Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched a redistricting effort to secure more Republican congressional seats in the state on Wednesday.

DeSantis announced the move on social media, saying he will be convening a special session for the state legislature to adjust current maps. The move comes as red and blue states across the country have pursued redistricting in a high-stakes battle to secure an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections.

“Today, I announced that I will be convening a Special Session of the Legislature focused on redistricting to ensure that Florida’s congressional maps accurately reflect the population of our state. Every Florida resident deserves to be represented fairly and constitutionally,” DeSantis wrote.

“This Special Session will take place after the regular legislative session, which will allow the Legislature to first focus on the pressing issues facing Floridians before devoting its full attention to congressional redistricting in April,” he added.

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Currently, Republicans hold 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional districts. Florida Republicans may also face challenges because of language in the state’s constitution that puts tight restrictions on gerrymandering.

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, President Donald Trump in June first floated the idea of rare but not unheard of mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Democrats need a three-seat pick-up to win back the House majority.

Trump’s first target: Texas.

A month later, when asked by reporters about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.”

The push by Trump and his political team triggered a high-stakes redistricting showdown with Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

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Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Right-tilting Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge this month rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

And Republicans in Indiana’s Senate defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House.

But Trump scored a big victory when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court late last year greenlighted Texas’ new map.

Other states that might step into the redistricting war are Democratic-dominated Illinois and Maryland and two red states with Democratic governors, Kentucky and Kansas.

Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin, responding to the news from Florida, argued in a statement that “Ron DeSantis is bending the knee to Washington Republicans once again by agreeing to rig Florida’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms.”

Some lawmakers have warned that rampant redistricting will only lead to escalating political tensions. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said last month that it may even result in violence.

MARYLAND GOV WES MOORE BRUSHES OFF TOP STATE DEMOCRAT’S WARNING ON REDISTRICTING POSSIBLY BACKFIRING

“You know, it’s this escalation on both sides,” Paul said. “Both sides are doing it, and so is one side going to sit quietly and not do it? You can argue who started it. But I do think this, and, this is on the negative aspect of both parties doing this, I think it’s going to lead to more civil tension and possibly more violence in our country, because think about it.”

“If 35% of Texas is Democrat, solidly Democrat, and they have zero representation. Or like in my state, we’re a very Republican state, but we have one Democrat area in Louisville and we have a Democratic congressman. We could carve up Louisville and get rid of that one congressman, but how does that make Democrats feel? I think it makes them feel like they’re not represented,” he continued.

Paul did not solely blame Republicans or Democrats for the redistricting fight but expressed concerns about how far it has escalated.

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“I’m saying it’s a mistake for both parties,” Paul said. “I know exactly how we de-escalate this, because once Texas is done and changed five seats to be more Republican, California’s gonna do the same thing. And it’s back and forth, and back and forth. How do you put the genie back in the box? How do you get back to détente? How do you do something better? I think there is the potential that when people feel they have no representation, that they feel disenfranchised, that it could lead, that it might lead to violence in our country.”

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

A convicted sex offender was arrested and a missing child recovered after a routine traffic stop erupted into violence, a foot chase and a high-speed pursuit in Florida.

The incident unfolded the morning of Dec. 31 in Flagler County, where sheriff’s deputies stopped a white Ford F-150 on U.S. Highway 1 after a tip from a concerned citizen who reported suspicious behavior.

The driver, identified as 60-year-old Darnell Hairston, was traveling with two juveniles, according to a release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies soon discovered that one of the juveniles had been reported missing in neighboring St. Johns County and quickly secured the child, 11, in a patrol vehicle.

Moments later, bodycam video shows Hairston suddenly bolting from deputies, stumbling into the road and engaging in a struggle with deputies. Authorities say Hairston attempted to grab a deputy’s firearm before being subdued and arrested.

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Hairston was charged with resisting an officer with violence, attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer, kidnapping and child abuse, officials said. In a second update, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced additional charges – including kidnapping and child abuse – against Hairston.

As deputies focused on Hairston, the second juvenile, 15-year-old Junior Bishop, allegedly jumped into the truck and sped away.

Dash camera video captured the teen speeding away from the traffic stop and narrowly missing a deputy standing in the road. Video showed deputies pursuing the vehicle south on U.S. Highway 1.

A high-speed chase began, with Bishop allegedly driving into oncoming traffic and weaving in between lanes before ramming into a deputy’s patrol vehicle.

