Southeast
Tennessee governor joins GOP trend of vetting candidates on support for school choice: 'So important to me'
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee vows to vet future GOP primary candidates on whether they support school choice support in the next election cycle.
“I’ve said a lot of times I get engaged in elections, and I get engaged in candidates, and I’ve met with several candidates, some who are in open seats; some who are incumbents,” Lee said, according to WKRN News 2. “This year what I’m talking to candidates about is education freedom and choice for parents. I want to know where new candidates stand on that issue because it’s so important to me, so you’ll see me talking to candidates.”
Tennessee Republicans have been divided over the issue, especially lawmakers who represent rural school districts.
According to WKRN News 2, Lee was asked whether he would reject anti-school choice Republicans during the primary election.
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EAGLE PASS, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 4: Governor of Tennessee Bill Lee joins Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and fellow Governors for a press conference along the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss Operation Lone Star and border concerns on Sunday, February 4, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
“I will find out everything about all the candidates in a particular district to understand who I can be most supportive and most helpful to,” Lee said.
However, the local news reported that the governor didn’t “explicitly say yes or no.”
After Lee expected a school choice “revolution” to unfold in the Volunteer State, his hopes were struck down back in March when a school choice bill died in the state legislature. Lee’s school choice bill was struck down last legislative session, which delayed any possible statewide school voucher program until at least next year.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Lee touted a “revolution in America right now around school choice.” Lee called for a $400 million bill to overhaul public school achievement testing and implement universal school choice advances in the state legislature.
However, Lee’s hopes could become a reality, according to American Federation For Children senior fellow Corey DeAngelis.
DeAngelis told Fox News Digital that the “so-called” Republicans should have learned a lesson from recent state GOP primary elections, which saw some incumbents lose over this issue. He added that Tennessee should have no problem passing the Republican Party platform issue of school choice as Republicans control both chambers.
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“Governor Bill Lee should help parents hold these fake Republicans accountable as we witnessed with Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the March primaries. In fact, good news is that Gov. Lee just told local reporters he will ‘certainly be talking to primary candidates about how they feel about school choice.’”
DeAngelis referred to comments Lee made that were covered by ABC News in April.
“I’ve always been engaged in primaries in the state whenever there’s an election,” Lee told local reporters, per ABC News in April. “But I’ll certainly be talking to primary candidates about how they feel about school choice.”
Lee’s comments echo two other GOP governors, who are using the issue of school choice as a litmus test for their support. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced they would get involved in their party’s primaries to help give the boot to any candidates opposing school choice.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott looks on during a news conference on March 15, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Abbott has butted heads with big-city mayors over the migrant crisis at the southern border. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Abbott, who recently promised school vouchers to be available soon, deliberately sought to remove anti-school choice Republicans during this year’s state primary elections.
Several rural Republicans in Texas lost their primary, including staunch anti-school choice critic Rep. Travis Clardy. The 12-year incumbent was defeated in the primary by Joanne Shofner in House District 12 on March 5.
In the Midwest, Reynolds endorsed nine candidates with a pro-parent platform in primary elections, ousting the incumbent GOP candidates who did not support that platform. She was able to pass universal school choice legislation.
The Hawkeye State joined a wave of red states passing universal school choice legislation when Reynolds signed an unprecedented school choice bill called the Students First Act. It allows any Iowa student to use public money to pay for private school tuition or other expenses.
Lee’s office did not immediately respond for comment.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds speaks at the Family Leadership Summit on July 14, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Disgraced teacher accused of using Google Docs to groom underage student before alleged sex crimes
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A Palm Beach County, Florida, science teacher is behind bars after investigators say he used a shared Google Doc to secretly communicate with a student before engaging in sexual acts with her at school and inside his apartment, according to an arrest affidavit.
Elias Gordon Farley, 26, a former teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, was arrested after the student reported the alleged abuse on Nov. 18.
The teen told detectives the interactions began as casual conversations during the previous school year, but over the summer, Farley allegedly created a shared Google Doc in which the two wrote messages back and forth.
Investigators said the file later contained explicit entries describing sexual activity and planning when they would meet privately.
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Elias Gordon Farley, a former teacher at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, is facing felony charges after police say he engaged in a months-long sexual relationship with a student. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
According to the affidavit, the student said the relationship became physical in mid-September inside Farley’s office, where he touched her beneath her clothing. She told detectives the encounters continued for weeks in both his office and a classroom.
By late September and into October, she said the pair were engaging in sexual acts, including oral sex and, at one point, intercourse inside a classroom on campus.
The student also described visiting Farley’s apartment twice in early November after recognizing details he had mentioned about its location and layout. She told deputies that several sexual encounters occurred during those visits.
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A teacher was accused of using Google Docs to talk to an underage student before sexual encounters. (Google Maps)
Detectives later executed a search warrant and said they found bedding, condom wrappers and furniture matching her description. Farley’s roommate confirmed he had not been home on the dates the teen said she visited.
School surveillance video reviewed by deputies also appeared to support her account, showing Farley and the student entering his office together on Nov. 7 and later entering a classroom for about an hour.
