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Oklahoma schools chief dedicates millions to put ‘a Bible in every school’

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Oklahoma schools chief dedicates millions to put ‘a Bible in every school’

Oklahoma’s top elected education official said Thursday he is very close to his goal of placing a Bible in “every school” in the Sooner State to both combat “woke” curricula in today’s textbooks and ensure students have access to an incredible “historical document.”

In a phone interview with Fox News Digital, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said that America’s founders called upon the Bible when organizing the Republic, and therefore it is key that today’s generation understand the texts from which the country they live in came from.

Walters said exclusively that his department has now allocated $3 million of its budget to the endeavor and announced that he will be asking for an additional $3 million in an upcoming legislative appropriation to the Republican-majority legislature to meet his goal.

“There were several mechanisms that could have been used here,” he said. “Districts could have used the money already allocated for it. They could have used their textbook funds. But what we’re doing is we, as the state Department of Education, we’re saying we’re going to purchase the Bible for every classroom with $3 million.”

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said he is close to realizing a funding goal that could put a Bible in every state public school classroom. (Getty Images)

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“That is what will be a new announcement today: We are actually going to purchase them, deliver them to the schools. And then number two, we’re going to be asking for $3 million moving forward to continue to supply the schools with Bibles moving forward.”

Asked about any pushback from legislators or constituents, Walters said that on the whole, parents are excited to see the Bible back in schools, so that their kids are “going to have an understanding of the role the Bible played in American history.”

He noted that, decades ago, Bibles in non-parochial schools were the norm. However, while speaking with Fox News Digital, Walters noted that a faint din of protesters could be heard outside his window.

classroom desks

Walters tells Fox News Digital that his aim is for Oklahoma students to “have an understanding of the role the Bible played in American history.” (iStock)

“We saw the Supreme Court being weaponized against the Bible in the classroom and prayer in school back in the 1960s. And again, with the help of the teachers’ union, they were able to drive it out of our schools,” he added.

A directive from Walters in June had said that school districts will be required to incorporate the Bible in their curriculum, but Thursday’s announcement was notable in that his office now has, and will continue to secure, the funding so that the state can provide the text directly.

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Former President Trump has spoken out against “wokeness,” including in schools, and has also spoken about the importance of the Founding Fathers and what they called upon to build the country.

Walters said, he is taking those ideas and running with them.

“I think you’re going to see that there’s a trend moving forward that other states are going to follow Oklahoma’s example,” he said.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu to install speed cameras after years of deadly crashes

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Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu to install speed cameras after years of deadly crashes

Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Friday allowing Malibu to add five speed cameras along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Over 60 lives have been taken in fatal crashes on this stretch of highway since 2010, and this bill aims to enhance the PCH’s safety.

The bill, known as SB 1297, will add speed cameras along a 21-mile stretch of PCH to target and fine speeding drivers.

The Malibu City Council declared a local emergency in November of 2023 to address the public safety risk caused by speeding drivers, prompting the CHP to step up enforcement.

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KTLA’s John Fenoglio spoke with local residents who say the cameras can’t come soon enough.

“I’m glad to see [Newsom] implement it because this shouldn’t be a freeway,” said Malibu resident Kristal Moffett. “And every time I see people crossing or speeding, it’s terrifying.”

The Malibu City Council must approve a plan that ensures the rollout of the camera program meets regulatory compliance. The new law goes into effect in January. 

Until then, residents are urging drivers to just slow down.

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Southwest

Fox News Poll: Voters' choice has flipped in Arizona since last month

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Fox News Poll: Voters' choice has flipped in Arizona since last month

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Former President Trump is narrowly ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential contest in Arizona, as the Democratic nominee loses ground among women, Hispanics and young voters.

A new Fox News survey of Arizona voters finds Harris trails Trump by 3 percentage points among likely voters in both the two-way matchup (48%-51%) and the expanded ballot that includes third-party candidates (47%-50%, with 3% backing other candidates). While 9 in 10 say their vote choice is locked in, both Harris and Trump have a handful of supporters saying they may change their mind.  

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In August, Harris was up by 1 point in the horse race among registered voters (50%-49%), while she’s down by 2 points today (48%-50%). All of these matchups are within the margin of error. 

The 3-point shift among registered voters is mainly due to movement among young voters, women and Hispanics.  

Since August, Harris’ 18-point lead among Hispanics has narrowed to 11 points and her 14-point edge among women is down to 8 points. What was a 13-point advantage for Harris among voters under age 30 is now a 12-point deficit, a 25-point shift. These changes are notable, even given that estimates among subgroups are more volatile.

HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN: THE EDGE IS CLEAR ON THIS KEY ISSUE

Trump tops Harris among Whites without a college degree, rural voters and independents. He has a narrow edge among suburbanites because more suburban men back him than suburban women favor Harris. And, by just a touch, more of his 2020 voters stick with him than Biden’s 2020 voters back Harris.

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Harris has strong support among those ages 65 and over, voters with a college degree and urban voters, and still receives majority backing among women and Hispanics. Plus, 1 in 4 non-MAGA Republicans favors Harris over Trump.  

By a 51%-46% margin, Trump leads among new voters, defined as those who haven’t voted in the four most recent elections.  

“Arizona is looking tougher for Harris than a month ago,” says Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, who conducts Fox News surveys with Republican Daron Shaw. “If young voters and Hispanics don’t make a U-turn, it’s hard to see how she walks away with a win.”

