Southeast
Country star Walker Hayes surprises Nashville Waffle House workers with huge tips
Country star Walker Hayes surprised three Waffle House employees in Tennessee when he gave them huge tips to mark the holiday season.
The 44-year-old singer was joined by entrepreneur and social media influencer Lexy Burke at one of the restaurant chain’s locations in Nashville, where they handed $1,200 in tips to workers following a meal.
Known as the “Serial Tipper,” Burke, a former server, collects donations from her followers to provide restaurant staff with generous tips. Burke launched the online movement in May 2020 to support food service workers after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she has continued her efforts since then.
“Honestly, I’m just so grateful Lexy included me in something so generous that she has cultivated,” Hayes told Southern Living magazine.
He continued, “As far as giving back is concerned, it is wild to be on this side of the gift. We’ve had people give us cars when we were hurting financially, so we know what it’s like to need a little help.”
WALKER HAYES OF ‘FANCY LIKE’ FAME HINTS AT OPENING APPLEBEE’S IN NASHVILLE
In a joint video posted by Hayes and Burke on Instagram Thursday, the two were seen meeting up outside a Nashville Waffle House. Burke introduced the Grammy Award nominee as a “surprise contributor.”
“You ready to tip?” Burke asked Hayes.
“Let’s big tip these people,” he replied with a smile.
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Burke was seen chatting with a waitress, who said she also works at a hospital. The server marveled over Hayes’ appearance at the restaurant, telling Burke, “Wow, he walked in while I was working. I don’t ever get to see anybody good.”
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Another employee played Hayes’ song “Fancy Like Christmas” on the jukebox while the singer placed his order with the waitress.
“I’m trying to get this item on the menu. It’s called the Waffle Hayes,” he said. “It’s basically a waffle but with two eggs over-easy and bacon and cheese in it and folded like a taco.”
“We have customers come in and get that,” the waitress told him.
“If they get that, that’s what I want,” Hayes said.
After finishing their meal, Burke told the waitress and two other workers about her serial tipping movement.
“I do this thing like every holiday season on my social media where I just ask people to send in some spare change,” she said. “So they do that and then my friend Walker wanted to contribute as well.”
Burke told the astonished employees that they were giving them $400 each for a total of $1,200.
“What’s up?!” Hayes said before assuring them that Burke was serious.
“On my God,” said one worker, to which Hayes replied, “I know!”
“This is from tons of people who just wanted to make y’all’s night,” Burke said. “A lot of love.”
Burke gave the waitress a stack of $100 bills while Hayes cheered.
“Can I hug you?” the waitress asked.
The two hugged and the waitress said, “I’m going to hug everybody. Thank you so much.”
At the end of the video, the employees addressed Burke’s followers, calling out “Thank you!”
Before skyrocketing to fame with the success of his 2021 viral hit “Fancy Like,” Hayes struggled for over a decade as an aspiring singer-songwriter and worked at a Costco in Nashville. During a July 2023 interview with Fox News Digital, Hayes detailed his battle with alcoholism.
The father of six shared that he was able to embrace sobriety and his faith with the help of his friend Craig Cooper, a pastor who helped him and his family when they needed it most.
While speaking with Southern Living, Hayes said, “I really never dreamed we would have much to offer anyone.”
“So grateful, especially in this season, to help anyone, however we can,” he added.
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Southeast
Fiery chaos at Florida intersection has sheriff's office searching for dozens of suspects
A sheriff’s office in central Florida is searching for 30 people they say were a part of an “intersection takeover” that terrorized drivers and damaged cars.
The mob shut down the intersection of South John Young Parkway and Central Florida Parkway on Nov. 30, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) said on Facebook.
The large group “set a fire in the roadway, and used the space for cars to do donuts around the flames,” prior to harassing innocent drivers, blocking them from passing.
“There’s a baby in the car,” someone can be heard shouting in the scene footage shared by the sheriff’s office.
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The suspects “in some cases, climbed on and damaged vehicles,” OCSO said. The law enforcement agency said the “reckless and violent behavior poses a serious danger” to the community, and it is committed to “holding those responsible accountable.”
A Tesla driver said damage to his car was estimated at $60,000 after “dozens of people jumped on top of his vehicle and began to kick his vehicle windshield, causing it to break,” according to an affidavit obtained by the Miami Herald.
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Some of the suspects appeared to try to conceal their identities, while others had their cell phones out recording the action.
“I feel so really bad for the people that were just there trying to go about their daily lives and got caught up in that mess,” Dave Nutting, a law enforcement specialist and retired deputy with the sheriff’s office, told FOX 35 Orlando.
No arrests or injuries have been reported as a result of the incident.
The sheriff’s office said that If anyone recognizes any of the 30 people whose faces were shared in their video, they should contact Crimeline at 800-423-8477. People who share information with the hotline may remain anonymous.
