Free Republic

CACHE, Okla. (KSWO) - Cache Public Schools had an unveiling on Aug. 11 where they showed their brand new electric buses. School officials say this is a vital step in modernizing transportation for students in their district. A ribbon cutting was held this afternoon to showcase the 6 brand new electric vehicles. Officials say the move to electric is more affordable and reliable in the face of volatile diesel prices and shows a real step in improving the students’ experience.

Record-breaking heat continues for parts of the desert Southwest into the weekend, with sweltering temperatures beginning to expand east into the Heartland.Extreme heat warnings remain in effect for parts of the desert Southwest -- including Palm Springs, California; Phoenix; and Tucson, Arizona.High temperatures are expected to reach well into the 100s and up to 115 in spots.

Overview: The Oklahoma State Department of Education is introducing a new initiative to assess educators in U.S. Civics, Constitutional Principles, American History, and the biological differences between boys and girls. The Oklahoma State Department of Education is introducing a new initiative to assess educators who are relocating to the state from other states with ” progressive education policies”. According to State Superintendent Ryan Walters, the assessment will evaluate teachers’ knowledge in areas such as U.S. Civics, Constitutional Principles, American History, and the biological differences between boys and girls.” The initiative is the latest in Walters’ push to implement education policies...

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Muskogee police shot and killed a man they said pointed a rifle at a code enforcement officer. Heather Blackwelder heard the gunfire outside her home in the Walnut Creek Neighborhood near Country Club Rd and Augusta Ave. “That’s when I saw the Muskogee PD out front and their Bearcat with rifles pointed at my neighbor’s house,” said Blackwelder. Officers responded to the home near 600 Christy Drive after a call about a man pointing a rifle at a code enforcement officer, then going back into his home. Police identified the man as Clayton Bailey, 34. They said...

A former NFL player from Oklahoma has been convicted for his role in a large-scale dogfighting operation, federal prosecutors announced. Leshon Eugene Johnson, 54, of Broken Arrow was convicted of six felony counts of possessing dogs for use in an animal-fighting venture. He was acquitted of 17 other similar counts. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count when he’s formally sentenced at a later date. “The FBI will not stand for those who perpetuate the despicable crime of dogfighting,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “Thanks to...

Trump basically told Schumer to go to hell last night, after Schumer tried to extort money from Trump before removing Democratic Party blocking/delaying tactics of Trump nominees. Among the demands Schumer made were money for Gaza and NIH money for blue states with sanctuary cities etc. Worth noting that Trump has had 131 nominees confirmed already compared to 55 confirmed at this stage in the first Trump presidency, despite all the drama from the Democrats.

Oklahoma is taking a bold step to preserve educational integrity and curb the growing threat of left-wing indoctrination in schools. The state’s Superintendent, Ryan Walters, announced this week that Oklahoma will become the first state to require teachers relocating from liberal-leaning states to pass a new certification test that ensures they align with Oklahoma’s curriculum standards. In a statement, Walters emphasized that the state’s new approach is designed to weed out any “woke” influences and prevent leftist ideologies from infiltrating Oklahoma’s classrooms. He explained that the new test, developed in collaboration with conservative think tank PragerU, will focus on fundamental...

A suspect has been arrested for the heartless double murder of two parents who were slain protecting their young daughters on a hiking trail in Arkansas’ Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday — ending a frantic, five-day manhunt. James Andrew McGann, 28, was arrested Wednesday in Springdale, Ark., and charged with two counts of capital murder, according to a release from the Arkansas State Police. Clinton David Brink, 43, and his wife, Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were hiking with their two daughters, 7 and 9, through Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday when a man alleged to be McGann attacked...

The state Department of Education is currently working with PragerU to develop the assessment for teachers "relocating from states with progressive education policies," which they must take in order to get a license to teach in Oklahoma. The new assessment will evaluate educators on three main aspects: knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, "understanding of American exceptionalism" and "grasp of fundamental biological differences between boys and girls," according to a news release about the new assessment. The goal of the new assessment is to ensure educators align with OSDE's commitment to an education "rooted in truth, patriotism and core values," and...

Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan’s co-headlining Outlaw Music Festival Tour has temporarily hit pause after a powerful storm damaged gear during a recent stop in Missouri, forcing the cancellation of their July 1 show in Oklahoma. The June 29 concert at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri, was abruptly cut short when heavy rains and high winds swept through the venue. According to a statement from organizers, festivalgoers were evacuated for safety, but not before the storm reportedly waterlogged artist instruments and damaged key production equipment

The body of a man who went missing in Lake Arcadia was recovered on Sunday. The Edmond Police Department said a man and a woman were on a boat in the lake near Central State Park on Saturday. The man, unable to swim, jumped into the water to cool off, but the boat began to drift away. The woman did not know how to operate the boat, according to police. Edmond fire and police officials deployed search boats on Saturday to locate the man. After several hours, the search transitioned to a recovery operation, which was called off overnight.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have won the NBA Finals, capping a thrilling seven-game series against the Indiana Pacers with a dominant 103-91 victory. It is the Thunder's first NBA championship since the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. And the Thunder are the seventh different NBA team to win a title in the past seven years, a remarkable run of parity for the league. "It doesn't feel real. So many hours, so many moments, so many emotions, so many nights of disbelief, so many nights of belief," the Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named Finals MVP, said in a...

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A 20-year-old Blanchard man is facing up to 45 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to plotting a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS and downloading child pornography, while living a double life, his family was seemingly unaware of. Federal court documents unsealed this week, obtained by News 4, reveal disturbing details about the allegations against 20-year-old Landon Swinford, who admitted to federal authorities that he wanted to carry out an attack at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 2023. According to the FBI’s newly-released affidavit, when Swinford wasn’t busy telling...

Mexico’s president is threatening to “mobilize” the country against a Republican proposal to tax remittances, which advocates say would choke off cash flow to Mexican drug cartels. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum raged against the proposal in a speech against the law, which imposes a tax on money sent out of the United States by foreign nationals. “If necessary, we’ll mobilize,” Sheinbaum said. “We don’t want taxes on remittances from our fellow countrymen. From the U.S. to Mexico.” President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” includes a 3.5 percent tax on remittances, a policy that experts told The Daily Wire is...

The Tulsa Race Massacre might have happened 104 years ago, but innocent people must still pay, according to Tulsa’s Mayor Monroe Nichols IV, who was just elected in November. “For 104 years, the Tulsa Race Massacre has been a stain on our city’s history,” Nichols said over the weekend. “The massacre was hidden from history books, only to be followed by the intentional acts of redlining, a highway built to choke off economic vitality, and the perpetual underinvestment of local, state, and federal governments.” “Now,” he says, “it’s time to take the next big steps to restore.” “The private charitable...

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 1027 into law on Saturday, a measure that pro-life advocates say strengthens protections for the state’s pro-life abortion ban by reforming the initiative petition process. The bill, which caps the number of signatures that can be collected from each county for state ballot questions, aims to ensure broader representation across Oklahoma’s 77 counties, particularly amplifying rural voices. The legislation amends the requirements for state question petitions, setting a signature cap at 10% of voters in counties with populations over 400,000 and 4% in counties with fewer than 400,000 residents. Proponents argue this change...

A divided Supreme Court rejected a plan on Thursday to allow Oklahoma to use government money to run the nation’s first religious charter school, which would teach a curriculum infused by Catholic doctrine. The court split 4 to 4 over the Oklahoma plan, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing herself from the case, and the decision provided no reasoning. That deadlock means that an earlier ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court will be allowed to stand. The state court blocked a proposal for the Oklahoma school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which was to be operated by the...

Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. The Supreme Court on Thursday voted 4-4 to block the creation of a taxpayer-funded charter school in Oklahoma. Catholic dioceses had sought to establish St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School as a school that would have been eligible for public funding. Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, according to Reuters. The state Supreme Court in 2023 ruled 6-2 against the school, after state AG Gentner Drummond sued to "prevent the type of state-funded religion that Oklahoma's constitutional framers and the founders of our country sought...

How dare school teachers introduce indisputable information and ask students to draw their own conclusions! How dare public school teachers introduce hard, indisputable facts, and ask students to draw their own conclusions? Don’t they know that public schools are institutions meant to be used for the proliferation of progressivism? The teachers’ unions and leftist activists have worked so hard to eliminate silly and outdated things like arithmetic, civics, and rhetoric, replacing them with curricula like critical race theory, gender studies, and socialism—and now, Oklahoma is undoing the entire structure they’ve spent decades assembling. Under state superintendent Ryan Walters, Oklahoma is...

Authorities released information about the man accused of stabbing an Edmond police officer Thursday during a traffic stop. At 4:30 p.m., an Edmond police officer was conducting a traffic stop near 15th Street and Broadway when a man approached and pepper-sprayed the officer. That led to an altercation, during which police said the officer was stabbed at least twice. Backup officers arrived, deployed their stun guns on the suspect and took him into custody. Edmond police also said a good Samaritan rendered aid to the officer before help could get there. "We saw a cop fall, and then we...