Southeast
Meet Michael Warren, Black country singer, songwriter performing at CMA Fest, taking the genre by storm
Country music stations are rocking to the brim with newly released songs by a blend of genre veterans and new artists, but few singers find themselves chart-topping and successful.
The music industry is cut-throat and not for the weak of heart.
Michael Warren, 41, a country music singer and songwriter from Hoover, Alabama, was discovered by many fans when he earned his spot at the top of a number of Spotify channels, and his story is unique in the way that this is his second go at the music industry.
“I feel like I got a second lease on life,” Warren told Fox News Digital during a video interview.
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Michael Warren, country singer and songwriter from Hoover, Alabama, is performing at CMA Fest 2024 for the first time. (Lauren Abram’s; Michael Warren)
When Warren was in college, he received the call of a lifetime from Grammy award-winning artist Toni Braxton. The “Un-Break My Heart” singer hoped to record some of Warren’s songs. However, backpedaling to where it all began, Warren recalls that his immersion into music began during his formative years, long before his opportunity with a former subsidiary of Atlantic Records, Atlantic Songs.
“I started music at a very, very young age,” Warren recalls. “I instantly gravitated toward the writing.”
The country music singer credits his dad, a former band member at the University of Notre Dame, for his passion for music. In their basement at any given time, Warren said he could find 800 records from megastars, from Willie Nelson to Earth Wind & Fire to James Taylor and Michael Jackson.
“Growing up in that household, we had so many different musical influences,” Warren said.
In middle school, Warren and his buddies channeled their love for performing on the school playgrounds and sang their hearts out to the schoolgirls.
“We thought we were Boyz II Men,” Warren laughed. “I fell in love with it.”
From there, he joined the church choir, where he says he started taking music seriously.
During his two years in junior college, Warren says he didn’t socialize much.
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“I locked myself in my bedroom, and picked up my guitar, and figured out how to play the guitar,” he said. Two years later, Warren enrolled at the University of Alabama, where he scored understated gigs in the dorm room common areas, birthday parties and house parties.
“I actually spent more time playing the guitar than I did going to class, and luckily my dad didn’t get too mad about it,” Warren said.
As Warren became a hometown favorite, he leaped from the corridors of the bustling dorm hallways to the big college bars at Mississippi State and Auburn, among other schools, and then found himself invited to fraternity and sorority parties.
Late at night, Warren hunkered down with his dad’s camcorder and recorded his own audio. He recalls that sometimes, his dad would accompany him on all-nighters to handwrite his information on burned CDs featuring original songs. Warren burned 300 to 400 CDs at a time and prowled outside popular bars at the University of Alabama to hand only girls his originals.
“I knew if I got the girls to the show, guys would come,” he said.
Michael Warren told FOX News Digital he immersed himself in music at a very young age. (Lauren Abrams)
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Unbeknownst to him, Warren’s music traveled to New York City, and Craig Kallman, chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records, was so impressed that he called Warren himself – a handful of times.
“I get a call on my cell phone from the president of Atlantic Records on a Sunday. I’ll never forget it,” Warren said. “I thought it was my friends pranking me, so I kept hanging up the phone. But he kept calling me back.”
Though he left that meeting with no record or publishing deal – or a commitment to a follow-up – Warren was hell-bent on making the most of this moment and emailed Kallman for four weeks. He offered his work ethic to Atlantic Records in any capacity and even pledged to work in the mailroom.
“I just wanted to get into the game,” he said.
From there, Warren signed a songwriting deal, which turned into a personal call from Braxton for a song he had written in his mom’s kitchen.
“That was the first big break in my music career,” Warren said. “Toni Braxton is the queen, in my opinion.”
Since then, he has written songs for Jennifer Lopez, Flo Rida, Akon and Cody Simpson, among others.
“I guess my path was supposed to be that,” Warren said. “Next thing you know, I’m putting out these songs, I’m getting these incredible rights.”
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He added that gratitude is a trouble-free emotion to come by daily, and that every step of his journey, especially the hard times, is worth celebrating.
“To see my name within these playlists and show posters and shows with people that I looked up to,” Warren said. “To see it actually come true; it’s like sometimes you just have to step back, because all the things that I’ve dreamed about, I’m actually living them right now. Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of everything, you have to take time to appreciate where you were, what you prayed to God for, and that he delivered it.”
Today, Warren is gearing up for his first set at CMA Fest on Friday, where he’ll be performing for his growing collection of fans at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red, in Nashville, for Spotify House.
“CMA Fest is incredible. This is what everybody wants to do,” he said. “I remember going to Spotify House last year at Ole Red’s. I was in the crowd. Fast-forward a year later, a lot of hard work, and I’m at Spotify House, CMA Fest, main stage.”
Warren and his band crafted a 25-minute set and will perform at 11 a.m.
“I think if you work hard, and you’re consistent, and you’re driven, and you have the talent and ability, I think that you should have the chance and a seat at the table,” he said. “I think that if you aren’t good, you shouldn’t have a seat at the table.”
