An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a> man who authorities said faked his death in a kayaking accident last month to dodge child rape charges in North Carolina was captured on Sunday after a weekend police chase and motorcycle crash in Georgia.
Melvin Emde — a 41-year-old Talihina, Oklahoma, resident — had been reported missing by his son on August 7 after authorities were told at the time that he drowned in the Mississippi River during a kayaking and fishing trip, according to a news release <a href="https://www.wdsu.com/article/missing-kayaker-arrested-in-georgia-after-faking-his-own-death/45204163#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by local media.
The bogus accident prompted authorities to launch a search and rescue operation that spanned two days and used divers, sonar, and a small boat &#8212; but officers never found Emde&#8217;s body.
Emde was scheduled to appear in court the day he went missing for charges of &#8220;indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape of a child&#8221; in North Carolina.
&#8220;We immediately became quite suspicious that this may have been a faked accidental drowning and death in order for Mr. Emde to escape charges in Brunswick County, North Carolina,&#8221; St Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne reportedly said. &#8220;However, we could not publicly expose our suspicions for fear of tipping him off.&#8221;
&#8220;So, we just kind of left it as a missing person&#8217;s report, another person who just drowned in the river, and his body didn&#8217;t appear,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12536303/kayaker-Emde-FAKING-drowning-Mississippi-child-rape.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>. &#8220;It sounds like a pretty good concoction that they came up with, but like most of those, they don&#8217;t work.&#8221;
After learning about the allegations against Emde, authorities <a href="https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/suspect-in-north-carolina-child-rape-caught-weeks-18376436.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> worked with detectives in North Carolina who said he had been wearing an ankle monitor while out on bail. They discovered he had purchased two prepaid cell phones at a Walmart in Boutte, Louisiana.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
U.S. Marshals helped track the phones and learned Emde had only turned on one of the cellular devices to use it briefly.
Authorities eventually located Emde on Sunday in Georgia after a Highway Patrol officer attempted to stop a motorcycle for driving without a license plate around 3:30 a.m.
Champagne said Emde fled the scene until he eventually crashed the motorcycle and attempted to escape on foot, but authorities ultimately captured him. Champagne said Emde then gave officers a false name, but a fingerprint scan revealed his true identity.
He now faces charges in Louisiana for having wasted police time in addition to his child rape allegations in North Carolina. Prosecutors have not filed charges against Emde&#8217;s son, but authorities reportedly said the investigation is ongoing.
&#8220;Basically, filing false reports, which we refer to as injuring public record in Louisiana, which is a felony,&#8221; said Champagne. &#8220;Obviously, he&#8217;s got more serious things to deal with.&#8221;
&#8220;Now it&#8217;s time for Mr. Emde to face the music for his charges in North Carolina,&#8221; he added.

Police car

Man Accused Of Child Rape Arrested After Faking Own Death In Kayaking Accident: Police

Child Sex Abuse

Crime

Georgia

North Carolina

Oklahoma

U.S.

Authorities in Oklahoma are searching for additional “trophies” that the serial killer known as &#8220;BTK&#8221; said he hid in various locations.
On Tuesday, the Osage County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) held a press conference to announce the new initiative, following the formation of a new task force.
“We have locations provided to us by BTK where he says he has other trophies hidden. We are in the process of working to go try to recover those items,” Sheriff Eddie Virden said, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/12/us/btk-serial-killer-dennis-rader-trophies-national-task-force/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to CNN</a>.
The search for BTK’s “trophies” stems from a 2008 letter that the serial killer, whose real name is Dennis Rader, wrote from prison explaining that he had buried various items under the floor of his backyard shed. Less than a month ago, Osage County investigators recovered some of those items in a hole on the property where Rader used to live with his family. Rader is known to have kept jewelry, clothing, and other items belonging to his victims.
On Monday, the OCSO <a href="https://www.ocso.net/sheriff-virden-national-btk-task-force-cold-case-pawhuska/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it was forming a new National BTK Task Force that would see experts and resources from law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma and Kansas, as well as federal agencies, working together to solve a 1976 cold case that may be linked to BTK.
In August, Rader was named the prime suspect in the 1976 disappearance of Cynthia Dawn Kinney, 16, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, as well as the 1990 murder of Shawna Beth Garber, 22, in McDonald County, Missouri. Kinney’s body has never been found, but investigators are operating on the theory that Rader may have buried her in a barn near the Kansas-Oklahoma border. Months after she disappeared, police received an anonymous call from a man claiming her body could be found in an old barn.
The task force is working to solve Kinney’s disappearance.
“My father absolutely loves barns and silos,” Rader’s daughter, Kerri Rawson, told CNN.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1694623921900000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3XU1JP8lJcdDsDJc593fTP">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
“Every time we drove around going camping, fishing, to college, he’d absolutely say this one – like he said, I want to retire here. And he would tease my mom about it,” Rawson added. “And then after he was arrested, we found out later that he had massive fantasies about those specific locations. So now we’re driving around trying to find those by my memory and noting them because we need to go see, is there anybody missing or buried there.”
Earlier this month, the OCSO released decades-old sketches from Rader, whose serial killer nickname stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill.” Rader is currently serving ten consecutive life sentences for the people he pleaded guilty to killing throughout the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. When he was arrested in 2005, hundreds of sketches showing women bound and gagged, with nooses around their necks, were collected, the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12479295/Chilling-never-seen-sketches-BTK-serial-killer-showing-girls-bound-gagged-nooses-necks-released-cops-hunt-clues-case-missing-girl.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
One of the images, which is just now being released, shows three different women bound and gagged in what is believed to be a barn. The OCSO released the images as part of a new investigation, launched in January, into potential additional victims, the Independent <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/btk-serial-killer-drawings-released-b2404584.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Sheriff Virden and his team believe some of the colored sketches depict additional crimes Rader may have committed.

