Southeast
Close contest between Trump and Harris in this battleground state turned red: poll
A new poll suggests former President Trump holds a slim five-point advantage over Vice President Harris in the battle for Florida’s 30 electoral votes.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, stands at 47% support among likely voters in Florida in a USA Today/Suffolk University/WSVN-TV survey released on Tuesday, with Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, at 42%.
The survey of 500 likely Sunshine State voters indicates Democrat-turned-independent Robert F. Kennedy at 5%, Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver at 1%, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West registering at less than 1%.
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A new poll indicates former President Trump with a five-point advantage over Vice President Harris in Florida. (Getty Images)
Florida was once the largest of the battleground states in presidential elections. Former President Obama narrowly carried the state in his 2008 and 2012 White House victories, and Trump edged out Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton to win the state in 2016.
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But four years ago, in his 2020 re-election defeat, Trump won Florida by 3.3 points over President Biden, which was the biggest winning margin in the state in a presidential contest in 16 years.
Former President Trump leaves after speaking at a campaign rally at the Trump National Doral Golf Club on July 9, 2024, in Doral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
And in the 2022 midterms, conservatives surged at the state level, with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis winning re-election by 19 points and GOP Sen. Marco Rubio securing a third term in the Senate by more than 16 points.
“While not exactly a flashing red warning light for Trump, the survey is a caution sign for anyone who thinks the race is sure to be a blowout in Florida,” Suffolk University Research Center director David Paleologos said.
New voter registration numbers released Monday in Florida indicate Republicans with a 1 million person advantage over the Democrats. That marks a vast turnaround from four years ago, when Democrats held a slight edge in voter registration.
“Given those circumstances, I was surprised that Harris is within striking distance being only five points down,” Paleologos added.
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A Fox News poll conducted in June, when President Biden was still at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, indicated Trump with a four-point 50%-46% advantage in Florida.
But Trump’s polling margins over Biden expanded after the president’s disastrous debate performance against his GOP challenger in late June.
Biden’s rambling and uneven answers at the debate fueled questions over whether the 81-year-old president had the physical and mental abilities to handle another four years in the White House and sparked a chorus of calls from within his own party to end his 2024 campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally, July 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Democrats quickly coalesced around Harris after Biden’s blockbuster announcement three and a half weeks ago that he was ending his re-election campaign and endorsing his vice president to succeed him at the top of the party’s ticket.
Harris has enjoyed a bump in the polls and a surge in fundraising since taking over as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.
The new poll indicates Harris matching Trump for voter enthusiasm in Florida, with 89% of each group saying they are very or somewhat excited to vote for the candidate they’re supporting. Enthusiasm among Biden voters in Florida stood at just 60% in a USA Today/Suffolk poll from June.
The new survey was conducted Aug. 7-11 with a sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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Southeast
Duffy exposes 54% of North Carolina truck licenses issued illegally to ‘dangerous drivers’
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday revealed that 54% of North Carolina’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to foreign nationals reviewed by federal officials were issued illegally.
The discovery came amid the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) ongoing nationwide audit of the state’s truck licensing systems.
If North Carolina does not revoke all illegally issued licenses, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will withhold nearly $50 million in federal funding.
“North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful — it’s dangerous. I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system,” Duffy wrote in a statement. “President [Donald] Trump and I are committed to keeping you and your family safe on our roads.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that widespread fraud is allowing illegal immigrants to obtain commercial driver’s licenses, which he said poses safety risks. (Department of Homeland Security)
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In a letter to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and state Department of Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, the FMCSA said the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to drivers who were ineligible, those whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired and those whose lawful status in the U.S. was not verified by North Carolina.
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said the level of noncompliance in North Carolina is “egregious.”
To retain its federal funding, North Carolina will be required to immediately pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations and revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the federal requirements.
ICE arrested more than 100 foreign national truck drivers in California’s Operation Highway Sentinel after deadly crashes linked to state-issued CDLs. (Department of Homeland Security)
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The state must also conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices and other issues that have resulted in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs that did not meet federal rules.
Duffy set his focus on CDL issues in early 2025 after an Indian national who held a California-issued CDL allegedly killed a car full of people on Florida’s turnpike.
ICE said Akhror Bozorov, 31, a criminal illegal immigrant from Uzbekistan, was issued a CDL from Pennsylvania. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
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California has since revoked 17,000 problematic non-domiciled CDL licenses as DOT conducts a nationwide audit initiated by President Donald Trump’s executive order on truck driver roadway safety.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Naked woman allegedly assaults deputy while intoxicated, claims she was ‘trying to be a mermaid’
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A Louisiana woman’s attempt to go for a skinny-dip did not end swimmingly, authorities said, after she allegedly attacked a sheriff’s deputy responding to a trespassing complaint before finally surrendering to deputies Tuesday.
