By SEAN MURPHY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s top education official said he’s teaming with country music singer Lee Greenwood in seeking donations to get $59.99 leather-bound “God Bless the USA” Bibles into classrooms throughout the state, after a legislative panel rejected his $3 million request to fund the effort.

Related Articles

Trump administration cancels $400M in grants and contracts with Columbia University

Trump slashed teacher training, citing DEI. Educators say the grants fought staff shortages

Trump wants to dismantle the Education Department. Here’s what it does

Louise Hinz appointed to South Washington County School board

Facing Trump’s threats, Columbia investigates students critical of Israel

State Superintendent Ryan Walters said this week that he’s partnering with Greenwood to help ensure the Bibles, which have been endorsed by President Donald Trump, get to Oklahoma schools.

“The Bible is indispensable in understanding the development of Western civilization and American exceptionalism, history, and all similar subjects,” Walters said in a statement. “The ongoing attempts to remove it from our classrooms is an attack on the foundation of our country.”

Walters’ push to require public schools to begin incorporating the Bible into lesson plans for students in grades 5 through 12 led to a lawsuit from a group of public school parents and teachers. Many schools simply ignored the mandate.

The directive is the latest salvo in an effort by conservative-led states to target public schools. Louisiana has required them to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, while others are under pressure to teach the Bible and ban books and lessons about race, sexual orientation and gender identity. Last year, the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked an attempt by the state to have the first publicly funded religious charter school in the country — a case that is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A former public school teacher who was elected to his post in 2022, Walters ran on a platform of fighting “woke ideology,” banning books from school libraries and getting rid of “radical leftists” who he claims are indoctrinating children in classrooms.

There are signs that even his Republican colleagues are growing tired of Walters’ divisive brand of politics. Besides the legislative committee denying Walters’ $3 million request to pay for the Bibles, Gov. Kevin Stitt recently rejected Walters’ proposal to require schools to collect the immigration status of children.

When asked this week about Walters’ Bible mandate, Stitt mentioned a free, popular Bible app created by Oklahoma pastor Bobby Gruenewald, and said: “I’m sure most kids have the Bible app on their phone.”

White Bear Lake 40, Roseville 39

White Bear Lake did it again. The Bears punched their ticket to state for the third time in three seasons after edging Roseville, 40-39, at home in the Class 4A, Section 4 final.

The game was a defensive slugfest, particularly in the second half. Elise Dieterle and Chloe Theissen combined to score 33 of the third-seeded Bears’ 40 points.

Maddie Sundberg scored 12 points to lead fourth-seeded Roseville (15-14). White Bear Lake (20-9) and Roseville both pulled section semifinal upsets just to reach the section final.

Eastview 74, Rosemount 69

For the first time since 2019, the Lightning are back in state.

Four players scored in double figures for Eastview (25-3), led by 19 points from Bra’ja Torry. Myah Maull added 15 points, while Alexandra Mathews and Jayda Wilson scored 13 apiece as the Lightning emerged victorious at home in the Class 4A, Section 3 final.

Amisha Ramlall scored 24 points and Ashna Ramlall had 22 for Rosemount (15-14)

Eastview topped the Irish in all three meetings between the two teams this season. Rosemount beat the Lightning in last year’s section final.

Cretin-Derham Hall 65, Two Rivers 53

Cretin-Derham Hall will make just its second state tournament appearance since 2003 after Sage Gilbert scored 17 to power the Raiders to a home win in the Class 3A, Section 3 final. This year the first time the Raiders (20-9) have won more than 11 games in a season since 2019.

Two Rivers (18-11) had three players score in double figures, led by 13 points from Elayna VanNett. The section final appearance marked another key milestone in an impressive two year turnaround for the Warriors under the guidance of former Hopkins star Nia Hollie.

Two Rivers won 11 games total in the two seasons prior to Hollie being hired as coach in 2023, and has won 33 games since.

DeLaSalle 69, Hill-Murray 65

Aneisha Scott scored 29 points and Taylor Starks added 15 as the Islanders rallied past Hill-Murray in the Class 3A, Section 4 title game at the DeLaSalle High School.

The defending state runners-up clinched their third straight state tournament appearance. DeLaSalle (24-5) enters this year’s tournament on a 10-game winning streak.

Sophomore star Mya Wilson scored 27 points to lead Hill-Murray (22-7), who went undefeated in conference play on the way to a Metro East crown this season.

Anoka 47, Centennial 44

Anoka scored 30 points in the second half to rally past Centennial after trailing by three at the break of the Class 4A, Section 7 title game.

Laurel Kuyon led Anoka with 15 points, while Drew Pederson and Madlin Freking each added 12.

The Tornadoes (20-8) will make their fourth-ever state tournament trip next week.

Centennial got 29 points from St. Thomas commit Autumn McCall. The Cougars (8-21) end-of-season record is misleading, as Centennial had to forfeit nine regular season victories after playing an ineligible athlete.

The state tournament starts Wednesday. Brackets will be released Saturday.

Related Articles

Boys state hockey tournament: Edina beats Rogers in overtime

Boys state hockey tournament: Moorhead pulls away in third to beat Lakeville South in 2A quarterfinals

Wisconsin high school hockey: Amery beats Somerset/St. Croix Falls in state semifinals

High school boys swimming and diving: State meet preview

Boys state hockey tournament: St. Thomas Academy outlasts Shakopee in quarterfinal

By PHILIP MARCELO

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A former campaign fundraiser for ex- U.S. Rep. George Santos was sentenced Friday to one year and one day in prison for impersonating a high-ranking congressional aide while raising campaign cash for the disgraced New York Republican.

Sam Miele pleaded guilty in 2023 to a single count of federal wire fraud for his role in the criminal case that led to Santos’ expulsion from office.

