Boca Raton, Florida’s Republican Mayor Scott Singer announced a run for Congress last week and spoke to Fox News Digital about his case to voters that Washington needs more local, common-sense leadership and fewer policies that he says have fueled inflation, weakened border security and slowed economic growth.

Singer announced his run against Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District with a launch video referencing New York City’s onerous taxes and referencing Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s “radical left policies” while contrasting the economic and tax landscape with Florida, where many New Yorkers have fled to in recent years.

“I love public service,” Singer told Fox News Digital. “It’s been the honor of my life to serve as mayor. We have an opportunity to keep America going in the right direction and reverse some of the policies from the past four years that led to porous borders, high taxes, higher inflation and have hurt our economy.”

Singer, who joins a race where several other Republicans have also declared, praised recent Republican-led efforts in Washington, including what he described as historic tax relief and policies aimed at boosting wages and lowering costs for working families.

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“The Republican Party has become the party of the middle class,” he said, pointing to proposals to eliminate taxes on overtime and tips, strengthen domestic manufacturing and bring jobs back to the U.S. “These are the things that are helping the middle class, higher wages, lower inflation and lower costs.”

The mayor drew a sharp contrast with today’s Democratic Party, arguing it has moved too far to the left to deliver practical solutions.

“Unfortunately, the Democratic Party of today is not our parents’ Democratic Party,” Singer said. “With an increasingly out-of-touch, far-left progressive party, it’s hard for common-sense solutions to come out of that.”

Singer said his experience in local government has shown him what effective governance looks like — and what Washington is missing.

“At the local level, we’ve excelled because we have to,” Singer said. “We have balanced budgets. We can’t shut down the government. We have to pick up the trash every day and deliver essential services. And we do that by finding common ground.”

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That approach, Singer argued, is increasingly absent in Congress, where partisan gridlock often stalls progress.

He also voiced strong support for President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, particularly efforts to combat antisemitism on college campuses, reduce the size of government and roll back federal regulations.

“Our campuses have been unsafe for years,” Singer said. “President Trump has stood up to antisemitism by holding universities accountable. We need to codify those gains, not just rely on executive orders.”

Singer pledged he would also push to restore more authority to states and local governments, particularly on education and environmental policy, and continue efforts to rein in federal spending.

“Harmful regulation has killed jobs and increased costs,” he said. “We need long-term solutions that put power back in the hands of states and communities, not Washington bureaucrats.”

Singer told Fox News Digital one of his day one priorities if elected to Congress will be legislation to “ban individual stock trading by members,” which he called an “important” issue.

The Cook Political Report currently ranks the race as “Lean Democrat” as House Republicans will try to buck historical trends and hold their razor-thin majority in the House next November.

“What Americans want is a strong economy, a strong national defense and common-sense solutions,” Singer said. “That’s what I’ve delivered as mayor, and that’s what I want to bring to Congress.”

Earlier this year, shortly before Mamdani’s victory, Singer told Fox News Digital that the socialist candidate’s rise in New York City is likely to spark an exodus of businesses to Florida, a move he said he has already started to see in his conversations with business owners.

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“It’s hard to predict how bad the economic situation is going to be, but Mamdani doubled down at last week’s debate and said it’s about time we raised taxes, and he was grateful for it,” Singer said. “When he’s proposing a 17% marginal tax rate for New York City residents between state and local taxes, that’s 17% that they can simply give up by moving here and with jobs more mobile because of technology and with companies finding great office space here, there’s less and less reason for people to stay there.”

Singer continued, “I think one year out, you’re going to see a substantial exodus of companies that are able to move. Two years out, we’re going to see depressed values, more unemployment, higher crime. And four years out? We don’t know. I think at that point, they’ll be ready for a new mayor if what we expect to happen in November happens.”

Three inmates who escaped a DeKalb County, Georgia, jail on Monday were captured without incident in Miami, Florida, after a multistate manhunt led by the U.S. Marshals Service and regional fugitive task forces.

The inmates – 24-year-old Stevenson Charles, 31-year-old Yusuf Minor and 25-year-old Naod Yohannes – escaped the DeKalb County Jail in Decatur, a northeastern suburb of Atlanta, early Monday morning.

The inmates were facing felony charges, including murder, arson and armed robbery, and were considered dangerous and possibly armed, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators learned Charles contacted his girlfriend in Florida, and about 2:30 a.m., a Lyft driver picked up all three suspects at the home of Minor’s girlfriend.

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The driver then took the suspects to a vacant address in Stone Mountain, Georgia, associated with Minor.

Investigators identified the Lyft driver and began efforts to locate her.

Authorities later determined the fugitives allegedly forced the driver to take them to Florida along a route toward the Miami area, where Charles’ girlfriend was located.

