Free Republic

TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) - An Oklahoma man has been taken into custody on a murder charge on suspicion that he beat and sexually abused the 1-year-old daughter of his girlfriend, police said on Monday. Cody Johnson, 30, and his girlfriend brought an unresponsive Sawyer Jefferson to a Tulsa hospital on Saturday, saying that the girl had tripped over her pajamas and fallen on a toy.

Since the start of the Syria's civil war in the spring of 2011, the U.S. has admitted 2,311 Syrian refugees and resettled them in 36 different states. According to data from the State Department's Refugee Processing Center the top three destinations for Syrian refugees since the beginning of the conflict are California, Texas, and Michigan. From March 15, 2011 through December 1, 2015, California received the most (261) Syrian refugees, Texas received the second most with 242, and Michigan has received the third most with 217. Other states that have received Syrian refugees since March 2011 include: Arizona (182), Illinois...

As American youth regress toward an infantile state of development, one university president has finally had enough of the nonsense.  Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, had a wake-up call recently that prompted him to write an open letter to the student body. So what happened that caused him to speak out against this madness?  Per a report at TheBlaze: “This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt ‘victimized’ by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13,” Piper explained in his letter posted to the...

MEDFORD, Oklahoma - The U.S. Geological Survey says a 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck northern Oklahoma early Monday. There are no immediate reports of damage, but the quake was felt throughout much of the state and into Kansas. The USGS says the quake hit at 3:49 a.m. in extreme northern Oklahoma. The epicenter was 16 miles west-southwest of Medford, or about 80 miles south of Wichita, Kansas. The earthquake was upgraded after initial reports that it was magnitude 4.5. Other earthquakes have struck since that one. The first -- with a magnitude of 3.0 -- centered just outside the Oklahoma City...

This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt "victimized" by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love! In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable. I'm not making this up. Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic! Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims! Anyone who dares challenge them...

Bridenstine: I have seen Ted Cruz stand up to both President Obama and Marco Rubio, when they joined forces to provide amnesty without border security Cruz Campaign Releases Web Video That Tells the Truth About Ted Cruz's National Security RecordHOUSTON, Texas - Cruz for President today released an online video featuring Oklahoma Congressman Jim Bridenstine (and current Major in the Oklahoma Air National Guard) who shares the truth about Ted Cruz's record of defending America’s national security and points out that Marco Rubio's Gang of Eight bill would have weakened border security and given President Obama authority to expand admission...

However, experts say earthquakes in Oklahoma will likely increase in magnitude over time. Now, research said it's only a matter of time before we get a big one that will change life for those of us living here. ... In 2011, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook the state, becoming the largest quake in recent Oklahoma history. Now, research shows a bigger, stronger one could hit soon. ... "It's unclear exactly how high we might go, and the predictions are upper 5-6 range for most things that I've seen," Todd Halihan, a researcher from OSU, says. Halihan studies these quakes; his...

Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina was spotted in the security line at the Newark airport. She was traveling to Oklahoma City for a private event and then to Iowa to attend the Family Leader Foundation Presidential Family Forum Friday night. Like everyone else, Fiorina took her shoes off as she went through the security line. No one approached her as she moved through the security check or after at the terminal's sole sit-down restaurant, Earl of Sandwich, where she ate. Her modest travel is a stark contrast as Donald Trump and Ben Carson obtain Secret Service.

Three earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or greater shook an area just northwest of Medford in Grant County within a 15-minute time period Thursday evening. The first and biggest of the three, a 4.1 magnitude temblor, hit at 4:40 p.m. and could be felt as far as the Tulsa area to the east and Wichita, Kansas, to the north, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The measurement initially went out as a 4.6 magnitude quake, but was quickly amended to 4.1 on the Geological Survey's website. Two more earthquakes followed from the same area between 8 to 9 miles northwest of...

The Satanic Temple has a message for alienated U.S. Muslims: Let’s be friends. American satanists who recently tried to install a bronze Baphomet statue near a Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma now want to ally with alienated Muslims. The organization’s offer comes less than one week after Islamic terror attacks in Paris, France, killed 129 and injured more than 350. “If there is anyone in the San Jose region who is Muslim and afraid to leave their home out of fear for some kind of backlash, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would be glad to escort...

