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Shark Watch: Triathlete dragged underwater during shark blitz: 'You don't have an arm…Why are you laughing?'

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Shark Watch: Triathlete dragged underwater during shark blitz: 'You don't have an arm…Why are you laughing?'

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A bull shark bolted from the deep toward the surface and slammed into a triathlete’s legs during an early morning workout. 

“It hit me about thigh-high. Came up from the bottom. I didn’t even see it,” Chuck Anderson told Fox News Digital about the 2000 attack. “It knocked me up out of the water a bit, and I started treading water. I hollered for Karen (his training partner) to go to the beach.”

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Anderson said he put his face underwater to see what hit him. “When I did, I saw the shark coming from the bottom at me again.”

“I threw my hands towards him, and he snapped and took all four fingers off my right hand,” Anderson said. ” I held my right hand up in the air, tried to back paddle towards the beach with my left hand … I saw all the blood around me, and I thought, ‘Oh goodness. This is not gonna be good.”

SHARK WATCH: ATTACK SURVIVOR REMEMBERS BEING TRAPPED ‘IN A FEEDING FRENZY’

Chuck Anderson spent 13 days in the ICU after a near-death confrontation with a bull shark.  (Chuck Anderson)

As Anderson attempted his escape, he kept searching underwater for the shark. 

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At this point, he said he was swimming in about 12-to-15-foot deep waters and was about 150 yards from the beach in the Gulf Shores off Alabama.

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The bull shark attacked again, Anderson said. This time it rammed him in the stomach. 

That was round three of a four-round bout. The shark circled Anderson and was poised for the kill shot. 

A bull shark comes close to inspect tourist and their cameras during an eco tourism shark dive off of Jupiter, Florida on May 5, 2022. (Joseph Prezioso/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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Chuck Anderson remembers laughing after the attack. When asked how he’s laughing, Anderson said, “I said I got attacked four separate times by shark, and I’m standing here on the beach talking to you.” (Chuck Anderson)

“This time, I actually saw the fin coming directly towards me in the water, and I started trying to make a plan,” said Anderson, who prepared to battle the shark if it got too close. 

But his plan backfired. 

FLORIDA VACATION HOTSPOT CLOSED AFTER BACK-TO-BACK SHARK ATTACKS

“I thought I pushed him off, but my arm went into the shark’s mouth, and he took me to the bottom,” Anderson said, “He swung me around. My shoulder and hip were all chafed and scarred. 

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“When I was on the bottom, that’s when the good Lord and I had a conversation, and I asked him to get me back up to the surface, at least give me a chance to see my kids one more time.”

Chuck Anderson prayed when he was underwater in the shark’s mouth to see his kids one more time. Now he’s alive and surrounded by his family. (Chuck Anderson)

Female bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, portrait near Playa Del Carmen, Mexico at the Caribbean Sea. (Luis Javier Sandoval/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Call it luck. Call it divine intervention, but the shark pulled him to the surface. 

“I have no explanation for it, but the shark went to the surface with my right hand in his mouth,” Anderson said.

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“My left hand was on his nose, and he pushed me directly towards the beach. I was going so fast. People on the beach saw it and said it looked like I was on skis.”

BEACH SAFETY: TIPS THAT SAVE YOUR LIFE

Anderson said he ended up on the sandbar, about 10 yards off the beach, and “wiggled” away from the shark. 

He survived the four-round bout with a tenacious bull shark, a species known for its stout, powerful bodies and aggressive and territorial nature. 

“She said, ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you don’t have an arm’ … and asked why I was laughing … I got attacked four separate times by a shark, and I’m standing here on the beach talking to you.”

— Chuck Anderson

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Chuck Anderson continued to compete after his near-death confrontation with bull shark.  (Chuck Anderson)

Anderson remembers being harmless and laughing when he was finally reunited with Karen. 

“She said, ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you don’t have an arm.’ And she looked at me and asked why I was laughing,” he said. “I said I got attacked four separate times by a shark, and I’m standing here on the beach talking to you. 

“I can’t believe I’m alive … I should be dead.” 

WATCH: VIDEO SHOWS HOW AGGRESSIVE A THRASHING BULL SHARK IS

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Anderson was rushed to a nearby hospital. He said he lost about two thirds of the blood in his body. Doctors were able to save his elbow. 

He spent 13 days in intensive care, where he underwent several surgeries. 

BEACH SAFETY: TIPS THAT SAVE YOUR LIFE

Chuck Anderson was a triathlete in Alabama and training when he was attacked by a bull shark four times.   (Chuck Anderson)

Bull sharks are aggressive and territorial.  (Getty)

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With all the injuries and blood loss, Anderson said the “most dangerous” part of the attack was how long he spent underwater. He aspirated saltwater, which is common among scuba divers who inhale seawater mist that attacks the lungs. 

Chuck Anderson, a high school coach, nearly died during a shark attack, but it hasn’t stopped him from loving life and joking with everyone. (Chuck Anderson)

“When I got to the hospital, my fever went to 106, so they put me in an induced coma and kept me there for five days,” Anderson said. “They had to get that infection down. Once they brought me out of the coma, the recovery process could start.” 

AERIAL AND UNDERWATER VIDEO OF TAGGED SHARKS

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“I’m lucky”

Hearing Anderson say he’s “lucky” and thankful seems perplexing, given how this attack unfolded.

But he said if the shark bit his stomach instead of ramming him, he would have been lights out; if the shark dragged him farther away from shore instead of toward the beach, he wouldn’t have made it back to shore.

WHAT’S THE SHARK ATTACK CAPITAL OF THE WORLD?

“There were just so many positive things that happened that day that allowed me to survive that I’ve never really felt sorry for myself because I knew how lucky I was,” Anderson said. 

“I’ve never held any animosity towards the shark. It’s their territory, and you know, I just appreciate the fact that I’m still alive.”

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He still loves the beach. He still loves the ocean. “And I want people to continue to enjoy it,” he said. 

Chuck Anderson lost his right arm after a bull shark attacked him four times at once.  (Chuck Anderson)

 

Shark attacks are so few and far between that “it shouldn’t keep people out of the ocean.”

“I respect sharks. I’m not happy I lost my right arm to one, and if I run into that guy again, I’ll probably have some choice words for him,” Anderson joked.

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“But you know, they’re part of the ecosystem, and if we affect that ecosystem, the oceans that we love will be affected, and I don’t want that to happen. I want people to respect the territory of the sharks.”

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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. 

NANCY MACE CLAIMS NANCY PELOSI ‘WAS A MORE EFFECTIVE HOUSE SPEAKER THAN ANY REPUBLICAN THIS CENTURY’

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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REPEAT OFFENDER ON PAROLE FOR MURDER TIED TO BRUTAL JAIL ASSAULT, ESCAPE HOURS AFTER ROBBERY

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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