Oklahoma AG Appeals Federal Halt on State Immigration Law
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is appealing the federal halt on a highly-contested state immigration law that criminalizes people’s unlawful presence in Oklahoma.
Drummond’s appeal takes the legal battle over Oklahoma’s law criminalizing all unauthorized immigrants in the state to a higher federal appeals court.
Drummond holds firm in his position that Oklahoma can and must protect itself from what he’s saying is an invasion at the southern border.
While the Western District Court of Oklahoma refuted Drummond’s argument in its June decision to halt enforcement of House Bill 4156, the state attorney general hopes the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sees things differently.
Whatever the Denver-based appeals court decides, either party – the federal government or the state of Oklahoma – can appeal that decision too.
From there, the U.S. Supreme Court can either hear the case or pitch it back to a lower court for further deliberation.
Ardmore Teacher Under Investigation For Assassination-Related Social Media Post
An Ardmore teacher could have her teaching license revoked after a post she made on social media about the recent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.
Ardmore City Schools has launched an investigation following a social media comment by teacher Alison Scott.
The post, which has now been deleted, appeared to condone violence against a political figure. Scott commented on a post related to the shooter in Trump's attempted assassination, saying QUOTE "Wish they had a better scope."
State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the State Department of Education have investigated the incident.
Walters told KOCO TV he plans to revoke her teaching certificate.
“We will not tolerate it in Oklahoma Schools, we will swiftly respond and get those teachers out of the classroom if any teacher thinks that this is appropriate behavior,” Walters said.
The State Board of Education will address the revocation of the teacher’s license in their upcoming meetings.
Miami Receives $6.3 Million FEMA Grant To Address Flooding Issues
Repeated devastating floods have plagued the residents of Miami in Northeast Oklahoma.
Now, the city has received a $6.3 million FEMA grant to help.
Those funds come through Oklahoma Emergency Management and will address flooding at five road sites crucial for getting in and out of Miami.
These improvements should prevent road closures, allowing emergency responders to reach the city more quickly during floods.
The federal money will cover 90 percent of the cost for these projects, and the city is ponying up the other 10 percent.
Miami leaders expect the road drainage improvements will take three years to complete.
City manager Tyler Cline said Miami is also working on flooding solutions with the Grand River Dam Authority after a judge ruled its management of the Pensacola Dam has contributed to the frequent flooding upstream.
Four Emmy Nominations For Oklahoma-based “Reservation Dogs”
Oklahoma-based show “Reservation Dogs” has four Emmy nominations this year.
Devery Jacobs took to social media with a simple, powerful message: “Native stories are valid and worth being recognized on Hollywood’s main stage.”
Jacobs is a Mohawk actress, star and writer on Reservation Dogs. And that sentiment has been shared across Indian Country in the wake of the nominations for her show.
The series has been snubbed at the Emmys in the past despite receiving numerous awards from the Writer’s Guild of America and Peabodies.
But 2024 is different. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who is Oji-Cree First Nations and Guyanese, was nominated for lead actor in a comedy series for his role as Bear Smallhill.
The show itself is up for Outstanding Comedy Series. And the creatives behind the cinematography and picture editing are also up for Emmys.
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