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Southeast
Trump pressing DeSantis to name Lara Trump as Rubio's Senate successor: source
President-elect Trump is pressing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to name his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s seat in the Sunshine State, Fox Digital has learned.
President-elect Trump named Rubio as his pick for secretary of state last month, leaving DeSantis the decision to name a successor to the position. DeSantis said last month that he will likely name his pick for the seat by early January.
Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that Lara Trump is a likely choice for the role, as Republican lawmakers such as Sens. Rick Scott, Lindsey Graham, Katie Britt and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida voiced support for her filling Rubio’s Senate shoes. Lara Trump is married to the 45th president’s son, Eric Trump, and co-chaired the RNC amid the 2024 presidential campaign.
A source in President-elect Trump’s political orbit said Tuesday that the former and upcoming president is pressing DeSantis to name Lara Trump. The comment comes as DeSantis and Trump are expected to attend the annual Army-Navy college football game this coming weekend, Fox Digital previously reported.
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If Rubio is confirmed as the U.S.’ next secretary of state, his successor would serve in the Senate for two years before the seat is up for election again in 2026.
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Amid speculation over Rubio’s potential replacement, Lara Trump announced this week that she will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) after serving in the position throughout the presidential campaign. She explained in a social media post that she fulfilled three goals she sought as GOP co-chair, and would “formally step down from the RNC at our next meeting.”
LARA TRUMP SAYS SHE’D ‘LOVE TO CONSIDER’ FILLING RUBIO’S SENATE SEAT IF ASKED BY DESANTIS
Lara Trump has publicly spoken favorably of potentially filling the Florida Senate seat, saying she would “100% consider” taking the job if offered by DeSantis.
LARA TRUMP SAYS SHE WOULD ‘ABSOLUTELY’ CONSIDER BECOMING SEN. RUBIO’S REPLACEMENT: ‘WOULD BE AN HONOR’ | FOX NEWS VIDEO
“It is something I would seriously consider,” she told The Associated Press. “If I’m being completely transparent, I don’t know exactly what that would look like. And I certainly want to get all of the information possible if that is something that’s real for me. But yeah, I would 100% consider it.”
She additionally told Fox News’ Sean Hannity last month that she “would love to serve the people of Florida” and “would love to consider” filling the seat if asked.
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This is not the first time Lara Trump has been in the midst of Senate speculation. Following the 2020 presidential election, rumors spread across Washington, D.C., that the Trump daughter-in-law was considering a Senate run in her home state of North Carolina. She ultimately decided against a run, endorsing now-Sen. Ted Budd.
Fox News Digital’s Christina Shaw and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Violent South American Tren de Aragua gang member busted near Trump estate
A Venezuelan national suspected of being a member of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang has been arrested near President-elect Trump’s estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to a senior U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) official.
Jeffrey Dinise, the chief patrol agent of the USBP Miami Sector, announced the arrest in a social media post on Tuesday.
“U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a Venezuelan national who was identified as a Tren de Aragua gang member,” Dinise wrote on X. “He has a criminal record for assault w/ a deadly weapon. Our agents continue to keep our communities safe.”
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The arrest happened in Palm Beach, Florida, not far from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in West Palm Beach.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said Thursday that the incident did not take place at any of Trump’s properties.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection continues to work closely with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe, including taking proactive steps to detect and positively identify members of the TdA criminal gang” the spokesperson said. “This was a targeted apprehension of a known Tren de Aragua member. As our U.S. Border Patrol agents encounter individuals who pose a threat to national security or public safety, or when new information becomes available following continuous vetting, we will take appropriate action in keeping with the mission of protecting the homeland.”
Researchers have traced the origins of Tren de Aragua, which translates to “Train of Aragua,” to the Tocoron prison in the Aragua state of Venezuela sometime between 2013 and 2015.
The violent gang, which has been terrorizing neighborhoods across the country, is now operating in 16 states, according to a new Department of Homeland Security memo cited by the New York Post. The gang has reportedly taken advantage of a lax southern border under the Biden-Harris administration, with many of its foot soldiers swarming into unsuspecting U.S. communities.
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The gang has been engaged in all sorts of violent crime, including murders, shootings of police officers, assaults, robberies and gun smuggling into migrant shelters. It is also said to be engaged in drug dealing and the sex trafficking of migrant women in New York City, and in some states armed members of the gang have been taking over apartment buildings.
TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN NEW YORK CITY
And now, according to a New York Post report, the gang is operating in an area that includes half of America’s population.
In addition to New York City, Colorado and Texas, the gang has a foothold in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin, and most recently in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Montana and Wyoming, according to the report that cites a Homeland Security memo.
The Homeland Security memo, titled “Expansion of Tren de Aragua (TdA) Across the United States Presents Challenges for Law Enforcement,” states that the gang has increased its “violent tendencies” as it spreads, according to the report.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Heckman and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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