Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms this week identified the person who will lead the city’s new Office of Violence Reduction, and that person has a background not in law enforcement but in public health. Bottoms, in a press release, announced the Office of Violence Reduction will fall under the purview of Jacquel Clemons Moore.
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U.S. Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) pushed back this week against a proposal from President Joe Biden to allow federal employees to work remotely. The congressman said the plan will shortchange the American people.
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Former Republican senator and declared gubernatorial candidate David Perdue and another Georgia resident this week cited fraud in last year’s elections in Fulton County and filed a suit seeking greater election transparency. In their lawsuit, Perdue and Elizabeth Grace Lennon requested access to Fulton County’s absentee ballots and absentee envelopes from last year. They filed the suit in the Superior Court of Fulton County. Lennon said county officials denied her the right to vote.
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Officials with the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) this week announced they will start spending nearly three times as much money than usual — nearly $100 million — on voter outreach throughout the Deep South, including Georgia. SPLC officials said in a press release that they will partner with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (CFGA) and spend that money in other southern states as well. Those states include Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, SPLC officials said.
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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger appeared on Tuesday’s edition of The John Fredericks Show and told voters why he believed the state’s 2020 presidential election was legitimate and why he thinks he’s worthy of reelection. During his appearance, the secretary of state even pitched his candidacy to voters who supported former President Donald Trump. This, even though Trump and his supporters have long questioned Raffensperger’s competency.
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U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (R-GA-01) on Monday denied that he voted for a federal database that documents who got vaccinated against COVID-19. According to the U.S. House of Representatives’ website, Carter was the sole Republican House member from Georgia to vote yes on H.R. 550. That bill is otherwise known as the Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021.
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Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) officials said Sunday that they have confirmed the first case of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant in the state. “The individual recently traveled from South Africa and developed mild symptoms and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. Genomic sequencing confirmed the presence of the Omicron variant,” DPH officials said in an emailed press release.
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A University of Georgia (UGA) professor said in a recent column that the not guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial will motivate members of the political right to inflict violence upon the left. That professor, Cas Mudde, teaches international affairs, according to his UGA profile.
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Former Georgia State Representative Beth Beskin is scheduled to launch a new weekly talk radio show on Saturday, December 4, where she promises to give listeners a front row seat to Peach State politics. The Beth Beskin Show will broadcast live each Saturday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on WMLB AM 1690 in Atlanta. Listeners who live outside of the Metro Atlanta area may listen by downloading the Freedom WMLB AM 1690 App.
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Republican Rich McCormick, running for Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District, previously said four GOP members of Congress had endorsed his candidacy but on Thursday he said they did not actually endorse him. McCormick said he made a mistake.
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A Political Action Committee (PAC) launched this week to support Republican Herschel Walker’s candidacy to defeat Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in 2022. That PAC, 34N22, debuted Monday.
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Republican Rich McCormick, who in 2020 lost Georgia’s Seventh Congressional District race to Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA-07), announced Tuesday he’s running again — but this time for the state’s Sixth Congressional District.
McCormick told The Georgia Star News that the newly redrawn Seventh District is now a 65 percent Democrat stronghold. He said any Republican would have a difficult time competing there.
“There is nobody that has a claim to the Sixth [District] any more than I do,” McCormick said.
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Patrick Witt, a Republican running for Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, this week said certain members of the GOP should blame themselves for what occurred in the state on November 3, 2020. Witt, according to his Twitter profile, was a member of former President Donald Trump’s post-election legal team. He also served as a senior official in the Trump administration.
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The Georgia Chamber of Commerce on Monday formally endorsed Republican Governor Brian Kemp’s 2022 reelection campaign.
This, despite certain other members of the GOP previously saying that the Chamber frequently works against conservatives’ best interests.
Members of the Chamber, in a press release, said they believe Kemp “will continue to make effective policy decisions that positively impact free enterprise and job creation across the state.”
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Georgia state legislators will soon consider a bill that, if enacted into law, would designate certain people not as cyberbullies but, instead, as stalkers.
Local boards of education would have to notify students and parents of the change, according to an emailed press release.
