Southeast
Kentucky Democrat garners bipartisan support for affordable diaper bill
For weary parents rolling up their sleeves for around-the-clock diaper duty, a bill with bipartisan support in Kentucky would deliver tax relief when purchasing a necessity that adds up to a hefty expense.
The measure would exempt diapers from the state’s 6% sales tax. Senators from both parties have signed on as cosponsors, and the proposal received a hearty endorsement from the operator of a Kentucky diaper bank who says it goes to the heart of a harsh reality for some struggling families — cutting back on food and other expenses to keep their infants in fresh diapers or reusing disposable diapers.
“When people hear about this bill, it’s something they all understand,” Democratic Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, the bill’s lead sponsor, said in an interview Friday. “Anyone who has young children or young grandchildren understands that diapers are really expensive. They understand that several hundred dollars a month for a family with two kids in diapers is a huge expense and families need relief.”
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With two young children of her own, Chambers Armstrong can relate to the frequent runs to the store to buy diapers. By waiving Kentucky’s sales tax for diaper purchases, families with infants or toddlers could save hundred of dollars each year, she said. The proposed exemption also would apply to adult diapers.
“It adds up over time,” Chambers Armstrong said of the savings. “It sounds small — 6% — but every penny counts when you’re counting pennies.”
The struggle to afford diapers is a growing problem, according to the National Diaper Bank Network. When families can’t afford a constant supply of clean diapers, their babies are more vulnerable to painful rashes and urinary tract infections and require more doctor visits, the group said. Parents risk missing work or school if they can’t afford the diapers required to leave their baby in child care, it said.
Seen here at her desk in the Kentucky state Senate chamber, Kentucky state Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong leads the charge on a bipartisan bill that would exempt diapers from the state sales tax. (AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner)
As of last summer, 26 states were charging sales tax on diapers, the organization said. The diaper tax can be as low as 4% or as high as 7%, it said. Children require at least 50 diaper changes per week, it said.
Deanna Hornback, who runs a Louisville-area diaper bank, said she has heard of families rinsing out or taping disposable diapers to keep them in use. She called it a “silent need” that is becoming more prevalent, and she said that passing the tax exemption would deliver badly needed relief for families.
“You’ll not only be reaching those … impoverished families, you will actually reach those who fall between the cracks, who struggle or who have too much pride to ask for the help,” she said in a phone interview Thursday. “So this bill is going to help everybody.”
In a legislative chamber dominated by Republicans, Chambers Armstrong has broken through as a Democrat with an idea that is resonating with her Republican colleagues. Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer is among the Republicans adding their names to the bill as cosponsors.
“I think it’s a really good bill,” Thayer said Friday. “We’re Republicans. We’re for cutting taxes. Diapers are a required staple of life.”
While the bill has drawn considerable attention, the actual pathway for enacting a sales tax exemption for diaper purchases isn’t yet clear. Revenue bills have to start in the House, so the language in Chambers Armstrong’s proposal could end up being attached to a House measure, Thayer said.
“However it gets done is a win,” Chambers Armstrong said.
Applying the exemption to diaper purchases would cost the Bluegrass State an estimated $10 million a year in revenue — a minuscule amount compared with the cost of existing sales tax exemptions for food and medicine and at a time when Kentucky has massive budget reserves from surging tax collections.
Chambers Armstrong sees the projected fiscal impact for her bill as too high, saying Kentuckians will likely spend savings from the diaper exemption on other family necessities.
Whatever the cost to state coffers, the diaper tax exemption would help ease the pinch on family budgets, she said.
“Whenever you have young children, diapers — purchasing them, affording them — is one of the things that you think about every single day,” she said. “And I’m lucky that we had the resources to be able to afford the diapers we needed. But there were so many expenses when we first had our two children, you just think about all the families that struggle and what you can do to help them.”
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Southeast
Charlotte residents say they feel less safe as city faces second transit stabbing
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Two in three Charlotte, North Carolina, residents say they feel less safe today than they did a year ago, according to a recent survey, as the city reels from two train stabbings.
