, which failed 42-56, was intended to have the state participate in a convention that may propose “amendments to the United States Constitution that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the term of office for its officials and members of Congress.” Rep. Gary Banz, R-Midwest City, said the imperative to balance the federal budget outweighs the numerous questions...