Senator Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas) authored the bill. Legislators are scheduled to consider the bill during the upcoming 2022 session.
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The owners of a company that publishes newspapers in Georgia are suing Google and Facebook on the grounds that the two tech giants violated federal antitrust and monopoly laws. The Times-Journal Inc. announced the lawsuit in their newspapers this week, including The Northwest Georgia News. Company officials said in their lawsuit that Google and Facebook agreed to monopolize the market and subsequently damaged the newspaper industry.
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U.S. Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) has released a new television ad — featuring former President Donald Trump — in his campaign to replace Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In the ad, Trump endorsed Hice. Trump said Hice will “fight for free, fair, and secure elections in Georgia.” The former president also called Raffensperger one of the worst secretaries of state in America.
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Federal officials have charged 13 people in or near Athens as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged drug traffickers and violent offenders with ties to Metro Atlanta. An FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force oversaw the arrests.
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Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) announced this week that he plans to run for re-election in Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District. This, despite members of the Georgia General Assembly recently drawing him out of his current seat and into the newly vacant 10th District.
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Federal officials in Georgia have indicted two dozen defendants on federal conspiracy charges after they said they uncovered a transnational, multi-year investigation into a human smuggling and labor trafficking operation. This operation illegally imported Mexican and Central American workers into brutal conditions on South Georgia farms, according to a press release this week from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.
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A Republican who wants to replace U.S. Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) and owns a Jackson-based trucking company said it wouldn’t take much for the government to increase productivity within that industry, especially with current driver shortages. But government officials would have to have enough willpower to make those changes.
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Members of the Georgia House on Monday voted for a Congressional Redistricting Map that removes U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-06) from her current district and paves the way for a Republican to win that seat. The proposal now goes to Governor Brian Kemp to approve.
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U.S. Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) and U.S. Representative Austin Scott (R-GA-08) told their respective constituents this month that Thanksgiving this year will likely cost them more than any other.
Scott, in an email to constituents, said the following:
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Buckhead City leaders this week said a proposed Buckhead City could affect all City of Atlanta-owned property within Buckhead itself. Buckhead officials said in a press release this week that they have asked Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and City Attorney Nina Hickson to help them identify all of Buckhead’s City of Atlanta-owned properties.
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Law enforcement officers at Thursday’s Gwinnett County Public School (GCPS) Board meeting arrested two mothers, one on a charge of criminal trespass and another on a charge of obstruction as part of the school’s enhanced security measures. Both mothers told The Georgia News on Friday they did nothing wrong and that School Resource Officers (SROs) overreacted — to put it mildly.
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FRANKLIN — Quisha King, a former regional engagement coordinator for Black Voices for Trump, said she was once liberal, but the writings of conservative black economists Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams helped steer her on a different path. King said she her community had no prior access to Sowell or Williams.
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Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.1 percent in October, the lowest rate in Georgia’s recorded history. This, according to Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) Commissioner Mark Butler in an emailed press release Thursday.
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Members of the Georgia Senate and the Georgia House of Representatives’ Majority Caucuses released a proposed Congressional Redistricting Map Wednesday that, if passed into law, will influence the state’s political landscape for the next 10 years. But certain members of the political right are displeased with it.
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U.S. Representative Austin Scott (R-GA-08) and 22 other members of the House want U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to help reduce India’s tariffs on American pecans.
India currently has a 36 percent tariff on American pecans, far higher than the 10 percent tariff on other American tree nuts, like pistachios and almonds.
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr on Tuesday announced the state has filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.
Kemp and Carr announced this in an emailed press release.
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The head of the Oklahoma National Guard won’t require troops to comply with the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but don’t expect the Georgia National Guard to follow Oklahoma’s example.
Adjutant General of Georgia Major General Thomas Carden told The Georgia Star News on Monday that he intends to follow orders.
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Campaign staff for Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) have sent their followers several emails calling Georgia “the number one battleground” and saying “Democrats’ chances of defending our razor-thin majority hinge on keeping Georgia blue.”
Warnock’s campaign staff frequently cited the name of Herschel Walker. Walker, a Republican, filed paperwork in August to run for Warnock’s seat. The election is next year. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Walker in September.
