Oklahoma
Student’s death shines new light on LGBTQ+ policies in Oklahoma schools
The week in extremism, from USA TODAY.
Vigils taking place across U.S. for Nex Benedict
Vigils took place across the nation for Nex Benedict, the non-binary Oklahoma teenager who died the day after a fight in a high school bathroom.
The death of a transgender student after a fight at an Oklahoma school has placed new focus on the state’s hostile stance toward LGBTQ+ people. Meanwhile, a government report finds that social media and gaming companies continue to host extremist propaganda and recruitment efforts. And extremism is a top concern for voters, according to a new nationwide poll.
It’s the week in extremism.
Student’s death shines light on Oklahoma’s treatment of LGBTQ+ community
Nex Benedict, a teenager from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, suburb of Owasso, died earlier this month, a day after they were involved in a fight in a high school bathroom. Nex, who used he/him and they/them pronouns, identified as gender expansive, an umbrella term that describes people whose gender identity expands beyond traditional gender norms, according to the National Institutes of Health.
While it remains unclear whether the fight contributed to Nex’s death, the case has placed new focus on Oklahoma’s treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.
Several students in Owasso told The Oklahoman they had experienced bullying because of their gender identities and sexualities. “I was bullied pretty much every day, consistently,” said Ren Stolas, 20, who is transgender. “That’s why this hurts a little extra.”
- On Wednesday, 350 local, state and national organizations sent an open letter to senior officials at the Oklahoma State Legislature calling for the removal of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, who they say has been hostile towards the state’s LGBTQ+ community.
- Last month, Walters appointed Chaya Raichik, the far-right influencer whose controversial posts have preceded dozens of bomb and death threats, to a statewide library advisory board. That move had sparked outrage from the LGBTQ+ community.
- As USA TODAY reported, Raichik does not meet the state’s own basic requirements for the position. In an interview with a Washington reporter last weekend, Raichik acknowledged she has only been to Oklahoma once, and shed no new light on her qualifications for the state position.
- The open letter also calls for an investigation into the Oklahoma Department of Education, “to determine what actions and policies have led to a culture where rampant harassment” of gay and trans students.
Police officials have said in a statement that Nex’s death was not the result of injuries from a fight, adding that the findings were preliminary and investigations by the medical examiner’s office and the police department remain under way.
Report: Gaming sites, social media ‘often used’ by domestic terrorists
A report released this week by the Government Accountability Office concludes that domestic terrorists often use social media and online gaming sites to spread propaganda and “to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize” people online.
- The FBI identified lone offenders and small groups who have been radicalized online and commit violence over political grievances as “one of the most significant terrorism threats” facing the country, the report says.
- While the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have mechanisms to share information about extremists on social media and gaming sites, “neither agency has developed a strategy that articulates how it identifies and selects companies to engage with or the goals and desired outcomes of those engagements.”
- The report’s primary recommendation: To develop just such a strategy. The FBI should should share information related to domestic violent extremism with social media and gaming companies, the GAO said.
Poll: Extremism top concern for voters
The primary concern to U.S. voters currently is political extremism/threats to democracy, according to a new nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll.
- 21% of respondents to the three-day poll said extremism was their top priority, while 19% said it was the economy and 18% said immigration. Crime and corruption (7%) and war and foreign conflicts (5%) were far behind.
- Democrats mostly named extremism as their top concern, while Republicans overwhelmingly chose immigration.
- The majority of Americans (71%) told pollsters the country is on the wrong track, and only 13% said it is heading in the right direction.
Statistic of the week: At least 17
That’s how many people were killed by domestic extremists in 2023, according to a report released late last week by the Anti-Defamation League. The number of fatalities is down from 2022, in which domestic extremists killed 27 people, per the ADL.
Will Carless is a national correspondent covering extremism and emerging issues. Contact him at wcarless@usatoday.com. Follow him on X @willcarless.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma lawmakers ask Supreme Court to let customers join ONG rate hike case
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — As an Oklahoma utility company seeks a multimillion-dollar rate increase, two Oklahoma state representatives are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give customers a voice.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is currently deciding on a $29 million rate increase for Oklahoma Natural Gas.
If approved, officials say it would mark the fourth rate hike the OCC has approved for ONG in the last four years and has led to an $128 million increase in customer bills.
