Southeast
North Carolina Catholic school can legally fire gay teacher who announced his wedding online, court rules
A Catholic school in North Carolina was legally allowed to fire a gay teacher who announced his marriage to another man on social media a decade ago, according to a federal appeals court ruling, reversing a judge’s earlier decision.
A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday reversed a 2021 ruling stating that Charlotte Catholic High School and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte had violated teacher Lonnie Billard’s federal employment protections against sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The school said Billard was not brought back as a substitute teacher because of his “advocacy in favor of a position that is opposed to what the church teaches about marriage,” according to a court document.
U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn ruled that Billard, who worked full-time as a teacher for a decade until 2012, was a lay employee for the limited purpose of teaching secular classes. The judge said a trial would still need to be held to determine appropriate relief for him.
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A Catholic school in North Carolina was legally allowed to fire a gay teacher who announced his marriage to another man on social media a decade ago, according to a federal appeals court ruling. (MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
A 2020 ruling by the Supreme Court also found that Title VII protected workers who were terminated for being gay or transgender.
Circuit Judge Pamela Harris, however, wrote in Wednesday’s ruling that Billard fell under a “ministerial exception” to Title VII that courts have taken from the First Amendment that protects religious institutions in how they treat employees “who perform tasks so central to their religious missions — even if the tasks themselves do not advertise their religious nature.”
Billard, who primarily taught English as a substitute after returning from retirement as a drama teacher at Charlotte Catholic High School, fell under this exception because Charlotte Catholic expected teachers to integrate faith throughout the curriculum, Harris wrote, adding that the school’s apparent expectation that Billard be prepared to teach religion as needed speaks to his role in the school’s religious mission.
“The record makes clear that (Charlotte Catholic) considered it ‘vital’ to its religious mission that its teachers bring a Catholic perspective to bear on Shakespeare as well as on the Bible,” Harris wrote. “Our court has recognized before that seemingly secular tasks like the teaching of English and drama may be so imbued with religious significance that they implicate the ministerial exception.”
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Circuit Judge Pamela Harris wrote in Wednesday’s ruling that Lonnie Billard fell under a “ministerial exception” to Title VII. (REUTERS/Axel Schmidt)
Billard began working at Charlotte Catholic in 2001, the year after he met his now-husband. He announced their decision to get married shortly after same-sex marriage was made legal in North Carolina in 2014, and he filed a lawsuit challenging his termination in 2017.
The American Civil Liberties Union and a Charlotte law firm that helped Billard file his lawsuit said Wednesday’s ruling was “a heartbreaking decision for our client who wanted nothing more than the freedom to perform his duties as an educator without hiding who he is or who he loves.”
The joint statement said the ruling threatens to infringe on the rights of LGBTQ+ workers by “widening the loopholes employers may use to fire people like Mr. Billard for openly discriminatory reasons.”
An attorney for a group that defended the Charlotte diocese praised the ruling, calling it a “victory for people of all faiths who cherish the freedom to pass on their faith to the next generation.”
Lonnie Billard announced his decision to get married shortly after same-sex marriage was made legal in North Carolina in 2014. (iStock)
“The Supreme Court has been crystal clear on this issue: Catholic schools have the freedom to choose teachers who fully support Catholic teaching,” Luke Goodrich of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty said.
Attorneys general from nearly 20 Democrat-leaning states and lawyers from Christian denominations and schools and other organizations filed briefs in the case.
Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer joined Harris’ opinion, while Circuit Judge Robert King wrote a separate opinion saying he agreed with the reversal but also questioned the use of the ministerial exemption. King wrote instead that Charlotte Catholic fell under a separate exemption in Title VII for religious education institutions dismissing an employee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’
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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the Trump administration’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiative, detailing new efforts to restrict ultra-processed foods in school lunches and limiting SNAP benefit purchases.
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An Atlanta-area police department issued a blunt notice to parents after officers claimed a child brought a vodka-based beverage to school — tucked beside Doritos in a packed lunch.
The City of South Fulton Police Department sounded off about the incident in a now-viral Facebook post, warning parents to “CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX.”
“Say Twin… Before you send them babies off to school… CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX. Because why are we getting reports of juice boxes sitting next to… Cutwater margaritas??” the department wrote.
Officials also shared a photo of the alleged lunchbox, containing what appears to be a child’s lunch, Doritos and a Cutwater Lemon Drop Martini.
