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Virginia court declares state’s redistricting vote was unconstitutional in legal win for Republicans
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Republicans are cheering a circuit court victory in Virginia that showed Democrats’ redistricting efforts in Virginia are not quite over yet despite a referendum to accept a new map drawn by Democrats getting approved by voters Tuesday.
Virginia Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley ruled Wednesday, one day after the Democrat redistricting referendum passed, that all votes for or against the proposed redistricting amendment were unconstitutional, citing rules that impose certain requirements that the referendum did not meet.
There are a handful of cases making their way through the Virginia court system challenging various aspects of the referendum, including the one Hurley ruled on Wednesday.
«The Tazewell Circuit Court just ruled the referendum unconstitutional. The Judge entered an injunction blocking certification of the election & denied a motion to stay pending appeal. A final order will be entered once drafted, & it will be immediately appealed,» former Republican Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said on X after Hurley’s ruling.
ERIC HOLDER ACCUSES GOP OF ‘STEALING SEATS’ WHILE DEFENDING ‘FAIR’ DEMOCRATIC REDISTRICTING PUSH
Shortly after the ruling came down, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat who beat GOP incumbent Jason Miyares in November, indicated his office will «immediately file an appeal.»
Cuccinelli, who heads the American Principles Project Election Transparency Initiative, indicated Wednesday there are four constitutional challenges to the referendum making their way through the courts, three of which are challenges to the amendment process itself.
Former acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli criticized Portland’s policing priorities as «soft,» saying the city’s policies harm public safety during an event in Georgia. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
«Virginia has a process to amend its constitution that has the General Assembly pass a proposed amendment and then have a state election — an intervening election — where the new House of Delegates was elected and so forth. And then that new General Assembly comes back and has to pass the exact same amendment,» Cuccinelli told CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings on Wednesday.
«The General Assembly passed the amendment for the first time — called first passage, very creative — on Halloween. Well, these same Democrats, five years ago, gave us a 45-day election. So, voting began September 19 of 2025. Over a million people had already voted before first passage, and they want to treat that election as the intervening election. They’re going to have a very difficult time with that.»
Cuccinelli added that there are other «equally difficult» constitutional challenges Democrats are facing in this legal battle, which he said he expects to move quickly through the courts. Cuccinelli told Jennings he expects a final ruling on the matter by May.
NEWSOM TURNS VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING VICTORY INTO WARNING SHOT FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
The approved referendum could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge, if the courts do not ultimately strike it down. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
Shortly after news of the Virginia circuit court ruling in Tazewell, Jones announced his office would be immediately appealing the measure. Jones argued that «an activist judge» should not have the power to veto «the People’s vote.»
«Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote,» Jones said Wednesday after the ruling. «We look forward to defending the outcome of last night’s election in court.»
Jay Jones addresses supporters after winning the Democratic nomination for Virginia attorney general as his wife, Mavis Jones, looks on in Norfolk, Va., June 17, 2025. (Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service)
Democrat strategist Adam Parkhomenko echoed Jones’ criticism after the news broke Wednesday but also said he has expectations that Republicans’ legal challenges will not hold up in court.
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«Virginia voters spoke. MAGA lost. And now a rogue Republican judge is trying to override the will of the people because they didn’t like the outcome,» Parkhomenko said on X. «That’s not democracy. That’s desperation.»
Parkhomenko added he has «full confidence a higher court will overturn this nonsense quickly, and the will of Virginia voters will prevail.»
«Nice try,» the Dem strategist added.
democrats elections, virginia, appeals, republicans elections, elections state and local, in court
El viceministro de Sustancias Controladas de Bolivia, Ernesto Justiniano, y el director de la Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico, William Cabrera, se reunieron este martes con agentes de la Administración para el Control de Drogas de Estados Unidos (DEA, por sus siglas en inglés) en Washington para fortalecer la cooperación en la lucha contra el tráfico de drogas.
Según informó el viceministro al canal Unitel, el tema central del encuentro fue “Sebastián Marset y la institución criminal que estaba detrás de él”.
De igual forma, señaló que en el país hay otras operaciones de organizaciones criminales brasileñas como el Primer Comando Capital (PCC) y el Comando Vermelho sobre las que se está trabajando. En ese marco, el viceministro señaló que se coordinarán acciones con Estados Unidos y otros países, como Perú y Brasil, para el intercambio de información y el fortalecimiento de la lucha contra el crimen organizado.
El presunto narcotraficante uruguayo Sebastián Marset, uno de los criminales más buscados de la región y por quien Estados Unidos ofrecía una recompensa de dos millones de dólares, fue capturado en Bolivia la madrugada del 13 de marzo.
En un operativo policial realizado en la zona residencial de Las Palmas, en el centro de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Marset fue detenido y trasladado al aeropuerto de Viru Viru, donde fue entregado a las autoridades de la DEA para su traslado a Estados Unidos, donde enfrenta cargos por lavado de dinero.
Tras la captura, las fuerzas policiales bolivianas realizaron múltiples operativos y allanamientos para desarticular la red criminal que lideraba el uruguayo. Según información oficial, se secuestraron al menos 16 avionetas y vehículos blindados, y se intervinieron aeródromos y viviendas en las que operaba su organización.
Sin embargo, estas acciones fueron cuestionadas por la presunta sustracción de objetos de valor —como dinero en efectivo y joyas—, por reportes tardíos sobre la existencia de cajas fuertes y por contradicciones sobre la cantidad de personas aprehendidas.
