Southeast
Trump, DeSantis join thousands to mourn 3 Florida deputies killed in roadside crash
Thousands of people attended a memorial on Tuesday morning in West Palm Beach, Florida, for three Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office deputies who were killed in a crash nearly two weeks ago.
Deputy Sheriff Ignacio “Dan” Diaz, Deputy Sheriff Ralph “Butch” Waller, and Corporal Luis Paez were struck by a Jeep SUV on Nov. 21 while stopped with their motorcycles on the shoulder of Southern Boulevard, just west of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road near Wellington.
Waller and Paez were pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after the crash, while Diaz was in critical condition and underwent surgery at the hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.
President-elect Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis were in attendance, according to Trump’s deputy director of communications Margo Martin, who posted images on X of DeSantis, Trump and Eric Trump at the memorial.
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The American flag hangs above the stage at the iThink Financial Amphitheater at the South Florida Fairgrounds as people gather on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 for a memorial service for three Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies who died in a crash on Nov. 21 near Wellington, Florida. (Bill Ingram/Imagn)
“You can train the deputies to deal with bad guys, for traffic stops, high speed chases,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a press conference in front of the Fallen Officer’s Memorial Wall at PBSO. “There’s no training for this. They never saw it coming. They never had a chance to try and save themselves.”
More than 7,000 people were expected to attend Tuesday’s memorial, he said.
The public memorial was set to take place at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheater in West Palm Beach. The procession was scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. service, which was expected to end around 2 p.m.
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President Donald J. Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attend a memorial service for three fallen Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies at the South Florida Fairgrounds, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Palm Beach County. (Bill Ingram/Imagn)
Rescue vehicles carry the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies from the motorcycle unit who were struck and killed by a vehicle. The procession carried the deputies to the PBSO morgue on Nov. 21, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Greg Lovett/Palm Beach Post/Imagn)
Rescue vehicles carry the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies from the motorcycle unit who were struck and killed by a vehicle to the morgue on Nov. 21, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Greg Lovett/Palm Beach Post/Imagn)
The three deputies were pulled over to the shoulder on their motorcycles, as one of them appeared to have an issue with his bike, Bradshaw said during a press conference after the crash. A woman driving her SUV down Southern Boulevard came upon a driver who was driving slower than her and veered toward the shoulder to pass but “overcompensated” and struck all three deputies, sending them “airborne,” Bradshaw added.
“People have to take it seriously when you’re driving a vehicle…that’s 2,000 pounds of destruction if it’s not handled properly,” Bradshaw said, adding that the driver is cooperating in the investigation and “feels terrible” about what happened.
The Dec. 3 memorial for Deputy Sheriff Ignacio “Dan” Diaz, Deputy Sheriff Ralph “Butch” Waller, and Corporal Luis Paez, who were struck by a Jeep SUV on Nov. 21 while stopped with their motorcycles on the shoulder of Southern Boulevard, just west of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road near Wellington, Florida. (PBSO/X)
Palm Beach County deputies and others gather on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 at the South Florida Fairgrounds near Royal Palm Beach for a memorial for three deputies who died in a Nov. 21 crash west of Wellington, Florida. (Bill Ingram/Palm Beach Post)
People watch along State Road 7 on Dec. 3, 2024 as a procession passes by for three Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies who died last month in a roadside crash. (Damon Higgins/Imagn)
Diaz, 51, joined PBSO in 2004 and had been with the agency’s motor unit for more than 10 years, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Paez, 58, worked for more than 36 years with PBSO, starting as a corrections deputy in 1988 before transitioning to road patrol and ultimately serving as a motor deputy for more than 20 years.
Waller, 54, worked in the motor unit for more than 18 years, beginning his law enforcement career with the Royal Palm Beach Police Department before it merged with PBSO in October 2008.
“It never gets easier,” Bradshaw said, discussing the nature of speaking to relatives of slain officers. “When you look in their eyes, you see that pain…and I never get used to it.”
