Southeast
Convicted murderer becomes Louisiana's first nitrogen gas execution after appeal denied
A Louisiana death row inmate on Tuesday was executed with nitrogen gas, a method that has never been used before in the state.
“Louisiana has successfully used nitrogen hypoxia to carry out the execution of Jessie Hoffman,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill shared with Fox News Digital in a statement.
Hoffman, 46, was convicted in 1996 of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 28-year-old advertising executive, Mary “Molly” Elliott.
Elliott was abducted by Hoffman, who was 18 at the time, from her home the day before Thanksgiving and shot execution-style in rural St. Tammany Parish.
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Hoffman, 46, was convicted in the 1996 kidnapping, rape, and murder of Mary Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive. (Caroline Tillman/Federal Public Defender’s Office For the Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana via AP)
“Hoffman was convicted and sentenced to death for the brutal and merciless rape and murder of 28-year-old [Mary] Molly Elliott in 1996. Tonight, justice was served for Molly and the State of Louisiana,” Murrill continued.
“Governor Jeff Landry and I made a promise to the citizens of Louisiana and to the family members of victims of these heinous crimes that we would follow the law and put them first.”
Hoffman declined to give a final statement before the gas began flowing, and he was subsequently pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities said the nitrogen gas flowed for 19 minutes during what one official called a “flawless” execution, although one witness claimed to see Hoffman convulsing during the process.
Shortly before Hoffman was scheduled to be put to death, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny a last-ditch request to block the execution.
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An undated photo provided by The Promise of Justice Initiative shows the gurney in the new execution chamber at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. (The Promise of Justice Initiative via AP)
Hoffman’s attorney, Cecelia Kappel, previously and unsuccessfully argued in a state appeal that executing the convicted murderer by way of nitrogen gas was unconstitutional and would violate his religious freedom.
“It’s conscious suffocation,” Kappel told WVUE. “It’s having a pillow over your face. It’s like drowning.”
The appeal stated that since Hoffman is a Buddhist, his breathing and meditation practices would be disrupted by the execution process.
“He has proposed, ‘Kill me with a firing squad,’” Kappel said. “‘At least then, I’ll be able to breathe air at the time of my death.’ And the state has said no.”
Darrel Vannoy, center, the warden of Louisiana State Penitentiary, walks into a room to announce that the execution of Jessie Hoffman Jr. is moving forward on Tuesday in Angola, La. Hoffman was convicted in the 1996 murder of Mary “Molly” Elliott. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Louisiana officials say that the method, which deprives a person of oxygen, is painless, declaring that it is past time for the state to deliver justice promised to victims’ families after a decade-and-a-half hiatus — a pause brought about partly by an inability to secure lethal injection drugs, the Associated Press reported.
Hoffman was granted a temporary reprieve by a federal judge, but it was overturned Friday by the Fifth Circuit courts and additional attempts to stop the state’s execution were also rejected Tuesday morning.
Murrill said the court’s decision will help bring justice for Elliott.
“BREAKING: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturns injunction in Hoffman case. Convicted killer and rapist will be brought to justice on Tuesday,” Murrill wrote in a post on X.
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“This is justice for Mary “Molly” Elliott, her friends, her family, and for Louisiana.”
Murrill added that she expects at least four people on Louisiana’s death row to be executed this year.
“The last execution here in Louisiana was in 2010 of Gerald Bordelon, a convicted murderer and sex offender. Justice has been delayed for far too long. I, along with the Louisiana Department of Justice, remain committed to ensuring justice is carried out in all death penalty cases in Louisiana,” Murrill vowed.
“I took an oath to follow and defend the law. Now Jessie Hoffman faces ultimate judgment before God in the hereafter. My prayers remain with Molly Elliott’s family and friends, and that no family member ever has to go through the pain that they still feel to this day for the loss of someone like Molly.”
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A Louisiana state flag flies at the entrance to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., where convicted killer Jessie Hoffman Jr., was put to death. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Hoffman is set to become the seventh person executed in the U.S. in 2025, and the first in Louisiana since 2010. He was the fifth person in the U.S. ever to be executed by nitrogen gas, with the previous four occurring in Alabama.
