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Kentucky House passes 'three-strikes' violent crime bill: 'Reasserting some basic and simple truths'
Kentucky lawmakers advanced a sweeping crime bill that would require tougher sentences for many offenses, including a “three-strikes” penalty that would put felons behind bars for life after committing their third violent act.
House Bill 5, whose lead sponsor is Republican Rep. Jared Bauman, passed by a 74-22 vote on Thursday and now heads to the GOP-led Senate.
“With this bill, House Bill 5, we are reasserting some basic and simple truths,” Bauman said. “That there is a right and wrong, and that criminals are accountable for their actions, not society. And that society has the right to protect itself from the criminal element.”
While the bill suggests imposing harsher penalties for a handful of crimes from vandalism to attempted murder, the key component is the “three-strikes” provision, since it would place those who have committed their third violent felony in jail permanently.
REPUBLICAN-LED KENTUCKY HOUSE PANEL APPROVES ‘THREE-STRIKES’ ANTI-CRIME BILL
The Kentucky House passed a sweeping crime bill 74-22 Thursday that would impose tougher sentences for many crimes and place those committing their third violent felony in jail for life. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
“If someone has committed three violent crimes and they’re incarcerated and can’t get back out, they’re not going to commit another violent crime,” Rep. John Blanton said. “That’s a fact.”
Other key elements of the bill include: limiting bail payments by charitable bail organizations, cracking down on fentanyl distribution that results in a death, designating the murder of a first responder in the line of duty as a crime punishable by death, and requiring those convicted of carjacking to serve at least 85% of their sentence before being released on probation or parole.
Early release would also be prevented for offenders who possessed a firearm as a convicted felon or while on probation or parole, or if they knew the firearm was stolen; and tougher sentences would be imposed on adults who use minors as criminal accomplices.
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Under the measure, employees and business owners would be offered criminal immunity in cases where they had to use a “reasonable amount of force” against thieves or in protection of themselves or the business.
The bill also aims to ban street camping and allows local governments to designate temporary camping locations for those who are homeless.
House Bill 5 would require many offenders to serve out the majority of their sentence before being eligible for parole or probation. (IStock)
House representatives debated the bill for about three hours, according to The Associated Press.
Supporters described it as an overdue policy shift that focuses on holding criminals accountable for their actions, while opponents claimed it would put more people behind bars and cause additional unknown costs.
Opponents also said the bill overreaches and doesn’t address what leads people to commit crimes.
“We do have about 20 different bills that have been crammed into one,” Democratic Rep. Sarah Stalker said. “Why we’re doing a rinse and repeat of this failed attempt from the ’90s is unclear to me.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A Florida high school teacher is accused of engaging in repeated sexual encounters with a student who had moved into her home, and plying the teen with alcohol, according to an arrest affidavit.
Mackenzie McLean, a 49-year-old economics teacher at Crooms Academy in Sanford, was arrested Tuesday on two counts of sex offense by an authority figure and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
The male student, a senior who was friends with McLean’s daughter, moved into the teacher’s home around March 2024 after he was kicked out of his own home, according to the affidavit.
The victim said that on one occasion when he was playing video games with McLean and her daughter in a bedroom, McLean gave him 12 shots of gin, causing him to become severely intoxicated, according to the affidavit. She then allegedly told her daughter to leave the room before engaging him in sexual activity.
LOUISIANA SCHOOL’S TEACHER OF THE YEAR ACCUSED OF INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT WITH FORMER STUDENT
Mackenzie McLean, 49, is an economics teacher at Crooms Academy in Sanford, Florida. The school district said she was placed on administrative leave following her arrest on Tuesday. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
It “went on for a very short time,” the student told authorities, alleging that he “pushed McLean off him and told her it was wrong.”
The student lived with McLean for nine months, though he estimated that he was sexually abused “approximately five to ten times” in the two months when she was still his teacher.
McLean taught the male student at Crooms Academy of Information Technology, a magnet school in Sanford, Florida. (Google Maps)
As the student told authorities about the alleged sexual encounters, detectives noted in the affidavit that he appeared “quite emotional” and started crying with visible tears.
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The student said he allowed the sex to continue because he was afraid that if he stopped, he would no longer have a place to live or food to eat.
