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Virginia Democrats move to seize redistricting power, opening door to 4 new left-leaning seats

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Virginia Democrats move to seize redistricting power, opening door to 4 new left-leaning seats

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The Virginia state Senate on Friday greenlit a constitutional amendment that would clear the way for the Democrat-controlled legislature to redraw the state’s U.S. House maps ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

The move by state senators, following a similar vote on Wednesday in the state House, was the final step needed to send the amendment to Virginia voters. If the ballot measure is approved this spring, the legislature, rather than the current non-partisan commission, would redraw the state’s congressional maps through 2030.

Virginia is the latest battleground in the ongoing high-stakes battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections. And Virginia Democrats, who currently control six of the state’s 11 U.S. House districts, are aiming to draw up to four additional left-leaning seats.

Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber.

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) called Friday’s development “a critical step in giving Virginia voters the opportunity to ensure they have fair and equal representation in Congress.”

THE NEXT BATTLEGROUNDS IN THE HIGH-STAKES MAP FIGHT

Virginia lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to a constitutional amendment that would clear the way for the Democrat-controlled legislature to redraw the state’s U.S. House maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, file)

And charging that “Donald Trump and Republicans are doing everything they can to rig the midterms in their favor through unprecedented mid-decade gerrymandering,” DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene argued that “Virginians — not politicians — will now have the chance to vote for a temporary, emergency exception that will restore fairness, level the playing field, and stand up to extremists seeking to silence their voices.”

But the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus accused the state Senate Democrats of passing “a partisan gerrymandering amendment to entrench their party in power.”

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And the Republican National Committee (RNC) called it a “power grab.”

“This is just the most recent example of Democrats’ multi-decade campaign to gerrymander in every state where they gain power,” RNC national press secretary Kiersten Pels argued in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This is exactly why red states are fighting back to level the playing field after years of states like Illinois, New York, and California drawing their districts to disenfranchise Republicans.”

STUNNING SETBACK FOR TRUMP IN REDISTRICTING WARS

Virginia Democratic lawmakers have indicated they will release a proposed map later this month.

And on Thursday, a Democratic-aligned nonprofit titled “Virginians for Fair Elections” launched, to urge voters to vote in favor of the redistricting ballot measure.

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

President Donald Trump has urged Republican-controlled states to enact congressional redistricting ahead of November’s midterm elections. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump’s first target was Texas.

BIG WIN FOR TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT GREENLIGHTS TEXAS’ NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP

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When asked by reporters last summer 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.”

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.

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

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento, after passage of a congressional redistricting referendum. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)

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California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned 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.

Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio, and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

And Florida Republicans, in a move pushed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers are also hoping to pick up an additional three to five seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session in April.

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In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year 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 midterms.

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

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith announces the results of a vote to redistrict the state’s congressional map, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)

But Trump scored a big victory when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court greenlit 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.

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Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act.

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If the ruling goes the way of the conservatives on the high court, it could lead to the redrawing of a slew of majority-minority districts across the county, which would greatly favor Republicans.

But it is very much up in the air — when the court will rule, and what it will actually do.

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Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’

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Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’

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An Atlanta-area police department issued a blunt notice to parents after officers claimed a child brought a vodka-based beverage to school — tucked beside Doritos in a packed lunch.

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The City of South Fulton Police Department sounded off about the incident in a now-viral Facebook post, warning parents to “CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX.”

“Say Twin… Before you send them babies off to school… CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX. Because why are we getting reports of juice boxes sitting next to… Cutwater margaritas??” the department wrote.

Officials also shared a photo of the alleged lunchbox, containing what appears to be a child’s lunch, Doritos and a Cutwater Lemon Drop Martini.

The police department shared a photo of a Cutwater canned cocktail in a lunchbox. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)

“That is NOT Capri Sun. That is NOT Apple Juice. That is a whole ‘Parent had a long night’ starter pack,” the department wrote. “Now little Johnny done pulled up to 3rd period talking about: ‘Who want fruit snacks?’ knowing good and well he got a Lemon Drop Martini in the zipper pocket.”

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Cutwater Lemon Drop Martinis, as found in the lunchbox, are 11% ABV ready-to-drink cocktails made with vodka, triple sec, lemon juice and natural flavors.

They come in 12-ounce cans, similar in appearance to a soda can.

The City of South Fulton Police Department issued a statement after the apparent mishap. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)

CALIFORNIA ‘PARTY MOM’ ACCUSED OF GROOMING VICTIMS FOR SEX, DRINKING IN RITZY MANSION, TEENS TESTIFY AT TRIAL

The department said it understands mornings can be hectic, but issued a stern notice to parents to “TIGHTEN UP.”

