INTERNACIONAL
Virginia Democrat who helped lead state’s redistricting push also played part in killing it
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A top Virginia Democrat’s support for his state’s redistricting referendum ironically backfired after a judge he previously appointed helped torpedo his party’s bid to redraw the state’s congressional districts.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who endorsed the referendum and appeared at pro-referendum events, gave $100,000 to the campaign behind Virginia Democrats’ redistricting effort, which voters approved in April. On Friday, a judge Warner appointed when he was governor in 2002, D. Arthur Kelsey, was among the four justices who voted to strike the referendum down on constitutional grounds. In fact, Judge Kelsey authored the 4-3 prevailing opinion.
The voter-approved ballot measure was poised to give Democrats a major advantage heading into November’s midterm elections, and they vastly outspent Republicans in their bid to get it passed. However, Kelsey wrote in the prevailing opinion that the sequencing in which Democrats held the referendum vote violated the state’s Constitution, which requires an intervening election between the state legislature’s mandatory first and second passage of the proposed constitutional amendment.
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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., arrives to the Capitol Visitor Center for a briefing about Iran on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Warner, who was the Governor of Virginia from 2002 until 2006, previously appointed Kelsey, then a Circuit Court judge, to the Virginia Court of Appeals. Kelsey served two terms before a GOP state legislature elevated him to the state’s Supreme Court, where Kelsey has been serving since 2015.
When Warner appointed Kelsey to the Virginia Court of Appeals in 2002, he praised the then-Suffolk circuit judge as having shown «a keen intellect, a strong work ethic and a commitment to equal justice,» according to a report from Virginia Lawyers Weekly at the time.
«Although I had not met Judge Kelsey before this process began, I have spoken to him at length, reviewed his numerous opinions and consulted with those who know him well,» Warner added in 2002.
Following the ruling by Virginia’s Supreme Court, Warner put out a statement in a news release saying he respected the decision, but added that «it’s impossible to ignore that more than three million Virginians already cast their ballots on the amendment and deserved to have their voices heard.»
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Fox News Digital reached out to Warner to inquire whether he felt the ruling was fair, but a spokesperson for the senator only referred Fox News Digital to the news release with his public statement.
Justice D. Arthur Kelsey speaks during the investiture ceremony of Chief Justice Cleo E. Powell, the first African-American woman Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court, inside the chamber of the Supreme Court of Virginia, on March 2, 2026, in Richmond, Virginia. (Mike Kropf-Pool/Getty Images)
«Donald Trump assumed he could tilt the playing field and lock in political advantage before a single ballot was cast. But Virginians are paying attention,» Warner also said in his public statement. «They want leaders who will protect their rights, defend their freedoms, and actually focus on lowering costs and getting things done. Democrats will still show up this November, we will still compete everywhere, and when the votes are counted, Virginians will send a strong message about the kind of leadership they want.»
The prevailing opinion written by Kelsey said that Democrats’ proposed map would have replaced Virginia’s current 6-5 congressional split «with a highly partisan gerrymandered map» expected to create a 10-1 advantage for a single party.
Kelsey went on to highlight that under Democrats’ proposed new map, roughly 47% of Virginians who voted for one political party during the last congressional election would end up being represented by just 9% of Virginia’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, while 51% of Virginians who voted for the other major political party would be represented by 91% of Virginia’s congressional delegation.
Signs urged early voters to vote yes or no in the Virginia redistricting referendum at the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Friday she was «disappointed» with the Supreme Court’s decision and, along with other Democrats, blasted the state’s High Court for invalidating the will of voters.
«More than three million Virginians cast their ballots in Virginia’s redistricting referendum, and the majority of Virginia voters voted to push back against a President who said he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress with a temporary and responsive referendum. They made their voices heard,» Spanberger said after the ruling.
«I am disappointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia’s ruling, but my focus as Governor will be on ensuring that all voters have the information necessary to make their voices heard this November in the midterm elections because in those elections we — the voters — will have the final say.»
democrats elections, midterm elections, abigail spanberger, governors, virginia
INTERNACIONAL
Top Trump official touts how DC makeover is proof America is rejecting ‘decline by choice’
Doug Burgum highlights American innovation at Great American State Fair
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joins ‘Fox & Friends’ live from the Great American State Fair in Washington. He emphasizes America’s legacy of innovation and entrepreneurship, discussing the impact of AI and free markets. Burgum also addresses recent vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 22 and the upcoming July 4th opening of the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library.
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Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is defending President Donald Trump’s many initiatives to address infrastructure in Washington, D.C., calling it a visible reminder that the country needs to actively press back against decline.
«Nations don’t crumble by fate — they decline by choice,» Burgum told Fox News Digital.
«From rehabilitating and installing historic memorials, statues, and fountains to removing hundreds of instances of graffiti and cleaning up crime on our streets, this administration is proving that American greatness is built through action,» he continued.
Burgum’s reasoning, which came ahead of the United States’ 250th Independence Day anniversary, addresses criticisms of the administration that have surfaced in recent weeks, casting doubt on whether Trump’s many renovation and construction initiatives in Washington, D.C. have been worth their price tag.
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The US Capitol past traffic on North Capitol street in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As part of the 250th celebration, Trump has spent $14.7 million to restore the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, allocated $250 million to restore the Kennedy Center and is on track to spend over $400 million on the construction of a ballroom at the White House.
Trump, in a Truth Social update about the reflecting pool, framed the efforts as part of a larger effort.
«We’ve cleaned, renovated and beautified over 45 monuments and memorials, 28 statues and 22 fountains in Washington, D.C. Things are really looking good in our nation’s capital. Add to that the fact that when I became president, crime was rampant. And now Washington, D.C. is one of the safest cities anywhere in the United States,» Trump wrote.
