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  • Former Truett McConnell VP indicted on felony charges of lying to investigators

    Former Truett McConnell VP indicted on felony charges of lying to investigators

    Former Truett McConnell VP indicted on felony charges of lying to investigators

    A White County grand jury indicted the former vice president of a baptist university Monday on three felony counts of making false statements to law enforcement.

    Bradley Reynolds was the vice president of academic affairs at Truett McConnell University until he resigned in 2024, according to the Associated Press. The university is located in the northeast Georgia town of Cleveland.

    The grand jurors alleged that Reynolds lied to officials three times, regarding his relationship with a former student and later university employee.

    According to the indictment, prosecutors allege Reynolds made the following false statements to sheriff’s investigator Anthony Sims during a March 2024 interview:

    • Reynolds said he never had a sexual relationship with the woman.
    • Reynolds denied controlling an email account that sent more than 300 emails, which were provided to investigators.
    • Reynolds also denied telling the woman that his wife was going to die so that he could marry her.

    The charges follow a more than yearlong investigation into Reynolds’ conduct. The 3,100-student university released a statement May 30, saying it first became aware of the allegations against Reynolds when he told the university that the White County Sheriff’s Office was investigating him for an “inappropriate relationship.” Reynolds’s employment ended within days, the university said.

    The university removed its president in September. President Emir Caner was placed on leave in June while the university investigated claims that he ignored allegations of abuse. John Yarbrough will be the interim president, according to the AP.

    Marcia Shein, the woman’s attorney, told Now Habersham that her client is grateful that District Attorney Jeff Langley reopened the case into Reynolds after investigators had concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue criminal charges.

    “Now we’ll just let the justice system proceed,” she said.

  • Protesters disrupt PSC hearing as Georgia Power pushes massive energy expansion

    Protesters disrupt PSC hearing as Georgia Power pushes massive energy expansion

    Protesters disrupt PSC hearing as Georgia Power pushes massive energy expansion

    The Georgia Public Service Commission hearing started in turmoil Wednesday morning as protesters were removed for not following proper procedures. 

    The hearing was the first for the public to show their dissent or support for the Georgia Power request to expand its capacity by nearly 10,000 megawatts. 

    PSC Chairman Jason Shaw was drowned out as he started the meeting by a group chanting, “Power to the people, not Georgia Power,” among other things, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

    Once the protesters were removed from the hearing, the proceedings began with public comments regarding the proposal.

    Dr. Preeti Jaggi, a pediatrician in DeKalb County, said the commission is failing to uphold its charges to ensure Georgians have safely generated electricity.

    “The burning of coal, methane gas, oil and biomass is not safe for Georgians. The only safe prescription for all Georgians is clean and renewable energy,” she said.

    State Rep. Robert Flournoy, D-Hampton, said Georgia is growing, and the state needs to ensure energy reliability across the state.

    “I’m urging a balanced, disciplined approach to modernization. Yes, we must build a stronger grid,” he said. “Yes, we must prepare for the stronger demands of such things as electric vehicles and an expanding economy, but we must do so in a way that does not saddle Georgians with exorbitant costs or unchecked hikes that outpace wages and household budgets.”

    Louis Gordon, founder of the nonprofit Veve, woke up at 4 a.m. to drive from Valdosta for the hearing. He said the deep red Lowndes County showed out at the 2025 election to oust the current commissioners.

    “You see me because so many people in the reddest part of Georgia are sick and tired of y’all, and people can only be sick and tired for so long,” he said. “I want you to know, at the beginning of this year, they didn’t know who you were… I want you to know they see you now.”

    Why are people so upset?

    The commission released a deal reached with Georgia Power 90 minutes before the hearing, according to the AJC. The deal would essentially give Georgia Power all that they initially requested with the stipulation to put at least $8.50 per month in “downward pressure” to typical residential customers in 2029, 2030, and 2031. 

    “Downward pressure” is not the same as a rate cut, and PSC staff conceded at the hearing that there is no guarantee customers will ever see a decrease in their bill.

    The request from Georgia Power is unprecedented, amounting to the energy production of almost five Hoover Dams. The buildout would cost at least $16 billion and would mostly supply large-load data centers.

    PSC staff originally recommended that the PSC approve an increase of only 3,125 megawatts of capacity because the predicted increase in load was merely speculative. The staff testimony also warned that consumers could see an increase of $20 a month in their bill.

    The PSC is expected to make its final decision on the request Dec. 19.

    Advocacy groups previously requested a delay in the vote so that the newly elected commissioners could take their seats. However, the current members denied the motion.

  • Judge blocks Georgia’s ban on gender-affirming care for incarcerated people

    Judge blocks Georgia’s ban on gender-affirming care for incarcerated people

    Judge blocks Georgia’s ban on gender-affirming care for incarcerated people

    Gender-affirming care for transgender people incarcerated in Georgia will remain accessible for now.