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Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) last week said President Joe Biden is not governing like someone who has intentions of running for reelection in 2024. Hice said this as he appeared on Newsmax.
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Members of the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE) have announced their priorities for the 2022 session of the Georgia General Assembly. The GDOE, among other things, wants Georgia students to focus more on civics and to give parents more power to decide what’s best for their children’s health.
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The nation’s supply chain crisis has strained Georgia’s farmers, so much so they’re unsure they can produce their crops on time. This, according to Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc. Executive Officer Jon Schwalls. The organization is based out of Norman Park.
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A former Georgia State University (GSU) professor has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possessing child pornography, and certain images and videos he had showed children as young as five engaging in sexually explicit conduct. That man, Daniel Deocampo, taught at GSU and was also a dean.
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Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) said he voted against the recently passed federal infrastructure bill because it contributes to more government waste, stretches out the deficit, and doesn’t concentrate enough on security at the U.S.-Mexico border. Clyde said this in an emailed newsletter to his constituents this week.
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Federal officials have arraigned Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary, on federal charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, and federal program theft related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This, according to a press release that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia published Wednesday.
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Members of the Newnan-based Frontline Policy Action have announced their legislative priorities for the 2022 session of the Georgia General Assembly, and those policies including fighting what they call “radical indoctrination in the classroom.” Frontline Policy President Cole Muzio said he and members of his group want state legislators to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT) from local curriculums.
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Two Atlanta, Georgia men who are members of the Nine Trey Gangster national criminal organization pleaded guilty this week to Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy.
This, according to a press release that the U.S. Justice Department published Tuesday.
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Exactly 74 Georgia counties are unable to produce all the original ballot images from the November 2020 election.
VoterGA co-founder Garland Favorito said this at a press conference Tuesday in Roswell. The group, according to its website, is a nonprofit whose members said it wants to restore election integrity to the Peach State.
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A Lawrenceville, Georgia, man has pleaded guilty in Las Vegas to fraudulently obtaining more than $170,000 in unemployment benefits.
That man, Robert Devon Barber, 25, did this by submitting multiple unemployment claims in other people’s names and using benefits debit cards not belonging to him.
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Remington Firearms (RemArms) announced Monday that they will locate their global headquarters in LaGrange, Georgia.
RemArms officials, in a press release, also said they will open an advanced manufacturing operation and a research and development center in LaGrange. The press release did not elaborate.
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Remington Firearms (RemArms) announced Monday that they will locate their global headquarters in LaGrange, Georgia.
RemArms officials, in a press release, also said they will open an advanced manufacturing operation and a research and development center in LaGrange. The press release did not elaborate.
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Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11) and nearly 90 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives this week urged Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to allow certain 18-20-year-olds to operate Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. This, Loudermilk and other members of Congress said in a letter to Buttigieg, to help alleviate the nation’s growing supply-chain emergency. The representatives said there are too few truckers on the road to meet demands. They asked the Department of Transportation (DOT) to proceed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) Under-21 Commercial Driver Pilot Program.
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The State of Georgia’s net tax collections in October approached $2.48 billion, for an increase of $460.7 million, or 22.9 percent, compared to October 2020, when net tax collections totaled roughly $2.02 billion. This, according to an emailed press release that Governor Brian Kemp’s office emailed Friday.
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and state Attorney General Chris Carr on Friday announced that they filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s employer vaccine mandate. The Federal Register published The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) setting forth the mandate on Friday, the press release said.
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Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) this week blasted President Joe Biden and other Democrats for asking the nation’s largest energy producers to reduce their energy production, all while energy prices continue to rise. Hice made his remarks during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing.
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President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors could kill several Georgia jobs and even compromise the state’s food safety, Governor Brian Kemp and other state officials warned Wednesday.
Kemp — flanked by state attorney General Chris Carr and state Agricultural Commissioner Gary Black — alerted the public at a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol. Carr said Biden’s mandate is unconstitutional and he will sue to stop what he called the president’s overreach.
Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) and other members of the state’s general assembly on Wednesday published a draft map of new state house districts for state legislators. Legislators will examine and consider the map during the 2021 Special Session.
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