The situation came to light after the student confided in an art teacher on Nov. 14 and showed her bruises and bite marks she said came from Farley. Administrators were informed the next day, suspended Farley immediately and reported the matter to child welfare authorities.
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A former science teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Palm Beach County was arrested after allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. (iStock)
Farley refused to speak with detectives after being read his Miranda rights, according to the affidavit.
Farley was booked into the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center Dec. 4 and is being held on $500,000 bond, jail records show. He faces charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and offense against a student by an authority figure.
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Donna Klein Jewish Academy said it is cooperating fully with the investigation and called the situation “a difficult time for all of us at Donna Klein.”
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“We are approaching this serious situation with the utmost care, keeping the well-being of our students, faculty and families at the forefront,” a spokesperson said.
The school said it is working closely with families, teachers and staff to ensure they have the support they need, adding that its priority is maintaining “a safe, compassionate and educational environment for all.”
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The spokesperson said no additional details would be released “out of respect for the privacy of our community” but that Farley is no longer employed at the school.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office at 561-688-3000.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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Southeast
Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff
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Two teen boys in Florida are accused of fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl and setting her on fire along a wooded walking trail last week in what authorities are calling a “horrific” killing.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters Thursday that the body has been identified as Danika Troy. He said Danika’s mother reported her as a runaway on Monday.
“Unbeknownst to the mother, Danika was murdered the previous night,” Johnson said.
A passerby discovered Danika’s body along a wooded area off Kimberly Road in Pace, a town about 16 miles northeast of Pensacola, and called 911, Johnson said.
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Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters that the suspects were supposedly friends with the victim from school. He said investigators were still working to determine a motive. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators quickly identified the suspects as 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins and 16-year-old Gabriel Williams and took them into custody.
“This is where it gets really horrific,” Johnson said.
Kimahri Blevins, 14, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Williams allegedly stole his mother’s handgun and shot Danika.
“It’s bad enough you kill a 14-year-old. You’re 14. You’re 16,” Johnson said. “Shoot her multiple times, and then they set her on fire.”
Gabriel Williams, 16, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Johnson said investigators are still working to determine a motive.
“They have been interviewed, but the motive that they’re giving doesn’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case, so we don’t have a legit motive,” he told reporters.
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Blevins and Williams supposedly knew the victim from school, according to Johnson. He believed the two teens have had previous “run-ins” with law enforcement, though he could not immediately say if they had earlier arrests.
Blevins and Williams are being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice on premeditated first-degree murder charges.
“You don’t want to go out and see a burnt child with bullet holes,” Johnson said. “That’s not something you sign up for.”
Johnson said no parents have been charged at this time, though investigators are “looking into it.”
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The sheriff’s office is working with the State Attorney to charge both teens as adults.
“If you do an adult crime, you gotta do adult time,” Johnson said.
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Southeast
Florida college student who allegedly shipped 1,500 rounds of ammo to dorm had AR-15 under bed
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A Florida college student who allegedly ordered 1,500 rounds of ammunition to his dorm room also had a semi-automatic rifle under his bed, according to authorities.
Constantine Demetriades, a 21-year-old senior at Rollins College, was arrested by Winter Park police on Wednesday and charged with possession of a weapon on school property after the ammunition order was reported to police by the school’s assistant campus safety director, according to an arrest affidavit, WKMG reported.
After the purchase was flagged, the assistant safety director searched Demetriades’ dorm and allegedly discovered an unloaded AR-15 under his bed inside an unsecured black carrying case with one loaded magazine and five empty magazines, as well as a tactical vest, knives, a black security vest and ear protection.
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Constantine Demetriades, 21, was charged with possession of a weapon on school property. (Winter Park Police Department)
Demetriades, who said he likes to shoot as a hobby, told police he had the rifle on school property because he had recently returned from a Thanksgiving trip to New Jersey, where he said the guns were purchased and registered legally, according to the affidavit.
He said he did not have ill intentions and that he usually stores the firearm at a friend’s home off school property, the affidavit stated. He also said he only brought the gun to campus on one other occasion.
Constantine Demetriades said he did not have ill intentions. (Getty Images)
While Florida allows open carry, Rollins College bans all weapons on campus. Demetriades allegedly said he is aware that weapons are not allowed on campus and that his New Jersey concealed carry permit does not apply in Florida.
The college said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital that he is banned from campus until the situation is resolved, adding that an internal investigation has been opened.
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While Florida allows open carry, Rollins College bans all weapons on campus. (Getty Images)
“On Wednesday, the College received a report indicating a violation of our weapons policy,” Rollins College said in a statement. “After receiving this information, we immediately initiated an investigation.”
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“We quickly identified and contacted the student, who cooperated fully with College officials and local law enforcement as we investigated the matter further,” the statement continued. “The student was arrested and is not permitted to be on campus while the College proceeds with the student conduct process.”
The school said Demetriades was additionally charged with a violation of the college’s weapons policy, and will go through the on-campus conduct process.
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