The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed a challenge by the Catoosa County Republican Party to keep four candidates off the primary ballot, as the primary and the runoff election have already occurred.
Read MoreCategory: LEAD
Alleged Apalachee High School Shooter Also Reportedly Sent Apology Text to Father Before Attack
The 14-year-old police say is responsible for killing four and injuring nine at Apalachee High School reportedly sent a text message to his father apologizing, a Friday report claimed emergency services dispatch records showed.
Read MoreAccused Killer Colt Gray Missed Nine of 12 Possible School Days After Enrolling Two Weeks Late at Apalachee High School: GBI
Colt Gray, who authorities say killed four at the Apalachee High School on September 4, missed nine days of school after enrolling two weeks after classes commenced for the 2024 school year, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) revealed on Friday.
Read MoreGeorgia Judge Tosses Two Criminal Counts Against Trump in Fani Willis Case
Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee on Thursday dismissed two counts against former President Donald Trump in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s election case.
Read MorePolice Say Rifle Used at Apalachee High School Concealed in Backpack as Mother of Accused Killer Declares Son ‘Not a Monster’
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reportedly offered new details about how authorities believe accused Apalachee High School killer Colt Gray obtained the rifle used during the attack and managed to conceal it at the campus where he allegedly killed four and injured nine.
Read MoreCounselor Reportedly Claimed Colt Gray Made ‘References to School Shootings’ Ahead of Apalachee High School Attack
Marcee Gray, the mother of accused Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine last week, claimed in a Monday interview a school counselor emailed on the morning of the shooting to report her child made “references to school shootings,” prompting her hurried call to warn of an “extreme emergency” involving Colt Gray.
The mother revealed in a Tuesday interview with ABC News that she was contacted by an Apalachee High School “counselor” shortly before the attack, which helped prompt her decision to call the school in advance of the shooting, which police say her son confessed to committing.
Read MoreGrandfather of Colt Gray Claims Teen ‘Driven’ to Commit Attack on Apalachee High School by ‘Evil’ Father Colin Gray
The maternal grandfather of Colt Gray, who police say killed four and injured nine at the Apalachee High School in Georgia last Wednesday, said on Sunday the teen was “driven” to commit the attack due to a troubled childhood and “evil” father, Colin Gray, who was charged last week in relation to the attack.
Charlie Polhamus told the New York Post on Sunday that Colt Gray was subjected to constant “screaming and hollering” from his father, and suggested spending over a decade in that environment “can affect anybody.”
Read MoreApalachee High School Shooting Suspect’s Family Claim He Experienced ‘Homicidal and Suicidal Thoughts’ Week Before Attack
Family members of Colt Gray, who police say killed four and injured nine at Apalachee High School last Wednesday, have reportedly claimed they tried to warn school officials after the teen reported “homicidal and suicidal thoughts” in the weeks prior to the attack.
Read MoreGeorgia Court: Wholesale Prescription Medication Distributors Not Liable
The Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld a Glynn County jury’s verdict that found wholesale prescription medication distributors are not liable for damages under the state’s Drug Dealer Liability Act.
A group of 21 family members of drug abusers sued wholesale distributors of prescription medications for damages, arguing that “drug abusers who injured” them were addicted to prescription opioids. The family members accused wholesale distributors of not reporting suspicious orders to Glynn County area pharmacies or stopping the orders’ shipments.
Read MoreAlleged Apalachee High Killer Colt Gray Transferred to School Weeks Prior to Attack, Reportedly Spent Two Days on Campus
Accused Apalachee High School killer Colt Gray reportedly only enrolled at the school two weeks prior to the shooting, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reportedly said Thursday, also noting the shooting occurred during Colt Gray’s second day on the school campus.
Read MoreMother of Alleged Georgia High School Shooter Colt Gray Claimed to Relocate After Years of ‘Almost Constant Domestic Abuse,’ Social Media Suggests
The woman who appears to be the mother of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who police say committed the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday, appears to have claimed on social media she left her husband after years of “almost constant domestic abuse.”