More Arizona voters trust Trump than Harris to handle immigration (by 15 points) and the economy (+8). Those are significant leads, and they match where things stood last month — but compared to his June leads over President Biden, Trump’s advantage is down 5 points on immigration and down 7 points on the economy.  

Trump is also seen as being better at making the country safe by 7 points.  

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There’s little difference between the candidates on who will better protect democracy (Harris +3), help the middle class (Harris +2), fight for people like you (Harris +2), and bring needed change (Trump +1). 

Harris leads Trump by 15 points on handling abortion, down from her 22-point lead last month. 

More than 7 in 10 Arizona voters favor the state’s proposed constitutional amendment establishing the right to an abortion, including more than two-thirds of independents and half of Republicans. 

The two candidates are about equal in personal favorable ratings. Harris gets net negative marks by 3 points (48% favorable, 51% unfavorable), while Trump’s are negative by 5 points (47%-52%). For the vice-presidential candidates, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s ratings are negative by just 1 point (42%-43%) with 15% unable to rate him. Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s favorable rating is underwater by 7 points (40%-47%) and 12% have no opinion.  

Trump won Arizona in 2016 by about 3.5 percentage points, while Biden’s 2020 victory was by less than half a percentage point.

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In the Senate race, Democrat Ruben Gallego tops Republican Kari Lake by more than 10 percentage points: 55%-42% among likely voters and 56%-42% among registered voters. Gallego is preferred across most demographic groups, but women voters are a big part of what gives him the advantage as they back him over Lake by a 23-point margin. He also receives the support of 6 in 10 independents and nearly 2 in 10 Republicans.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS CITE HIGH PRICES AS BIGGEST MOTIVATOR TO VOTE

Some 15% of Gallego supporters split their ticket and back Trump in the presidential race. Some of the biggest ticket splitting is among independents, who are 16 points more likely to back Gallego than Harris, and Republicans (10 points more for Gallego). Among those voters favoring Lake, only 3% go for Harris.

Poll-pourri

Early voters are more likely to back Harris by 11 points, while Trump is favored by 30 points among the smaller group of Election Day voters.

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Biden’s personal favorability is negative by 21 points, 39% favorable vs. 60% unfavorable. That’s a big decline from four years ago when his ratings were positive by 2 points (June 2020).  

 

Thirty percent rate the U.S. economy positively, up from 25% who said the same four years ago.          

CLICK HERE FOR TOPLINE AND CROSSTABS

Conducted Sept. 20-24, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,021 Arizona registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (147) and cellphones (616) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (258). Results based on the registered voter sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points ,and for the subsample of 764 likely voters it is ±3.5 percentage points. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Likely voters are based on a probabilistic statistical model that relies on past voting history, interest in the current election, age, education, race, ethnicity, church attendance and marital status.

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Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Southern California thieves drill into vehicles to steal gasoline

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Southern California thieves drill into vehicles to steal gasoline

An Inland Empire resident is warning others after thieves targeted and drilled into her vehicle to steal gasoline.

The incident occurred on Sept. 19 as Heather Velasco parked her truck outside Kindred Hospital in Rancho Cucamonga where she works.

Later that day, she and a coworker were heading out to lunch when she approached her truck and noticed a strong gasoline odor.

Thinking it was emanating from a nearby diesel truck, they got into the car and began driving but immediately, Velasco knew something was wrong. Her truck was only three years old, so she was surprised anything would be malfunctioning.

“We drove across the street and my car started sputtering,” she recalled.

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She eventually pulled over and that’s when she discovered someone had drilled into her truck’s fuel tank to empty the vehicle.

  • The thieves drilled a hole into the truck's fuel tank from underneath the victim's truck. (KTLA)
  • Heather Velasco is seen outside her truck and sharing her story with KTLA's Shelby Nelson after thieves drilled holes into her car's fuel tank to steal gasoline. (KTLA)
  • A suspect was arrested in Upland for  attempting to steal gasoline from a box truck's fuel tank on Sept. 23, 2024. (Upland Police Department)
  • A suspect was arrested in Upland for  attempting to steal gasoline from a box truck's fuel tank on Sept. 23, 2024. (Upland Police Department)

“I just looked under and sure enough, there was a hole and it was leaking gas and then I looked up and I saw another hole,” she said.

Velasco called the police and had her truck towed away. She was left with costly repairs in the aftermath — pay $4,000 upfront to fix the damages or pay a $1,000 deductible with an increase to her insurance premium. She chose to fix her truck by claiming her insurance.

She was also left without a car for a week which meant relying on others to drive her three children to school and at times, missing out on shifts at her workplace.

“It’s hard times,” Velasco said. “We’re living in times where everything is inflated. Trying to raise a family and trying to do things right. You’re not getting anywhere because you got these criminals on the run and they’re just doing whatever they want.”

Police noted there have been several cases of gas siphoning in the area since 2023.

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In nearby Upland, police arrested a man on Sept. 23 for allegedly trying to steal gas from a box truck on the 800 block of North Mountain Avenue.

Velasco said she’s thankful no one was hurt, but is now worried that she can’t safely park her truck anywhere without fear of being targeted again.

“We should be able to go in, clock in and feel like your stuff is safe out there,” she said of parking at her workplace.

Local police recommend protecting your vehicle by having an active alarm system to deter thieves and parking near security cameras when possible.

“If you have access to it, park in a secure location like a garage or gated area, then that would be best, but otherwise parking underneath a lit area [would also be helpful],” said Upland Police Sgt. Eric DiVincenzo.

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No suspect has been arrested so far as the incident remains under investigation.

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