More than 930 people responded to a survey that the Queen City recently completed before hiring its new police chief, Stella Patterson. Residents overwhelmingly said they want a proactive police force, not a reactive one, with 66% saying they feel less safe.
The results come as Charlotte contends with another stabbing on its light rail system, months after the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.
On Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers responded to a call regarding assault with a deadly weapon. When they arrived, they found the victim, identified as Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, with a stab wound, according to warrants.
Oscar Solorzano, 33, was arrested in connection to a stabbing on a Charlotte, North Carolina light rail. (Mecklenburg County Jail)
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Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, 33, of Honduras, was arrested after the stabbing and charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with serious injury, breaking/entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated/disruptive behavior, according to multiple Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources and arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital.
On Monday morning, Solorzano appeared in court, where he was denied bond. The 33-year-old appeared via Zoom in an orange jumpsuit where he was charged. Authorities revealed that Solorzano, prior to the Dec. 5 attack, was banned by Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
CMPD noted Dobie was in critical but stable condition when he was taken to a hospital.
The victim told WRAL News that he saw Solorzano yelling at an older woman before Solorzano handed his bike to another passenger and said: “I’m about to show you who I really am.”
“I wasn’t trying to be a macho man,” Dobie said in a TikTok post from his hospital room. “But what I won’t allow is you to attack random people for no reason, especially the elderly.”
Dobie said he jumped up and told Solorzano to leave everyone alone. He said Solarzano then grabbed his hands and stabbed him as he tried to grab him back.
Police in North Carolina have charged a 33-year-old man from Honduras with critically injuring another person in a stabbing on a Charlotte commuter train, just a few months after a Ukrainian refugee was murdered. (WJZY)
According to court documents, reviewed by Fox News Digital, Solorzano broke into a railroad car “with the intent to commit a felony,” while carrying a large fixed-blade knife.
While intoxicated, he challenged Dobie to a fight, cursing and shouting at others using “unintelligible and slurred words,” according to court documents.
He was booted from the country by the Trump administration in March 2018 on a deportation order and reentered illegally during the Biden administration at the Texas border in March 2021, DHS sources said.
WATCH: Migrant who was deported twice accused of Charlotte light rail stabbing
CHARLOTTE MAN CHARGED WITH IRYNA ZARUTSKA’S KILLING COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY
Solorzano was deported a second time by the Biden administration and reentered illegally as a got-away at an unknown time and location.
Solorzano has a prior conviction for robbery in the U.S. and prior arrests for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and false ID, DHS sources said.
Court records indicate he had known aliases, including Solorzano-Garcia, Oscar Herardo and Kevin Garcia.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks alongside a photo of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was allegedly killed by Decarlos Brown Jr., on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the White House, Sept. 9, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
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The stabbing attack comes months after Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on a LYNX Blue Line light rail while on her way home from work from a local pizzeria shop.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who is accused of killing Zarutska, was charged with violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, a capital offense under federal law.
Brown had a history of violent crime, including assaults and robberies, and had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yet he was still free and walking the streets.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the city of Charlotte and the CMPD for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexander Koch and Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Chelsea Torres contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Murdaugh trial court clerk pleads guilty to showing sealed crime scene photos to photographer
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A former South Carolina court clerk pleaded guilty Monday in connection with showing sealed court exhibits related to the murder trial of disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh to a photographer and lying about it in court.
Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill, who served as the court clerk in Colleton County, pleaded guilty to four charges — obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter photographs that were sealed court exhibits and then lying about it, plus two counts of misconduct in office for taking bonuses and promoting a book she wrote on the trial through her public office.
“There is no excuse for the mistakes I made. I’m ashamed of them and will carry that shame the rest of my life,” Hill said in a statement read to the court.
She was sentenced to three years of probation.
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Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill is sworn in before taking the stand to testify during the Alex Murdaugh jury-tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP)
Her sentence would have been much harsher had evidence surfaced that she tampered with the murder trial, Judge Heath Taylor told Hill.