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, and Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, have filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying customers weren’t given a chance to participate in the case.
“The OCC has gone completely off the beam,” ONG customers Gann and Kevin West told the Supreme Court in their June 17 petition.
In the filing, they claim that the OCC set a March 27 deadline to intervene in ONG’s rate case but only set it after the deadline had already passed.
They say ONG’s customers weren’t notified about the case until late April.
“This case was rigged from the start to keep ONG ratepayers out,” said Gann. “The federal courts have said utility customers have constitutional due process rights – including a right to timely and adequate notice about these cases. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold customers’ rights and require the OCC to change its rules to respect them. ONG ratepayers should be allowed to exercise their right to participate without being muzzled.”
The commissioners are expected to make a final decision on the $29 million rate increase later this year.
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ONG, the OCC, and the attorney general have 30 days to respond to Gann and Kevin West’s latest ONG appeal.
Oklahoma
Most Oklahoma voters didn’t cast a ballot during June’s primary election
Just 26%, or about one in four registered Oklahoma voters, cast a ballot in the race, according to an analysis of the results.
In total, 630,085 people weighed in on a state question to gradually increase the minimum wage. It was the only race open to Democrats, Republicans and independents, who weren’t eligible to vote in partisan races.
Democrats have typically opened their closed primaries to include independents, but failed to submit the paperwork for this year’s primaries on time. Some voters expressed frustration with the system on election day.
This year’s polls drew fewer voters than in 2018, the last time there was a similar gubernatorial race without incumbents. The election included a state question to approve medical marijuana, and 44% of registered voters cast ballots.
There are almost 1.3 million registered Republicans in Oklahoma, but the GOP race for governor only garnered about 400,000 ballots. Out of more than 613,000 registered Democrats, only about 172,000 voted in Tuesday’s election.
Even though general elections are usually better attended, Oklahoma’s numbers were also low during the 2024 presidential election. One report from the University of Florida rated Oklahoma’s turnout at the time as the lowest in the nation.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Adds OF Adi Hansen From Southern Idaho
NORMAN — Oklahoma softball’s transfer portal activity may have been fairly slow developing.
But now, as the portal window nears its end, the Sooners have started having success.
Oklahoma added outfielder Adi Hansen, a standout at the College of Southern Idaho for the last two seasons on Thursday.
Hansen’s announcement, made on Instagram, followed shortly after Middle Tennessee outfielder Macie Harter announced her commitment to the Sooners.
Hansen led the Golden Eagles with a .457 batting average in 186 at bats in 2026, with an eye-popping 82 runs scored and a school-record 62 stolen bases on 67 attempts.
Hansen had 17 games with two or more stolen bases this season and twice had four stolen bases in a game.
Hansen had four triples and 21 RBIs, drawing 23 walks.
She earned NJCAA first-team All-America honors, helping her team finish 43-13 with a NJCAA Division I Juco World Series appearance.
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In 2025, as a freshman, Hansen hit .401 with 36 stolen bases and 62 ruyns scored.
Hansen is a Logan, Utah, product.
Hansen and Harter join a group of outfielders that includes Kai Minor in centerfield and Ella Parker in right field.
The Sooners lost Abby Dayton to graduation and Kasidi Pickering to transfer after the season. Pickering will reportedly transfer to Texas Tech.
Oklahoma finished 52-10 last season, missing the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 after falling to Mississippi State in three games in the Norman Super Regional.
The Sooners have a strong incoming recruiting class and return a trio of pitchers — Audrey Lowry, Miali Guachino and Allyssa Parker — as well as experienced hitters Kendall Wells, Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas plus Minor and Ella Parker.
In addition to the departures of Dayton and Pickering, the Sooners also lost pitchers Sydney Berzon and Kierston Deal, first baseman Isabela Emerling, and second baseman Ailana Agbayani to graduation. Outfielder Tia Milloy, pitcher Berkley Zache and utility player Riley Zache also entered the transfer portal.
Oklahoma’s incoming class includes Edmond Santa Fe pitcher Keegan Baker, Lakewood, Calif., infielder Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Mililani, Hawaii, infielder Ori Mailo, Fullerton, Calif., pitcher Malaya Majam-Finch, Katy, Texas, pitcher EK Smith, and Mesa, Ariz., outfilder Payton Westra.
Mailo was with the Sooners this season, redshirting after joining the program a year early.
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