Southeast
DeSantis launches Florida redistricting push to potentially add more GOP House seats
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched a redistricting effort to secure more Republican congressional seats in the state on Wednesday.
DeSantis announced the move on social media, saying he will be convening a special session for the state legislature to adjust current maps. The move comes as red and blue states across the country have pursued redistricting in a high-stakes battle to secure an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections.
“Today, I announced that I will be convening a Special Session of the Legislature focused on redistricting to ensure that Florida’s congressional maps accurately reflect the population of our state. Every Florida resident deserves to be represented fairly and constitutionally,” DeSantis wrote.
“This Special Session will take place after the regular legislative session, which will allow the Legislature to first focus on the pressing issues facing Floridians before devoting its full attention to congressional redistricting in April,” he added.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is launching a redistricting effort in his state. (DeSantis 2024)
Currently, Republicans hold 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional districts. Florida Republicans may also face challenges because of language in the state’s constitution that puts tight restrictions on gerrymandering.
Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, President Donald Trump in June first floated the idea of rare but not unheard of mid-decade congressional redistricting.
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 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Democrats need a three-seat pick-up to win back the House majority.
Trump’s first target: Texas.
A month later, when asked by reporters 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.”
The push by Trump and his political team triggered a high-stakes redistricting showdown with Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority.
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.
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Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return 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.
Right-tilting Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.
In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge this month 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 2026 midterm elections.
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)
And Republicans in Indiana’s Senate defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House.
But Trump scored a big victory when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court late last year greenlighted 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.
Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin, responding to the news from Florida, argued in a statement that “Ron DeSantis is bending the knee to Washington Republicans once again by agreeing to rig Florida’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms.”
Some lawmakers have warned that rampant redistricting will only lead to escalating political tensions. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said last month that it may even result in violence.
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“You know, it’s this escalation on both sides,” Paul said. “Both sides are doing it, and so is one side going to sit quietly and not do it? You can argue who started it. But I do think this, and, this is on the negative aspect of both parties doing this, I think it’s going to lead to more civil tension and possibly more violence in our country, because think about it.”
“If 35% of Texas is Democrat, solidly Democrat, and they have zero representation. Or like in my state, we’re a very Republican state, but we have one Democrat area in Louisville and we have a Democratic congressman. We could carve up Louisville and get rid of that one congressman, but how does that make Democrats feel? I think it makes them feel like they’re not represented,” he continued.
Paul did not solely blame Republicans or Democrats for the redistricting fight but expressed concerns about how far it has escalated.
Florida is one of many states exploring redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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“I’m saying it’s a mistake for both parties,” Paul said. “I know exactly how we de-escalate this, because once Texas is done and changed five seats to be more Republican, California’s gonna do the same thing. And it’s back and forth, and back and forth. How do you put the genie back in the box? How do you get back to détente? How do you do something better? I think there is the potential that when people feel they have no representation, that they feel disenfranchised, that it could lead, that it might lead to violence in our country.”
Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Ex-mayor convicted after son walks in on lewd act at alcohol-infused pool bash
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A former Louisiana mayor has been found guilty of having sex with a minor after prosecutors revealed her teenage son caught her in the act with his friend at a 2024 alcohol-infused pool party hosted at her home.
Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, was convicted of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile on Tuesday, according to KPLC.
Roberts was subsequently released on a $100,000 surety bond, the outlet reported.
The verdict followed days of testimony from Roberts’ family members, teenagers at the parties and the victim himself as prosecutors worked to paint a picture of the booze-filled events leading up to the incident.
Prosecutors charged that Misty Roberts had sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a booze-filled house party in 2024. (Misty Roberts/Facebook)
On Tuesday, the victim took the stand to tell the jury he was drunk when he and Roberts – who was serving as mayor at the time – had sex, according to KPLC.
In closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Charles Robinson began by saying, “I told ya’ll at the beginning of the trial that ‘a lewd and lascivious photo is worth a thousand words.’ Here, you have it,” the outlet reported.
Robinson then pointed to a series of evidence exhibits showing Roberts posing with the victim while obscured by furniture, including photos from the night of the incident in which Roberts is seen wearing a bikini as the teen smiles up at her.