    U.S. District Judge Victoria M. Calvert struck down the Georgia law last week that bans gender-affirming services, but Attorney General Chris Carr’s office appealed the ruling Monday, according to the Georgia Recorder.

    “The Court does not hold that the Constitution requires all inmates receive hormone therapy if they want it. Rather, the Court requires healthcare decisions for prisoners to be made dispassionately, by physicians, based on individual determinations of medical need, and for reasons beyond the fact that the prisoners are prisoners,” Calvert wrote in the ruling.

    Calvert had previously ordered a temporary block on the law in September. That block will now be permanent.

    Senate Bill 185 passed during the 2025 legislative session and went into effect in May. The law required doctors to gradually decrease hormone therapy for transgender, incarcerated people and to provide them counseling. 

    The bill’s author, state Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, told the Georgia Recorder that they anticipated  the Biden-nominated judge would make this decision.

    “I stand with Attorney General Carr in the belief that, at the end of the day, this will be in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, and it will quickly be upheld, the law will be established as constitutional and right, and we will be moving on to things that are more important in Georgia,” he said.

    Human rights advocates and groups have fought against the bill since it was introduced in the General Assembly.

    Emily Early, associate director of the Southern Regional Office for the Center for Constitutional Rights, spoke at a House hearing in April arguing that the legislation is unconstitutional.

    “These bills directly contravene 8th Amendment U.S. Constitutional protections as well as protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Gender dysphoria is a recognized, medical condition that many transgender people experience,” she said. “If adopted, Senate Bill 185 would impose blanket bans on the provision of gender-affirming care to incarcerated people with gender dysphoria, regardless of needs. These blanket bans have repeatedly been found unconstitutional because they show deliberate indifference to the needs of incarcerated people.”

  • Teen accused in Georgia’s deadliest school shooting awaits psych evaluation

    Teen accused in Georgia’s deadliest school shooting awaits psych evaluation

    Teen accused in Georgia’s deadliest school shooting awaits psych evaluation

    The teen accused of carrying out the deadliest school shooting in Georgia history appeared in court Tuesday for a status hearing.

    Colt Gray, who is now 15, appeared in court with a new attorney, the third one in the case, 11 Alive reports. 

    Defense attorney Aisha Broderick told the judge that they are waiting for the results of an ongoing psychological evaluation of Gray, according to Fox 5. 

    “We are still waiting for that evaluation to be completed, which will assist in determining what additional motions need to be filed so that we can dictate what path this case needs to take based on potential findings of additional motions,” she said.

    The attorney said they expect the psychological evaluation to be completed in February.

    The judge set a March 18, 2026, calendar call to evaluate next steps for the case.

    Gray is accused of the mass shooting that happened at Apalachee High School in September 2024, which resulted in the deaths of two students and two teachers. Gray faces 55 charges, including malice and felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and cruelty to children.

    Gray’s father, Colin Gray, has also been charged for allegedly gifting the weapon used in the shooting to Gray. He faces 29 charges, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. His trial will begin Feb. 9, 2026.

  • Democrats flip deep-red Georgia House seat for District 121

    Democrats flip deep-red Georgia House seat for District 121

    Democrats flip deep-red Georgia House seat for District 121

    Democrats managed to flip a seat in the state House of Representatives Tuesday.

    Eric Gisler won the election for House District 121 by just under 200 votes. President Donald Trump won the same district in 2024 by 12 points.

    Gisler faced off against Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest for the seat that covers parts of Oconee and Clarke Counties in the Athens area.

    “We had an excellent team. We had a great ground game. We had a better message that appealed to more voters, and it shows up in the results,” Gisler told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

    Georgia Democrats announced the victory as a “blue wave” and called for the momentum to continue.

    “This particular district was plus 12 for Trump just in 2024, so this is a big deal. Congrats to Eric and his team. The blue wave is continuing here in Georgia,” Debra Shigley, who previously ran for State Senate District 21, said in an Instagram video.

    Democrats will now hold 81 seats in the House, and they need 91 seats to hold the majority of the 180-member body.

    State House District 23

    The crowded race for state House District 23 will head to a runoff election on Jan. 6. Republican Bill Fincher and Democrat Scott Sanders both won around 27% of the vote but failed to garner enough votes to avoid a runoff.

    The Cherokee County seat was previously occupied by former state Rep. Mandi Ballinger, who passed away in October. 