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Interior Secretary Doug Burgum reacted during a meeting with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace on March 4, 2026, in Caracas, Venezuela. (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)
The Department of the Interior, which has overseen many of the improvements, further updated its accomplishments ahead of July 4.
The city has removed 510 instances of graffiti, removed 154 homeless encampments, applied 212 tons of repair materials to roads and parkways, restored 280,000 square feet of roadway paving, rehabilitated 1,301 benches and fixed 1,913 lights.
Burgum said the repairs were emblematic of the administration’s aggressive posture towards addressing problems that had gone ignored in the past. In addition to these major improvements, DOI has restored and cleaned dozens of monuments and statues around DC.
DOI also recently helped transform Meridian Hill Park, which got high praise on social media by DC residents, into a desirable place to visit with a restored fountain that had been under construction for years with very little movement. They also cleaned and restored some of the statues in the park, including the Joan of Arc statue and the James Buchanan Memorial.
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Washington DC city workers dismantle tents and remove personal belongings during a sweep of a homeless encampment in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood in Washington, DC, on August 14, 2025. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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«While others accept decline, President Trump and the Department of the Interior are restoring the heart of our nation’s capital,» Burgum said. «The Golden Age of America isn’t just a slogan, it’s being rebuilt, one landmark, one street and one victory at a time.»
donald trump, washington dc, infrastructure across america, politics
INTERNACIONAL
Immigrant business owner who built the American Dream says birth tourism is a ‘slap in the face’
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A legal immigrant from Trinidad who became a U.S. citizen after nearly a decade-long process told Fox News Digital that birth tourism and illegal immigration are a «slap in the face» to those who came to America the right way.
Kris Ramsingh, a Virginia business owner who immigrated in 2006 and became a citizen in 2015, said his own experience becoming an American shaped his support for President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
«When you see that people come across the border, whether it’s [to] have a baby for an anchor, or come across to border and get free healthcare, [or] free school, it’s really a slap in the face to the people who have worked really hard to come into this country the legal way,» he told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday.
Unlike those who enter the country illegally, Ramsingh said he was required to satisfy a series of federal immigration requirements before becoming a U.S. citizen.
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The Mill Mountain Star dots the Roanoke skyline in Virginia. (Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images)
As part of the legal immigration process, federal authorities required Ramsingh to provide proof of certain vaccines, personal documentation, a criminal background check and proof of a bank account to demonstrate he would not become a ward of the state.
«America doesn’t owe us anything,» Ramsingh said of legal immigrants like himself. «Our government here doesn’t owe us anything. We have the privilege of coming into this country where it’s a holiday visa or for school.»
Ramsingh said the week of Independence Day also marks the anniversary of his and his wife’s arrival in the U.S. in 2006 with just $300 and a few suitcases.
«I have lived in Roanoke all of those 20 years since,» he said from his Dominion Custom Upholstery business not too far from the city’s famed Mill Mountain Star.
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Kris Ramsingh visits the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va. (Courtesy: Kris Ramsingh)
As Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day, Ramsingh said he feels a special sense of pride in the American flag.
He recounted living in his home country in 1990 when Muslim insurgents carried out a coup and shot Prime Minister ANR Robinson while taking officials hostage.
«When we saw the red, white, and blue [of American] soldiers coming into the country, we knew we were safe. We knew at that point that America had our back. And America has had a lot of countries’ back over the years,» he said, commenting that — having experienced such a situation firsthand — he is troubled by other countries that demand America’s assistance but go back to resenting the U.S. after they’ve been helped.
Ramsingh said that experience shaped his appreciation for the United States and its role around the world.
After immigrating to the United States, Ramsingh founded Dominion Custom Upholstery 13 years ago and later launched another company focused on boatworks and interior repairs.
He also recently founded Dominion Project International, a missionary organization through which he travels to India, Africa and the Caribbean to share the Gospel while providing potable water and medical supplies to people in need.
«The American Dream is that you can try something — you can work hard and try and if it doesn’t work out you can you can pick up and try again,» he added.
«The flag represents peace [and] hope as we’re getting ready to celebrate Saturday, the Fourth of July, and it means so much to me — it means freedom.»
The center of every Fourth of July party is the American flag. (Amazon)
Since becoming a U.S. citizen, Ramsingh said he feels a special sense of security and pride whenever he returns from missionary trips abroad.
«There’s a sense of ‘I’m back on U.S. soil; I’m home,’» he said, whether landing in Washington, D.C., Miami or New York.
«That feeling is so great and it really bothers me to see Americans and foreigners coming into this country and saying that they hate America,» he said.
«I think if you hated that much, you should just leave — there is no need for you to be here.»
Asked about critics’ claims that Trump is anti-immigrant, Ramsingh rejected that characterization.
«He’s not anti-immigrant. Republicans are not anti-immigrant — we just want them to go through the process of doing it legally; coming in legally.»
«During the Biden administration. When he opened that border — we’re anti-invasion, we are not anti-immigrant. That was an invasion.»
Kris Ramsingh is seen at his Roanoke, Va., home. (Courtesy: Kris Ramsingh)
Ramsingh acknowledged that some of the personal stories surrounding deportations are difficult to watch, but said those situations stem from years of lax enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
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The Trump administration reaffirmed that all illegal immigrants are eligible for deportations as they focus on arresting violent criminals first. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
«I came from a third-world country. My missions are in third-world countries. I see how these people live. I understand why they want to come to America. I understand the ‘why’,» he said.
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«I would say Trump is not against immigration. He just wants to see it done right. And again, Donald Trump and our government doesn’t owe immigrants anything. We have the privilege of being here. It’s a privilege. It’s not a right.»
Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan and Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.
america 250, politics, patriotism, immigration, illegal immigrants
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