Oklahoma

Country pop star Carrie Underwood, famous for her hit 2005 Christian song "Jesus, Take the Wheel," has opened up about her faith in an interview in the upcoming June issue of Glamour magazine, while the OWN Network is set to air an interview between Oprah Winfrey and Underwood and her husband.

Underwood, who recently released her new album "Blown Away," shared in the magazine that her songs, sometimes focused on God, Jesus and faith, are part of her "Bible Beltness," where such themes are popular. She noted that she was not the first, nor will she be the last, to sing about God.

The country star also shared that day-to-day religion is an important part of her life. more >>

An abortion law in Oklahoma signed by Gov. Mary Fallin last year has been ruled as unconstitutional by a district court judge because it violates a woman's privacy.

House Bill 1970, which placed restrictions on a drug used by women to induce abortions, was found by Judge Donald L. Worthington to be "an unconstitutional law in violation of the fundamental rights of women to privacy and bodily integrity." Worthington, an active retired district judge from Payne and Logan counties who was assigned to hear the case, gave his decision on May 11.

Arguing that the restrictions on the abortion-inducing drug served no other purpose but to make it harder for pregnant women to receive this option, Worthington deducted that the law was "so completely at odds with the standard that governs the practice of medicine that it can serve no purpose other than to prevent women from obtaining abortions and to punish and discriminate against those women who do." more >>

The Voice of the Martyrs' president released a statement Wednesday acknowledging the apparent suicide of the nonprofit's late executive director, Walter Thomas "Tom" White, amid allegations that he had molested a young girl. Authorities have also shared with The Christian Post details in the case against White, who left behind a wife and two children.

James E. Dau shared on VOM's website in a letter echoing a previous statement from the Oklahoma organization, that learning of White's death was difficult and prompted many questions among those involved with the Christian persecution ministry.

"No day in the history of my work at VOM has been more difficult than Wednesday, April 18th. That morning, we learned that Tom had taken his own life. Like everyone on our team, and probably like you, my first question was, 'Why?'" writes Dau, who is also The Voice of the Martyr's CEO. more >>

After it was revealed last Wednesday that The Voice of the Martyrs' Walter Thomas "Tom" White had been found dead at the Christian ministry's Oklahoma headquarters, it was reported days later that the executive director had possibly committed suicide amid an investigation into allegations that he had molested a young girl.

The Voice of the Martyrs, headed by White as an executive director for more than 20 years, issued a statement last Wednesday, April 18 announcing the married father of two's untimely passing. Two days later, the nonprofit, interdenominational organization acknowledged that White, 64, was being investigated by Oklahoma authorities for allegedly having "inappropriate contact with a young girl."

"Rather than face those allegations, and all of the resulting fallout for his family and this ministry and himself, Tom appears to have chosen to take his own life," the Christian ministry said in an April 20 statement. more >>

The Oklahoma House recently approved a resolution declaring "Oklahoma – In God We Trust!" as the state's official motto, with some critics rejecting the proposal as exclusive and "frivolous."

The bill, known as HCR 1024, was first introduced by state representative Danny Morgan (D-Prague) last month and approved by the House on Monday.

It was long believed that "Labor Omnia Vincit" or "Labor Conquers All Things" – which is found on the Great Seal of Oklahoma – was the state motto. more >>

The Oklahoma State Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would require abortion providers to offer their patients a chance to hear the fetal heartbeat, but the final legislation is far from what either side of the debate originally argued for. 

The "heartbeat bill" passed the Republican-controlled Senate by a vote of 34-8.

In the original version of Oklahoma's SB 1274, the woman receiving the abortion would have been required to listen to the fetal heartbeat before the procedure could be completed. more >>