Federal authorities have charged a Marietta, Georgia man with obtaining a fraudulent $9.5 million Paycheck Protection Program loan.
Carl Delano Torjagbo, also known as Karl Lucius Delano, 42, faces bank fraud and money laundering charges. He was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker and remanded to custody.
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Jake Evans, the 6th Congressional District candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, spoke with The Georgia Star News on Friday about his success fighting for election integrity in the 2020 elections in Banks, Stephens, and Habersham Counties.
Evans stated, “[I’m the] only lawyer in Georgia history to overturn two elections in the same race, and then I contested the other one down in Long County. So, we found people that voted twice. We found people voting in a district they didn’t live in. We found people that were wrongly assigned a district. We found people who hadn’t signed absentee ballots. There’s fraud out there. It’s a thing.”
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Georgia is doling out more than $415 million in federal relief money as grants to help nonprofits recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money, which goes to more than 30 recipients, is from the American Rescue Plan’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
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South Korea-based automaker Hyundai is set to announce a new $7 billion manufacturing electric vehicle (EV) plant in the U.S. that will also make gas-powered cars, according to several media reports.
“We are excited to announce a new EV plant plan in the United States soon, but we do not have details to share at this stage,” Hyundai told Reuters in a statement on Monday.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed the state’s more than $30.2 billion fiscal 2023 state budget, increasing spending by more than 10% over last year’s budget.
The plan, which takes effect July 1, exceeds $57.9 billion when including other funds, such as more than $17.6 billion in federal money and grants.
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A record number of Georgians continue to cast ballots in the state’s 2022 primary election during the early voting period.
Through Wednesday, May 11, during the second week of early voting for Georgia’s 2022 primary election, nearly 270,000 Georgians cast early votes. The numbers are a 159% increase from the primary in 2020 and a 235% increase from 2018.
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Hyundai Motor Co. has held discussions with Georgia officials about building its new electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the state, according to reports.
It is unclear whether Georgia might offer tax incentives to lure Hyundai to the state.
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The Trump-endorsed candidate in the May 24 Republican primary, former U.S. Senator David Perdue, issued a statement on Monday in the aftermath of the shooting of six people on Mother’s Day.
“This is another tragic example of what happens when a Governor keeps his ‘powder dry’ instead of taking bold action to keep people safe. Crime is out of control across the state. People are being shot daily, but Brian Kemp is missing in action. This disaster is happening on his watch. My question to the people of Georgia is do you feel safe? If not, then it’s time for a new Governor. Nothing is more important to me than ensuring you and your family are safe.”
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Several Georgia-based labor groups, which are traditionally Democrat in both endorsements and membership, have sent letters to the Biden administration urging them to change course on policies that have resulted in rising inflation and higher gas prices.
The Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists – Atlanta Chamber, and UFCW-Retail Wholesale and Department Store Unions have all sent letters to the Biden administration expressing their displeasure with current energy policies, expressing the plight of their membership in relation to inflation and fuel prices, and demanding a change of course.
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State attorney general candidate John Gordon criticized incumbent Attorney General Chris Carr for what he characterized as a “do nothing” term at an event Monday.
“I’ve worked hard and now I’ll work hard for each of you and for the people of Georgia, which is, unfortunately, more than I can say about my opponent, Chris ‘Do Nothing’ Carr,” stated Gordon. “I have worked hard for election integrity. I didn’t hear one word about election integrity [from Carr].”
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a measure that opens the door to $636 million for state and local governments to bolster their opioid treatment and prevention efforts.
The money is part of a $26 billion multistate opioid settlement with the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors — Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen — and opioid manufacturer and marketer Johnson & Johnson.
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The Team Trump Georgia Bus Tour, a state-wide circuit supporting Trump-endorsed political candidates, hit the road Monday morning at Wild Wings restaurant in Dunwoody, Georgia.
DeKalb County Republican Party Chairman Marci McCarthy stated, “We’re thrilled to be here in welcoming the John Fredericks Georgia Trump Bus Tour here in DeKalb County, Georgia! We’re the kickoff stop, and we are going to vote DeKalb red.”