During Murdaugjh’s murder trial, Hill was responsible for taking care of the jury, overseeing exhibits and assisting the judge. Murdaugh was eventually convicted of murdering his wife and son after a six-week trial, which drew nationwide attention.
Murdaugh’s lawyers said Hill tried to influence jurors to vote guilty and that she was biased against Murdaugh because of her book.
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Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill smiles after pleading guilty on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in St. Matthews, S.C. Hill pleaded guilty Monday to showing sealed exhibits from Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial and other charges. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Solicitor Rick Hubbard told the judge that a journalist informed investigators that Hill showed graphic crime scene photos to several media members.
He did not name the journalist.
The photos were posted online, and the metadata from the images matched a time when Hill’s courthouse key card indicated she was inside the locked room where the photos were kept, Hubbard said.
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill is sworn in during a court hearing on Monday in St. Matthews, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Hill resigned in March 2024. One of the charges against her stemmed from money prosecutors said she took for herself. She brought a check to court on Monday to repay nearly $10,000.
Journalist Neil Gordon who worked with Hill on “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders” and previously accused her of plagiarism, commented on Hill’s plea to Fox News Digital.
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill pleaded guilty Monday to showing sealed exhibits from disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial and other charges. (Fox Nation/ Tracy Glantz/The State via AP, Pool)
“I appreciate seeing Becky step up and take responsibility for her actions, including the charge of misconduct in office, as it was directly related to the book I co-authored with her,” he said in a statement. “The specific instance was her decision to arrange a “Facebook Live” from her clerk’s office with the Colleton County Chamber of Commerce solely to promote our book.”
“The fact that it occurred during the workday showed boldness, poor judgement, and frankly ignorance of the oath she took as an elected official.,” he added. “Sadly, poor judgement around our book had been a pattern for Becky, as we later learned she plagiarized its preface.”
Meanwhile, Murdaugh is also serving a prison sentence for stealing money from his family’s law firm and client settlements.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Murdaugh’s attorney.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Florida designates Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations, DeSantis says
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Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.
The move mirrors a similar action taken by Texas in which Gov. Greg Abbott designated the CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.
“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support,” DeSantis wrote on X.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantissaid CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood will be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
The governor’s order said the Muslim Brotherhood has long engaged in and supported violence, political assassinations and terror attacks on civilians with the intent of establishing a worldwide Islamic caliphate.
It also said the group, as well as Hamas have active fundraising arms in the United States.
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The order said CAIR, which was created to challenge stereotypes against Islam and Muslims, has had individuals associated with it that have been convicted of providing and aspiring to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations.
In a post on X, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said: “Great news! Thanks for this important Executive Order, Governor. We are ready to support!”
A joint statement by CAIR and its Florida chapter said the DeSantis administration has prioritized serving their interest of the Israeli government over the people of the state.
“He diverted millions in Florida taxpayer dollars to the Israeli government’s bonds. He threatened to shut down every Florida college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, only to back off when CAIR sued him in federal court,” the statement said. “Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war crimes. Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people. That’s precisely why Governor DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group with this unconstitutional and defamatory proclamation.
“We look forward to defeating Governor DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter and conspiracy theories have no weight,” the groups added. “In the meantime, we encourage all Floridians and all Americans to speak up against this latest attempt to shred the Constitution for the benefit of a foreign government.”
Florida’s designation is at the state level. It doesn’t carry the legal force of a federal Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listing, which only the U.S. State Department can issue.
In Texas, Muslim and interfaith leaders have demanded that Abott reverse his proclamation regarding CAIR. In a lawsuit against Texas over the governor’s declaration, CAIR argued that it violates both the U.S. Constitution and state law.
Texas Gov. Greg Abott designated CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as a foreign terrorist organization. (Getty Images)
The order violates its First Amendment rights and due-process protections, CAIR said, arguing that the state overstepped its authority because terrorism designations fall under federal, not state, jurisdiction.
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