Read MoreFani Willis Shows Up with Nathan Wade During Daughter’s Arrest Months After Pair Said They Split
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who’s leading the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, showed up with her supposed ex-boyfriend, former prosecutor Nathan Wade, at the scene of her daughter’s arrest last week, according to bodycam footage published Wednesday.
Willis and Wade separately testified that the affair ended in the summer last year.
Read MoreGeorgia Public Service Commission Could Issue Ruling This Week in Railroad Case
The Georgia Public Service Commission could decide a high-profile case this week that pits long-time property owners against a railroad looking to seize land for a new rail spur.
The Sandersville Railroad, a Class III short-line railroad, petitioned the PSC to condemn land for a 4.5-mile-long spur. Regardless of how the PSC rules, its decision will likely be appealed to Fulton County Superior Court and beyond, possibly even to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read MoreGeorgia Officials Tout Enhanced Election Security for 2024 Amid Ongoing 2020 Controversies
As Georgia gears up for the critical 2024 presidential election in November, state officials within the Legislature and Georgia’s State Election Board say they are enhancing security measures at polling stations in response to ongoing concerns stemming from the 2020 election.
Cobb County’s Board of Elections & Registration Director Tate Fall announced new safety protocols – including more instruction on conflict resolution for poll workers and discreet alert badges for managers – aimed at addressing potential threats and ensuring a secure voting environment. This heightened focus on election security comes amid a backdrop of intensified political rhetoric and unrest, underscoring Georgia’s pivotal role in the upcoming election.
Read MoreGeorgia Lawmakers Could Set Transgender Athlete Policy
Georgia lawmakers could take control of the power to set policy for transgender athletes competing in women’s sports at Georgia high schools, removing the authority from a statewide association.
The revelation, which could potentially extend to publicly funded colleges and universities, came during the first hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Protecting Women’s Sports.
Read MoreSen. JD Vance Says End of Trump-Kemp Feud, RFK Jr. Endorsement Prove Republicans Now ‘Big Tent’ Party
Senator JD Vance (R-OH) on Wednesday told reporters gathered at his rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, that the end of the feud between former President Donald Trump and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s and former Representative Tulsi Gabbard’s recent endorsements of the Trump-Vance ticket, prove Republicans are now the “big tent party.”
Vance’s remarks come after Kemp endorsed Trump earlier this month, despite the former president describing him as “disloyal” in a recent rally. The relationship between the former president and Georgia’s governor first deteriorated publicly as Trump contested the state’s election results in 2020.
Read MoreGeorgia Gov. Brian Kemp to Attend Atlanta Fundraiser for Trump as Harris-Walz Rally in Savannah
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will reportedly be in Atlanta on Thursday to attend a fundraiser benefiting former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance (R-OH) in their campaign to recapture the White House for the Republican Party.
Kemp’s appearance at the Atlanta fundraiser, revealed on Tuesday, will be the first since he and Trump publicly set aside their feud. It will occur as a Democratic bus tour featuring Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz reaches Savannah.
Read MoreGeorgia Democrats, DNC Sue State Election Board, Warn New Rules Could Block Final Vote Certification
Georgia Democrats have sued the state Election Board, arguing new measures implemented by the agency regarding the election-certification process are illegal.
According to the lawsuit filed Monday in state court, local election officials are now able to “hunt for purported election irregularities of any kind, potentially delaying certification and displacing longstanding (and court-supervised) processes for addressing fraud.”
Read MoreTrump Asks Georgia Appeals Court to Toss Election Case in ‘Death Knell’ for D.A. Fani Willis
The attorney representing former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis asked a Georgia appeals court, which is currently considering whether Willis should be disqualified due to her affair with former special counsel Nathan Wade, asked the court to toss the case with a new legal filing he argues contains the “death knell” for the prosecution.
Trump attorney Steve Sadow on Monday submitted a 22-page filing which asks the Georgia Court of Appeals to toss Willis’ case against Trump because the former president was “aggrieved” by Willis’ “letter to God” speech from the pulpit of a Baptist church in Atlanta.
Read MoreRuling: Cobb County Must Abide by State-Drawn Commission Maps
Cobb County commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday on a measure that the board’s District 2 seat “is deemed vacant” following a judge’s ruling this week.