Garland Favorito, the head of the Georgia-based election integrity group, VoterGA, added, “It’s really got to change now or we’re going to lose Georgia, and if we lose Georgia we’re going to lose America, and if we lose America we’re going to lose the world. So this is huge.”
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Former President Donald Trump-endorsed candidate for Georgia attorney general, John Gordon, in an interview on The John Fredericks Show, hammered his opponent – incumbent Attorney General Chris Carr – for what he described as a lack of accessibility on the campaign trail.
“I have been campaigning every day for the past two months and I have yet to see Chris ‘Do Nothing’ Carr anywhere,” he said. “In fact, I have concluded that he must have moved into Joe Biden’s basement because we can’t find him anywhere.”
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Jack Link’s plans to invest $450 million in a new manufacturing facility in Perry that will create 800 jobs.
The company is building a snack meat production plant on a 120-acre Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development certified site near Interstate 75 in Houston County. Officials said it would be operational by the end of 2023.
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During an appearance on The John Fredericks Show, Georgia State Senate candidate Shawn Still reminded the audience that he filed a lawsuit in 2020 against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and stated very clearly how important election integrity is to him.
“I have been on the forefront on election integrity since all of this began, when we saw the election irregularities. When we saw that we knew the election results, that we knew the election had been stolen, I filed a lawsuit in State Superior Court in Fulton County against the Secretary of State,” said Still.
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Georgia investigators have signaled their focus in a wide-ranging investigation into alleged illegal ballot trafficking during the 2020 election with subpoenas that target the possible source of funding for such an operation and any eyewitness participants.
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While state officials touted their recent unemployment numbers as an all-time record, a state organization says a deeper analysis of the numbers shows a troubling undercurrent.
Georgia’s unemployment rate in March dropped to an all-time low of 3.1%, down from February’s revised rate of 3.2%, as the number of employed Georgians also hit a record high. Georgia is tied with Arkansas for the 16th lowest unemployment rate, according to an analysis from the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO).
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Two different polls were released that show Herschel Walker and State Senator Burt Jones with massive leads in the Republican primaries for U.S. Senate and Lt. Governor, respectively.
Current Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger trails Trump-endorsed U.S. Representative Jody Hice in both polls and has a massive deficit in the second survey.
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Tuesday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed South County, Georgia school board candidate Mike Valdes to talk about how he will make sure teachers are upholding the state law in the classroom.
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Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he referred more than 1,600 cases of potential non-citizens attempting to register to vote in Georgia to local prosecutors and state investigators.
The secretary of state referred the cases to the State Election Board, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and local prosecutors. The announcement comes weeks after Raffensperger said the state completed the first citizenship audit of the state’s voter rolls.
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President Trump amplified accusations that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp used Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan to block an election integrity bill in a Monday morning email to supporters and media.
Trump shared a statement issued by VoterGA, a Georgia-based election integrity group. Its website says it is “a coalition of citizens working to restore election integrity in Georgia. We advocate for independently verifiable, auditable, recount-capable and transparent elections.”
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The man running to unseat Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp in the May 24 Republican primary told The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network that Kemp failed Georgians out in many ways, and one of them was when Kemp refused to back the separation of Buckhead City from Atlanta.
“Look, this is a governor that has sold us out,” said former senator David A. Perdue Jr., the man President Donald J. Trump endorsed to defeat Kemp.
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Twenty-one states have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s continued mask mandate on public transportation, including on airplanes.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody are leading the effort. Moody filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida along with 20 other attorneys general. DeSantis said the mask mandate was misguided and heavy-handed.
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The Georgia Fake News machine was working in overdrive on Saturday night in Commerce, Georgia.
Petrified by the resurgence of Donald Trump in Georgia, they coordinated a blatant effort to portray a minimal crowd for Trump’s rally at a North Georgia raceway. This equates to lying to your readers to create a phony narrative. Putin and Pravda would be proud.
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Georgia recorded all-time high employment numbers in February.
