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Florida Microsoft exec sent warning email to suspect ex-wife accused in his murder

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Florida Microsoft exec sent warning email to suspect ex-wife accused in his murder

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Slain Microsoft employee Jared Bridegan and his murder suspect ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, exchanged contentious emails in 2017 regarding finances, child therapy and their divorce, according to redacted documents published earlier this month.

Bridegan was fatally shot in front of his car after coming across a tire in the middle of a secluded road on Feb. 16, 2022, which prosecutors believe was a setup orchestrated by Gardner and her now-husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. His then-2-and-a-half-year-old daughter was in the back seat at the time.

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The documents obtained by Fox News Digital through a records request detail some of the items police collected from Gardner’s West Richland, Washington, home while serving a warrant in February 2023, including phones, an Apple Watch, multiple laptops and other electronic items. Gardner would not be arrested until six months later, in August 2023.

A child who was home at the time of the search told police that their mother kept her “important” electronics in her “bedroom closet,” and then whispered “up above” to the office while pointing toward the ceiling, documents show.

SUSPECT IN MICROSOFT EXEC’S MURDER-FOR-HIRE SLAYING WISHED ‘GOOD LUCK!’ TO HIT MAN: WITNESS

Jared Bridegan, left, was fatally shot in front of his car after coming across a tire in the middle of a secluded road on Feb. 16, 2022, which prosecutors believe was a setup orchestrated by Shanna Gardner, right, and her now-husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. (Handout/Duval County Jail)

The documents also contain redacted photographs of heated emails exchanged between Bridegan and Gardner from April and May 2017.

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In April 2017, Gardner told Bridegan she was sending their children to therapy and they “are caught in the crossfire of living between two houses.” In another email, Gardner criticized Bridegan for not prioritizing the therapy sessions or giving “financial help for it,” despite agreeing that their two children needed therapy.

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Attorney Jose Baez appears in court alongside his client, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. Gardner-Fernandez was arraigned on charges relating to her alleged involvement in the orchestration of the murder of her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan. (Larry Paci for Fox News Digital)

Bridegan, in turn, said he “will not pay for things you and I do not agree to prior.”

The two exchanged other heated phrases in their emails back-and-forth. Gardner told Bridegan to move “that self righteous pedestal of yours in front of a mirror.” Bridegan asked Gardner, “[W]hy are you ashamed of who you really are, why cover up all your tattoos in court, why not be proud of the person you have become?” He also accused her of mismanaging money and calls her a “retard.”

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Shanna Gardner-Fernandez and her husband, Mario Fernandez, on a family vacation in Hawaii. The photo of the couple, who are now separated, was posted the day Jared Bridegan was murdered, allegedly by Fernandez and his co-conspirators. (So Shelli blog)

“Wowwwww Satan be careful, you really should wait to show your hand this early on. I know I am [smiley face],” Bridegan wrote in one email response to Gardner, adding later, “I am shocked you keep underestimating me…or did you think all those months during our divorce, when you fooled around in the darkness on so many nights, and in so many places, no one was…..again, best to not show your hand this early on.”

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A screenshot of emails exchanged between Jared Bridegan and Shanna Gardner with the subject line “Kids’ Therapy.” (Dual County)

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In May 2017, Bridegan promised his ex-wife that she would not “find happiness by tearing” his family down.

 “You cannot bring us down as a family.”

— Jared Bridegan to Shanna Gardner, May 2017

“[Redacted] will be raised in a Christ centered home. You will not thwart this,” he wrote. “You cannot bring us down as a family. I realize you live a life without the Spirit, without the Priesthood, and without the blessings of the Temple. You won’t find happiness by tearing us down. I won’t allow you to.”

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Shanna Gardner, right, and her husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, inset, allegedly offered a hitman $150,000 to kill Gardner’s ex-husband, Microsoft manager Jared Bridegan. (Handout/ © Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Gardner’s attorney, Jose Baez, and the State Attorney’s Office for the 4th Judicial Circuit for comment. 

Gardner and Fernandez-Saldana are accused of paying $150,000 to accused hitman Henry Tenon, Fernandez-Saldana’s former tenant, to kill Bridegan. Tenon is accused of ambushing and fatally shooting Bridegan in Jacksonville Beach on Feb. 16, 2022.

Both Gardner and Fernandez-Saldana have pleaded not guilty in connection with Bridegan’s murder. Tenon pleaded guilty to pulling the trigger and agreed to testify against the other suspects.



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High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

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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)

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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.

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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.

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Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Federal court clears way for Ten Commandments to be displayed in Louisiana public school classrooms

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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.

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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)

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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.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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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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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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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.

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“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.

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“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.

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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.

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“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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