BTK Killer Dennis Rader Pleads Not Guilty

Oklahoma Authorities Searching For ‘Trophies’ Serial Killer BTK Hid In Various Locations

Oklahoma Authorities Searching For 'Trophies' Serial Killer BTK Hid In Various Locations

Murder

Serial Killers

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma&#8217;s</a> top education official said Thursday that an elementary school principal who performs as a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drag-queen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drag queen</a> and faced previous child pornography charges should be fired. 
Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/oklahoma-official-uimaginable-elementary-school-hired-principal-secret-drag-queen-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News that Western Heights School District should fire John Glenn Elementary School Principal Shane Murnan, a drag queen who reportedly goes by the name &#8220;Shantel Mandalay.” Walters, who <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-education-teachers-superintendent-walters-c5c55e473eaeb0c94545c8ae5753149a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaigned</a> on getting critical theory and gender theory out of the classroom, said that Murnan should be terminated &#8220;immediately.&#8221;
“It&#8217;s outrageous to have a drag queen running a school, you know, here in Oklahoma that doesn&#8217;t line up with Oklahoma values,&#8221; Walters told Fox. &#8220;I hear from parents every day that are concerned with this woke left-wing indoctrination or schools, this gender theory that continues to be thrust upon our kids. It&#8217;s completely inappropriate.&#8221; 
As a drag queen, Murnan has participated in story hours at the public library and worked at Oklahoma City gay bar “The Boom,” according to Facebook posts. 
&#8220;I think that the Left has absolutely an agenda for our kids, that they are at war with our kids in the classroom,&#8221; Walters said. &#8220;What they are doing is injecting this ideology for an end goal here. Their end goal is to absolutely break down a child&#8217;s mind, break down the classroom, break down the family, and you see the results that have come from this. They want kids to turn on their parents and only listen to their leftist ideology.&#8221; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Meet Shane Murnan- elementary principal at <a href="https://twitter.com/wh_isd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wh_isd</a>.
Shane is a drag queen who performs for children and reads books about gender to kids while dressed in drag.
Shane was also previously arrested on child porn charges.
Would you want this person in charge of your kid’s school? <a href="https://t.co/yNuZyt3HRK">pic.twitter.com/yNuZyt3HRK</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1696906000660308341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;No parent wants to send their kids to school knowing that they could be exposed to this radical gender theory in any capacity. This woke war on our kids has to stop,” Walters added. “We will not allow our kids to be part of their radical-Left game for pushing ideology and furthering their end goal, which is creating social justice warriors instead of students that understand how education is a path for success for them.”
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
The child pornography charges that Murnan faced back in the early 2000s were reportedly dismissed after a judge ruled that prosecutors could not prove that he had possessed the illicit materials. Court records show that Oklahoma investigators say that they had obtained deleted child pornography images they said were possessed by Murnan, according to The Oklahoman. 
“Defense attorney Frank Muret argued that since Murnan had deleted the images from his computer, the state couldn&#8217;t prove he was in possession of it. Worthington granted the defense&#8217;s motion to dismiss based on that argument,” The Oklahoman <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2002/08/14/prosecutors-wont-appeal-porn-ruling/62084184007/">reported</a>. 
The school responded to the re-surfaced charges, saying that they had been dismissed and pointing to the fact that the record of the charges has been expunged.

Wide view of a children’s classroom at the school.

Top Oklahoma Education Official Calls For Drag Queen Elementary School Principal To Be Fired