Both cars were seen crashing into a wooded area and causing the suspect’s vehicle to roll over.

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Bishop was taken into custody and charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, driving without a license and resisting an officer without violence. Bishop is expected to be turned over to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

During the pursuit, a second deputy crashed into an automotive repair building in Bunnell. Two deputies suffered minor injuries and were treated and released from a local hospital, police said. Bishop was evaluated and not seriously injured, authorities said.

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Hairston was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility without bond pending a first court appearance. According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Hairston is a registered sexual offender and was released from the Florida Department of Corrections in 2009, where he had been serving a 12-year sentence for three counts of false imprisonment. 

He has a lengthy arrest history, including previous arrests for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary with assault or battery, cruelty toward wife, disorderly intoxication, lewd or lascivious offenses committed upon a child, property damage and sexual battery.

Authorities say that following Hairston’s arrest, deputies confirmed that the 11-year-old had been reported missing three days earlier, and he was transported to a hospital for medical treatment. 

During an interview with authorities, the child said he had been lured to a wooded campsite in Flagler Estates, where Hairston choked him until he lost consciousness. After regaining consciousness, the 11-year-old told detectives, he was threatened with a knife and a gun, tied up with shoelaces and an extension cord, and had duct tape placed over his mouth. He also told detectives that Hairston held him at the campsite for multiple days and made him travel on the floorboard of his truck covered by a blanket.

Deputies said that after the interview with the child, they returned to the campsite and recovered multiple items, including duct tape, video surveillance equipment, and weapons consistent with the child’s statements.

During an interview with Hairston, detectives determined that he knew the boy was missing and endangered, but he could not explain any reason for keeping the child from his parents when he knew that law enforcement was actively searching for him.

On Jan. 2, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Hairston for kidnapping of a child under 13, aggravated child abuse, battery by strangulation, and robbery with a deadly weapon. Detectives served the warrant at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where Hairston was already being held on a $125,000 bond for the prior arrest. He is now being held without bond.

Bishop may be facing additional charges once the investigation is concluded, officials said.

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Sheriff Rick Staly said the case remains under investigation, including how the sex offender, the teen suspect and the missing child were connected.

“This was a very suspicious incident that is still under investigation by our detectives, but I am thankful that nobody was seriously hurt and that we were able to recover a missing child from this pervert’s grasp,” he said. “I also do not understand why a pervert who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2004 was released after only five years in 2009. Clearly, he has not learned anything!”

A man who failed to stop his boat after fatally striking a 15-year-old high school student and ballerina in 2024 has pleaded guilty in the deadly boating incident.

The man’s attorneys had previously noted that he did not realize he had hit someone with his vessel, according to WTVJ.

Ella Adler, the granddaughter of then-U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Michael Adler, had been wakeboarding and had fallen into the water, according to the Key Biscayne Independent, which noted that boater Carlos Guillermo “Bill” Alonso fatally hit her in his 42-foot-Boston Whaler.

FLORIDA MEN CHARGED IN FATAL BOATING HIT-AND-RUN OF 15-YEAR-OLD BALLERINA

A statement provided to Fox News Digital by Alonso’s attorney, Lauren Field Krasnoff, described the incident as a “tragic accident.”

“Our hearts go out to the Adler family. This was a tragic accident, and, of course, Bill never intended to hurt anyone that day. Bill’s decision to plead guilty was driven by his hope that doing so would cause less pain to Ella’s family and help shine a light on the Ella Riley Adler Foundation,” the statement noted.

Alonso pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanor careless boating, according to The Miami Herald.

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The teen killed in the boating incident had performed in “The Nutcracker” over 100 times with the Miami City Ballet, the Key Biscayne Independent noted.

“Ella was extraordinary. She radiated joy, kindness and creativity in every room she entered. She was a devoted daughter, a beloved sister and a fierce and loyal friend,” Adler’s father, Matthew, said in a statement read in court, according to the outlet. 

“Her life was filled with love, laughter, dance and meaning. Ella didn’t just live. She danced through life.”

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The outlet reported that Alonso was sentenced to 12 months of probation as part of a plea agreement and that he is able to have his probation terminated after six months. Provided he fulfills the court’s conditions, he will be able to petition the court for his guilty pleas to be vacated, the outlet reported.

Edmund Richard Hartley, the captain of the vessel that had been towing Adler, has also been charged, but he has pleaded not guilty, according to The Miami Herald.