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“Your child shouldn’t be the only one in the cafeteria with a beverage that requires an ID,” authorities wrote. “If it says 12% ABV… it does NOT belong next to a PB&J.”

Officials also provided a “quick parent checklist,” with items including: “Homework,” “Lunch packed,” and “Alcoholic beverages.”

Boxes of Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai and Strawberry Margarita canned cocktails. (Gado/Getty Images)

“Check the lunchbox before the Fulton County Schools Police resource officers gotta do inventory at recess,” the department added.

It is unclear if any parents or students were disciplined in relation to the mix-up.

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Fulton County Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The City of South Fulton, Georgia, is a rapidly growing municipality located about 20 minutes from Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

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Federal prosecutor admits ‘extraordinary’ timing in Abrego Garcia smuggling case charges

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Federal prosecutor admits ‘extraordinary’ timing in Abrego Garcia smuggling case charges

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A federal prosecutor acknowledged Thursday that the decision to charge Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia two years after a routine traffic stop was “extraordinary” while defending the human smuggling case as legally justified.

Abrego Garcia, 31, has become a flash point in the national immigration debate since last March, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order in what Trump administration officials acknowledged was an “administrative error.” 

The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration had to work to bring him back to the U.S.

After returning in June, Abrego Garcia was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.

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He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking dismissal of the charges on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, are accompanied by Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, right, of We Are Casa, as they leave the federal courthouse, Thursday, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A 2019 court order prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge determined he faced danger from a gang that had threatened his family. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager and has been under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Abrego Garcia was accused in court records of repeated domestic violence against his wife, who alleged multiple incidents of physical abuse in protective order filings. She later withdrew the protective order request and has defended her husband publicly. 

The Department of Homeland Security has also said he was living in the U.S. illegally and has alleged ties to MS-13, disputing portrayals of him as simply a “Maryland man.” His attorneys have denied the gang allegations.

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Tennessee Highway Patrol body camera footage from when Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding shows a calm exchange with officers. While officers discussed suspicions of smuggling among themselves — noting there were nine passengers in the vehicle — Abrego Garcia was issued only a warning.

TENNESSEE BODYCAM OF ‘MARYLAND MAN’ TRAFFIC STOP SHOWS TROOPERS’ HANDS TIED DESPITE SMUGGLING CLUES

A woman holds a sign in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. (Getty Images )

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire, who was acting U.S. attorney in April 2025, testified Thursday that his decision to charge Abrego Garcia was based on the evidence.

“I had previously prosecuted several human smuggling cases,” McGuire said, noting that after seeing video of the traffic stop, “I was immediately struck by how similar what was being depicted in the body cam was to those investigations.”

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McGuire said Abrego Garcia’s vehicle belonged to someone with “a human smuggling background” and added that the route was “suspicious.”

“It was a large number of individuals traveling in one SUV with a driver who spoke for the group. No one had luggage… the car had Texas plates… the route was suspicious,” McGuire said.

DEM JUDGE IN HOT SEAT AFTER DHS EXPOSES ‘WHOLE NEW LEVEL’ OF ACTIVISM, SHELTERING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived at the federal courthouse, Thursday, for a hearing on whether the charges against him should be dismissed. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

During cross-examination, McGuire acknowledged that the timing of the charges, coming so long after the traffic stop, was “extraordinary.”

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He said he had not previously been aware of the traffic stop but reiterated that nobody in the Trump administration, including the White House or the Department of Justice, pressured him to seek the indictment.

When asked about whether he might have felt pressure to prosecute the case, McGuire said, “I’m not going to do something that is wrong to keep my job.”

DHS OFFICIAL RIPS KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA FOR ‘MAKING TIKTOKS’ WHILE AGENCY FACES GAG ORDER

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

McGuire also said timing factored into charging Abrego Garcia since he was being held in El Salvador, and he did not want the indictment to go public before all senior officials were briefed on the matter.

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“I knew from the get-go that this was going to be a controversial matter,” McGuire said.

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw did not make a ruling Thursday and said he would wait to receive post-hearing briefs from attorneys by March 5 before determining whether another hearing is necessary.

Crenshaw previously found some evidence that the prosecution “may be vindictive” and that prior statements by Trump administration officials “raise cause for concern.”

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Thursday’s court appearance came after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody on Feb. 17.

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Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.

“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.

The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted. 

“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.

The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.

REP NANCY MACE SLAPS DOWN EARLY RETIREMENT RUMOR: ‘BIG FAT NO FROM ME’

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.

“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.

Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021. 

NANCY MACE CLAIMS NANCY PELOSI ‘WAS A MORE EFFECTIVE HOUSE SPEAKER THAN ANY REPUBLICAN THIS CENTURY’

She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.

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