Last month, Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill ruled that the map of commission districts that county leaders created in October 2022 was unconstitutional and outside the home rule powers.
Read MoreKemp and Trump End Feud with Full Throated Embrace and Upstaging Harris Coronation Night
Former President Donald Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp found the perfect narrative Thursday night to upstage Vice President Kamala Harris’s nomination acceptance speech, ending their feud dating to the 2020 election with a full-throated embrace that played out on national television.
The mutual endorsement reunited two of the GOP’s most powerful figures heading into the November election, and made the road for Democrats to score a win in Georgia more difficult.
Read MoreRobert F. Kennedy Jr. Says Suspending His Independent Presidential Campaign, Supporting Trump
Democrat-turned-Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy announced Friday that he suspending his 2024 presidential campaign.
Read MoreGeorgia’s Raffensperger Announces Indictment of Alleged Double Voter in 2022 Election
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) announced the indictment of a voter who cast ballots in both Georgia and Arizona in the November 2022 election.
The secretary of state’s office conducted an investigation into double-voting following the 2022 general election and referred the case to the Forsyth County district attorney’s office, according to a press releaseWednesday.
Read MoreRNC Co-Chair Predicts ‘Softening’ in Trump, Kemp Feud After Governor Reportedly Offers Georgia ‘Political Machine’ to Former President
Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump and co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), on Tuesday predicted softening in the feud between former President Donald Trump and Governor Brian Kemp after the Georgia leader reportedly offered his “political machine” to the Trump-Vance ticket.
The prediction came after the former president described Kemp as “disloyal” during an August 3 rally in Atlanta, which prompted questions about whether the terse relationship between the men that developed after the 2020 election results would impact the Trump campaign in November.
Read MoreAudit Finds More MARTA Atlanta Program Due $70 Million, Transit Agency Disagrees
Atlanta city officials say a review of the More MARTA Atlanta program for fiscal 2017 through fiscal 2022 concluded that it is due roughly $70 million.
However, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority officials say that independent auditor Mauldin & Jenkins’ calculations are wrong.
Read MoreGeorgia State Election Board Adopts Rule to Ensure Number of Ballots Matches Total Voters
The Georgia State Election Board (SEB) on Monday adopted a rule that requires the number of ballots and voters be the same before the certification of election results.
Read MoreAtlanta Area Continues to Have High Inflation
Inflation continues to plague Georgia businesses, and the Atlanta area continues to grapple with inflation, though it may be faring better than other cities in the country, a new analysis revealed.
According to personal finance site WalletHub, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metropolitan statistical area ranks 11th out of 23 major MSAs for its change in inflation. An analyst with the site said the ranking highlights some positive and concerning aspects policymakers should consider.
Read MoreTrump-Aligned Lawyer Who Exposed Fani Willis Affair and Stalled Georgia Election Case Says D.A. Caused Downfall: ‘She’s the One to Blame’
The Georgia election case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election results in the Peach State is almost certain to remain ongoing on Election Day, and the attorney who first surfaced evidence Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was engaged in a romantic affair with her special counsel said on Sunday that Willis is “the one to blame” for the current state of the case.
Willis’ case against Trump is currently before the Georgia Court of Appeals, which will determine whether Judge Scott McAfee erred when he ruled that Willis’ relationship with Wade, a private defense attorney paid more than $650,000 for his work on the case, was not sufficient reason to disqualify her as the prosecutor in the case against the former president.
Read MoreGeorgia Reports Increased Revenues to Start Fiscal 2025
With one month in the books, Georgia’s tax collections seemingly started the year on a positive note after ending last fiscal year with decreased collections.
Peach State officials said this week that total General Fund receipts for July, the first month of fiscal 2025, surpassed $2.5 billion. According to state numbers, that is an increase of 2.7%, or $66.3 million, over July 2023 in fiscal 2024, when net tax collections totaled nearly $2.5 billion.
Read MoreInflation Has Cost Georgia Families $27,000 Since 2021
Republican lawmakers in Georgia are concerned about increases in inflation, as a recent report shows households have paid $27,427 more because of inflation since January 2021.
The average household in the state is spending $1,074 more per month to buy the same goods and services as in 2021, according to a July report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee.