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Misty Roberts, the former mayor of DeRidder, has been found guilty of having sex with a minor. (Louisiana Highway Patrol)
However, defense attorney Adam Johnson reportedly attempted to convince the jury that key parts of the case were not properly investigated by police, including potential DNA evidence, witness testimony and video surveillance from Roberts’ home.
Johnson alleged the investigation was an attempt to “railroad” Roberts by lead investigator Melissa Welch, who previously testified she told the victim’s mother that witnesses need to “get on board or get run over by the train.”
Earlier in the trial, jurors were shown text messages between Roberts and her teenage son, with the pair discussing what type of alcohol the teens wanted for the party hosted at her home.
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Misty Roberts was serving as mayor of DeRidder at the time of the 2024 pool party, according to KPLC.
In another exchange, Roberts’ son warned her of the victim’s age, texting her, “He is seventeen,” according to the outlet. The victim was 16 years old at the time of the alleged incident.
Additional text messages from the night of the party show Roberts’ son calling the situation “crazy” and telling her that his younger sister was emotional.
Upon taking the stand, Roberts’ daughter told the court that she witnessed her mother and the victim “on top of each other” the night of the party, KPLC reported.
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Additionally, prosecutors revealed the victim’s mother texted Roberts to confirm she was not pregnant, with Roberts assuring her she was on birth control.
Roberts then screenshotted the exchange and sent the messages in a separate group chat, suggesting she would take the emergency contraceptive “Plan B,” the outlet reported.
A DoorDash driver also previously took the stand to testify that he fulfilled an order from “Misty C” to purchase the emergency contraceptive and leave it at the front door of the home.
FLORIDA TEACHER CHARGED FOR ALLEGED SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH STUDENT WHO LIVED WITH HER
The driver then reportedly heard rumors of the incident and told jurors he believed his delivery was connected.
Over the weekend, Roberts’ ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, testified that Roberts admitted to having sex with the teenage boy and revealed that the couple’s children had caught them in the act, the outlet reported.
Text messages between the married couple showed Clanton telling Roberts, “I would deny what happened if you’re approached by anyone at the meeting,” on the day of a city council meeting.
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In another exchange, Clanton reportedly testified Roberts texted him, “I need you to deny it, please.”
Clanton added that while he refused to deny the allegations, he avoided talking about the incident.
“I can’t keep hurting others, friends and family. Lord knows I’ve done enough,” Roberts reportedly texted Clanton, KPLC reported.
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Roberts resigned from her position as mayor just days before her arrest in 2024.
Carnal knowledge reportedly carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison, with indecent behavior carrying a sentence of up to seven years. She will also be required to register as a Tier 1 sex offender, according to KPLC.
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Her sentencing is scheduled for April 17.
Roberts’ attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Trump, BBC agree on mediator for $10 billion lawsuit over Jan 6 documentary editing controversy
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President Donald Trump and The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) agreed on a mediator on Tuesday to help resolve the president’s $10 billion lawsuit.
The BBC has come under intense scrutiny over a 2024 Panorama documentary about Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech delivered before the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Critics called the documentary misleading because it omitted Trump’s call for supporters to protest peacefully. Trump sued the BBC in December for both defamation and for a violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act for $5 billion apiece, seeking $10 billion total.
While ABC and CBS have both settled lawsuits with Trump in the past year, the BBC has vowed to fight the case. The two sides agreed on John W. Thornton, Esq., to serve as a pretrial mediator, who will seek a resolution.
President Donald Trump and The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) agreed on a mediator on Tuesday to help resolve the president’s $10 billion lawsuit. (Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)
“The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.
The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s suit, filed in the Southern District of Florida Federal Court, was filed in a personal capacity and named the BBC and BBC Studios Productions as defendants. The parties have proposed a mediation session the week of Oct. 26. Mediation, a standard case management step required by the court, is contingent on the outcome of a jurisdictional challenge the BBC is expected to submit later this month.
“As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” a BBC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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President Donald Trump has tangled in the courts with several media organizations. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The BBC previously issued an apology for the erroneous edit and said it had pulled the program from its platforms, but a spokesperson for the broadcaster added, “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”
The controversy began with a bombshell report from The Telegraph that featured excerpts from a whistleblower dossier compiled by Michael Prescott, a communications advisor hired by the BBC to review its editorial standards.
