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Retired South Carolina Army vet whose geologist son vanished without a trace running for Congress

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Retired South Carolina Army vet whose geologist son vanished without a trace running for Congress

David Robinson upended his life after terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, selling his trucking business to join the Army, where he served two tours in Afghanistan before suffering injuries in an IED blast.

“I joined the military when duty called to fight for our country, defend our democracy, defend our way of life,” he told Fox News Digital. 

Decades later, his life changed again when his geologist son vanished without a trace from a well site in Arizona. Now he’s running for Congress with a focus on missing persons across the country.

He served as a combat engineer until he retired from the Army and moved on to open a new business in his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, he said. But his son’s disappearance sent him to another desert, this one on the other side of the country, in search of answers.

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Missing geologist Daniel Robinson, left, and his father, David Robinson II, are shown in this undated photo provided by the family. (David Robinson II)

“I’m sitting right here in this very seat, and I see that phone call from Arizona. My daughter called me, and I ended up in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona,” he told Fox News Digital. 

“My journey from there came to a point of running [for Congress], when you get sick and tired,” he said. 

He wasn’t making progress in the search for his son, he said, but he was meeting more and more families of missing Americans. 

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Daniel Robinson is shown in this undated photo provided by his father. (David Robinson II)

“I had families out there with missing loved ones of their own,” he said. “You learn a lot. … I went to meetings with the telecommunications [companies], talking to the senators, to you name it, law enforcement agencies. And I learned the ins and outs of things that are not being correct, the policies and the laws that are in place that actually hurt efforts to find missing Americans.”

One problem with the way cases are investigated is how phone records are approached, he said. Telecommunications companies usually ask to see a warrant before providing information such as cellphone pings, he said.

MISSING ARIZONA GEOLOGIST DANIEL ROBINSON: A FATHER’S UNENDING SEARCH FOR HIS SON, 1 YEAR LATER

David Robinson, right, is shown with Candice Cooley, whose son, Dylan Rounds, vanished from his own Utah farm and was later found to have been killed by a squatter next door. They are part of a community of parents of young Americans who went missing. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

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“Sometimes when that happens, it’s too late,” he said. “The other problem is law enforcement cannot do it unless it’s a criminal case, or they fear that a person is in severe danger, or something’s out of order.” 

In cases like his son’s, although the circumstances remain a mystery, there wasn’t a probable cause right away, he said. His wrecked Jeep wasn’t discovered until almost a month after he went missing. But his son’s phone account was under his daughter’s name, and she paid the bill.

“That’s problematic for a family,” he said. 

MISSING ARIZONA GEOLOGIST: NEW DETAILS RELEASED IN DISAPPEARANCE OF DANIEL ROBINSON

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He would propose legislation that makes data on an account available to the person paying the bill immediately, he said. Or at least to law enforcement upon the account owner’s request – with exceptions built in for domestic violence cases.

David Robinson, center, takes part in a panel discussion with the parents of Gabby Petito and Dylan Rounds, two other young Americans who went missing under suspicious circumstances. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Data retention is another issue. If police don’t get a warrant in time, crucial information might be lost, he said.

There are other, traditional issues in his campaign platform as well, ranging from education in his district to the cost of prescription drugs, abortion and climate change.

Daniel Robinson, a geologist working for an energy company in Arizona, vanished from a remote job site in June 2021.

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These images show Daniel Robinson’s crashed 2017 Jeep Renegade and Daniel Robinson in an undated photo. (Buckeye Police Department)

Buckeye police last year published more than 120 pages of investigators’ records in the case, which remains unsolved.

“There was no indication of foul play,” a detective wrote in a supplemental report, but there was also “no indication that Daniel had packed and planned a trip.”

On July 19, 2021, a rancher located Robinson’s 2017 Jeep Renegade battered and rolled onto its passenger side in a ravine. The vehicle had front-end impact damage, a broken driver’s side window and a missing piece of its roof. It was still in drive. There was no blood inside.

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Police found clothes, Robinson’s phone and work computer inside. His wallet had no cash inside. But there was no sign of the missing geologist.

Daniel Robinson is shown in this undated photo provided by his father. (David Robinson II)

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Robinson faces an uphill battle, however. He is running as a Democrat in a district that has consistently elected a Republican to Congress since 1965.

The seat is currently held by Rep. Joe Wilson, a fellow Army veteran who first won the office in 2001.

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Both men are running in their respective parties’ primary elections, scheduled for June 11.



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High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

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High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.

Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).

Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.

Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

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Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.

GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.

A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)

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Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.

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This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.

The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.

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Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Federal court clears way for Ten Commandments to be displayed in Louisiana public school classrooms

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Federal court clears way for Ten Commandments to be displayed in Louisiana public school classrooms

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A federal appeals court cleared the way Friday for a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, lifting a lower court block and reigniting debate over religion in public education.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit voted 12-6 to lift a block first imposed in 2024, finding it was too early to determine the constitutionality of the law. Critics argue the requirement violates the separation of church and state, while supporters say the Ten Commandments are historical and foundational to U.S. law.

The court said in the majority opinion that it was unclear how schools would display the poster-sized materials, noting that the law allows additional content, like the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence, to appear alongside the Ten Commandments.

The majority wrote that there were not enough facts to “permit judicial judgment rather than speculation” when evaluating potential First Amendment concerns.

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A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a lower court block on Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom law, bringing the measure closer to taking effect. (John Bazemore/AP)

In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote that the law was constitutional and “consistent with our founding traditions.”

“It is fully consistent with the Constitution, and what’s more, it reinforces our Founders’ firm belief that the children of America should be educated about the religious foundations and traditions of our country,” Ho said, adding that the law “affirms our Nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”

Circuit Judge James L. Dennis, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote in a dissenting opinion that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms would amount to “exposing children to government‑endorsed religion in a setting of compulsory attendance.”