Death by nitrogen gas is currently allowed in only four states, including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma. However, the method has only been used in Alabama.
Over recent decades, the number of executions nationally has declined sharply amid legal battles, according to the AP, which has led a majority of states to either abolish or pause carrying out the death penalty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
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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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Southeast
Guy Fieri once had ‘nothing else to sign’ on the beach but postcards; now, he’s built a food TV empire
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MIAMI BEACH – Twenty years ago, a contestant named Guy Fieri on the second season of what was then “The Next Food Network Star” showed up at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival with little more than spiked hair and ambition.
“He came to that festival that year and was walking around signing postcards because he had nothing else to sign,” recalled Lee Brian Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and its New York City counterpart.
Today, Fieri is one of the most recognizable faces in food on television. But, in 2006, he was just another up-and-comer working a crowd on the sand.
Speaking to “Fox & Friends” from Miami Beach, Florida, Friday morning, Fieri said he wasn’t chasing TV fame.
“I was doing what I wanted to do,” he told Steve Doocy while walking the beach. “I wanted to be a great dad. I wanted to be a great husband. I wanted to be a chef. I wanted to own my own restaurant. So, I had accomplished the things I wanted in life and never really saw the other side of it.”
South Beach Wine & Food Festival founder Lee Brian Schrager and celebrity chef Guy Fieri pose for a photograph back in 2009. (South Beach Wine & Food Festival)
Two decades later, Fieri still comes back.
“He’s been part of our festival every year since he won ‘Food Network Star,’” Schrager told Fox News Digital.
The knack for spotting and elevating talent is part of the festival’s legacy as it marks its 25th year in Miami Beach.
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Schrager recalled a similar instinct with Giada De Laurentiis. When her agent suggested she might be ready the following year, Schrager pushed back.
“I said, ‘I don’t want her next year. I want her this year so she’ll remember where she got her big start,’” Schrager said.
Giada De Laurentiis, pictured here in 2015, was another celebrity chef who got her start at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. (Manny Hernandez/Getty Images)
Yet the festival doesn’t claim to have created celebrity chefs.
“We don’t take responsibility for turning anyone into a superstar,” Schrager told Fox News Digital. “We do take some credit for giving them a platform and putting them in front of their fans.”
“Rock stars became chefs and chefs became rock stars.”
Over the past 20 years, the platform has grown alongside the broader transformation of food culture.
“Rock stars became chefs and chefs became rock stars,” Schrager said.
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What began as a one-day wine event on the campus of Florida International University evolved after Schrager was tasked with reimagining it. His directive was to “make it better — not bigger, but better.”
Schrager had a solution.
The South Beach Wine & Food Festival is where chefs like Fieri “became rock stars,” said Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
“Move it to the beach, partner with the Food Network, get all their celebrities and make it more than just local,” Schrager said.
Today, the festival draws marquee names from the culinary world as well as from music and entertainment. Among those who showed up for Thursday night’s Burger Bash event were comedian Bert Kreischer and Cloud 23 hot sauce founder Brooklyn Peltz Beckham.
Chefs don’t get paid for appearances at the festival.
“If it’s somebody new, the first question out of their agent’s mouth is, ‘Oh, what’s the honorarium? What’s the fee?’ I’m like, ‘Zero,’” Schrager said.
Brooklyn Peltz Beckham is among the celebrities to attend the food festival for free. (Scott Roth/Invision/AP)
The model works, Schrager said, because the festival operates as a nonprofit benefiting FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.
“Everyone’s doing it to support the cause, or they’re doing it because they want to do it,” Schrager said. “It’s not a bad place to be in the middle of winter.”
Schrager, left, appears along with Rachael Ray and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham onstage at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Burger Bash. (Scott Roth/Invision/AP)
The festival has raised more than $50 million for student scholarships.
“To me, that’s why we do it,” Schrager said.
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Along the way, the festival has outlasted many imitators and weathered shifting food trends by staying nimble.
“We listened to the consumers,” Schrager said.
Fieri, left, and a shirtless Bert Kreischer share a moment onstage at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
“There was never any ego involved in this festival.”
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He added, “Our goal was never to be the biggest.”
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“It happens that we turned out to be the biggest, but being the best, or at least doing our best, has always been the most important to me.”
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