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At about 9:30 p.m. Monday, investigators learned the fugitives had rented an Airbnb in Miramar, Florida.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office spotted the Lyft vehicle about 10:45 p.m. and attempted a traffic stop, but Charles and Yohannes fled.

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By 11:40 p.m., all three fugitives were apprehended without further incident.

The Lyft driver was located and treated by emergency responders.

A Lyft spokesperson told Fox News Digital the company is working with law enforcement in any way it can.

“We are deeply concerned by this incident and relieved that the driver is safe,” the spokesperson said. “Our hearts are with the driver, and we have reached out to offer support.”

The investigation into the escape remains ongoing.

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According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Charles was convicted of federal weapons violations and sentenced to 10 years to life in prison. Minor was convicted of murder in 2024 and is serving a life sentence, while Yohannes was being held on arson and criminal damage charges. All three now face additional charges.

Newly released court records shed additional light on how a family responded after the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner, who was found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship last month.

According to documents obtained by FOX 35 Orlando, text messages exchanged after Anna’s death show the family’s concern about limiting information shared publicly and keeping their 16-year-old son’s name out of the media.

The messages were submitted as exhibits in an ongoing family court case and include exchanges that began within roughly a day of Anna’s body being discovered. The messages also emphasize the family’s position that the teen does not remember events surrounding Anna’s death.

Anna Kepner was found dead Nov. 7 in her cabin aboard the Carnival Horizon, which returned to Port Miami two days later. Federal authorities boarded the ship upon its return and began collecting evidence.

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Officials said she died from mechanical asphyxia, meaning she was deprived of oxygen. No suspect has been publicly named in the case.

Text exchanges between Anna’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, and her ex-husband show conversations that began the evening of Nov. 8, about a day after Anna’s body was discovered.

Court records indicate the discussions focused largely on managing information, limiting social media exposure and addressing concerns involving the teen, who is a minor, rather than on the circumstances of Anna’s death. Court documents indicate the teen is being investigated in connection with Anna’s death but note he has not been charged.

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In one message sent around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, Shauntel asked her ex-husband to call her immediately, describing the situation as an emergency. When he later suggested picking up their daughter, Shauntel declined, explaining the girl had only been told that her brother was struggling emotionally and was being evaluated at a hospital.

In a later exchange on Nov. 9, Shauntel described a brief conversation she said she had with her son while he was in a medical facility. She stated he repeatedly said he could not remember anything and that a nurse allowed the short call so she could reassure him that his parents loved him.

The messages also show efforts to prevent information from spreading on social media, including concerns about posts circulating online and the desire to shield the teen from negative attention. Shauntel emphasized that he is a minor and that the family did not want his name released.

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During a Dec. 5 court appearance, Shauntel’s attorney said the teen’s father agreed to have him live with a relative after his release from the hospital once the ship docked. The attorney said the decision was made to eliminate any potential risk to other children in the home, according to FOX 35 Orlando.

Shauntel also testified that the teen takes medication for ADHD and insomnia and had not taken his insomnia medication for two nights during the cruise, including the night before Anna’s body was found.

Court documents state Anna’s body was discovered under a bed in a cabin she was sharing with two siblings, including her 16-year-old stepbrother.

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While the FBI has not publicly identified anyone as a suspect and no criminal charges have been filed, records from an ongoing family court dispute between Anna’s father and stepmother, Christopher Kepner and Shauntel Kepner, and Shauntel Kepner’s ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, indicate the teen is being investigated in Anna’s death.

Additional messages referenced the possibility that charges could be filed depending on the results of the autopsy. Shauntel said the family planned to learn more once the autopsy findings were available.

A former sheriff’s detective, Jamie Copenhaver, reviewed the messages and told FOX 35 Orlando they raised concerns for him. He said the exchanges appeared focused on controlling public perception rather than addressing the loss of an 18-year-old family member.

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Copenhaver described the messages as resembling “damage control,” adding that the tone suggested to him that the family knew more than what had been publicly shared.

Messages included in the court records also show both parents expressing emotional support for their son, emphasizing that he was not alone and that his family stood by him.

In one exchange, Hudson told Shauntel that he wanted their son to know “he isn’t just dead to everyone,” adding that “regardless of everything at the moment, he needs his parents,” and that he wanted an opportunity to speak with him as soon as possible.

Kepner, of Titusville, Florida, was a high school senior at Temple Christian School. She was preparing to graduate in the spring of 2026 and hoped to enlist in the U.S. Navy, her family said.

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The FBI has not released details about the investigation, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner has not publicly released Anna’s autopsy or toxicology results. The investigation remains ongoing, and more than six weeks later, no individual has been publicly identified as a suspect.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.