The whistleblower revealed that the BBC “Panorama” documentary released in 2024 had a misleading edit of comments Trump made at the rally that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The documentary omitted Trump urging his supporters to protest “peacefully” and instead spliced two separate comments made nearly an hour apart, making it appear he was calling for violence.
“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And I’ll be there with you. And we fight — we fight like hell,” the documentary showed Trump saying, with no indication the statements came far apart.
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In reality, Trump said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.” It was 54 minutes later that Trump called on his supporters to “fight like hell” for election integrity.
The New York Times referred to the ordeal as “one of the worst crises in its 103-year history” of the BBC. The blunder led to the resignations of BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and BBC director-general Tim Davie.
Turness insisted in an interview last week that the BBC does not have any institutional bias against Trump.
Trump’s legal team suggested the defendants “timed the publication of the Panorama Documentary to be close in time to the 2024 Presidential Election” and the value of the president’s “personal brand alone is reasonably estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.”
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Police warned prosecutors 3 times about violent illegal immigrant before he allegedly killed Virginia mother
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Newly uncovered emails show the Fairfax County Police Department warned the county’s commonwealth attorney about a criminal illegal migrant with more than 30 previous arrests at least three times before he allegedly stabbed a mother to death in the Washington, D.C., area.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, was charged with murder after allegedly stabbing 41-year-old Stephanie Minter to death at a bus stop in Fairfax County, Virginia, in late February.
Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone in West Africa who had lived in Virginia since the age of 9, was arrested at a liquor store one day after the stabbing when an employee called 911 to report Jalloh was shoplifting.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fox 5 DC)
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Jalloh entered the country in 2012 and has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia.
His criminal history includes more than 30 arrests for charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, firing a weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and pick-pocketing, yet his charges were dropped by local prosecutors almost every time, according to DHS.
Emails obtained by WJLA showed the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) warned Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office about Jalloh on at least three occasions, but no action was taken to remove him from the country.
In an email to Fairfax County Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands, a Fairfax County police major said he wanted to bring Jalloh’s release to her attention because he “is one of the repeat (and violent) offenders” they had previously discussed.
Abdul Jalloh on a bus in Virginia (Fairfax County Police Department)
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“I wanted to get your background on why he is out so soon and ask if his prior suspended sentence (of I believe 5 years) was pursued by your office? Unfortunately, based on MTV Station’s numerous dealings with him, it is not a question of if, but rather when he will maliciously wound (or worse) again. My role of keeping the public safe, prompts me to follow up on his status,” the major wrote.
In another email discussing a bond alert from August 2025, a FCPD employee told Assistant Police Chief Brooke Wright that Jalloh had more than 100 incidents with FCPD resulting in multiple charges spanning from theft to violent crimes, according to the outlet.
“JALLOH’s offenses began with domestic violence incidents and escalated to assaulting other victims and threats with weapons (knives),” the employee wrote in the email. “He has been involved in multiple stabbing incidents with victims identifying him as the offender in these cases. This year JALLOH has been the offender in a malicious wounding where he stabbed a man in May 2025, in which he received a bond on July 31, 2025 — three weeks later, this incident occurred where he assaulted an older male and stomped his head into the ground.”
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The employee added a list of Jalloh’s criminal history to the email, which included:
2014: Assault on family member (nolle prossed)
2015: Assault on family member (nolle prossed)
2017: ID theft to avoid arrest (guilty)
2017: Assault (guilty)
2018: Possession of marijuana (guilty)
2018: Destruction of property (guilty) — Original charge: malicious shoot/throw occupied building
2018: Contributing to the delinquency of a minor (nolle prossed)
2018: Rape (nolle prossed)
2018: Grand larceny (nolle prossed)
2022: Trespassing (nolle prossed)
2023: Trespassing (guilty)
2023: Disorderly conduct (guilty)
2023: Possession of a schedule three substance (guilty) — Original charge: possession of a schedule one or two substance
2023: Malicious wounding (nolle prossed)
2023: Malicious wounding (guilty) — Sentenced to seven years, with five years suspended to probation
2023: Stealing property from a person (nolle prossed)
2024: Petit larceny (nolle prossed)
2024: Trespassing (nolle prossed)
2024: Petit larceny (nolle prossed)
2024: Disorderly conduct (nolle prossed)
2024: Malicious wounding (nolle prossed)
2024: Failure to appear in court (dismissed)
2025: Malicious wounding
*Nolle pressed refers to a prosecutor’s formal decision to drop criminal charges.