    The county went to Trump in 2024, when he won 69% of the vote.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Debra Shigley (@debraforgeorgia)

  • Georgia DPH seeks $8.9M to expand Home Visiting Program to improve maternal, infant health

    Georgia DPH seeks $8.9M to expand Home Visiting Program to improve maternal, infant health

    Georgia DPH seeks $8.9M to expand Home Visiting Program to improve maternal, infant health

    The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) presented its yearly budget requests to the members of the House Appropriations Health Subcommittee Monday.

    Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of DPH, said that half of the department’s funds come from federal sources, and half of its staff is federally funded.

    The department requested to expand its Home Visiting Program, which provides free services for expectant mothers from pregnancy until the first year of their baby’s life. The program is part of an initiative to lower maternal and infant mortality in the state.

    “This program really evolved out of the needs identified at a time when many of you came to me saying, ‘What can we do to address maternal mortality in this state?’” Toomey said. “Many of the things that we are doing within the home visiting really address mother and baby, which was the intention.”

    The program currently reaches 75 counties.Toomey said the goal is to reach all 82 counties that do not have an OB/GYN. She said 108 counties in Georgia do not have a delivery hospital, and according to the DPH website, 60% of pregnancy-related deaths in Georgia were preventable.

    The program costs about $112,000 per county to implement, and the department requested an additional $8.9 million to fund the additional counties, Toomey said.

    “It has such tremendous outcomes already, but it really is very cost effective. It’s a bargain if you look at those outcomes,” she said.

    State Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, the House minority leader, asked how the recent changes to vaccine recommendations could impact infant health in the state.

    Toomey said she worked on the initial trials for the Hepatitis B vaccine and feels strongly about its safety. She assured the representatives that the vaccine is still available even though the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention panel changed its recommendation.

    “Our job now is to ensure every parent who is confronted with the shared decision-making about this vaccine gets accurate information about its efficacy, the necessity in their particular case and the safety of it,” she said. 

    The committee heard from other public health agencies in the state about their funding needs and the work they have done this year. The following groups presented at the hearing.

    • Georgia Department of Public Health
    • Georgia Department of Community Health
    • Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
    • Office of Health Strategy
    • Composite Medical Board
    • Georgia Dental Board
    • Georgia Pharmacy Board
    • Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency
    • Georgia Trauma Commission
  • Georgia life expectancy rises, but state still trails behind the nation

    Georgia life expectancy rises, but state still trails behind the nation

    Georgia life expectancy rises, but state still trails behind the nation

    Georgia’s life expectancy increased in 2022, rising by 1.6 years and outpacing most other states, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the change follows two years of declines tied to the pandemic and overdose deaths, though Georgia still trails much of the nation.

    The CDC lists Georgia’s average life expectancy at 75.9 years. The increase is significant following the drops in 2020 and 2021, but Georgia remains 36th among states and the District of Columbia.

    The national average life expectancy reached 77.5 years in 2022 and continued to climb the next year. Georgia’s rebound follows the same general pattern. Health officials point to two main reasons: fewer COVID-19 deaths and a decline in fatal overdoses.

    “More people were vaccinated, more people were protected and more got access to treatments, including Paxlovid,” said Georgia Department of Public Health spokesperson Nancy Nydam Shirek, in comments reported by the AJC.

    Overdose deaths also fell. Nationally, fatalities dropped about 26% between April 2023 and April 2024. Georgia recorded a 21% decline over the same period, according to the AJC. Dr. Justine Welsh, medical director of the Addiction Alliance of Georgia, said opioid-settlement funding helped expand access to treatment and naloxone.

    “We’re finally starting to see what sustained investment in treatment and prevention can do,” Welsh told the AJC. “Efforts like this have to continue if we want the trend to keep moving in the right direction.”

    Despite the improvement, Georgia still faces gaps in care. Many rural counties lack enough primary care providers, and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease remain widespread. These conditions continue to influence life expectancy across the state.

    Public health officials told the AJC that the new numbers are promising but not secure. They say progress may slow if vaccination rates slip, treatment programs lose funding or public health priorities shift.

    For now, the 2022 increase points to fewer preventable deaths and broader use of available treatments. 

    State officials and researchers say the trend shows movement toward better outcomes, but stress that Georgia’s progress is only one part of a longer effort to improve residents’ health.

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene joins Murray County residents opposing proposed bio-waste plant

    Marjorie Taylor Greene joins Murray County residents opposing proposed bio-waste plant

    Marjorie Taylor Greene joins Murray County residents opposing proposed bio-waste plant

    U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stood beside constituents at a town hall meeting in Murray County last week to speak out against a proposed bio-waste facility.

    More than 300 people gathered to oppose the project. Vanguard Renewable, the company that will own the facility, sent representatives to the meeting to answer questions.

    “While you lecture these people with your pathetic little slideshows about digesters and methane gas, the people sitting behind me, they own cattle, they grow their own food,” Greene said. “They don’t need your damn jobs because you want to know something? They’ve already got jobs.”