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A federal appeals court ruling on Feb. 20 allows Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom mandate to proceed for now. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

“That is precisely the kind of establishment the Framers anticipated and sought to prevent,” he added.

The ACLU of Louisiana and other groups representing the plaintiffs said they would pursue additional legal challenges to block the law.

“Today’s ruling is extremely disappointing and would unnecessarily force Louisiana’s public school families into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole in every school district,” the groups wrote in a joint-statement. “Longstanding judicial precedent makes clear that our clients need not submit to the very harms they are seeking to prevent before taking legal action to protect their rights.”

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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised the appeals court decision on Feb. 20 allowing the Ten Commandments classroom law to move forward. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Friday praised the court’s decision, writing on Facebook, “Common sense is making a comeback!”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement following the ruling, saying schools “should follow the law.”

“Don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial. My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law, and we have created multiple examples of posters demonstrating how it can be applied constitutionally,” she said.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said schools should follow the Ten Commandments display law after a federal appeals court lifted a lower court block on Feb. 20. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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Joseph Davis, an attorney representing Louisiana in the case, celebrated the court’s decision.

“If the ACLU had its way, every trace of religion would be scrubbed from the fabric of our public life,” he said in a statement. “That position is at odds with our nation’s traditions and our Constitution. We’re glad the Fifth Circuit has allowed Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in its public school classrooms.”

Friday’s ruling came after the full court agreed to reconsider the case, months after a three-judge panel ruled the Louisiana law unconstitutional.

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A similar law in Arkansas faces a federal court challenge, while Texas implemented its own Ten Commandments classroom requirement last year.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Guy Fieri once had ‘nothing else to sign’ on the beach but postcards; now, he’s built a food TV empire

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Guy Fieri once had ‘nothing else to sign’ on the beach but postcards; now, he’s built a food TV empire

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Twenty years ago, a contestant named Guy Fieri on the second season of what was then “The Next Food Network Star” showed up at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival with little more than spiked hair and ambition.

“He came to that festival that year and was walking around signing postcards because he had nothing else to sign,” recalled Lee Brian Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and its New York City counterpart.

Today, Fieri is one of the most recognizable faces in food on television. But, in 2006, he was just another up-and-comer working a crowd on the sand.

Speaking to “Fox & Friends” from Miami Beach, Florida, Friday morning, Fieri said he wasn’t chasing TV fame.

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“I was doing what I wanted to do,” he told Steve Doocy while walking the beach. “I wanted to be a great dad. I wanted to be a great husband. I wanted to be a chef. I wanted to own my own restaurant. So, I had accomplished the things I wanted in life and never really saw the other side of it.”

South Beach Wine & Food Festival founder Lee Brian Schrager and celebrity chef Guy Fieri pose for a photograph back in 2009. (South Beach Wine & Food Festival)

Two decades later, Fieri still comes back.

“He’s been part of our festival every year since he won ‘Food Network Star,’” Schrager told Fox News Digital.

The knack for spotting and elevating talent is part of the festival’s legacy as it marks its 25th year in Miami Beach.

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Schrager recalled a similar instinct with Giada De Laurentiis. When her agent suggested she might be ready the following year, Schrager pushed back.

“I said, ‘I don’t want her next year. I want her this year so she’ll remember where she got her big start,’” Schrager said.

Giada De Laurentiis, pictured here in 2015, was another celebrity chef who got her start at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. (Manny Hernandez/Getty Images)

Yet the festival doesn’t claim to have created celebrity chefs.

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“We don’t take responsibility for turning anyone into a superstar,” Schrager told Fox News Digital. “We do take some credit for giving them a platform and putting them in front of their fans.”

“Rock stars became chefs and chefs became rock stars.”

Over the past 20 years, the platform has grown alongside the broader transformation of food culture. 

“Rock stars became chefs and chefs became rock stars,” Schrager said.

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What began as a one-day wine event on the campus of Florida International University evolved after Schrager was tasked with reimagining it. His directive was to “make it better — not bigger, but better.”

Schrager had a solution.

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival is where chefs like Fieri “became rock stars,” said Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.  (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)

“Move it to the beach, partner with the Food Network, get all their celebrities and make it more than just local,” Schrager said.

Today, the festival draws marquee names from the culinary world as well as from music and entertainment. Among those who showed up for Thursday night’s Burger Bash event were comedian Bert Kreischer and Cloud 23 hot sauce founder Brooklyn Peltz Beckham.

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Chefs don’t get paid for appearances at the festival.

“If it’s somebody new, the first question out of their agent’s mouth is, ‘Oh, what’s the honorarium? What’s the fee?’ I’m like, ‘Zero,’” Schrager said.

Brooklyn Peltz Beckham is among the celebrities to attend the food festival for free. (Scott Roth/Invision/AP)

The model works, Schrager said, because the festival operates as a nonprofit benefiting FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.

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“Everyone’s doing it to support the cause, or they’re doing it because they want to do it,” Schrager said. “It’s not a bad place to be in the middle of winter.”

Schrager, left, appears along with Rachael Ray and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham onstage at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Burger Bash. (Scott Roth/Invision/AP)

The festival has raised more than $50 million for student scholarships.

“To me, that’s why we do it,” Schrager said.

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Along the way, the festival has outlasted many imitators and weathered shifting food trends by staying nimble.

“We listened to the consumers,” Schrager said. 

Fieri, left, and a shirtless Bert Kreischer share a moment onstage at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)

“There was never any ego involved in this festival.”

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He added, “Our goal was never to be the biggest.”

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“It happens that we turned out to be the biggest, but being the best, or at least doing our best, has always been the most important to me.”

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