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Education secretary hopeful demands students watch video of him praying for Trump

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Education secretary hopeful demands students watch video of him praying for Trump


Oklahoma’s chief school officer and Trump administration education secretary hopeful is now demanding that students in the state watch a video of him praying for Donald Trump.

In an email circulated to Oklahoma public school superintendents last week, Ryan Walters ordered them to play the video to “all kids that are enrolled” in their districts as well as to the students’ parents.

Walters wrote that it was “a dangerous time for this country” and that students “rights and freedoms regarding religious liberties are continuously under assault,” the Oklahoman reported.

In the bizarre video, Walters announced a new office in the state called “the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism.”

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“For too long in this country we’ve seen the radical left attack individuals’ religious liberty in our schools. We will not tolerate that in Oklahoma. Your religious Liberties will be protected,” Walters said, before bowing his head in a prayer for Trump.

“I pray for our leaders to make the right decisions. I pray in particular for President Donald Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country,” he said.

When grilled by CNN’s Pam Brown about what gives him the authority to demand schools play the video to their students, Walters accused Brown of pushing a “left-wing narrative” and maintained that Trump “has a clear mandate.”

Ryan Walters bows his head in prayer for the president-elect in the video

Ryan Walters bows his head in prayer for the president-elect in the video (Oklahoma State Department of Education/YouTube)

“He wants prayer back in school. He wants radical leftism out of the classroom. He wants our kids to be patriotic,” he said. “He wants parents back in charge with school choice. We’re enacting upon that agenda here in Oklahoma.”

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Several school districts in Oklahoma said they have no intention of showing the video, the Oklahoman reported.

The office of the state’s Republican attorney general, Genter Drummond, also weighed in and said that Walters cannot mandate schools to play the video.

“There is no statutory authority for the state schools superintendent to require all students to watch a specific video,” Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office, told the newspaper.

“Not only is this edict unenforceable, it is contrary to parents’ rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights.”

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s state superintendent, is thought to currently be in the running to be named Trump’s new education secretary

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Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s state superintendent, is thought to currently be in the running to be named Trump’s new education secretary (@ryanmwalters/X)

Walters, who ordered schools to incorporate the Bible into classrooms and backs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s pledge to scrap the federal Department of Education, is thought to currently be in the running to be named Trump’s new education secretary.

In June, he notified all Oklahoma state schools to “immediately” incorporate the Bible into classroom curriculum, drawing immediate outrage and threats of lawsuits.

“Effective immediately, all Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support into the curriculum” in grades five through 12, according to the notice from the Republican school superintendent.

“The Bible is one of the most historically significant books and a cornerstone of Western civilization, along with the Ten Commandments,” the notice reads.

At a press conference at the time, Walters said that every school in the state “will have a Bible in the classroom,” and that every teacher “will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom.”

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The move, which led to him being sued by more than 30 educators and parents, propeled him into the national spotlight.



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Neighbors sift debris, help each other after suspected Purcell tornado

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Neighbors sift debris, help each other after suspected Purcell tornado


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PURCELL — Jennifer Fox had just fed the pigs behind her house early in the morning Thursday, Jan. 8, and began getting ready for work before she and her two sons heard something hit her bedroom window.

“I said, ‘Is it hailing?” she said. “My oldest looked out the window and he saw our awning across the back. He said, ‘Mom, the awning’s gone.”

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Fox looked out the window and saw debris everywhere. She said she didn’t hear tornado sirens, but she and her sons immediately took shelter in a closet. By that time, the suspected tornado had already passed through her neighborhood off of Johnson Avenue in Purcell.

At first, Fox didn’t think there was a tornado and attributed the damage and debris to strong winds.

But just one street over, the roof of one house had been destroyed. When she looked at the house behind hers, Fox said she knew a tornado had hit her neighborhood.

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“I was thankful at the time,” she said. “I told my kids, I said, ‘It could’ve been a lot worse.’ We weren’t prepared, obviously. I really felt like it just barely missed us.”