Warren said that despite racial setbacks in the past, he feels Nashville has opened its arms wide to him, and he is enthusiastic about their acceptance of him and his music.
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Michael Warren has written songs recorded by Toni Braxton, Jennifer Lopez, Cody Simpson and more. (Michael Warren)
“The way that I look at things is like, obstacles? That’s cool. Put them in front of me. I’m gonna keep going. I’m not gonna stop,” he said. “This year and last year, it was obvious things have changed, and the arms are open.”
He thanks Darius Rucker and other Black, White and Hispanic artists who have broken down barriers and produced inclusivity across the country genre.
Presently, Warren is independent and unsigned to a label. However, the greatest moment he dreams of is playing on the road with Rucker.
“He inspired me and so many others to break down some barriers and be our true selves,” Warren said. “I think I could be the guy that Darius hands his torch over to.”
As for his own playlist, Warren is a fan of music by Morgan Wallen, which he feels is timeless, and he hopes to be face-to-face with the “Whiskey Glasses” singer someday.
“He’s the king of this thing right now,” Warren said. “I love Morgan, Wallen because it’s small-town stories, it’s country, but he’s also able to incorporate pop artists and rappers into his music.”
Warren is working on a full body of work himself and plans to tell his story through self-written music on a 10- to 12-song album soon.
“This music industry is hard in general. So, every artist that’s out there that’s Black, White, Hispanic, this is hard,” he said. “If it happens tomorrow, cool. If it happens five years from now, cool.”
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Southeast
Ex-mayor caught in lewd act at booze-filled pool party, prosecutors say
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A former Louisiana mayor is on trial after prosecutors allege her teenage son caught her having sex with one of his 16-year-old friends at a booze-filled pool party.
Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. She has pleaded not guilty.
Roberts’ second trial is underway after the first case resulted in a mistrial due to judicial issues in nearby Beauregard Parish, the outlet reported.
The charges stem from a 2024 late-night gathering at Roberts’ home.
Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. (Louisiana Highway Patrol)
Last week, Roberts’ children and her ex-husband took the stand in her trial, along with a DoorDash driver, family friend and multiple teenagers who were present at the party, according to KPLC.
Jurors were shown a video interview of Roberts’ son, taken last year, in which the teenager reportedly told authorities he witnessed his mother having sex with his friend through a crack in a window during the party.
However, upon taking the stand last week, the teenager reportedly told jurors he was not certain of what he actually saw that evening.
Roberts’ defense attorneys have disputed the recording, telling jurors that part of the interview could have been improperly transcribed.
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Prosecutors allege Misty Roberts had sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a booze-filled house party in 2024. (Misty Roberts/Facebook)
Text messages between the mother and son were also shown to the jury, with the pair discussing what type of alcohol the teenagers wanted for the party.
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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Following the alleged encounter, prosecutors reportedly said the victim’s mother texted Roberts to confirm she was not pregnant.
Roberts replied that she was on birth control, and later screenshotted the messages and sent them in a separate group chat while suggesting she would take an emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B.”
Jurors also heard from a DoorDash driver who testified that he fulfilled an order from “Misty C” to purchase the emergency contraceptive and leave it at the front door of the home, the outlet reported.
The driver added that he later heard rumors about the alleged incident and believed his delivery was connected.
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Roberts’ nephew also testified that he attempted to see what was happening in the room during the party by using his phone’s camera, but was unsure if he recorded any footage and did not send anything to anyone following the alleged encounter, according to the outlet.
The nephew also admitted to deleting his Snapchat memories before investigators took custody of his phone because he did not want to get in trouble over photos of underage drinking, adding he did not intend to delete evidence.
Another member of the victim’s friend group also told jurors that he witnessed Roberts flirting with the victim on the night of the party, while revealing the boy appeared to be drunk and vomited later that night, KPLC reported.
On Saturday, Roberts’ ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, reportedly testified that Roberts confessed to having sex with the teenage boy and that the couple’s children had caught them in the act.
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Misty Roberts is currently on trial in Beauregard Parish for allegedly having sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a house party in 2024. (Google Maps)
Jurors were also shown text messages between the married couple, in which Clanton told Roberts, “I would deny what happened if you’re approached by anyone at the meeting,” on the day of a city council meeting.
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, according to KPLC.
On cross-examination, when Roberts’ defense attorney asked Clanton if he felt as though Roberts was a good mom, the father reportedly answered, “No.”
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Roberts resigned from her position as mayor just days before her arrest in 2024. She was initially prohibited from making contact with her children without permission from Clanton and the court revoked child support.
Roberts’ defense attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Florida man who wrestled cop’s gun away and killed him, executed after final appeals rejected
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A Florida man who prosecutors say wrestled a police officer’s service weapon away during a 1991 traffic stop and fatally shot him was executed Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is set to receive a three-drug lethal injection beginning at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Kearse was sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that jurors were not properly instructed on aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing hearing. He was resentenced to death in 1997.
Kearse’s execution would mark the state’s third in 2026, following a record 19 executions in 2025.
Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP)
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed more death warrants last year than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Before that, the highest number in a single year was eight in 1984 and 2014 under governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
Court records show Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish stopped Kearse in January 1991 for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. After Kearse failed to produce a valid driver’s license and resisted being handcuffed, a struggle broke out.
During the confrontation, Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm and fired 14 shots, striking the officer nine times and hitting his body armor four times, prosecutors said. A nearby taxi driver heard the gunfire and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
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This photo shows a gurney used in giving lethal injections to convicted death row inmates. (Sue Ogrocki, File)
Parrish was taken to a hospital, where he died from his wounds.
Investigators used license plate information Parrish had radioed in before the struggle to identify Kearse’s vehicle and home address. He was arrested shortly afterward.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied Kearse’s appeals, in which his attorneys argued he was deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability made him ineligible for execution. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal Tuesday without comment.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. last year. Florida carried out the most, outpacing Texas, South Carolina and Alabama, which each conducted five executions.
Two more executions are scheduled in Florida this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is set to be executed March 17. James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled for March 31.
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Duckett, a former police officer, was convicted in 1987 of raping and murdering 11-year-old Teresa McAbee. At the time, he was working for the Mascotte Police Department when McAbee was last seen getting into his patrol car outside a convenience store. Her body was later found less than a mile away in a lake. Authorities said she had been sexually battered, strangled and drowned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Violent repeat offender accused in Charlotte knife attack was free despite decade-long rap sheet
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A North Carolina man accused of stabbing another individual in broad daylight has faced more than 18 criminal charges over the past decade, including assault-related cases and a domestic-violence conviction, before the latest violent incident, court records show.
Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury after a Feb. 28 altercation in east Charlotte.
According to police, officers responded to a 911 call reporting an assault involving a knife. When they arrived, they found a man with a stab wound to a knee. Investigators say the suspect discarded a bag and the knife into a nearby creek and then boarded a city bus as it left the area.
Authorities later located the bus and identified Ragin as the suspect after reviewing transit security footage. Officers recovered a kitchen knife from the creek in the area shown on video. During an interview, police said Ragin admitted to being involved in a physical altercation but did not acknowledge the stabbing.
Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in Charlotte, N.C. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)
A review of North Carolina court records shows Ragin’s interactions with law enforcement date back to at least 2015 and span multiple counties.
In 2016, he pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order, receiving a 24-day jail sentence and a court-ordered no-contact condition.
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In prior years, he was charged in separate cases with assault on a female, assault on a campus police officer, communicating threats and resisting a public officer. Several of those cases were ultimately dismissed, including multiple charges in 2019 that court records state were “unable to prosecute due to COVID-19 court closures.”
Records also show misdemeanor drug and trespass convictions.
Altogether, court records indicate Ragin has faced more than 18 charges in several counties over multiple years before the current felony accusation.
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The alleged stabbing comes months after the fatal killing of a young woman aboard a Charlotte light rail train, a case that drew national attention and intensified debate over repeat offenders and pandemic-era criminal justice policies.
Iryna Zarutska cowers as her attacker towers over her. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
That earlier case involved a defendant who was under state supervision at the time of the attack and prompted scrutiny of a 2021 COVID-era prison settlement negotiated during former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration. The agreement authorized the early release or transition of approximately 3,500 incarcerated individuals. Republican officials claimed the agreement released dangerous offenders, while state officials have said the settlement primarily targeted medically vulnerable and nonviolent inmates.
State corrections officials have also said the light rail defendant was not released early as a result of that settlement and had completed his mandatory minimum sentence, though his name appeared on a settlement-related list due to retroactive eligibility criteria.
Republican officials have argued the cases reflect broader concerns about repeat offenders cycling through the system, while Democrats have defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures.
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Republican Michael Whatley, left, and Democrat Roy Cooper (Getty Images)
“Micah Ragin was arrested and let back onto the streets 18 times too many — including under then-Governor Roy Cooper’s COVID mass inmate release,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Have Charlotte’s pro-crime Democrats learned nothing from Iryna’s tragic murder? How many victims will it take to finally keep criminals behind bars? The Queen City has been stained by crimes that are preventable — they are lucky this wasn’t the next Iryna Zarutska.”
Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, echoed similar criticism.
“Yet again, Roy Cooper’s soft-on-crime policies allowed a violent career criminal to roam free, resulting in a vicious attack. Cooper coddles criminals and North Carolinians pay the price,” Puglia said.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley criticized what he described as “soft-on-crime” policies.
“Criminals belong behind bars. As a senator, I will always back the blue and fight to keep our communities safe,” Whatley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Cooper, who previously served two terms as North Carolina’s governor and is now running for the U.S. Senate, has defended his record on public safety and pushed back on Republican criticism.
“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must keep North Carolinians safe,” a spokesperson for Cooper’s campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These Republican attacks are false – Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough-on-crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor.”
Cooper’s campaign has previously defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures and has denied that COVID-related policies led to the early release of dangerous offenders.
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Ragin’s felony case is pending, and officials have not announced a trial date.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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