Child pornography

Drag Queen story hour

Drag Queens

Education

Police are releasing decades-old sketches from the infamous BTK serial killer, believing they may hold the key to unsolved cases in Oklahoma and Missouri.
Dennis Rader, whose serial killer nickname stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill,” is currently serving ten consecutive life sentences for the people he pleaded guilty to killing throughout the 1970s, &#8217;80s, and &#8217;90s. When he was arrested in 2005, hundreds of sketches showing women bound and gagged, with nooses around their necks, were collected, the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12479295/Chilling-never-seen-sketches-BTK-serial-killer-showing-girls-bound-gagged-nooses-necks-released-cops-hunt-clues-case-missing-girl.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
One of the images, which is just now being released, shows three different women bound and gagged in what is believed to be a barn. The Osage County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma released the images as part of a new investigation, launched in January, into potential additional victims, the Independent <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/btk-serial-killer-drawings-released-b2404584.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. (WARNING: Graphic Image)
<div id="attachment_615085" style="width: 237px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-615085" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-615085" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-Green-Dress-Drawing-227x300.webp" alt="An image drawn by Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer, released as police search for additional victims." width="227" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-Green-Dress-Drawing-227x300.webp 227w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-Green-Dress-Drawing-436x576.webp 436w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-Green-Dress-Drawing-768x1014.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-Green-Dress-Drawing-1164x1536.webp 1164w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-Green-Dress-Drawing.webp 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px" />Osage County Sheriff&#8217;s Office</div>
In August, Rader was named the prime suspect in the 1976 disappearance of Cynthia Dawn Kinney, 16, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, as well as the 1990 murder of Shawna Beth Garber, 22, in McDonald County, Missouri. Kinney’s body has never been found, but investigators are operating on the theory that Rader may have buried her in a barn near the Kansas-Oklahoma border. Months after she disappeared, police received an anonymous call from a man claiming her body could be found in an old barn.
“My father absolutely loves barns and silos,” Rader’s daughter, Kerri Rawson, told CNN.
“Every time we drove around going camping, fishing, to college, he’d absolutely say this one – like he said, I want to retire here. And he would tease my mom about it,” Rawson added. “And then after he was arrested, we found out later that he had massive fantasies about those specific locations. So now we’re driving around trying to find those by my memory and noting them because we need to go see, is there anybody missing or buried there.”
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/04/us/btk-drawings-serial-killer-investigation/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN that his team had received some “very, very good tips” after CNN reported on Rader’s drawings.
“It’s going to be a busy week,” Virden told the outlet, adding that the tips have “provided more information.”
Virden and his team believe some of the colored sketches depict additional crimes Rader may have committed. (WARNING: Graphic Image)
<div id="attachment_615087" style="width: 237px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-615087" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-615087" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-red-dress-drawing-227x300.webp" alt="An image drawn by Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer, released as police search for additional victims." width="227" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-red-dress-drawing-227x300.webp 227w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-red-dress-drawing-436x576.webp 436w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-red-dress-drawing-768x1014.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-red-dress-drawing-1164x1536.webp 1164w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-red-dress-drawing.webp 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px" />Osage County Sheriff&#8217;s Office</div>
“We have a lot of follow-ups to do, of course, a lot of interviews to do,” Virden said. “Barn-wise, we’ve got a lot of things sent to us for us to check out.”
Virden told the outlet that authorities hope the newly released sketches could lead someone to “recognize one of these barns or the unique features in them, or the closeness of the silo to the barn, or possibly might have even found items that they didn’t know why were there that could be very important in this case.” (WARNING: Graphic Image)
<div id="attachment_615089" style="width: 243px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-615089" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-615089" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-sketch-233x300.webp" alt="An image drawn by Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer, released as police search for additional victims." width="233" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-sketch-233x300.webp 233w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-sketch-448x576.webp 448w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-sketch-768x987.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-sketch-1195x1536.webp 1195w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/BTK-sketch.webp 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px" />Osage County Sheriff&#8217;s Office</div>
Rader has claimed he did not kill anyone outside the ten victims he pleaded guilty to murdering, but authorities continue investigating. After being arrested in 2005, he admitted to killing ten people in Wichita, Kansas.

BTK Serial Killer Dennis Rader

Never-Before-Seen Sketches From BTK Serial Killer Show Women Bound And Gagged, Nooses Around Necks

Kansas

Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt signed the “Women’s Bill of Rights” on Tuesday in a move that advocates called &#8220;huge&#8221; for combating gender ideology.
The “Women’s Bill of Rights,” which the governor <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2023/august2023/governor-stitt-leads-the-nation-as-first-governor-to-issue-women.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> by executive order, directs public schools to provide separate locker rooms and restrooms for boys and girls and state facilities like prisons or domestic shelters to provide separate facilities for men and women.
&#8220;Female&#8221; is defined in the <a href="https://www.iwv.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/OK-gov-stitt-executive-order-womens-bill-of-rights.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order</a> as &#8220;a person whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova&#8221; or eggs, and &#8220;male&#8221; is defined as &#8220;a person whose biological reproductive system is designed to fertilize the ova of a female.&#8221;
&#8220;Today, radical gender ideologues threaten the hard-fought progress won by women and girls in our society, and the federal government is surrendering to their demands,&#8221; the order reads, adding that there are &#8220;definitional, practical, and material&#8221; differences between the sexes.
The order said it aims to bring “clarity, certainty, and uniformity” to administrative rules to &#8220;settle the unfounded confusion surrounding such basic questions as &#8216;What is a woman?'&#8221;
&#8220;It’s even weird to say that we have to do this in today’s age &#8230; but to us, it’s just common sense that we have to do this to define what a woman is and protect women,&#8221; Stitt said on Fox News after signing the executive order.
“I have three daughters,” Stitt <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/01/womens-bill-of-rights-signed-into-oklahoma-law-by-gov-kevin-stitt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “My wife and I’ve been married for 25 years. I did this for them. I did it for Riley Gaines. I did it for all the young girls in the state of Oklahoma. It’s just absolutely wrong for them to be forced to change and undress in what should be a safe locker room as they’re competing.”
The governor said that anyone at a state agency who violates the order would be “removed immediately,” saying, “They’re not going to work in my administration.”
Former college swimmer Riley Gaines, who was forced to share a locker room with trans-identifying male athlete Lia Thomas, called the order &#8220;huge.&#8221; Gaines joined Stitt on Tuesday as he signed the executive order.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
So honored to stand alongside Governor Stitt as he signed an Executive Order on the Women&#39;s Bill of Rights, a law that defines sex-based terms like &quot;woman&quot;
Stitt is the first governor to take decisive action and safeguard women&#39;s privacy, safety, and equal opportunities. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 <a href="https://t.co/bZBJvxepLh">pic.twitter.com/bZBJvxepLh</a>
&mdash; Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1686429211542638602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“This is bigger than universities that we’re seeing in academia. It’s in corporate America, it’s in the media, the amount of emotional blackmail they put us through to keep us silent. And it was effective,” Gaines said. “They told us we wouldn’t get a job, we wouldn’t get into grad school, we would lose our friends, we would lose our scholarship. They told us that we would be murderers if we spoke out because we would be complicit in a potential death. That’s how they kept us silent. That’s why it feels as if and it seems as if I’ve been one of the few voices fighting for this.&#8221;
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-54436">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Paula Scanlan, a teammate of Thomas, recently <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/01/paula-scanlan-had-nightmares-after-sharing-locker-room-with-lia-thomas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> she had nightmares after sharing a locker room with Thomas, which she described as traumatic for her as a sexual assault survivor.
Oklahoma Democrats attacked the order as an attack on transgender people.
“Once again, the Republican supermajority continues their government overreach by infringing on the rights of citizens,” said House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson, accusing the governor of deploying “partisan, polarizing politics.”
The executive order was inspired by model legislation developed by the conservative women&#8217;s group Independent Women’s Voice.
Kansas and Tennessee have adopted similar legislation based on the model legislation.
In recent years, parents across the country have sounded the alarm about minor students using school bathrooms and locker rooms designated for classmates of the opposite biological sex. <a href="https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/08/19/transgender-sexual-assault-report-bathroom-brevard-randy-fine-fdoe-could-bring-new-state-rules/10356216002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reports</a> of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/loudoun-county-schools-tried-to-conceal-sexual-assault-against-daughter-in-bathroom-father-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sexual assaults</a> occurring in bathrooms shared with trans-identifying students have only heightened concerns, and parents have shown up at school board meetings to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/frisco-isd-parents-want-students-to-use-the-bathrooms-assigned-to-their-birth-genders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demand</a> that bathrooms be separated by biological sex.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-VIRUS-HEALTH