The number of workers – more than 5 million – increased by 21,102 in February, the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) said. The Peach State’s labor force of more than 5.2 million workers also is at an all-time high and increased 18,994 during the month.
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Georgia plans to spend about $10 million to upgrade state-owned rail lines to Class II standards, which officials said would better integrate the lines with the national rail network and allow faster speeds.
The funding is included in the proposed fiscal year 2023 budget Georgia lawmakers are considering. However, the funding isn’t enough for the state to completely overhaul the lines, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) spokesperson Natalie Dale told The Center Square.
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Live from Virginia Monday morning on The John Fredericks Show – weekdays on WNTW AM 820/ FM 92.7 – Richmond; WJFN FM 100.5 – Central Virginia; WMPH AM 1010 / FM 100.1 / FM 96.9 (7-9 p.m.) – Hampton Roads; WBRG AM 1050 / FM 105.1 – Lynchburg/Roanoke; and weekdays 6-10 a.m. and 24/7 stream – host Fredericks welcomed David Perdue to discuss his enthusiastic endorsement by Donald Trump for Governor of Georgia and his attempts to talk to Brian Kemp about 2020’s election integrity.
Fredericks: David Perdue joining us now, running for governor, Georgia. That’ll be decided primary May 24th. And zero chance of that being a runoff.
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The Star News Network’s National Political Editor, Neil W. McCabe, visited Dunwoody, Georgia, on Wednesday and spoke to former Diversity Advisor Bruce LeVell under President Trump about why the president appealed to black voters.
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A Georgia’s General Assembly prepares to eliminate the state’s gas tax to alleviate increasing prices at the pump, the state’s gas prices soared to a record high.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), Thursday’s average cost per gallon of gas was $4.29 in the Peach State, eclipsing its previous record of $4.16 per gallon on September 15, 2008.
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said late last week that he has joined a lawsuit to force the Biden administration to release records that might reveal Biden’s attempts to intimidate parents. In a statement, Carr said these parents tried to speak out on issues concerning their children’s education. The lawsuit follows Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed last fall.
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Members of one Athens church fear for their safety after they said homeless people — many of whom they suspect aren’t even from that city — have harassed and threatened them on church grounds. Luis Ortiz, senior pastor of the Athens’ Young Harris Memorial United Methodist Church, said his complaints to Athens-Clarke County officials go mostly ignored. He and other city residents told The Georgia Star News they believe Athens’ officials are using a $60 million federal grant to bestow upon homeless people. Consequently, homeless people from other areas of the state are relocating to Athens.
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Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue said this week that incumbent Governor Brian Kemp provided state-backed financial incentives to an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer tied to George Soros. Bloomberg reported this week that Soros does invest in the EV company Rivian.
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Georgia’s redistricting process has caused Democrat Incumbent U.S. Representative Lucy McBath to flee the 6th Congressional District, leaving an open seat.
McBath has left the race for the Sixth district and is running in the much bluer neighboring new Seventh district, taking on fellow Democrat incumbent U.S. Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux. The new GA-7 has a partisan rating of D+16. According to the FEC, McBath has raised $3,199,954.75 and has a war chest of $2,452,731.80 cash on hand. Bourdeaux has $2,005,771.81 cash on hand and has raised $2,406,048.45 for the 2022 election cycle.
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Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) and House Ways and Means Chair Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) on Tuesday announced legislation that would, if enacted into law, lower Georgia’s maximum income tax rate. Ralston and Blackmon want to reduce Georgia’s maximum income tax rate from 5.75 percent to a single and flat rate of 5.25 percent. They said at a press conference that state residents would save an estimated $1 billion per year if and when the proposed cut goes into effect for calendar year 2024.
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News of yet another violent crime in Buckhead apparently won’t nudge Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and other high-ranking GOP legislators to push for legislation to allow Buckhead residents to vote on separating from crime-plagued Atlanta. Members of the Atlanta Police Department (APD) reported a violent carjacking in Buckhead on Sunday.
