Southeast
Fox News Poll: Biden, Trump in a dead heat in Virginia
Virginia is not widely considered a battleground state this election cycle — or perhaps just not yet. After winning the state by more than 10 points four years ago, President Biden finds himself in a tie with former President Donald Trump, according to a new Fox News survey of Virginia registered voters.
The poll, released Thursday, shows Biden and Trump with 48% each in a head-to-head matchup in the Old Dominion State.
Biden gets strong backing from Black voters (73%), suburban women (58%), and college-educated voters (56%).
While Biden leads among Black voters, it is nowhere near where he was in 2020 – according to the Fox News Voter Analysis. In 2020, Biden won Blacks by 81 points, compared to 48 points in the new survey. Trump nearly triples his share among Black voters: 9% in 2020 to 25% today.
Trump’s support comes from White evangelical Christians (80%), rural voters (63%), voters without a college degree (56%), and White voters (54%).
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There is no age gap, as voters under 30 (48% each) and those 65 and over (48% each) split their support.
Independents are also torn (45% Biden, 43% Trump).
The gender divide is small but still evident, as men are more likely to go for Trump (+5), while the opposite is true among women (Biden +6).
A potential five-way race is tight in Virginia as well, with Biden edging out Trump by just 1 point, 42%-41%, followed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 9%, Cornel West 2%, and Jill Stein 2%.
As of now, none of the third-party candidates asked in the survey are on the ballot in Virginia.
While Trump (10%) loses slightly more support to Kennedy than Biden (7%) when the race expands, it levels out because Biden loses more support to West and Stein (6%) than Trump (3%).
Two-thirds of Virginia voters say they are extremely motivated to vote this November and they give Biden a 3-point edge and push him over 50% (51% Biden, 48% Trump).
The last time a Republican presidential candidate won Virginia was former President George W. Bush in 2004.
“Virginia is a must win state for Biden, so a tight race here is going to require some serious defense from his campaign to hold it,” says Democratic pollster Chris Anderson who conducts the Fox News Poll with Republican Daron Shaw. “But that appears possible, in that compared to elsewhere, Virginia voters are a little more positive about the economy and give Trump less of an advantage on the issues.”
Nearly 6 in 10 voters say they are holding steady financially (43%) or getting ahead (16%). That’s compared to 40% who feel they are falling behind. Those getting ahead/holding steady favor Biden by 32 points while those falling behind back Trump by 46 points.
Still, more voters say Trump would better handle the economy than Biden by 12 points. Trump’s advantage is even larger on immigration/border security where voters think he’d be better by 17 points. He also does well on the Israel-Hamas war (+10).
Biden is preferred on the other issues tested: climate change (Biden better by 18 points), abortion (+11), election integrity (+10), health care (+8).
On May 31, Trump was found guilty in the New York hush-money case. All survey interviews were conducted after the verdict was rendered.
Two-thirds (66%) of Virginians say Trump’s conviction won’t matter to their vote, including just over half who say it won’t matter at all (51%).
One-third (33%) say the conviction will matter a great deal or some to their vote. These voters prefer Biden by 41 points, while those who say it won’t matter at all go for Trump by a smaller 21-point margin.
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In general, over half believe Trump received a fair trial (55% fair, 42% not fair).
Views of both Biden and Trump are in negative territory: Biden is underwater by 14 points (42% favorable, 56% unfavorable) while Trump is under by 12 (43%, 55%).
Those viewing both candidates negatively, so-called “double haters,” go for Biden by 17 points.
“The group of voters unfavorable toward both Trump and Biden is larger in Virginia than in other states and those voters overwhelmingly think Trump’s hush-money trial was fair,” says Anderson. “These voters will be pivotal to the outcome and, at least for some of them, the felony conviction is another strike against Trump.”
Biden’s job rating is about the same as his personal favorable rating: 43% approve of his job performance while 57% disapprove. Forty-two percent strongly disapprove, which is double those who strongly approve (21%).
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is the first Republican to be elected to the governorship since 2009 and his job performance ratings are much better than Biden’s: 56% approve vs. 40% disapprove. Still, nearly 3 in 10 who approve of Youngkin back Biden (28%), while 2 in 10 who disapprove of him back Trump (20%).
In an interview with Martha MacCallum on Tuesday, Youngkin said Virginia is “back in play.”
“Biden is still the favorite in Virginia,” says Shaw. “But the data here show a very competitive race. The map is clearly expanding in a way that creates more opportunities for Trump to get to 270 electoral votes and more holes in the dam that Biden has to plug if he’s going to return to the White House.”
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Conducted June 1-4 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,107 Virginia registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (180) and cellphones (665) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (262). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population.
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Southeast
Louisiana manhunt continues as dangerous inmate charged with attempted murder remains on the run
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Louisiana authorities are continuing to search for the last of three inmates who broke through a deteriorating wall on Wednesday and escaped a jail about 130 miles northwest of New Orleans.
The three inmates, identified as Keith Eli, 24, of Opelousas; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas; and Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, allegedly used sheets and other items to scale an outer wall, drop onto the roof of the first floor and lower themselves to the ground, according to a statement from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Harrington killed himself with a hunting rifle Thursday after a standoff with police at a home in Port Barre, The Associated Press reported.
Prior to his escape, St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office records show, he was charged with nine felonies, including home invasion and aggravated assault with a firearm.
Keith Eli, left; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, center; and Joseph Allen Harrington, inmates who escaped from a Louisiana prison. (St. Landry Parish Sheriff via Facebook)
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Police nabbed the second escapee, Joseph, the next day after a foot chase.
