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New Orleans Jazz Fest 2024 under way; Rolling Stones to headline next week

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New Orleans Jazz Fest 2024 under way; Rolling Stones to headline next week

It looks like the third time is the charm as the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival prepares, again, for The Rolling Stones to perform.

The festival, which spans two weekends, opened Thursday with dozens of acts playing daily on 14 stages spread throughout the historic Fair Grounds race course. The Stones play next Thursday, May 2, tickets for which have long been sold out.

In 2019, festival organizers thought they had landed the legendary rock band, but the appearance was canceled because lead singer Mick Jagger had heart surgery. They tried again in 2021, but a surge in COVID-19 cases ultimately forced the fest to cancel.

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Now, says festival producer Quint Davis, “It’s gonna be special.”

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This will be the first time the Stones play Jazz Fest.

Opening day acts include rock bands Widespread Panic and The Beach Boys, reggae artist Stephen Marley and jazz vocalist John Boutte.

“The talent is great, the weather is projected to be good and people’s expectations are going to be met,” Davis said.

Blue skies, sunshine and temperatures in the 80s were forecast for opening day Thursday. Long lines of people were seen patiently waiting to buy big cups of iced tea, lemonade and coffee. Umbrellas, big hats and sunglasses were the accessories of the day.

Similar weather was expected for the rest of the first weekend, which runs through Sunday and showcases performances by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jon Batiste, country megastar Chris Stapleton, R&B singer Fantasia, rock band Heart, Cajun fiddler Amanda Shaw and The Cute Guys, jazz pianist Patrice Rushen, and blues and folk artist Ruthie Foster.

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FILE – Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performs during a celebration for the release of their new album “Hackney Diamonds,” Oct. 19, 2023, in New York. The 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival, which spans two weekends, was set to open Thursday, April 25, 2024, with dozens of acts big and small playing daily on 14 stages spread throughout the historic Fair Grounds race course. The Stones play next Thursday, May 2, and tickets for that day of music have long been sold out. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Walter Agnew of Round Lake, New York, said attending the festival had been on his bucket list since he retired from working at a chemical plant in 2020.

“COVID canceled my trip then but I finally made it here for the 2022 festival — and I came last year. This will be my third in a row,” he said.

Agnew said he’s looking forward to Stapleton’s performance on Saturday and Heart’s on Sunday — and of course The Rolling Stones next week but “you really can’t go wrong by any of the acts.”

“I’m just amazed at how they’re able to put all this entertainment together in one spot,” he said. “Of course it’s going to be good.”

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Ginger Schell, of New Orleans, is a regular Jazz Fest attendee. Asked why she continues to return, Schell said laughing, “It’s everything. It’s the music. It’s the food. It’s the music!”

She said she and her family won’t be able to see next week’s performance by The Stones, noting the tickets were out of her budget.

“But we generally don’t come for any one act in particular,” she said. “We just park our gear in a spot in front of the festival stage and wander throughout the grounds and look forward to being surprised.”

Anticipation for the Stones’ performance is palpable, Davis said.

“All I’m hearing is ‘How can I get a ticket?’” he said of fans trying to see the marquee performance. “Unfortunately for some, that day sold out in like a day-and-a-half after tickets went on sale. I think people have just waited so long for this.”

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The Rolling Stones in October released ” Hackney Diamonds,” their first album of original material since 2005 and their first without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. Though he hasn’t seen a set list, Davis said fans can expect to hear a mix of greatest hits and new releases. No special guests are expected to perform with the Rolling Stones, but Davis said “never say never.”

“Just expect euphoria,” he said laughing. “I think maybe we’re going to need some ambulances on site because people are going to spontaneously combust from the excitement. And, they’re playing in a daylight event. They’re gonna be able to make eye contact with the audience. That’s going to create a really special bond.”

Acts on the festival’s 14 stages usually play simultaneously beginning when gates open at 11 a.m. and continuing until the music ends at 7 p.m. But the other stages will shut down next week when the Stones take the stage.

“We didn’t want to have 13 empty stages and no people in front of them when the Stones start singing favorites like ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ and ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash,’” Davis said. “Everyone who bought a ticket for that day primarily bought one to see The Stones.”

Davis said tickets for the festival’s other days remain available and can be purchased online through their website.

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Much of Jazz Fest celebrates the Indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana but the music encompasses nearly every style imaginable: blues, R&B, gospel, Cajun, Zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk, Latin, rock, rap, contemporary and traditional jazz, country, bluegrass and everything in between.

Colombia’s rhythms, from music to dance and food, also will be highlighted this year as part of the festival’s cultural exchange. Close to 200 Colombian artists are scheduled to participate, including headliners Bomba Estéreo on Saturday, ChocQuibTown’s lead singer Goyo in a guest appearance with local band ÌFÉ on Sunday, and salsa legends Grupo Niche closing the celebration on May 5.

And don’t forget the food. During the festival, food available on site includes crawfish bread, pecan catfish meuniere and catfish almondine, cochon de lait and turducken po-boys, boudin, crawfish étouffée, jambalaya, crawfish Monica and shrimp and grits.

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Southeast

GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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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)

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“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.

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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)

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“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. 

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She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.

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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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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)

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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.

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 “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.

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“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.

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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.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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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)

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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. 

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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.”

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Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia.  (Provided)

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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person. 

“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states. 

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