Southeast
Former US Attorney Jessica Aber, 43, found dead at Virginia residence: police
A former United States attorney was found dead in Virginia Saturday morning, just two months after leaving office.
Jessica D. Aber, 43, worked as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2021 to 2025. Appointed by former President Joe Biden, she served in the role until resigning Jan. 20.
In a news release Saturday, the Alexandria Police Department (APD) confirmed Aber’s death, reporting it received a call about an “unresponsive woman” at around 9:18 a.m. Saturday.
While authorities did not release Aber’s cause of death, a family friend told Fox News Digital on Sunday that police believe her death “was the result of a longstanding medical issue.”
DOJ INSISTS EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS DID NOT VIOLATE COURT ORDER
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Department of Justice Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“As a matter of protocol, an investigation is underway surrounding the circumstances of her death,” the APD said in its statement. “The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia will determine the cause and manner of death.”
According to Aber’s Department of Justice biography, she graduated from William & Mary Law School in 2006. Her role involved “[leading] a staff of approximately 300 prosecutors, civil litigators and support personnel across four divisions located in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News.”
In her resignation statement, Aber said working as a U.S. attorney was “an honor beyond measure.”
“I am deeply grateful to senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and to President Biden for the opportunity to lead this office and to Attorney General Garland for his steadfast leadership,” Aber said at the time. “I am proud of the work we have done with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to enforce the law and build community trust.”
U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert, Aber’s successor, said he was “heartbroken beyond words” to hear of Aber’s death Saturday.
IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP DEPORTATION FLIGHTS
Jessica D. Aber, 43, was found dead March 22. (U.S. Department of Justice Archives)
“She was unmatched as a leader, mentor and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being,” Siebert said. “We remain in awe of how much she accomplished in her all-too-brief time in this world. Her professionalism, grace and legal acumen set the standard.”
The attorney said “each of us in the Eastern District of Virginia will look to her example and endeavor to live up to that standard.”
“Jess was a proud Virginian from high school through college and throughout her career,” Siebert said. “She loved EDVA, and EDVA loved her back. We remain committed to her life’s work, a commitment to seeking justice, as she would have wanted.”
Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Authorities are investigating Aber’s death.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
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)
“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)
“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.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.
The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.
Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.
Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.
Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original.
“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.
NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER
“It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.
Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.
In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”
“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.
“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”
“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.
The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.
Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said.
Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)
Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day.
He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later.
Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing.
A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding.
In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported.
REPEAT OFFENDER ON PAROLE FOR MURDER TIED TO BRUTAL JAIL ASSAULT, ESCAPE HOURS AFTER ROBBERY
Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)
Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”
“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said.
“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”
Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia. (Provided)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person.
“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states.
Read the full article from Here
-
World4 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts5 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO4 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
News1 week agoWorld reacts as US top court limits Trump’s tariff powers