Sheriff’s officials said a tip led deputies to a home where he was hiding out, according to the report. He surrendered after fleeing to a nearby storage shed.
Joseph, also a convicted felon, was previously charged with principal first-degree rape, along with drug and gun offenses.
The inmates escaped St. Landry Parish Jail Wednesday in Louisiana. (Google Maps)
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The third missing inmate, Eli, remains missing and was charged with attempted second-degree murder.
“We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably, but we will not rest until he is captured,” St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz wrote in a statement obtained by the AP.
In May, 10 prisoners escaped a minimum-custody New Orleans jail after removing a toilet from a wall inside a cell and crawling through it.
Video cameras in the prison captured the brazen escape, with footage showing the group scaling a fence, using blankets to protect themselves from barbed wire and running across an interstate to a nearby neighborhood where they changed clothes.
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Inmates wrote messages, including, “To Easy LOL” and “WE INNOCENT,” among others, near the hole they used to flee the jail.
The last remaining fugitive, a four-time convicted killer, was arrested five months after the escape after a standoff with authorities in Atlanta.
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Three jail employees have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Fox News Digital previously reported.
An internal investigation has been initiated, and the jail supervisory staff will be providing a comprehensive report, according to Guidroz.
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Southeast
Disgraced teacher accused of using Google Docs to groom underage student before alleged sex crimes
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A Palm Beach County, Florida, science teacher is behind bars after investigators say he used a shared Google Doc to secretly communicate with a student before engaging in sexual acts with her at school and inside his apartment, according to an arrest affidavit.
Elias Gordon Farley, 26, a former teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, was arrested after the student reported the alleged abuse on Nov. 18.
The teen told detectives the interactions began as casual conversations during the previous school year, but over the summer, Farley allegedly created a shared Google Doc in which the two wrote messages back and forth.
Investigators said the file later contained explicit entries describing sexual activity and planning when they would meet privately.
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Elias Gordon Farley, a former teacher at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, is facing felony charges after police say he engaged in a months-long sexual relationship with a student. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
According to the affidavit, the student said the relationship became physical in mid-September inside Farley’s office, where he touched her beneath her clothing. She told detectives the encounters continued for weeks in both his office and a classroom.
By late September and into October, she said the pair were engaging in sexual acts, including oral sex and, at one point, intercourse inside a classroom on campus.
The student also described visiting Farley’s apartment twice in early November after recognizing details he had mentioned about its location and layout. She told deputies that several sexual encounters occurred during those visits.
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A teacher was accused of using Google Docs to talk to an underage student before sexual encounters. (Google Maps)
Detectives later executed a search warrant and said they found bedding, condom wrappers and furniture matching her description. Farley’s roommate confirmed he had not been home on the dates the teen said she visited.
School surveillance video reviewed by deputies also appeared to support her account, showing Farley and the student entering his office together on Nov. 7 and later entering a classroom for about an hour.
The situation came to light after the student confided in an art teacher on Nov. 14 and showed her bruises and bite marks she said came from Farley. Administrators were informed the next day, suspended Farley immediately and reported the matter to child welfare authorities.
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A former science teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Palm Beach County was arrested after allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. (iStock)
Farley refused to speak with detectives after being read his Miranda rights, according to the affidavit.
Farley was booked into the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center Dec. 4 and is being held on $500,000 bond, jail records show. He faces charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and offense against a student by an authority figure.
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Donna Klein Jewish Academy said it is cooperating fully with the investigation and called the situation “a difficult time for all of us at Donna Klein.”
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“We are approaching this serious situation with the utmost care, keeping the well-being of our students, faculty and families at the forefront,” a spokesperson said.
The school said it is working closely with families, teachers and staff to ensure they have the support they need, adding that its priority is maintaining “a safe, compassionate and educational environment for all.”
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The spokesperson said no additional details would be released “out of respect for the privacy of our community” but that Farley is no longer employed at the school.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office at 561-688-3000.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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Southeast
Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff
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Two teen boys in Florida are accused of fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl and setting her on fire along a wooded walking trail last week in what authorities are calling a “horrific” killing.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters Thursday that the body has been identified as Danika Troy. He said Danika’s mother reported her as a runaway on Monday.
“Unbeknownst to the mother, Danika was murdered the previous night,” Johnson said.
A passerby discovered Danika’s body along a wooded area off Kimberly Road in Pace, a town about 16 miles northeast of Pensacola, and called 911, Johnson said.
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Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters that the suspects were supposedly friends with the victim from school. He said investigators were still working to determine a motive. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators quickly identified the suspects as 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins and 16-year-old Gabriel Williams and took them into custody.
“This is where it gets really horrific,” Johnson said.
Kimahri Blevins, 14, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Williams allegedly stole his mother’s handgun and shot Danika.
“It’s bad enough you kill a 14-year-old. You’re 14. You’re 16,” Johnson said. “Shoot her multiple times, and then they set her on fire.”
Gabriel Williams, 16, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Johnson said investigators are still working to determine a motive.
“They have been interviewed, but the motive that they’re giving doesn’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case, so we don’t have a legit motive,” he told reporters.
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Blevins and Williams supposedly knew the victim from school, according to Johnson. He believed the two teens have had previous “run-ins” with law enforcement, though he could not immediately say if they had earlier arrests.
Blevins and Williams are being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice on premeditated first-degree murder charges.
“You don’t want to go out and see a burnt child with bullet holes,” Johnson said. “That’s not something you sign up for.”
Johnson said no parents have been charged at this time, though investigators are “looking into it.”
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The sheriff’s office is working with the State Attorney to charge both teens as adults.
“If you do an adult crime, you gotta do adult time,” Johnson said.
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