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A new bill in the Georgia General Assembly would, if enacted into law, remove places of worship from a list of unauthorized locations where people in the state may carry weapons or long guns. Representative Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) is the primary sponsor of the bill, HB 1378, according to the Georgia General Assembly’s website.
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Members of the Georgia General Assembly this week will consider a bill that would, if enacted into law, allow all lawful weapons carriers to carry a firearm without needing a government permit. Senator Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas) is the primary sponsor of the bill, SB 319, according to the Georgia General Assembly’s website.
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An organization tagged as catering to Republicans-In-Name-Only (RINOS) has apparently endorsed Republican Rich McCormick, who is running for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District — but reports say that they are keeping that endorsement under the radar. Members of McCormick’s campaign staff did not return The Georgia Star News’ repeated requests for comment this week.
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Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue on Wednesday released a new campaign ad that highlights former U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement. According to a statement, Perdue’s advertisement will run across the state with a $600,000 buy.
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Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue on Tuesday called for term limits for all statewide elected officials. Perdue, in a statement, proposed a total of two four-year terms for all statewide elected officials, including the governor.
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Senator Burt Jones (R-Jackson) filed a bill last week that would, if enacted into law, allow Georgia residents to contribute money to increase law enforcement officers’ pay. Georgia residents would subsidize this Back the Blue fund through motor vehicle insurance policies. According to the language of the bill, SB 532, state residents would pay into this fund voluntarily.
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Georgia officials recently announced that the company Rivian will construct a $5 billion Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant in Morgan and Walton counties, but no one knows how much money the company took in government incentives. This, according to a statement that the Washington, D.C.-based Good Jobs First issued this month. According to its website, Good Jobs First is a policy resource center that promotes corporate and government accountability in economic development.
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Sixteen Democrats and two Republicans in the Georgia State Senate filed legislation this week that would, if enacted into law, allow political candidates to use campaign funds on childcare and other caregiving expenses. Senator Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson) is the primary sponsor of the bill, SB 523. On Thursday she did not return The Georgia Star News’ requests for comment.
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Members of a Fulton County grand jury have indicted a former top-ranking state official for allegedly and repeatedly lying that she was pregnant just so she could take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act. That woman, Robin Folsom, 43, previously directed external affairs for the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. This, according to a statement from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
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BUCKHEAD — Georgia General Assembly members have, for this year, written off legislation that would allow Buckhead residents to vote on separating from Atlanta, but members of Buckhead’s City Committee aren’t done and announced new priorities Wednesday. Buckhead City Committee members held a press conference at Buckhead City Headquarters. There, they announced that Bill White will continue to serve as the Buckhead City Committee CEO. Committee members then called on Governor Brian Kemp, Speaker of the House David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), and other high-ranking GOP legislators to use their clout to push for a vote.
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Some people want to mandate that every new home comes wired ready to charge electric vehicles (EVs), and those mandates, if enacted, would likely raise a home’s construction costs. And the people who want those mandates will likely push for them in about two years, said Home Builders Association of Georgia Vice President Austin Hackney.
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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger this week said state officials must do more to protect the integrity of the state’s elections, and, toward that end, he said it’s time for the state to provide additional security. Raffensperger called for greater vigilance of elections in a statement that his office published Monday. He also said it was essential for state officials to take extra steps to protect voters and poll workers. Raffensperger said the state can accomplish this by dispatching state law enforcement resources at polling places, early voting locations, and county election offices where officials handle absentee ballots.
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Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10), currently running to replace Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, will launch a statewide tour later this month to address election integrity and connect with voters. Hice announced that this Election Integrity Fly Around Tour will commence Tuesday, February, 22. No one from Hice’s campaign returned The Georgia Star News’ request for comment on Monday.
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Members of the Georgia General Assembly are unwilling to move forward with legislation that would allow Buckhead residents to vote later this year on forming an independent city. But members of the Buckhead City Committee, who have pushed for a vote, said media reports about the matter lack important context.
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Members of The Republican Governors Association (RGA) are contributing money to assist Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s reelection campaign. This, even though former U.S. Senator David Perdue, also a Republican, has challenged Perdue for his seat.
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