Severe weather passed through central Oklahoma early Thursday morning, bringing reports of damage from a possible tornado in Purcell. The National Weather Service in Norman reported on social media that survey teams have found at least EF1 tornado damage in the Purcell area.

The Purcell Fire Department reported a tornado touched down in the city, causing roof damage to nine homes, a semi truck rollover accident on Interstate 35 with one injury and widespread power outages, downed trees and powerlines.

On Norte Street in Purcell, the suspected tornado wiped out the roof of a newly-built home, throwing debris onto the road, including a Christmas tree and blue ornaments. The houses across the street and next door were untouched.

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Community members and local high school students gathered pieces of trash, plywood, insulation and other debris and hauled them off.

Next door to Fox, a man and a woman removed debris from their yard that appeared to have blown over from Fox’s house. Like a puppy, a tall brown horse followed the man as he picked up each piece of trash. Across the street, cattle laid in the middle of a field and watched as one person after another drove into the neighborhood to lend a hand.

About five miles northeast of Fox’s house, the suspected tornado knocked over a few powerlines near Purcell’s football stadium. A tree fell onto a small white house and took the tin roof off a large warehouse.

Ron Musgrave, the warehouse’s owner, lives six miles north of Purcell. He said he learned his property was damaged through a local news broadcast.

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“They had the people out front and they had the helicopters, so I could see it,” Musgrave said. “They were flying over here. There’s a football field, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. If that’s the football field, that’s my warehouse.”

The retired home builder and property owner said he keeps building supplies in his warehouse and a black and white cat who’s in charge of exterminating any trespassing mice.

The cat was happy to see Musgrave as he surveyed the water damage inside of the warehouse. Though there was some wet spots, the roof took most of the impact.

“It’s a project,” Musgrave said with a smile. “I am down for it.”

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Severe weather damage reported in Shawnee, Norman

Tree damage was reported in Cleveland County at 156th Street and East Tecumseh Avenue, according to Alyse Moore, Cleveland County communications director, along with damage to a car port and barn at 800 Moffatt Road north of Lexington.

Storm damage was also reported in Shawnee. Social media posts show damage to the Holiday Inn Express and Walmart Supercenter off of Interstate 40.



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Oklahoma Sooners add transfer portal offensive lineman to the roster

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Oklahoma Sooners add transfer portal offensive lineman to the roster


The Oklahoma Sooners made an under-the-radar transfer portal addition on Wednesday, bringing back a player who spent two seasons in Norman before transferring out last year.

Former Central Oklahoma offensive lineman Kenneth Wermy will be returning to play for OU out of the portal. Wermy played for the Sooners in 2023 and 2024 before spending 2025 at the NCAA Division II level with the Bronchos. He’ll add depth to an offensive line group that is in need of it after recent portal departures.

Wemry is a local product from Cache, Oklahoma, and he stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 315 pounds. The Sooners have been busy adding big names in the transfer market, but with a week and a half left until the portal closes, the focus may soon turn to retention and building back depth on the roster.

Oklahoma had a busy portal day on Wednesday, adding Wermy and former Michigan linebacker Cole Sullivan. However, Oklahoma also lost three players to the portal, in linebacker Sammy Omosigho, defensive back Jaydan Hardy, and wide receiver Zion Ragins.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.





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Oklahoma bill aims to ban obscene materials in public school libraries

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Oklahoma bill aims to ban obscene materials in public school libraries


A local lawmaker is introducing a bill to prohibit obscene materials in Oklahoma public school libraries.

Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby, filed legislation this week, House Bill 2978, that would update state law and prohibit the acquisition of materials that meet Oklahoma’s legal definition of obscenity.

The bill removes references to subjective community standards and relies on established statute, according to Banning.

“This legislation provides a straightforward statewide rule that helps ensure school libraries stay within the definition of education,” Banning said. “According to Black’s Law Dictionary, education is defined as providing proper moral, intellectual and physical instruction.”

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