Oklahoma Governor Signs ‘Women’s Bill Of Rights’ To Combat Gender Ideology

Gender

Kevin Stitt

Politics

Social Issues

Sports

Transgender

Women's sports

Jimmie Johnson has spoken out for the first time following what authorities described as a &#8220;murder-suicide&#8221; involving his in-laws and nephew.
A month after the tragedy, Johnson released <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvQSgjJp5Nt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> on his Instagram account expressing gratitude for those who have reached out.
“Our family is devastated by the profound loss of [Terry] Lynn, Jack and Dalton Janway,” Johnson wrote. “We have been humbled by the outpouring of love and support during this unthinkably sad time and remain grateful for all of your compassion.”
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvQSgjJp5Nt/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14">
<div style="padding: 16px;">
&nbsp;
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div>
<div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div>
<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div>
</div>
&nbsp;
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvQSgjJp5Nt/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jimmie Johnson (@jimmiejohnson)</a>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
The parents of Johnson’s wife, Chandra Janway, along with the seven-time champion’s 11-year-old nephew, were found shot to death in their Muskogee, Oklahoma, home on June 26, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/06/27/jimmie-johnsons-in-laws-dead-in-apparent-murder-suicide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Jack Janway, 69, his wife Terry, 68, and their grandson Dalton were found.
Reports indicate that it was Johnson’s mother-in-law, Terry, who shot and killed her husband and grandson before calling 911 to report that someone had a gun, then quickly ended the call. She then turned the gun on herself and took her own life, police said, according to the New York Post.
Police arrived at the home to find a body lying in the hallway just inside the front door. They then heard gunshots and pulled the body out of the home before asking anyone else inside to come out, the Post reported. They found the other two bodies in a different part of the house.
Police have not said which bodies were found where.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-24287">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Johnson canceled his participation in a race at a street event in Chicago the weekend of the tragedy.
Muskogee Mayor Marlon Coleman <a href="https://www.fox23.com/news/local/3-people-dead-after-shooting-in-muskogee/article_96008038-14d4-11ee-a67a-efcfc90e85e4.html?taid=649ac4c9f8ccd40001c24137&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=trueanthem&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox 23 that he knew the family since Jack was a prominent chiropractor in the town.
“It was traumatizing to find out that a long-standing family who had made so many contributions to our community was involved in this type of incident. It was even more bone-chilling to find out there was a child involved,” Coleman told the outlet. “I knew Dr. Janway. Dr. Janway has worked on me, we’ve been acquaintances for a very, very long time since I’ve been in Muskogee. Just knowing that it was him and his family took a different toll on me.”
It was not the first tragedy suffered by the Janway family.
In 2014, Jordan Janway, Chandra’s younger brother, was killed in a skydiving accident, KNSD-TV <a href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/jordan-janway-san-diego-skydiving-accident-fatal-fall-midair-collision/1973471/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time. Jordan was described by the outlet as a seasoned skydiver who died following a midair collision. Jordan’s death came just hours after Johnson finished second in a race at Martinsville Speedway.
If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at <a class="c-link" href="http://988lifeline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://988lifeline.org" data-sk="tooltip_parent">988lifeline.org</a>.

Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR Legend Jimmie Johnson Speaks For First Time Since In-Laws’ Murder-Suicide

NASCAR Legend Jimmie Johnson Speaks For First Time Following In-Laws' Murder-Suicide

Celebrities

NASCAR

Suicide

A mother of three killed her children and then herself following a police standoff in Verdigris, Oklahoma, according to authorities.
Verdigris is about 20 miles outside of Tulsa, and on the afternoon of July 20, Verdigris Police Department (VPD) officers saw fireworks going off outside a home, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OSBI.OK/posts/pfbid0315ms1XWDRm1N1tAPfRKGoz8dyU3mAvQgDNzSPTQPiAV4uxZ3vZNBNd9zkxvMkyEEl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a press release</a>. When police arrived at the home, they found an armed woman who had barricaded herself and her children inside the home.
Police brought in a negotiator to speak with the woman, whom The Daily Wire is not naming in keeping with a company policy that seeks to deprive mass killers of notoriety. For three hours, police attempted to make contact with the mother, but she never responded.
“At no time when we were there for that three-hour period did we hear anything from inside the house – nothing – no response, no movement,” Verdigris Police Chief Jack Shackelford said <a href="https://www.news9.com/story/64bb0338d9f3150725ac71d2/lots-of-tragedy:-verdigris-community-grieves-after-police-say-mother-killed-children-herself" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> KWTV.
With no response, officers entered the home and found the mother and her three children all dead. Her children were 11, 6, and the youngest was just 10 months old.
Investigators determined that the mother had shot her three children and then herself, Today <a href="https://www.today.com/parents/oklahoma-mom-children-killed-murder-suicide-rcna95803" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Verdigris Police Chief Jack Shackelford told the <a href="https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-courts/woman-three-children-dead-in-triple-murder-suicide-in-verdigris/article_1dcf547c-2799-11ee-828c-af3e8da774a8.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tulsa World</a> that the incident began when a woman who was trapped in the mother’s garage began shooting fireworks through the window to get help. Shackelford added that the woman, a social worker who has not been named by media outlets, had brought one of the mother&#8217;s children to the house for a supervised visit. The mother pointed a gun at the social worker and took the child before locking the social worker – and two other children that were with her – inside the garage.
The unnamed social worker and the two other children with her were able to escape with the help of police.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1690029339199000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1aBZKXZOsvkW3aRCKp8ThD">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Shackleford told KWTV that he and his officers knew the mother&#8217;s residence, as there had been multiple child welfare and domestic violence calls.
“We knew her from previous encounters that we had with that residence and some of the other issues we’d had there before. I knew her by a first name basis and who she was,” he told the outlet.
On July 20, the day of the tragedy, the father of one of the children, Billy Jacobson, posted about the incident <a href="https://www.facebook.com/billy.jacobson.391" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Facebook</a>.
“Please keep us in your prayers,” he wrote.
He also revealed that the mother of his child had previously attempted to kill herself in January.
Jacobson was the father of the 10-month-old killed by his mother.
If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at <a class="c-link" href="http://988lifeline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://988lifeline.org" data-sk="tooltip_parent">988lifeline.org</a>.

McCaslin Home Crime Scene

Oklahoma Mom Killed Three Kids, Then Herself In Apparent Murder-Suicide, Police Say

Children

NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson’s in-laws were found dead on Monday in a suspected murder-suicide.
The parents of Johnson’s wife Chandra Janway, along with the seven-time champion’s 11-year-old nephew, were found shot to death in their Muskogee, Oklahoma, home late Monday, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/06/27/jimmie-johnsons-in-laws-dead-in-apparent-murder-suicide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Jack Janway, 69, his wife Terry, 68, and their grandson Dalton were found in what authorities are investigating as a murder-suicide.
Reports indicate that it was Johnson’s mother-in-law, Terry, who shot and killed her husband and grandson before calling 911 to report that someone had a gun before quickly hanging up. She then turned the gun on herself and took her own life, police said according to the New York Post.
Police arrived at the home to find a body lying in the hallway just inside the front door. They then heard gunshots and pulled the body out of the home before asking anyone else inside to come out, the Post reported. They found the other two bodies in a different part of the house.
Police have not said which bodies were found where.
Johnson was scheduled to race at a street event in Chicago this weekend, but has withdrawn due to the tragedy.
Muskogee Mayor Marlon Coleman <a href="https://www.fox23.com/news/local/3-people-dead-after-shooting-in-muskogee/article_96008038-14d4-11ee-a67a-efcfc90e85e4.html?taid=649ac4c9f8ccd40001c24137&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=trueanthem&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox 23 that he knew the family, since Jack was a prominent chiropractor in the town.
“It was traumatizing to find out that a long-standing family who had made so many contributions to our community were involved in this type of incident. It was even more bone-chilling to find out there was a child involved,” Coleman told the outlet. “I knew Dr. Janway. Dr. Janway has worked on me, we’ve been acquaintances for a very, very long time since I’ve been in Muskogee. Just knowing that it was him and his family took a different toll on me.”
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687972190386000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2poz7lKxiyhNV9ljBcMSzM">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
This is not the first tragedy suffered by the Janway family.
In 2014, Jordan Janway, Chandra’s younger brother, was killed in a skydiving accident, KNSD-TV <a href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/jordan-janway-san-diego-skydiving-accident-fatal-fall-midair-collision/1973471/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time. Jordan was described by the outlet as a seasoned skydiver who died following a midair collision. Jordan’s death came just hours after Johnson finished second in a race at Martinsville Speedway.
&#8220;The Johnsons are saddened by the tragic passing of Chandra&#8217;s brother, Jordan Janway, 27,&#8221; the family said in a post on Johnson’s personal website. &#8220;Jordan was an incredible son, brother, uncle and friend and will be dearly missed. Please keep the Janway family in your thoughts and prayers. The family asks for privacy at this time.&#8221;
The cause of Jordan’s death was attributed to a chip that should have automatically deployed his parachute during an emergency undergoing maintenance and not in his parachute that day. Since Jordan had completed more than 1,000 skydives, he was not required to have the chip with him and had chosen to jump without it.
If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat <a class="c-link" href="http://988lifeline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://988lifeline.org" data-sk="tooltip_parent">988lifeline.org</a>.

NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson’s In-Laws Die In Suspected Murder-Suicide. It Wasn’t Their First Tragedy.

NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson's In-Laws Die In Suspected Murder-Suicide. It Wasn't Their First Tragedy.

Oklahoma Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-stitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin Stitt</a> endorsed Ron DeSantis for president on Saturday as the Florida governor campaigned in the state.
The endorsement marks the first endorsement DeSantis has received from a governor. Trump currently has endorsements from two governors — Jim Justice (WV) and Henry McMaster (SC).
&#8220;Governor DeSantis is a strong conservative and principled leader, and I am proud to endorse him for president,&#8221; Stitt said in a statement. &#8220;As fellow Governors during COVID, DeSantis did not surrender states’ rights and individual liberties over to groupthink. In this election cycle, Oklahomans will remember that DeSantis was one of the few who never backed down in the face of adversity, because DeSantis operated with dogged conviction and shared our values for a limited government and free country.&#8221;
Stitt called DeSantis a &#8220;proven leader,&#8221; adding that he &#8220;boldly delivered results for the people of Florida that laid the groundwork for a booming economy, an education system focused on student outcomes, and better infrastructure for working families.&#8221;
&#8220;To deliver these same results all across America and unwind the disastrous liberal mandates of the Biden administration is going to demand a candidate who can win and keep winning as a two-term president,&#8221; Stitt continued. &#8220;I am confident that leader is Ron DeSantis.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
In Florida and Oklahoma, we stand up for freedom — freedom to raise your family without radical ideology being crammed down your throat; freedom to worship and live your faith as you see fit; freedom to run your business and control your finances without corporate activists… <a href="https://t.co/uvXOzpJYsD">pic.twitter.com/uvXOzpJYsD</a>
&mdash; Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1667675701128855553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
📍Tulsa, Oklahoma
Gov. DeSantis speaks to the crowd outside of the actual event once it overflowed inside🚨 <a href="https://t.co/bwaXuu1TRs">pic.twitter.com/bwaXuu1TRs</a>
— Dave Vasquez (@DaveVasquezFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveVasquezFL/status/1667666403921633282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
Stitt&#8217;s endorsement comes after 20 Oklahoma state legislators and former U.S. Congressman Jim Bridenstine, who also served as NASA Administrator under Trump and was a member of the House Freedom Caucus, endorsed DeSantis this week.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685885459858000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0AFvCLn4CIt7S8nPLjhrIg">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
The 20 endorsements included Senator Lonnie Paxton (SD 23), Senator Chris Kidd (SD 31), Senator Roland Pederson (SD 19), Senator John Michael Montgomery (SD 32), Senator Brent Howard (SD 38), Majority Floor Leader Representative Jon Echols (HD 90), Deputy Majority Leader Representative Trey Caldwell (HD 63), Deputy Floor Leader Representative John Pfeiffer (HD 38), Representative Mike Osburn (HD 81), Representative Neil Hays (HD 13), Representative Ryan Martinez (HD 39), Representative Nick Archer (HD 55), Representative Anthony Moore (HD 57), Representative Dell Kerbs (HD 26), Representative Mark Lepak (HD 9), Representative Josh West (HD 5), Representative Chris Kannady (HD 91), Representative Chad Caldwell (HD 40), Representative Terry O’Donnell (HD 23), and Representative Chris Sneed (HD 14).