The student also brought a friend to speak with detectives who said she had also spent time at McLean’s home, sometimes sleeping over. The teen girl alleged that McLean provided her with alcohol and Adderall, a schedule two controlled substance.
The friend said that she witnessed McLean ask the student to sleep in bed with him, though she did not have direct knowledge of any sexual activity until sometime later, according to the affidavit.
McLean was arrested on Tuesday and is being held on $35,000 bond. (iStock)
Text messages between McLean and the teen girl show that McLean claimed she knew the sexual relationship with the student was wrong, though she alleged that the student initiated the sex.
“I’m well aware that I’m the adultier adult and so I intentionally never initiated anything because I didn’t want to make him feel any kind of way,” reads one alleged message from McLean.
McLean was placed on administrative leave Tuesday morning after spending nearly 25 years working in the district, a Seminole County Public Schools spokesperson told FOX35 Orlando in a statement.
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“Any allegations of misconduct by our staff will be taken seriously and handled quickly,” the statement said. “The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority, and any type of behavior that jeopardizes that safety will not be tolerated in Seminole County Public Schools.”
McLean is being held on a $35,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for March 31.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday blamed what he called “venom” from the political left following a deadly incident at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
“Two would-be assassins dead, one in jail for life, and this venom coming from the other side…” Bessent said during “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“They are normalizing this violence. It’s got to stop.”
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Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to members of the media outside the White House on Nov. 5, 2025. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Bessent pointed to a campaign commercial from an Illinois Democratic Senate candidate in which Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton showcased people declaring, “F— Trump, vote Juliana,” urging that the “profane” video be taken down.
“We don’t know whether this person was a mastermind, unhinged or what, but they are normalizing this… violence,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Stratton’s office for comment and did not immediately hear back.
Bessent’s comments came as authorities investigate a security incident at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, where a young male suspect was shot and killed early Sunday.
SECRET SERVICE THWARTS POTENTIAL THREAT NEAR TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE GROUNDS WITH RAPID RESPONSE
An aerial view shows the Mar-a-Lago estate and the north gate in Palm Beach, Florida, following reports of a shooting incident on Feb. 22. (Fox News)
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw confirmed to Fox News that the suspect was 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina.
The president was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the incident. No Secret Service agents or law enforcement personnel were injured.
“I want to congratulate Sean Curran and the Secret Service for protecting the president and his family,” Bessent said, adding that Trump and his family are safe.
The Treasury secretary declined to discuss potential changes to the president’s security posture at Mar-a-Lago following the incident but insisted that protections around Trump are “as strong as it’s ever been.”
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Fox News’ Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Largest measles outbreak in recent history reported on southwestern Florida college campus
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More than 40 measles cases have been reported at Ave Maria University in southwest Florida, marking the largest outbreak on an American college campus in recent history.
The situation at the private Catholic college comes amid a broader national increase in measles cases, with 2,280 confirmed infections nationwide in 2025 and more than 900 cases reported so far in 2026.
“Since the start of the semester, 48 nurse-assessed students have progressed beyond the contagious period and now have natural immunity,” Ave Maria University posted in an online update on Feb. 10.
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Several universities have reported measles activity this year. Clemson University and Anderson University in South Carolina each reported single cases that led to the quarantine of a larger group of students.
The University of Florida also reported exposure in two specific classes at its Gainesville campus.
Several universities have reported measles activity this year, but the scale at Ave Maria sets it apart from the others. (iStock)
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) recently updated its data to show 46 confirmed measles cases across Collier County from Jan. 1 through Feb. 7, with the university serving as the primary site of the cluster.
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The contagious period for measles includes the four days before and after a rash appears, according to the DOH.
More than 40 measles cases have been reported at Ave Maria University in southwest Florida, marking the largest outbreak on an American college campus in recent history. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“All nurse-assessed students on campus within the four-day contagious period following the onset of a rash are in quarantine,” the university stated in the latest update.
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Ave Maria University requires proof of vaccination but, in accordance with Florida law, allows students to opt out by signing a waiver for religious or personal reasons.
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The “vast majority” of the campus community is vaccinated, according to university health updates. The school remains open for normal operations, including in-person classes and Mass.
The “vast majority” of the campus community is vaccinated, and the school remains open for normal operations, including in-person classes and Mass. (iStock)
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People with a history of infection or who have received the full series of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization are 98% protected and are unlikely to contract measles, according to the DOH.
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