Free Republic

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...

Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies have missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens of youth campers and others in Kerr County, Texas.KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert a disaster like the one that killed dozens of young campers and scores of others in Kerr County on the Fourth of July. The agencies repeatedly failed to secure roughly $1 million for a...

<p>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Before he became a leading voice for conservative causes on Capitol Hill, U.S. Senator James Lankford spent more than a decade as the director of youth programming at the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center, a sprawling campground about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City that attracts more than 50,000 campers in grades six through 12 each year.</p>

Oklahoma plans to hold its first double execution in nearly 80 years, Gov. Mary Fallin said Thursday. The move comes a day after the state Supreme Court removed one of the final obstacles, ruling late Wednesday that Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner are not entitled to know the source of the drugs that will be used to kill them. The inmates had sought that information through a civil lawsuit. "The defendants had their day in court. The court has made a decision," Gov. Mary Fallin said in a statement. "Two men that do not contest their guilt in heinous murders...