According to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched in November to a residence in the Linville community of Marion after a caller reported a neighbor standing in their driveway screaming and refusing to leave the property despite having been warned previously.
When a patrol deputy arrived, authorities said the suspect was found nude and swimming in a pond located on the caller’s property.
The woman was later identified as Erin Elizabeth Sutton, 41, of Marion. Sutton initially refused to exit the pond or speak with the deputy, telling him she was “trying to be a mermaid,” according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post.
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Erin Elizabeth Sutton, 41, is accused of threatening a sheriff’s deputy in Louisiana after being caught skinny-dipping in a neighbor’s pond. She claimed she was “trying to be a mermaid,” according to police. (Union Parish Sheriff’s Office / Getty Images)
After repeated commands, Sutton eventually exited the pond. Due to cold temperatures, emergency medical services were contacted to evaluate her, authorities said.
A blanket was provided, and as the deputy attempted to escort Sutton inside a residence to warm up, she allegedly charged at him.
Authorities said Sutton ignored multiple commands to comply and resisted detention. A taser was deployed but had no effect, according to the sheriff’s office. Sutton was taken to the ground, where she allegedly continued to resist, kicking and punching the deputy before being restrained.
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The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office in Farmerville, La., announced on Facebook that 41-year-old Erin Elizabeth Sutton had allegedly attacked and threatened one of their deputies after skinny-dipping in a neighbor’s pond, citing she was “trying to be a mermaid.” (Google Maps)
Sutton was transported to a hospital for further treatment. During the transport, she allegedly threatened to kill deputies and paramedics, authorities said.
Because Sutton required medical care at the time, deputies later sought arrest warrants, which were signed by a judge in Louisiana’s Third Judicial District Court, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sutton surrendered to deputies on Jan. 6, 2025, and was arrested on multiple charges, including three counts of resisting an officer with force or violence, two counts of public intimidation, two counts of battery of a police officer, disturbing the peace/drunkenness and criminal trespassing.
According to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched in November to a residence in the Linville community of Marion after a caller reported a neighbor was trespassing. (iStock)
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Her bond was set at $62,000, authorities said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office for additional comment but did not immediately receive a response. It was not immediately clear whether Sutton has retained legal representation.
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Southeast
Dem governor-elect taps Crockett’s former ‘chief brand strategist’ for top DEI role
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FIRST ON FOX: Soon-to-be Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has tapped the former “chief brand strategist” for Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, to serve in the state’s top diversity, equity and inclusion role.
In a Tuesday statement, Spanberger, who takes office on Jan. 17, announced she is appointing Dr. Sesha Joi Moon to serve as Virginia’s chief diversity officer and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Spanberger said that Moon’s “experience across government, education, and the nonprofit sectors gives her firsthand insight into the ways in which we can build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous Virginia for every family.”
“I’m excited to announce that Dr. Moon is joining our administration,” said Spanberger, adding, “Virginia deserves leaders who will make sure our work to grow our Commonwealth’s economy keeps the needs of all Virginians in mind.”
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Virginia Democratic Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Nov. 04, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“When every Virginian has the opportunity to reach their full potential, it benefits all of us,” she said.
Moon, whose doctorates are in public administration and policy and self-identifies as a “Black queer woman,” responded to her appointment by saying she is looking “forward to joining the cabinet of Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger as her historic administration works to advance a future in which all Virginians have access to opportunity — to include residents from some of the hardest-to-reach communities throughout the Commonwealth.”
Moon most recently served as the chief impact officer for the Girl Scouts of the USA. Before that, through her private consultant practice Moon & Associates, she worked as the “chief brand strategist” for Crockett, a radical far-left Democrat who is currently running for the U.S. Senate in Texas.
Earlier this year, Moon appeared on a 40-minute podcast episode, where she defended the importance of DEI and delivered a direct message to critics, saying, “This work has not stopped. You can defund and dismantle all you want, but the work continues.”
“I’m excited. I feel like DEI is just getting started,” Moon continued. “I know that sounds so insane to some people because some people think our discipline is crumbling, and I don’t see it like that. I feel like we’re onto something here.”
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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Moon also served as executive-in-residence with two-time failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ American Pride Rises Network, a DEI advocacy network.
Before that, she was the chief diversity officer of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 117th & 118th Congresses under Speakers Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Mike Johnson, R-La.
Spanberger won a decisive electoral victory this November, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by a margin of over 10 percentage points.
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Then Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at a CPAC Latino Rally for Virginia on October 25, 2025 in Sterling, Virginia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Considered a purple state, Spanberger’s victory returns the Virginia governor’s mansion to the Democrats after being held by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger, Moon, Crockett, Abrams and the Girl Scouts of the USA for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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