DeSantis Stitt

Ron DeSantis Picks Up First Presidential Endorsement From Fellow Governor

Donald Trump

Elections

Ron DeSantis

The University of Oklahoma women&#8217;s softball team surprised ESPN Thursday by proclaiming that their Christian faith is their motivation and the source of their joy.
Later on Thursday, the team went on to beat Florida State 3 to 1 to win the national championship.
&#8220;You talked about keeping the joy of the game, but I&#8217;m curious, it&#8217;s a long season, right? And you guys have had the target on your back the entire time,&#8221; an ESPN reporter asked several women on the team at a press conference Thursday.
&#8220;How do you handle the unique pressure that comes with that? How do you keep the joy for so long when anxiety seems like a thing that could very easily set in?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, the only way that you can have a joy that doesn&#8217;t fade away is from the Lord,&#8221; infielder Grace Lyons responded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Wow. ESPN wasn’t ready for this answer from the Oklahoma softball team. Definitely 💯 💯💯 from <a href="https://twitter.com/jaydac00?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaydac00</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/alyss_33?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alyss_33</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/grace_lyons5?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@grace_lyons5</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Christ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Christ</a> <a href="https://t.co/ooHEVvch54">pic.twitter.com/ooHEVvch54</a>
&mdash; Florida Grand (@florida_grand) <a href="https://twitter.com/florida_grand/status/1666788348768182273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Thankfully we&#8217;ve had a lot of success this year, but if it was the other way around, joy from the Lord is the only thing that can keep you embracing those memories, moments, friendships,&#8221; Lyons said. &#8220;That&#8217;s really the only answer to that because there&#8217;s no other way that softball can bring you that because of how much failure comes in it and just how much of a rollercoaster the game can be.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1686410636236000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1QNvjWCAeH0Hq0bUFtKCbA">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;1000% agree with Grace Lyons,&#8221; said utility player Jayda Coleman.
Coleman said that when the team won the championship her freshman year, she was &#8220;so happy,&#8221; but she &#8220;didn&#8217;t feel joy.&#8221;
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know what to do the next day &#8230; I didn&#8217;t feel filled, and I had to find Christ in that,&#8221; Coleman said.
Coleman said she thinks that what makes the team so strong is that they are not afraid to lose.
&#8220;Yes obviously we&#8217;ve worked our butts off to be here, and we want to win, but it&#8217;s not the end of the world because our life is in Christ, and that&#8217;s all that matters,&#8221; Coleman said.
Alyssa Brito, another utility player, said she and her teammates have focused on a gesture they call &#8220;eyes up.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re really like, fixing our eyes on Christ,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;You can&#8217;t find fulfillment in an outcome, whether it&#8217;s good or bad,&#8221; Brito said. &#8220;I think that&#8217;s why we&#8217;re so steady in what we do and our love for each other and our love for the game because we know this game is giving us the opportunity to glorify God.&#8221;
Brito said that once she &#8220;turned to Jesus,&#8221; her outlook on life as well as on softball changed, and she understood &#8220;how much I have to live for, and that&#8217;s living to exemplify the kingdom.&#8221;
&#8220;I think that brings so much freedom,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;We have an eternity of joy with our Father, and I&#8217;m so excited about that,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Yes, I live in the moment, but I know this isn&#8217;t my home, and no matter what, my sisters in Christ will be there with me in the end when we&#8217;re with our king.&#8221;
This is Oklahoma&#8217;s <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/37821365/oklahoma-softball-ncaa-championship-wcws-dominance-superteam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third straight</a> victory in the Women&#8217;s College World Series. They snagged the championship title in the second game of the three-game series.
The team also finished with a division-winning record of 61 to 1 games, and they are coming off a 53-game winning streak.

2023 NCAA Division I Softball Championship

‘Joy From The Lord:’ Oklahoma Softball Team Surprises ESPN With Bold Declaration Of Faith

'Joy From The Lord:' Oklahoma Softball Team Surprises ESPN With Bold Declaration Of Faith

Christian

Religion

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma">Oklahoma</a> approved the first religious charter school in the U.S. on Monday.
In a 3-2 vote, The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a charter school to be funded by taxpayers and run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, on Monday.  
St. Isidore, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/us/oklahoma-first-religious-charter-school-in-the-us.html">named</a> after the patron saint of the internet, will <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65817394">include</a> religious instruction in its curriculum with a mission to “educate the entire child: soul, heart, intellect and body.”  
Set to begin in late 2024, the school will offer online classes to around 500 students in kindergarten through grade 12.  The school will receive an estimated $23.3 million in state funding for its first five years, according to the BBC.
Top state Republicans have disagreed on whether a religious charter school was allowable.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2023/june2023/governor-stitt-applauds-statewide-virtual-charter-school-board-s.html">praised</a> the board’s “courage to approve the authorization for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state, and I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options when it comes to their child’s education.” 
Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general, Gentner Drummond, released a <a href="https://www.oag.ok.gov/articles/drummond-says-religious-charter-school-approval-unconstitutional">statement</a> saying the school’s approval was “contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers.”  
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685885459858000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0AFvCLn4CIt7S8nPLjhrIg">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Drummond said the board members “violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars” and “exposed themselves and the State to potential legal action that could be costly.”
In February, Stitt <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/05/oklahoma-approves-public-religious-charter-school-00100269">expressed</a> his “strong disagreement” with a nonbinding opinion released by Drummond opposing the school.  Drummond’s predecessor, John O’Connor, released a conflicting opinion, supporting the school.
Section II-5 of the <a href="https://oksenate.gov/sites/default/files/2019-12/oc2.pdf">Oklahoma State Constitution</a> prohibits public money from being “directly or indirectly” used for the “use, benefit, or support,” of churches, religious institutions, and ministers.  
The school is likely to face legal challenges. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State <a href="https://www.au.org/the-latest/press/legal-action-oklahoma-religious-public-charter-school/#">announced</a> a legal challenge within minutes of the board’s vote. The ACLU also announced <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/oklahoma-religious-charter-school">plans</a> to challenge the school&#8217;s constitutionality on Tuesday, stating, &#8220;Our public schools must be free from religious indoctrination and open to all students.&#8221;
Americans United&#8217;s president, Rachel Laser, stated, “It’s hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing the nation’s first religious public charter school.”  
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered two decisions in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/us/supreme-court-religious-schools-aid.html">2020</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-rules-maine-cant-ban-taxpayer-funded-tuition-assistance-from-being-used-toward-religious-private-education">2022</a> expanding states’ ability to indirectly fund religious schools through voucher programs. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that while states are not required to support religious education, states cannot exclude religious schools if they choose to fund private schools. 
As reported by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/us/oklahoma-first-religious-charter-school-in-the-us.html">New York Times</a>, supporters of the board’s decision apply a similar argument, contending that excluding religious schools from charter funding would violate their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Catholic Primary School