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck northern Oklahoma early on Thursday, with reports the temblor was felt in neighboring Kansas. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 1:42 a.m. quake's epicenter was centered 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Cherokee, Oklahoma. It had a depth of 3.8 miles (6.2 km). The early morning quake was felt as far away as Wichita, Kansas, about 107 miles (172 km) to the north, according to media reports. It was unclear if there was any damage or injuries. Kansas Emergency Management could not immediately be reached for comment.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton remain the top choices for president among Oklahoma voters, according to an exclusive News 9/News On 6 poll. If Oklahoma's March 1 primary elections were held today, 27.1 percent of state Republicans say they would vote for Trump. Clinton controls nearly half of the Democrat primary vote, 46.6 percent, according to the poll. Trump, who has remained the national GOP front-runner, leads Ted Cruz (18.3 percent), Ben Carson (17.5 percent) and Marco Rubio (16.3 percent) in the state. The rest of the Republican field -- Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and John...

"Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values," [Obama] said.Six Republican governors have announced that Syrian refugees won't be allowed to resettle in their states in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley issued statements Sunday saying that they wanted to prioritize the safety of the residents in their states. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a GOP presidential candidate; Arkansas Gov. Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence joined them on Monday. "Michigan is a welcoming state and we are...

Tom Coburn, the former Republican senator from Oklahoma says that Rand Paul scares him to death, Ted Cruz and Scott Walker are not ready for primetime, Rick Perry is not capable enough, and America will not elect another Bush to be president. Of all the candidates, he said Marco Rubio is his favorite. Former Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn spoke candidly about the current crop of Republicans running for president on Sirius XM radio Thursday, sharing some critical thoughts about Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz and Governors Scott Walker and Rick Perry, while heaping praise on Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina,...

Oklahoma is now the No. 1 earthquake area in the world, an Oklahoma Corporation Commission spokesman said Monday. Spokesman Matt Skinner said the state is unique in terms of frequency. "We have had 15 (earthquakes) in Medford since 5 o'clock Saturday morning," he noted. "We've got an earthquake issue." Skinner said the world is going through a seismic phase. "Oklahoma is absolutely unique in terms of the number of earthquakes we've had," he said. Jim Palmer, OCC director of public information and manager of consumer education, said Oklahoma is unique in North America. He said there are other parts of...

MEDFORD, Oklahoma - Two significant earthquakes and several smaller ones have been reported in Oklahoma Saturday. The USGS said the latest earthquake was at 12:29 p.m. The 4.2 magnitude quake was centered around 7.5 miles northwest of Medford. Another earthquake woke up many Oklahomans Saturday morning. According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake hit at 5:11:54 a.m., measuring 4.1 and was centered about 9 miles northwest of Medford. It was followed by five smaller quakes over the next 40 minutes with the strongest measuring 3.1. So far no one has reported any damage.

TULSA — The Veterans Day parade in Tulsa is one of the largest in the country each year, but this year one float in particular is getting a lot of attention. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, applied for and was granted a spot in the 2015 parade. That doesn't sit well with some people, including Tulsan Larry Williamson. "The organization is anti-American," Williamson tells KRMG. "It's part of the Muslim Brotherhood, at least it's a member of the Muslim Brotherhood Palestine Committee. This is not according to me, it's according to the FBI." He said he doesn't object...

A sometimes lethal parasitic disease that can leave its victims with crater-like ulcers and grayish skin tones has never much bothered those within the confines of the US-until now. Between 2000 and 2007, 13 autochthonous cases-meaning victims contracted it here, as opposed to while traveling elsewhere-of leishmaniasis cropped up in Texas and Oklahoma, compared to just 29 cases spanning almost the entire 20th century,... In South Sudan, visceral leishmaniasis killed 10 times as many people as died in the Ebola outbreak of 2014-15

    OKLAHOMA CITY (CN) - The Muslim convert accused of beheading a coworker and nearly beheading a second wants to plead guilty and be executed, a psychologist testified Monday at his competency trial.     Jeanne Russell testified Monday that Alton Alexander Nolen, 30, of Norman, wishes to accept the death penalty because of his religious beliefs.     She cited a "major deficit" in his "intellectual functioning" that she noticed in seven hours of interviews and tests conducted on May 28 and June 30.     Nolen scored 62 and 69 on IQ tests and is mentally retarded, Russell testified.     Nolen is charged with first-degree murder, four counts of assault...

The billionaire owners of craft giant Hobby Lobby are under federal investigation for allegedly looting hundreds of ancient artifacts from the Middle East for use in their personal “Museum of the Bible,” according to a report. The Green family has been under investigation since 2011, the Daily Beast reports, when Memphis customs seized nearly 300 clay tablets en route to the Hobby Lobby headquarters in Oklahoma City. …