    The development of the plant was put on hold, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting. Noah Bishop, Murray County’s sole commissioner, said he would not resubmit or support the plans before the Environmental Protection Agency.

    The facility was planned to process animal and food waste hauled in from Atlanta and other regions to produce renewable natural gas. Vanguard Renewable said the plant would produce enough energy to power more than 5,300 homes a year as well as fertilizer. Representatives told the crowd on Thursday that they would not accept pharmaceutical waste, biohazards, trash or human waste, according to Local 3 News.

    Residents expressed concerns that the facility could threaten air quality, well water, streams and property values.

    “It just sucks to know that it’s been in play this long and the residents have just been kept in the dark. We are still in shock, honestly, that we would ever have to deal with such a thing. We have fought it all the way here, and we’ll fight even further if that’s what it takes,” said Cody Spence, a county resident against the facility.

    Although most residents were against the plant, a small number supported the project.

    “Our family has farmed in North Georgia since the early 1800s… We believe that this agricultural digester will help lower the fertilizer cost and will be a good fit for our farm. The information we have seen shows that it is a natural, renewable fertilizer,” said Jim Freeman, a supporter of the natural gas facility.

  • Raffensperger sues over fundraising rules, says opponent has unfair advantage

    Raffensperger sues over fundraising rules, says opponent has unfair advantage

    Raffensperger sues over fundraising rules, says opponent has unfair advantage

    Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is the latest Republican gubernatorial candidate to raise concerns over campaign finance rules which allow one of his opponents, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, more access and flexibility to campaign funds.

    Safe Affordable Georgia filed a lawsuit Monday asking an Atlanta federal court judge to allow Raffensperger’s political action committee to work with his gubernatorial campaign in the same way that Jones’ leadership committee can, according to the Associated Press. Safe Affordable Georgia is an independent committee set up by Raffensperger.

    “This filing simply asks the court to ensure fairness so that our committee has the same ability to communicate with voters as others already do,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “Equal access to speech isn’t political or complicated — it’s a foundational American principle that must be upheld.”

    Georgia’s 2021 leadership committee law allows leadership committees of the governor and lieutenant governor to raise unlimited funds, even during the legislative session, and coordinate with candidates. Critics view the law as protecting incumbents to maintain control of state politics, according to the Associated Press.

    A candidate must win their party’s nomination for governor or lieutenant governor before it can establish a leadership committee. They are limited to raising a maximum of $8,400 per donor.

    Because Safe Affordable Georgia is an independent committee, it can raise unlimited funds, but Raffensperger does not have access to them. Similarly, supporters of Republican Attorney General Chris Carr have established an independent committee.

    Carr filed a similar lawsuit that was dismissed in August. U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert said Carr should have challenged the constitutionality of the Georgia law instead of the actions of Jones’ campaign. 

    Carr has reported nearly $3.5 million in contributions to the Georgia Ethics Commission. Raffensperger and Jones have not reported any contributions that are documented in the Georgia Campaign Finance System. Jones entered the race in July, lending himself $10 million.

  • Georgia to provide opioid overdose reversal kits to all public schools

    Georgia to provide opioid overdose reversal kits to all public schools

    Georgia to provide opioid overdose reversal kits to all public schools

    Georgia agencies announced Friday the launch of a program that will provide opioid overdose reversal kits to all public schools in the state.

    The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), in partnership with the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust (GOCAT), announced in a news release that funds from opioid settlement dollars will be used to provide the kits to schools and educate school staff.

    “The opioid settlement funds give us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn tragedy into prevention,” said DBHDD Commissioner Kevin Tanner, in the release. “Putting overdose reversal kits in every Georgia school is a practical, compassionate use of those dollars. It means we are giving our educators and communities a fighting chance to stop a preventable death. This initiative is about saving lives before a family or school endures the heartbreak of losing a child.”

    In January 2022, Georgia opted into a lawsuit brought against three large pharmaceutical distributors. Georgia received $636 million from those settlements, and Gov. Brian Kemp established the Georgia Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee (GOSAC) in May 2023 to advise the Trustee of the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust about how to allocate the funds.

    More than 2,300 public schools will receive kits that will have naloxone, a drug that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Naloxone is more commonly known by the brand name NARCAN.

    Jessica Simon, opioid program analyst for the Coastal Health District of the Georgia Department of Public Health, said she works to educate people about naloxone to try to change the perception around the drug.

    “That was a difficult part in the beginning, too —  just having conversations about naloxone about fentanyl and people not being afraid to have conversations or talking with their kids about these topics,” she said. “So we’ve kind of started to see a little bit of that shift, too, as people are more comfortable asking questions and talking about it or even carrying naloxone.”