In response to the email, Wright said Sands “had a specific conversation regarding them prosecuting without a victim in court for the stabbing given the circumstances, and she was on board with a victimless prosecution.”
In a May 2025 email obtained by WJLA, police emailed Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office — including Sands and other prosecutors — warning that Jalloh “has a history of stabbing community members and was on probation during the most recent assault.”
“For those reasons and the reasons outlined in the document, we ask that you argue he continues to be held at the ADC,” an officer wrote.
The email also explained a May 4, 2025, incident in which Jalloh allegedly stabbed a man in the leg while he was sleeping with his girlfriend.
“Without hesitation, the Victim stated that Jallow was the person who stabbed him. Jalloh has been charged with numerous Malicious woundings and been convicted of one in 2023 and [is] currently out on probation for the aforementioned crime and living in an OAR provided motel room,” the officer wrote.
OAR is a nonprofit in Fairfax County that provides “alternatives to incarceration” for criminals.
VIRGINIA MURDER SUSPECT IN BUS STOP STABBING HAD LENGTHY CRIMINAL HISTORY, MULTIPLE DROPPED CHARGES
Similar to the other email, the officer included a list of prior police involvement, including an incident from April 14, 2024, during which Jalloh allegedly stabbed a homeless man in the head and upper body while he was sleeping at a bus stop, telling him, “get up, you can’t sleep here.”
Later that same day, Jalloh allegedly stabbed a woman in the head after attacking her and stealing her money, according to the email.
Other incidents included Jalloh allegedly choking a woman, stomping on her, burning her chest and raping her in October 2018, stabbing a person inside a McDonald’s in January 2023 and stabbing an elderly man in February 2023.
The email also said police had a record of 178 incidents, citing Jalloh as a known shoplifter and noting he “is often intoxicated/high and located w/narcotics on his person.”
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has said DHS would need to provide a signed judicial warrant from a local judge to ensure that Jalloh is deported. (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)
“DANGER This individual has a long history of stabbing community members and is currently on probation for doing that very thing,” the officer wrote. “He has shown a blatant disregard for human life and is a danger to the community.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said his department “respect[s] the criminal justice system and the distinct roles and responsibilities of each entity within it.”
“In previous cases involving this defendant, our officers and detectives conducted thorough investigations, made lawful arrests, and presented evidence for prosecution,” Davis wrote. “The court outcomes are in no way related to any shortcomings associated with the FCPD. This defendant must be held accountable for his actions. We remain committed to our role to ensure that happens.”
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Despite Jalloh’s criminal history and the recent killing of Minter, Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she would not honor a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer, which is a written request for law enforcement to maintain custody of a person for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release to allow for transfer to ICE custody.
A governor’s spokesperson told WJLA that DHS would need to provide a signed judicial warrant from a local judge to ensure that Jalloh is deported.
“Sanctuary [Gov. Abigail Spanberger] is fighting to protect a MURDERER over American citizens,” DHS wrote in an X post. “This monster is responsible for fatally stabbing Stephanie Minter. ICE does NOT need judicial warrants to make arrests.
“The heroes of ICE will continue to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens across the Commonwealth while Governor Spanberger RELEASES them from jails into Virginia communities to commit more crimes and create more victims.”
In early February, Spanberger ended cooperation with state agencies and federal immigration authorities through an executive directive, claiming she had “serious concerns that chaotic federal law enforcement actions across the country are eroding years of trust,” adding immigration enforcement “contributes to a culture of fear and distrust.”
A Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson told Fox News Digital the office “was aware of Jalloh’s criminal history and shared police concerns about potential future dangerousness. That is why our Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney personally handled these cases.”
The spokesperson said prosecutors “will often explore many different pathways to successful prosecution, but, at the end of the day, our decisions are constrained by what testimony is available and what is legally permissible and practicable in Fairfax courts.”
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Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
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