El ministro de Gobierno, Marco Antonio Oviedo, informó el 5 de mayo ante la Asamblea Legislativa que se había detenido a 55 personas, y tres días más tarde, el viceministro de Régimen del Interior, Hernán Paredes, señaló que eran 20.
Luego de la captura también se vivió una ola de violencia en Santa Cruz, donde se produjeron al menos seis asesinatos, algunos de los cuales estarían relacionados con la disputa por el control del territorio y la organización que lideraba Marset.
Entre las personas abatidas se encontraban personas con antecedentes criminales y algunos directamente vinculados con el uruguayo, como José Pedro R.V., quien presuntamente era piloto de la red, quien fue asesinado a tiros cuando se preparaba para participar en una competencia automovilística a pocos kilómetros de Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Según la criminóloga y exdirectora del Observatorio de Seguridad Ciudadana, Gabriela Reyes, los asesinatos ocurridos en las últimas semanas son una “consecuencia de no desarticular la organización” del narco uruguayo y de no haber detenido a otros líderes de su red.
“Esto hace que haya una pugna por quién va a encabezar las actividades que Marset llevaba a cabo desde su liderazgo”, afirmó en entrevista con Infobae.
En lo inmediato, y más allá de los acuerdos de cooperación con la DEA y otras instancias, el Gobierno de Bolivia anunció la conformación de un grupo de élite con sede en Santa Cruz, enfocado en combatir el sicariato y la delincuencia organizada. Este grupo está compuesto por policías especializados en lucha contra el narcotráfico y el terrorismo.
Crime,Drug Trafficking / Narcotics,North America
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Vance-led task force cuts off $1.4B from home health, hospice providers suspected of fraud
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EXCLUSIVE: Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force has withheld $1.4 billion in federal funding from home health and hospice providers nationwide, following a wave of suspensions enacted by an anti-fraud task force targeting operations in California, Minnesota and several other states.
Approximately 90% of the suspended providers have not reached out to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency tasked with combating fraud, waste and abuse, since payments have been suspended.
Trump administration officials told Fox News Digital that they believe lack of communication between alleged fraudulent providers and CMS indicates that the providers were not legitimate enterprises.
The suspended group includes long-term providers who have been pocketing federal funds for years while failing to communicate with CMS, a senior Trump administration source told Fox News Digital.
«The Vice President’s task force continues to stop the flow of taxpayer funds before they fall into the hands of fraudsters and deliver savings to the American people,» a spokesperson for Vice President JD Vance told Fox News Digital. «This is great momentum in the fight for the President’s War on Fraud.»
LOS ANGELES COUNTY FACES SCRUTINY AFTER ALLEGED WIDESPREAD HOSPICE FRAUD EXPOSED
Vice President JD Vance hosted the first meeting of The Task Force To Eliminate Fraud on March 27. The task force has suspended hundreds of hospices suspected of fraud in Los Angeles alone. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump has made the eradication of systemic fraud a cornerstone of his administration’s domestic policy. On Monday, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz blasted California officials over the state’s hospice crisis, charging that the fraud is «stealing your lives» and pointing to a sophisticated web of international graft.
«We’ve got Russian government involvement, we believe, in Los Angeles. We’ve got the Chinese government involved in a big fraud ring in New York,» Oz told guest host Kayleigh McEnany on «Jesse Watters Primetime.» «And, of course, the Cuban connection… pointed out to me by former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. We’ve got twice as many durable medical equipment suppliers—selling wheelchairs and canes—as there are McDonald’s in South Florida. The owners often flee back to Cuba with the money the moment we move in on them.»
Last month, Fox News Digital uncovered the suspension of 447 hospices and 23 home health agencies suspected of fraud in Los Angeles alone, with the total theft estimated at more than $600 million.
Days later, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) referred 562,000 suspected fraudulent loans — totaling over $22.2 billion — to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection. These loans largely originated from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MINNESOTA’S ‘FEEDING OUR FUTURE’ FRAUD AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S LATEST CRACKDOWN
The SBA noted these files were flagged for suspected fraud during the Biden administration but were never sent to the Treasury Department for recovery.
«The task force has made clear that the Biden Administration’s policy of giving direct cash payments to fraudsters is over,» a senior White House official told Fox News Digital.
In April, the head of a California hospice advocacy group warned congressional lawmakers that industry fraud is flourishing across the state. Sheila Clark, president and CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA), questioned how these «ghost» providers managed to evade regulators for so long.
«You’d be amazed at how many hospices… you can walk up to the door in California and there is nobody there. You can see five months’ worth of mail stacked up,» Clark told the House Ways and Means Committee during an April 22 hearing. «And yet, they passed a survey. How did that happen?»
«How do you put a hospice in a burrito stand? How do you put a hospice in a retail store?» she quipped. «That all had to be vetted through licensure, certification and accreditation.»
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently announced the arrest of five individuals linked to an alleged multi-million-dollar hospice scheme that reportedly raked in $267 million through fraudulent billing to Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.
The Trump administration has intensified its focus on the abuse of taxpayer funds following last year’s arrests connected to the «Feeding Our Future» scheme in Minnesota—a massive «sham meal» operation that allegedly defrauded the government of hundreds of millions of dollars.
jd vance, politics, health care executive
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