Read MoreFeds Give Georgia $14.3 Million for Airport Block Grants
The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded Georgia nearly $14.3 million to help rehabilitate nonprimary airports statewide, officials said.
The money, part of $636 million for 320 grants in 46 states and American Samoa, ostensibly aims to improve airport infrastructure. It was awarded as part of the 2024 Airport Improvement Program’s fourth round of grants, and the Georgia award includes more than $13.3 million in entitlement spending and $924,275 in discretionary spending.
Read MoreGeorgia Tries Navigating 2024 Election While Investigating Unresolved Disputes of 2020 Election
As Georgia prepares for the 2024 presidential election with implementing new rules and procedures, some unresolved 2020 election disputes remain, with the State Election Board opening an investigation into an issue it previously closed.
Heading into this year’s presidential election cycle, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is implementing election security measures as the Georgia State Election Board is enacting new rules that could impact the November election and investigating 2020 presidential election issues.
Read MoreFani Willis Says Resignation of Nathan Wade Was ‘Boon’ to Trump’s Defense, Urges Court to Toss Disqualification Appeal
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a court filing published Friday argued the forced resignation of former Special Counsel Nathan Wade was a “boon” to former President Donald Trump and the other defendants in her Georgia racketeering case against the former president and his allies over their contest of the 2020 election results.
In a filing submitted on August 5, the district attorney’s office argued the victory for the defendants, though ultimately unnecessary, provides the necessary appearance of impropriety to dismiss their appeal.
Read MoreGeorgia Election Board Seeks New Investigation into Fulton County’s Handling of 2020 Election
A Georgia State election board on Wednesday night voted to request that state Attorney General Chris Carr reopen an investigation into Fulton County’s counting of the results of the 2020 election.
The request comes after the board closed the matter in May, but voted to install an independent election monitor for the 2024 election, after an independent investigation found that the county likely scanned thousands of ballots twice in a recount of the 2020 election.
Read MoreFormer Atlanta Jail Guard Who Identifies as Transgender Man Sentenced to Prison for Strangling Female Inmate
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia confirmed on Wednesday that Former Fulton County Jail guard Monique Clark was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release after she strangled an inmate who was in handcuffs until the inmate lost consciousness.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The Georgia Star News in September 2023 that Clark is a biological female, and was housed in a female unit of the Fulton County Jail, but government officials with the FBI and Department of Justice exclusively used masculine pronouns while describing her crimes in a press release.
Read MoreGeorgia Public Service Commission Weighing Railroad’s Land Condemnation Request
The Georgia Public Service Commission could soon decide whether a railroad can seize private land for a proposed 4.5-mile-long spur after hearing oral arguments in the case on Tuesday.
The Sandersville Railroad, a Class III short-line railroad, initially petitioned the PSC in March 2023 to condemn land for the spur and subsequently moved to condemn additional land. The railroad’s existing tracks are about 25 miles from Sparta, and the spur would connect a rock quarry southeast of the city with a CSX Transportation rail line but not existing Sandersville Railroad tracks.
Read MoreKamala Harris Taps Far-Left Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for VP: Reports
Vice President Kamala Harris has tapped Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., to serve as her running mate, multiple news outlets have reported.
Read MoreGeorgia, South Carolina Officials Prepare for Tropical Storm Debby
Officials in Georgia and South Carolina are taking action as Tropical Storm Debby is expected to dump rain on the states after making landfall on Monday morning along the Florida coast.
Read MoreAtlanta Commission Poised to Approve Plan Amendment for $265 Million in Federal Money
The Atlanta Regional Commission’s board and Transportation & Air Quality Committee are expected to approve changes to an amended Transportation Improvement Program on Aug. 28.
The amendment includes roughly $265.3 million in federal money, including $38.2 million in earmarks and $221.6 million in “discretionary grant funding.”
Read MoreGeorgia GOP Bans Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan After Harris Endorsement, Urges National Action
Georgia Republican Party (GAGOP) Chair Josh McKoon on Friday announced that former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan will be permanently banned from attending any of the state party’s events, including conventions and caucuses, after Duncan endorsed President Joe Biden then Vice President Kamala Harris.