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Memorial service for three fallen Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies on Dec. 3, 2024 in Palm Beach County. (Bill Ingram/Imagn)
School Police Major J. McCarthy puts his hand on his heart after a motorcade drove by carrying two Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were struck and killed by a vehicle on Thursday morning on Nov. 21, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Greg Lovett/Palm Beach Post/Imagn)
A police officer salutes on Dec. 3, 2024 as a procession for three Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies who died last month in a roadside crash passes by on the way to the iThink Financial Amphitheatre on the South Florida Fairgrounds campus. (Damon Higgins/Imagn)
The crash is being investigated as a traffic homicide case, Florida Highway Patrol told WPTV.
President Donald J. Trump, a Secret Service member, his son Eric Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis attend a memorial service for three fallen Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies at the South Florida Fairgrounds, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Palm Beach County. (Bill Ingram/Imagn)
Family members of three fallen Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputies attend a memorial service for their loved ones on Dec. 3, 2024, at the South Florida Fairgrounds. (Bill Ingram/Imagn)
It is unclear if any criminal charges will be filed against the woman who crashed into the deputies, but no charges have been filed against her at this time, the outlet reported.
“When a deputy dies, a piece of the community dies with them,” Bradshaw said.
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Southeast
Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work
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FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said.
Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.
During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said.
Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said. (Getty Images )
“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”
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This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)
Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said.
His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education.
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One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer.
Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE.
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Southeast
High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student
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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).
Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.
GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.
A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)
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Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.
This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.
The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.
Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Federal court clears way for Ten Commandments to be displayed in Louisiana public school classrooms
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A federal appeals court cleared the way Friday for a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, lifting a lower court block and reigniting debate over religion in public education.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit voted 12-6 to lift a block first imposed in 2024, finding it was too early to determine the constitutionality of the law. Critics argue the requirement violates the separation of church and state, while supporters say the Ten Commandments are historical and foundational to U.S. law.
The court said in the majority opinion that it was unclear how schools would display the poster-sized materials, noting that the law allows additional content, like the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence, to appear alongside the Ten Commandments.
The majority wrote that there were not enough facts to “permit judicial judgment rather than speculation” when evaluating potential First Amendment concerns.
A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a lower court block on Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom law, bringing the measure closer to taking effect. (John Bazemore/AP)
In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote that the law was constitutional and “consistent with our founding traditions.”
“It is fully consistent with the Constitution, and what’s more, it reinforces our Founders’ firm belief that the children of America should be educated about the religious foundations and traditions of our country,” Ho said, adding that the law “affirms our Nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”
Circuit Judge James L. Dennis, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote in a dissenting opinion that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms would amount to “exposing children to government‑endorsed religion in a setting of compulsory attendance.”
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A federal appeals court ruling on Feb. 20 allows Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom mandate to proceed for now. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
“That is precisely the kind of establishment the Framers anticipated and sought to prevent,” he added.
The ACLU of Louisiana and other groups representing the plaintiffs said they would pursue additional legal challenges to block the law.
“Today’s ruling is extremely disappointing and would unnecessarily force Louisiana’s public school families into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole in every school district,” the groups wrote in a joint-statement. “Longstanding judicial precedent makes clear that our clients need not submit to the very harms they are seeking to prevent before taking legal action to protect their rights.”
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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised the appeals court decision on Feb. 20 allowing the Ten Commandments classroom law to move forward. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Friday praised the court’s decision, writing on Facebook, “Common sense is making a comeback!”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement following the ruling, saying schools “should follow the law.”
“Don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial. My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law, and we have created multiple examples of posters demonstrating how it can be applied constitutionally,” she said.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said schools should follow the Ten Commandments display law after a federal appeals court lifted a lower court block on Feb. 20. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Joseph Davis, an attorney representing Louisiana in the case, celebrated the court’s decision.
“If the ACLU had its way, every trace of religion would be scrubbed from the fabric of our public life,” he said in a statement. “That position is at odds with our nation’s traditions and our Constitution. We’re glad the Fifth Circuit has allowed Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in its public school classrooms.”
Friday’s ruling came after the full court agreed to reconsider the case, months after a three-judge panel ruled the Louisiana law unconstitutional.
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A similar law in Arkansas faces a federal court challenge, while Texas implemented its own Ten Commandments classroom requirement last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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