The police department shared a photo of a Cutwater canned cocktail in a lunchbox. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
“That is NOT Capri Sun. That is NOT Apple Juice. That is a whole ‘Parent had a long night’ starter pack,” the department wrote. “Now little Johnny done pulled up to 3rd period talking about: ‘Who want fruit snacks?’ knowing good and well he got a Lemon Drop Martini in the zipper pocket.”
Cutwater Lemon Drop Martinis, as found in the lunchbox, are 11% ABV ready-to-drink cocktails made with vodka, triple sec, lemon juice and natural flavors.
They come in 12-ounce cans, similar in appearance to a soda can.
The City of South Fulton Police Department issued a statement after the apparent mishap. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
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The department said it understands mornings can be hectic, but issued a stern notice to parents to “TIGHTEN UP.”
“Your child shouldn’t be the only one in the cafeteria with a beverage that requires an ID,” authorities wrote. “If it says 12% ABV… it does NOT belong next to a PB&J.”
Officials also provided a “quick parent checklist,” with items including: “Homework,” “Lunch packed,” and “Alcoholic beverages.”
Boxes of Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai and Strawberry Margarita canned cocktails. (Gado/Getty Images)
“Check the lunchbox before the Fulton County Schools Police resource officers gotta do inventory at recess,” the department added.
It is unclear if any parents or students were disciplined in relation to the mix-up.
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Fulton County Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The City of South Fulton, Georgia, is a rapidly growing municipality located about 20 minutes from Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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Southeast
Federal prosecutor admits ‘extraordinary’ timing in Abrego Garcia smuggling case charges
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A federal prosecutor acknowledged Thursday that the decision to charge Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia two years after a routine traffic stop was “extraordinary” while defending the human smuggling case as legally justified.
Abrego Garcia, 31, has become a flash point in the national immigration debate since last March, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order in what Trump administration officials acknowledged was an “administrative error.”
The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration had to work to bring him back to the U.S.
After returning in June, Abrego Garcia was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.
He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking dismissal of the charges on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, are accompanied by Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, right, of We Are Casa, as they leave the federal courthouse, Thursday, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A 2019 court order prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge determined he faced danger from a gang that had threatened his family. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager and has been under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Abrego Garcia was accused in court records of repeated domestic violence against his wife, who alleged multiple incidents of physical abuse in protective order filings. She later withdrew the protective order request and has defended her husband publicly.
The Department of Homeland Security has also said he was living in the U.S. illegally and has alleged ties to MS-13, disputing portrayals of him as simply a “Maryland man.” His attorneys have denied the gang allegations.
Tennessee Highway Patrol body camera footage from when Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding shows a calm exchange with officers. While officers discussed suspicions of smuggling among themselves — noting there were nine passengers in the vehicle — Abrego Garcia was issued only a warning.
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A woman holds a sign in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. (Getty Images )
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire, who was acting U.S. attorney in April 2025, testified Thursday that his decision to charge Abrego Garcia was based on the evidence.
“I had previously prosecuted several human smuggling cases,” McGuire said, noting that after seeing video of the traffic stop, “I was immediately struck by how similar what was being depicted in the body cam was to those investigations.”
McGuire said Abrego Garcia’s vehicle belonged to someone with “a human smuggling background” and added that the route was “suspicious.”
“It was a large number of individuals traveling in one SUV with a driver who spoke for the group. No one had luggage… the car had Texas plates… the route was suspicious,” McGuire said.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived at the federal courthouse, Thursday, for a hearing on whether the charges against him should be dismissed. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
During cross-examination, McGuire acknowledged that the timing of the charges, coming so long after the traffic stop, was “extraordinary.”
He said he had not previously been aware of the traffic stop but reiterated that nobody in the Trump administration, including the White House or the Department of Justice, pressured him to seek the indictment.
When asked about whether he might have felt pressure to prosecute the case, McGuire said, “I’m not going to do something that is wrong to keep my job.”
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
McGuire also said timing factored into charging Abrego Garcia since he was being held in El Salvador, and he did not want the indictment to go public before all senior officials were briefed on the matter.
“I knew from the get-go that this was going to be a controversial matter,” McGuire said.
U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw did not make a ruling Thursday and said he would wait to receive post-hearing briefs from attorneys by March 5 before determining whether another hearing is necessary.
Crenshaw previously found some evidence that the prosecution “may be vindictive” and that prior statements by Trump administration officials “raise cause for concern.”
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Thursday’s court appearance came after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody on Feb. 17.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
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)
“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)
“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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