McKoon additionally confirmed the GAGOP will issue a resolution condemning Duncan for his “self serving and hypocritical behavior,” and “expelling” him from the Republican Party, and that the GAGOP State Executive Committee “will consider action to permanently ban” Duncan from qualifying as a Republican candidate in the Peach State.
Read MoreGeorgia Mayor Wants City to Reimburse over $40,000 in Expenses, Including $10,000 Spent on Jill Biden and $2,400 on Trip to White House
Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson on Tuesday asked the Augusta City Council to reimburse more than $40,000 in expenses to his personal credit card he claims were necessary for the city to conduct its business, including $10,000 to facilitate a visit from First Lady Jill Biden and more than $2,000 for a trip to the White House.
Johnson claimed to the city council on Tuesday that the expenses were within the city’s budget, and suggested he used his personal credit card as a matter of efficiency.
Read MoreGeorgia Planning $1 Million in Grants for Military Mental Health Services
Georgia officials are awarding $1 million in grants to increase mental health access for military members, veterans and their families.
Last year, state lawmakers passed House Bill 414 to create the Veterans Mental Health Services Program under the Georgia Department of Veterans Service. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the measure into law on April 25, 2023.
Read MoreWith Rising Property Taxes, Georgians Can Vote to Freeze Values for Assessments
While property taxes continue to rise in many jurisdictions across Georgia, voters will have a chance to cap how much home values can rise for property tax purposes.
“Monthly costs for Georgians, from the north Georgia mountains to the coast, continue to rise,” Lt. Governor Burt Jones said in a statement last month. “During record high inflation, skyrocketing debt and expenses rising every day, local governments should be focused on bringing costs down – not letting them increase.”
Read MoreTrump Leads Harris in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan but Ties in Wisconsin, Poll Claims
A poll released Thursday and conducted after President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection shows former President Donald Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris in the battleground states Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan, while the former president is tied with the vice president in Wisconsin.
The New Emerson College pollsters found Trump enjoys his greatest lead in Arizona, where they determined 49 percent of voters support him while just 44 percent back Harris.
Read MoreLoudermilk Seeks Records from Capitol Police on Investigation of Gallows on Capitol Grounds January 6
Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., is pressing United States Capitol Police (USCP) Chief J. Thomas Manger for “records and information” related to their investigation of the “gallows assembled on the Capitol Grounds on January 6, 2021,” according to a news release sent out on Tuesday.
Read MoreDemocrats Sue Kemp over Leadership Committee Law
Georgia Democrats have filed a federal lawsuit against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, saying a measure he signed three years ago that allows him to effectively “sidestep” campaign finance restrictions.
Kemp signed Senate Bill 221 into law in May 2021. Under the so-called “LC Law,” some politicians can chair leadership committees and receive contributions from their members or supporters.
Read MoreKemp Outlines Breakdown of $1.5 Billion Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Spend
Georgia plans to spend about 40% of the $1.5 billion in additional transportation funding lawmakers approved on increasing the Georgia Department of Transportation’s capital construction program.
In January, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced a plan to include an additional $1.5 billion in the state’s amended fiscal 2024 budget for the Georgia Department of Transportation for projects that “directly help move commuters and freight.”
Read MoreDNC Sends $15 Million to Battleground States Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia After Trump Selects Vance for VP
The Democratic National Committee confirmed the transfer of $15 million to battleground states after former President Donald Trump selected Senator JD Vance (R-OH) to serve as his vice president on the Republican ticket for president in 2024.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the party claimed the transfers to local parties would increase state coordination and give President Joe Biden a better shot at retaining the White House in November.
Read MoreGeorgia’s Ex-Insurance Commissioner Faces Federal Prison Sentence
A federal judge sentenced Georgia’s former state insurance commissioner to more than three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges that he participated in a health care fraud scheme.
U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones sentenced John W. Oxendine, 62, of Port St. Joe, Florida, to three years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The former elected official must also pay $760,175.34 in restitution and a fine of $25,000.
Read MoreFormer President Donald Trump Announces JD Vance as Running Mate
Former President Donald Trump announced Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) as his running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Read More