Oklahoma Approves Nation’s First Religious Charter School

Oklahoma Approves Nation's First Religious Charter School

School Choice

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-responds-to-twitter-canceling-deal-to-stream-what-is-a-woman-a-mistake-by-many-people-at-twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk Responds To Daily Wire</a>
After Twitter abruptly canceled a deal with The Daily Wire to stream its hit documentary “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is a Woman?</a>” due to “misgendering,” Twitter owner Elon Musk has responded.
To celebrate the one-year anniversary of Matt Walsh’s documentary, The Daily Wire arranged a deal with Twitter to stream “What is a Woman?” on the platform tonight. But after watching the film, Twitter told The Daily Wire they would no longer provide any support and would even limit its reach while labeling it as “hateful conduct” due to “misgendering.” A few hours later, however, Musk responded, saying the cancelation was a &#8220;mistake by many people at Twitter.” The Twitter executive chairman said that so-called “misgendering” is allowed on the platform — though specifics of how the film’s screening will play out tonight remain to be seen.
 The streaming of the film begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on The Daily Wire Twitter page, and a Daily Wire Twitter space will start 30 minutes before the film begins.
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-lawmakers-honor-anti-catholic-sisters-perpetual-indulgence-member-despite-dodgers-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California Senate To Honor Anti-Catholic Group</a>
In the wake of the controversy regarding the Los Angeles Dodgers&#8217; decision to honor an anti-Catholic drag group, the California legislature&#8217;s LGBTQ Caucus announced it will honor one of the members of that group, the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” in a Senate event. 
The LGBTQ Caucus of the California Legislature says it will honor Michael Williams, who performs in a nun costume as &#8220;Sister Roma” as part of its June 5 recognition of Pride month. Williams is also a podcast host who covers pornography and LGBTQ issues. The Caucus praised Williams as “one of the most outspoken and globally recognized members” of the drag group. California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher condemned his colleagues’ decision in a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-lawmakers-honor-anti-catholic-sisters-perpetual-indulgence-member-despite-dodgers-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> to Fox News, saying, “Would Democrats still embrace this group if they mocked Jews or Muslims? Bigotry &amp; discrimination against any religious group are wrong &amp; have no place in the Capitol.”
<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-vote-block-bidens-student-debt-relief-program-rcna87223" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Blocks Biden’s Student Debt Relief Program</a>
The U.S. Senate voted today to block President Biden’s student debt relief program. The 52-46 vote was bipartisan with Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Jon Tester as well as Independent Senator Krysten Sinema joining Republicans. Biden has said he would veto the Senate’s legislation. The controversial debt forgiveness program is also being challenged at the Supreme Court.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-96097">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/01/us/pentagon-drag-show-air-force.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pentagon Cancels Drag Show</a>
Last night, the Pentagon canceled the third annual drag show at Nellis Air Force Base just as Pride month was set to begin. A Pentagon spokeswoman said that “hosting these types of events in federally funded facilities is not a suitable use of DOD resources.” Those comments echo what Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress earlier this year. Both men at the time seemed unaware the drag shows had been hosted at Nellis Air Force Base since 2021.
&#8220;Listen, uh, drag shows and, uh, are not something that the Department of Defense supports or fund,” Austin said at the time.
&#8220;That&#8217;s the first [I’ve] heard about that kind of stuff, uh, I don&#8217;t read those news stories,&#8221; Milley said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re talking about. I&#8217;d like to take a look at this because I don&#8217;t agree with those &#8230; they shouldn&#8217;t be happening.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="&quot;Who Funded These?&quot;: Gaetz Grills Pentagon Chief on Drag Queen Story Hours, Shows at Military Bases" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mv9UOfwVLIE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oklahoma-supreme-court-strikes-down-2-pro-life-laws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down Pro-Life Laws</a>
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that two state abortion laws — one banning abortion after a heartbeat is detected and the other banning the procedure in most cases — were unconstitutional due to state precedent. Governor Kevin Stitt, who signed both laws in 2022, condemned the Wednesday court ruling and vowed to “protect the lives of the unborn.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-illegal-alien-crackdown-sparks-national-protest-but-brings-a-great-opportunity-for-deportations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Day Without Immigrants Protest&#8221;</a>
In the wake of illegal immigration laws signed by Republican governors in states such as Florida, Texas, and elsewhere, activists and illegal aliens hosted a national protest today called “Day Without Immigrants.” In cities from coast to coast, these protesters called upon illegal aliens to strike from work.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actor-danny-masterson-found-guilty-of-two-counts-of-rape-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“That 70s Show” Actor Found Guilty Of Rape</a>
A Los Angeles jury found “That 70s Show” actor Danny Masterson guilty on two counts of rape in a retrial on Wednesday after several women he met through the Church of Scientology accused him of sexual assault in the early 2000s. 
 According to reports, the jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after seven days total of deliberation. They couldn’t, however, reach a decision on another sexual assault charge involving an ex-girlfriend Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, with 8 of 12 jurors favoring a guilty verdict. The alleged assaults occurred between 2001 and 2003. Masterson now faces 30 years to life in prison as he awaits his sentencing date later this summer. 

To listen to the audio version of this podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.

Thursday stock photo

Thursday Afternoon Update: Elon Musk Responds To Twitter Canceling Daily Wire Screening, California Senate To Honor Anti-Catholic Group, Pentagon Cancels Drag Show

Menu