The 28-year-old New Jersey native admitted that in 2021 he solicited donations under the name Dan Meyer, then-chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who went on to serve less than a year as House speaker before leaving Congress in 2023.

Prosecutors said Miele’s impersonation included setting up a dummy email address resembling Meyer’s name while reaching out to over a dozen donors.

Miele also acknowledged he committed access device fraud by charging credit cards without authorization to send money to the campaigns of Santos and other political candidates, and for his own personal use. That fraud totaled about $100,000, prosecutors have said.

Miele faced more than two years in prison but his lawyers, in a court filing ahead of Friday’s hearing, argued that he should be sentenced to probation or house arrest.

They argued that Miele had no prior criminal record, quickly acknowledged his wrongdoing and cooperated with investigators.

His lawyers also cited dozens of letters of support from family and friends, saying he had allowed his ambition to succeed in politics to “overwhelm his good judgment, common sense and the ethical principles.”

“Sam Miele is a young man who made a bad mistake,” they wrote. “But his criminal conduct is not indicative of the person he is. Rather, it represents a complete departure from what has otherwise been a young life marked by integrity, kindness and service to others.”

Prosecutors, in their sentencing memo, recommended a sentence below federal guidelines, which they said called for 27 to 33 months in prison.

Miele, in his plea deal, agreed to pay about $109,000 in restitution, to forfeit another $69,000 and to make a $470,000 payment to a campaign contributor.

Miele was one of two campaign aides to reach a plea deal in the federal probe into Santos’ winning campaign.

Nancy Marks, his former campaign treasurer, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge. She faces sentencing in May.

Santos, for his part, is due to be sentenced next month after pleading guilty last August to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, just weeks before he was to stand trial last year.

The 36-year-old admitted he stole multiple people’s credit card numbers and charged them for donations to his campaign, used campaign cash on designer clothing and other personal expenses, falsely collected unemployment benefits while working and lied about his personal wealth in a financial disclosure to Congress.

When he entered his guilty plea, Santos blamed ambition for clouding his judgment.

The then-political unknown gained notoriety for flipping a congressional district that covered a wealthy swath of Queens and Long Island in 2022.

But his fantastical lies about his wealth and background were quickly debunked.

Among other things, Santos lied about having a career at top Wall Street firms and a college degree. He also falsely claimed his mother died in the 9/11 attacks and that his grandparents fled the Holocaust.

Less than a year after taking office, Santos was expelled from the U.S. House, becoming just the sixth ever booted from the chamber.

Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — D’Wayne Wiggins, a founding member of the Grammy-nominated group Tony! Toni! Tone! behind the classic songs “Anniversary,” “It Never Rains (In Southern California)” and (Lay Your Head on My) Pillow,” has died. He was 64.

Related Articles

Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years who inspired ‘Jolene,’ dies at 82

Lizzo releases new single and books First Avenue for intimate gig

The Happy Together Tour of ’60s pop acts will return to Minnesota State Fair Grandstand

Concert review: Justin Timberlake dazzled the crowd at the X, at least the ones who could see him

Reunited ’90s metal band Pantera to play Target Center in August

Wiggins died Friday morning after battling bladder cancer for over the past year, according to a statement released by his family on social media.

“D’Wayne’s life was incomparable, and his music and service impacted millions around the world, including in his hometown of Oakland, California,” his family said in a statement. “He was a guitarist, producer, composer, philanthropist, mentor and founding member of Tony! Toni! Tone! He was deeply passionate about providing artist development and mentorship to emerging young musicians, helping to shape the early careers of many.”

His family added: “Through this fight, he remained committed and present for his family, his music, his fans and his community.”

Wiggins was a vocalist and bass guitarist of the beloved R&B group, which included his brother Raphael Saadiq and their cousin Christian Riley. The group became mainstays of the New Jack Swing movement, blending R&B, jazz and traces of gospel melodies.

FILE – D’Wayne Wiggins, from left, Raphael Saadiq and Amar Khalil, of the R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, appear at the 26th Annual Heroes and Legends Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sept. 27, 2015. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)

The Oakland, California, natives burst onto the music scene with their 1988 debut album, “Who?” with songs like “Baby Doll” and “Little Walter.” But it was their 1990 New Jack Swing-infused “Feels Good” record that gave the group mainstream success, peaking at No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

They released two more studio projects together, with party hits like “Let’s Get Down,” featuring DJ Quik, and timeless slow jams including “Whatever You Want,” “It Never Rains (In Southern California),” “(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow” and “Anniversary,” a standard in the Black music romance canon.

The blood relatives also couldn’t predict how their success would affect their relationship. The Tonyies went their separate ways after their fourth album, 1996’s platinum-selling “House of Music.” Fame, finances, miscommunication and creative differences were unsustainable for the group.

Wiggins and Riley toured under the group’s name between 1998 and 2018, with Amar Khalil taking over lead singing duties. Wiggins also produced and helped grow young artists who would become some of today’s brightest young stars, including Zendaya, H.E.R., Kehlani, and even Destiny’s Child.

Ultimately, through Saadiq’s efforts, the group made amends and reunited for a tour in 2023. It was the first road trip featuring the three original members in nearly 30 years.

FILE – D’Wayne Wiggins, from left, Raphael Saadiq and Timothy Christian Riley of Tony! Toni! Tone! pose for a portrait on Sept. 27, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton, File)

The family members vowed not to let outside influences like managers, record executives and the entertainment business as a whole drive them apart again, realizing that time — at least in the professional sense — is no longer a luxury.

In a 2023 interview with The AP, The Tonyies had planned on a new project.

“We got a lot of material and now we just want to make sure that we put out the right energy through our music,” Wiggins said.

Associated Press journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton contributed to this report.