PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — Incumbent Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis has declared victory for his Progressive Liberal Party, securing a second term in office in a snap election.
Addressing a victory rally in Nassau late Tuesday, Davis said it wasn’t just a win for the political party he leads, but also for the entire country.
“To Bahamians who voted today, but did not vote for us, I want you to know I’ve listened to you, I’ve heard you and I want you to know that I will continue to work hard for all Bahamians,” Davis said, while flanked on stage by his wife, Ann Marie, and senior party officials.
According to local media, the PLP was projected to win more than 30 of the 41 parliamentary seats in the Bahamas general election held on Tuesday. Official results were not immediately released.
It is the first time a party has won two straight general elections in that country since 1997.
Earlier, Davis had received a concession phone call from Michael Pintard, who leads the main opposition party, the Free National Movement, or FNM.
Addressing supporters at the FNM’s headquarters on election night, Pintard said the voters had spoken and the opposition party had accepted their decision.
“The Bahamian people made their choice, in a democracy that is the only voice that ultimately matters,” Pintard said.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley — both less than a year into their new terms in office after being reelected in their respective countries — were among the regional leaders to congratulate Davis on his reelection. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also congratulated Davis on his win
This year’s election marked the first time members of parliament were elected for two newly created constituencies: St. James and Bimini and the Berry Islands. These two new seats increased the total number of parliamentary seats from 39 to 41.
In the previous general election in September 2021, the PLP won 32 of the 39 seats, and the FNM won the other seven.
Campaigning in the weeks leading up to this year’s election focused on a number of key issues, including the state of the public healthcare system, the crime rate, the cost of living and immigration concerns.
International election observers were present in the Bahamas to oversee the electoral process. The Commonwealth, the Organization of American States, the U.S. government and regional trade bloc CARICOM all confirmed sending election observers.
Voters arrive at a polling station to cast their ballots in the general election in Nassau, Bahamas, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah mother who published a children’s book about grief after the death of her husband and was later found guilty of killing him finds out Wednesday how long she will spend in prison.
Kouri Richins was convicted in March of aggravated murder for lacing her husband's cocktail with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl at their home near Park City in 2022.
Prosecutors said Richins, a 35-year-old real estate agent with a house-flipping business, was millions in debt and planning a future with another man. She had opened numerous life insurance policies on her husband Eric Richins without his knowledge and falsely believed she would inherit his estate worth more than $4 million after he died.
Eric Richins’ father, Eugene Richins, urged Judge Richard Mrazik to impose a life sentence without the possibility of parole to protect his grandsons, who were ages 9, 7 and 5 when their father died.
“This sentence is important so Eric’s three sons never have to live with the fear that the person responsible for taking their father could ever harm them again,” he said during the sentencing hearing, which fell on the day his son would have turned 44.
Jurors also found Richins guilty of four other felonies, including attempted murder for trying to poison her husband weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich.
Richins faces several decades to life in prison. She has been adamant in maintaining she is innocent. Her attorneys said she would take the stand later Wednesday after waiving her right to do so during the trial.
In a letter read by a defense attorney, Richins’ mother, Lisa Darden, maintained that her daughter is not capable of murder and asked that she "be given a sentence that allows the possibility of a future.”
The case captivated true-crime enthusiasts when Richins was arrested in 2023 while promoting her children’s book about a boy coping with the death of his father.
Richins' sons “are not props for some twisted children’s book about grief and loss, and yet that is what they’ve been reduced to by Kouri,” said her sister-in-law Katie Richins-Benson, who now has the boys in her care.
Clinical social workers read letters from the sons, who all said they would feel unsafe if their mother was ever released from prison. The children said Richins hit and threatened to kill their animals, showed them videos of famished children in war zones when they refused to eat undercooked food and didn't seem to care about their health.
“You took away my dad for no reason other than greed, and you only cared about yourself and your stupid boyfriends,” said the middle son, now 11. He described having to “be a parent” to his younger brother because his mother did not watch over them. Richins made the boy paranoid about sitting on his dad's side of the bed, saying he might die, too, he alleged.
The oldest son, now 13, said he also felt like he had to take care of his siblings, but his younger brother “mostly took care of me, though, because I was locked in my room.” He said his mother would lock him inside “pretty much daily” while she was drunk.
The most serious charge, aggravated murder, is punishable either by a range of 25 years to life in prison, or a life sentence without parole. Prosecutors did not push for the death penalty.
Prison time for the attempted aggravated murder charge depends on the severity of the bodily injury that occurred. After taking a bite of the sandwich his wife left for him, Eric Richins broke out in hives, injected himself with his son’s EpiPen, drank a bottle of Benadryl and passed out, prosecutors said. Depending on the judge's assessment, Kouri Richins could face 15 years to life, 6 years to life or 5 years to life for that charge.
Two counts of insurance fraud, second-degree felonies, each carry a 1-15 year sentence, and a third-degree felony forgery charge is punishable by 0-5 years in prison.
The judge has discretion to decide whether Richins' prison sentences for each count will overlap or stack up.
Richins also faces more than two dozen money-related criminal charges in a separate case that has not yet gone to trial.
The trial was scheduled for five weeks but ended early when her defense team rested its case without calling any witnesses. Her attorneys said they were confident that prosecutors had not produced enough evidence to convict her of murder.
The jury deliberated for just under three hours before finding her guilty of all counts.
During the trial, prosecutors showed the jury text messages between Richins and her lover in which she fantasized about leaving her husband and gaining millions in a divorce. Prosecutors also displayed the internet search history from Richins’ phone, which included queries about the lethal dose of fentanyl, luxury prisons and how poisoning is marked on a death certificate.
The defense argued that Eric Richins was addicted to painkillers. Prosecutors countered by showing police body camera footage from the night of his death in which Kouri Richins tells an officer that her husband had no history of illicit drug use.
Gene Richins makes an impact statement during the sentencing of Kouri Richins in 3rd District Court in Park City, Utah, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Amy Richins makes an impact statement during the sentencing of Kouri Richins in 3rd District Court in Park City, Utah, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Kouri Richins appears at a sentencing hearing with her defense attorney Wendy Lewis, left, in 3rd District Court in Park City on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Kouri Richins appears at a sentencing hearing with her defense attorney Wendy Lewis, left, in 3rd District Court in Park City on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
FILE -Kouri Richins looks on during her murder trial at the Summit County Courthouse in Park City, Utah, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool, File)
